[Spring Songs Born in the Showa Era] Carefully Selected: Hit Tunes That Colored Their Times and Timeless Masterpieces Still Sung Today
Spring, the season of meetings and farewells.
With the long, cold winter finally over, and flowers blooming in full glory, this calm and beautiful season is surely many people’s favorite time of year.
In this article, we’re picking out spring-themed songs born in the Showa era!
From nostalgic Showa-era pop that will resonate with those who remember the time, to timeless classics still sung today, we’ll introduce a wide range of tracks.
Enjoy noting how perceptions and expressions of spring differ from those of the Reiwa era.
- Spring songs from the early Showa era: a collection of kayōkyoku and shōka that evoke spring
- [Spring Songs] Spring tunes and classic spring hits. Popular spring songs.
- [For Seniors] Spring Songs Perfect for the Warm Month of April
- Spring songs for people in their 60s: A collection of classic tracks about cherry blossoms and farewells
- [Spring Songs] Masterpieces for Mid-Spring to Listen to in March. Spring Tunes
- Youth songs you want to listen to in spring. Classic and popular spring songs.
- You'll surely remember your youth. Spring songs recommended for people in their 40s.
- [For Seniors] Popular Spring Songs: A Collection of Nursery Rhymes and Kayōkyoku Also Recommended for Music Therapy
- Time-travel back to your memories just by listening! Spring songs recommended for people in their 50s
- [Spring Songs] Masterpieces to Listen to in April: Classic Tracks that Color the Month
- Spring song medley. The best classic tunes to listen to in spring.
- Uplifting songs to listen to in spring. Classic spring tunes that warm the heart.
- Moving songs to listen to in spring. Classic and popular spring tracks.
[Spring Songs Born in the Showa Era] Carefully Selected: Hit Songs That Colored Their Times and Masterpieces Still Sung Today (21–30)
Cotton MoodAnri
This is a refreshing song that was featured in the commercial for Kao Cologne’s Rimara.
Over 20 years after its 1981 release, it was covered by Natsu Oyama in 2004 and used in Nisshinbo’s Cotton Feel commercial.
The blue seas of Florida, white sandy beaches, and the scent of the ocean carried on the wind.
The clean, soft image of cotton overlaps with the worldview of the lyrics, making you feel as if a foreign seaside landscape is unfolding before your eyes.
Just hearing it makes you want to see a cobalt-blue ocean! Sometimes it’s nice to take a drive and go feel the sea breeze, isn’t it?
Premonition of Spring – I’ve been mellowMinami Saori
With the arrival of spring comes a buoyant feeling, captured in “Haruno Yokan – I’ve been mellow” by Saori Minami.
Released in 1978, this song evokes the gentle warmth of spring.
Written and composed by Ami Ozaki, it expresses that slightly giddy air unique to the season, and Minami’s crystalline vocals further heighten the mood.
It’s a classic that perfectly suits a spring when your heart feels light and dances.
If you lend your ear to Minami’s pure voice wrapped in a tender melody, you’ll find a moment that sinks deeply into your heart.
See, spring has come.ushirogami hikaretai
The fourth single by Ushirogami Hikaretai, the group that featured Shizuka Kudo and Akiko Ikuina.
It was used as the opening song for the anime Tsuide ni Tonchinkan.
The pop sound and upbeat lyrics convey that springtime feeling of “Something good might happen!” and “I wonder if I’ll meet someone nice?” Spring can easily make you feel a bit down, with encounters and farewells and changes in your surroundings.
This is a song you’ll want to listen to when you want to blow away that seasonal haze.
Forbidden Rouge MagicImawano Kiyoshiro, Sakamoto Ryuichi
This track was released in 1982 and drew attention as an unconventional collaboration between two heavyweights, Kiyoshiro Imawano and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
With their distinctive personalities and a song that exuded a dangerously alluring “forbidden” vibe, it became a hit as a lipstick campaign song.
It evokes the image of a vividly colored spring song, yet it never fades with time—and it’s the kind of addictive track you occasionally feel like revisiting.
Collaborations like this are great because they offer both surprise and fun.
Spring La! La! La!Ishino Mako
It was Mako Ishino’s eighth single, released in 1980.
The arrangement is quintessentially that of a classic Showa-era idol song, and Ishino’s equally Showa-idol-style vocals are very striking.
Listening to it again now, in 2022, it actually sounds refreshingly new! Both the melody and the lyrics give you a full sense of a bright and joyful spring.
Please enjoy this Showa-era classic themed around spring!
Hee, hee, hee, hee,EPO
“Ooh, hoo, hoo, hoo”—just the title alone makes you smile, doesn’t it? This irresistibly upbeat song radiates excitement.
It’s singer-songwriter EPO’s fifth single.
After gaining attention as a Shiseido cosmetics campaign jingle, it went on to be used in seven other companies’ commercials, and nearly 40 years after its release, it was even featured in a 2022 McDonald’s ad! The song’s enduring popularity as a commercial tune is astounding.
Are you managing to spend your days joyfully, laughing lightly like in this song?
Mysterious Peach PieTakeuchi Mariya
This is Mariya Takeuchi’s fourth single, released in 1980.
Chosen as a campaign song for Shiseido cosmetics, it became her first entry into the Oricon Top 10 and enjoyed a long run on the charts—her first major hit.
Its bright sound, which seems to capture the buoyant heart of a woman in love, matches beautifully with Takeuchi’s soft, feminine vocals.
It’s easy to see why the lyricist praised it during recording as a perfect pop song for her voice.
The way feelings of love are compared to a peach pie is utterly charming, isn’t it?