A roundup of classic Showa-era kayō songs: a comprehensive introduction to timeless tracks loved across generations.
Songs released in the Showa era—what we call Showa kayokyoku—are truly full of timeless masterpieces!
If you’re an adult born in the Showa period, you probably know just how wildly popular Showa kayokyoku was with the entire nation back then.
Meanwhile, even for younger people born in the Heisei era and later, there are still plenty of Showa kayokyoku songs you hear all the time today, and I’m sure many of you can sing quite a few of them without looking at the lyrics.
In this article, we’ll introduce a whole lineup of Showa kayokyoku classics that have continued to be loved across generations.
Take this opportunity to listen again with fresh ears and immerse yourself fully in the world of kayokyoku.
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Collection of classic Showa-era kayō songs: A comprehensive introduction to timeless tracks loved across generations (61–70)
Blue Light Yokohamaishida ayumi
This is Ayumi Ishida’s 26th single.
Released in 1968, it became a million-seller with 1.5 million copies sold.
It also ranked first as a local song of Yokohama City, and it continues to be covered by many artists and notable figures.
In a Tokyo like a desertishida ayumi
About three years after the hit “Blue Light Yokohama,” which made her a popular beauty with a cute charm and impeccable fashion sense among men, this song released in May 1971 may have been Ayumi Ishida’s attempt at an image change.
Although she’s now active as an actress, back then she was a hit-making singer.
Still, whether the makeover succeeded is debatable.
I personally liked this song with its calm, understated delivery, but at the time it overlapped with Chiyo Okumura, who was working in a similar style, and it ended up leaving a weaker impression.
As long as the sun is in the skynishikino akira
As a bona fide singer known for more than just his looks, Akira Nishikino delivers a clear, soaring vocal while maintaining a cool expression in this signature song.
From this footage—featuring the already-popular group Four Leaves on backing vocals—you can clearly sense just how widespread his popularity was at the time.
Les MisérablesAn Ruisu
It was a hit in 1986, five years after giving birth.
Like Roppongi Shinju, it was a song that was really often sung at karaoke.
The lyrics work precisely because it’s Ann Lewis.
Her marriage to Masahiro Kuwana lasted four years, but I still vividly remember when both of them performed at an outdoor concert in Osaka while their son, Miyuji—now a musician—was a baby: when one was playing, the other would hold him and watch the stage from the wings.
In 2013, after releasing a CD made by the three of them as a family, Ann Lewis retired completely.
It’s a shame.
Gentle Devilkyandīzu
The 13th single, released in 1977, is a song with lyrics by Tadashi Kitajō and music by Takuro Yoshida—listen closely and you’ll hear Yoshida’s signature style burst forth.
With bold costumes designed by Ann Lewis and choreography known as the “devil sign,” it opened up a new chapter.
Try singing it together as a trio of close friends.
Beautiful NameGodaigo
This is Godiego’s ninth single, released in 1979.
As a supporting song for the International Year of the Child and through NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” it was frequently heard in living rooms across Japan.
Let your body sway to the pleasant sound that blends Japanese and English.
triggertsuisuto
This is Twist’s smash hit, known for the episode where they declined the New Artist Award at the 1978 Japan Record Awards and didn’t perform.
People said at the time that the lyrics were ordinary for such a song, but Masanori Sera was just so cool that I was glued to the TV.