Top Songs Ranking of Tokiko Kato [2026]

Lullaby for Sleeping AloneKatō Tokiko8rank/position

Lullaby for Sleeping Alone (Tokiko Kato) cover: numa chan

Released in 1969, Tokiko Kato’s musical style spans a wide range, including chanson and pop, but this song was written with her husband—whom she married while he was in prison—in mind.

Their connection began when her husband, then a student activist, asked her to perform at a concert.

She reportedly declined, saying she did not want her singing to be used for political activism.

Later, her husband was arrested in connection with the student movement and received a prison sentence.

Although the media created a major uproar, what stands out in my memory is how Tokiko Kato remained composed and unshaken.

It’s Mount Fuji.Katō Tokiko9rank/position

Tokiko Kato / It's Mount Fuji

It was created in the hope that Mount Fuji would be registered as a World Heritage site.

With lyrics by Yu Aku and music by Tokiko Kato—such an illustrious team—you can feel their strong desire for the registration.

The song conveys the beautiful, majestic figure of Fuji, no matter when, where, or how you see it.

It truly is a source of pride for Japan.

The mountains are my hometown.Katō Tokiko10rank/position

Mountains Are My Hometown - Tokiko Kato (Cover by aki1682)

In 2016, a new national holiday was established: Mountain Day in August.

To commemorate this first new holiday in 20 years, a song was created as the “Song of Mountain Day”: Tokiko Kato’s “Yama wa Furusato” (“The Mountain Is My Hometown”).

Its gentle yet expansive melody and lyrics that liken the mountain to a father or mother convey the mountain’s majestic presence, as if it embraces everything.

Hiroshima, River of LoveKatō Tokiko11rank/position

"Hiroshima: River of Love" Massive Riverside Chorus on August 6 — First Event — Filmed in 2015 (70 years after the bombing)

This is a message song praying for everlasting peace, with lyrics written by the late Keiji Nakazawa, author of Barefoot Gen, set in Hiroshima, which was devastated by the atomic bomb.

Ms.

Kato, known for the classic Shiretoko Ryojo and for voicing Gina in the Studio Ghibli film Porco Rosso, delivers a powerful performance.

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco RossoKatō Tokiko12rank/position

Sometimes, a tale from long ago — from Porco Rosso

This is a work written and composed by Tokiko Kato herself, whose warm yet faintly bittersweet worldview evokes a deep nostalgia for days of youth gone by.

As it searches for an unseen future, it conjures scenes of passionate conversations with friends—memories many listeners will find echoing their own.

The song was included on the album “MY STORY / Toki ni wa Mukashi no Hanashi wo,” released in February 1987, and is also known as the ending theme of the 1992 film Porco Rosso.

The piano arrangement used in the film, with its striking timbre, gently lets you linger in the afterglow of the story.

With its calm melody, it’s also great to play as background music when you want to focus on work.

A Million RosesKatō Tokiko13rank/position

A Million Roses Tokiko Kato

This is the B-side track of the single “Seaside Journey.” The original is a Russian popular song with storytelling lyrics about a poor painter’s feelings for an actress.

It’s a romantic and bittersweet piece.

It’s also a well-known song that has been covered by many different artists.

Paris in the Beautiful Month of MayKatō Tokiko14rank/position

Beautiful May in Paris - Tokiko Kato (Original Vocals)

This is a song arranged and given Japanese lyrics by Tokiko Kato, sung by her, based on a song sung by participating students during the May 1968 revolution in Paris, France.

Its original title is “Ah! le Joli Mois de Mai à Paris,” which also appears in the Japanese lyrics Kato sings.

Although the song has a somber mood, it’s crafted in a way that evokes the flavor of the folk and pop music of the time.

Surely this song must have supported many students.

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