Yamada Kōsaku Popular Song Rankings [2026]

waiting in vainSakushi: Kitahara Hakushū / Sakkyoku: Yamada Kōsaku8rank/position

Machibouke by Himawari 🌻 with Lyrics | Shoka | Machibo-ke |

This work was created by the famed duo of Hakushu Kitahara, a leading figure of modern Japanese poetry, and composer Kósçak Yamada.

Based on an old Chinese folktale, it portrays a farmer who, after getting a taste of accidental good fortune, stops working.

It begins with a lively rhythm and a cheerful mood, but as the story unfolds, the once-rich fields fall into ruin, culminating in a bleak winter landscape—its hallmark progression.

The somewhat plaintive melody pairs well with the feeling of the season shifting from autumn to winter.

First released in 1924 as a children’s song, it was later broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” starting in August 1973.

The narrative draws you in deeply, making it perfect for savoring the lyrics on a long autumn night.

Suzaka City AnthemSakushi: Minamisawa Tsuguo / Sakkyoku: Yamada Kousaku9rank/position

Suzaka City Anthem

The Suzaka City Song—a dignified ode to the majestic nature of Shinshu and love for one’s hometown—features lyrics by Tsuguo Minamisawa and a solemn melody by Kosaku Yamada.

Premiered in October 1957 at the Suzaka Elementary School auditorium, the work depicts Nagano’s beautiful scenery over three verses: the seven-colored rainbow, the flow of the Chikuma River, and the bounty of the surrounding mountains, powerfully expressing civic pride and hope for the future.

Yamada remarked that he was able to compose it in one go, affectionately calling the piece “my child.” Created to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Suzaka’s incorporation as a city, it has continued to be sung at milestones such as Coming-of-Age ceremonies and graduations, cherished across generations as a song that nurtures love for the hometown.

Victory Cry and PeaceYamada Kōsaku10rank/position

Kosaku Yamada: Symphony in F “Triumph and Peace” (1912)

This work, Kachidoki to Heiwa (Victory and Peace), is said to be the first symphony written in Japan.

Composed in 1912 by Kōsaku Yamada— a pioneer of Western music in Japan and a towering figure in modern Japanese music history who produced many great works— it is also known as an orchestral piece written following his Overture, the first orchestral work by a Japanese composer, likewise by Yamada.

Yamada, who had encountered Western music in his teens and was already composing, wrote this piece while studying composition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1910.

It can be seen as the first fruit of his youthful years in Germany, where he absorbed the essence of Western music at its source.

While the style follows the late Romantic tradition, the melody heard at the opening of the first movement is said to quote the tune of Kimigayo, making it fascinating as a work in which admiration for Western music and a Japanese identity are beautifully fused.

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This roadYamada Kōsaku11rank/position

I tried playing 'Kono Michi' on the alto saxophone.

Yamada Kōsaku’s compositions “Kono Michi” and “Akatombo” are not showy, but their expansive sonorities have a distinctive charm.

If you play them with a well-rounded, full tone, they become pieces well worth listening to.

Practice with an awareness of openness in the middle to high registers.

Cranford DiaryYamada Kōsaku12rank/position

Kosaku Yamada: The Cranford Diary

Cranford Diary is a distinctive piano collection of three short pieces by Kósçak Yamada, known as the first Japanese symphonic composer.

Each piece is a brief yet evocative musical sketch that captures the scenery of the places where it was composed and the composer’s inner feelings.

The first piece has a warm, dappled-light quality, the second is rich with gentle, lingering emotion, and the third dances with sparkling brilliance.

Every piece brims with Yamada’s hallmark delicacy and musical sensitivity.

For anyone studying piano, this is a collection you’ll want to experience at least once.

Piece Dedicated to Scriabin, No. 1: “Nocturnal Poem”Yamada Kōsaku13rank/position

Yamada Kōsaku: Piece Dedicated to Scriabin – Nocturne; pf. Kita, Kōsuke

The first piece, “Poem of the Night,” from “Pieces Dedicated to Scriabin,” which Kôsaku Yamada composed after being deeply impressed by Scriabin’s piano work “Poème” that he heard in Moscow in December 1913, is a work that delicately depicts nocturnal scenes and inner emotional movements under the theme of “the stillness of night and the passion burning deep within it.” It expresses the intense passion and melancholy felt within silence, and the process by which they gradually fade away, conveying a romantic yet mystical atmosphere influenced by Scriabin.

While its distinctive pauses and sonorities are beautiful, it is a challenging piece that demands richly expressive performance.

SonatinaYamada Kōsaku14rank/position

Kósçak Yamada: Sonatina I. 1st Movement pf. Nanako Sugiura: NanakoSugiura

Kosaku Yamada, known as the first Japanese symphonic composer, left not only songs and orchestral works but also many piano pieces that blend Japanese and Western elements.

His Sonatine, while concise and accessible to perform, is distinguished by beautiful melodies that make use of the inflections of the Japanese language.

It conveys a poetic atmosphere depicting the growth and fragility of love, and explores themes of yearning for freedom and a vivid sense of life.

The interplay of colors and summer scenes seems to symbolize memories and emotions that fade with the passage of time.

It serves as an important study piece for piano learners and offers a fine opportunity to experience Yamada’s artistic world.