Cheering songs recommended for people in their 60s: classic and popular Japanese hits

youthMorita Kōichi to Toppugyaran

youth

It’s a coming-of-age song performed by composer Koichi Morita—who, together with lyricist Yū Aku, was a hitmaker in the 1970s.

Everyone has a youth they want to cherish forever, and this is a song that anyone can relate to, that evokes nostalgia while inspiring you to look toward a new tomorrow.

Into the DreamInoue Yosui

Yosui Inoue

Just hearing the prelude makes me feel refreshed.

When you compare searching for something to life, maybe we’re always searching for something forever.

It’s from 1973, so it’s quite old, but it’s been covered since then, so it isn’t just a song of the Showa era.

Red tractorKobayashi Akira

Red tractor

Anyway, it’s a really cool song.

As the title suggests, it was used in a tractor commercial, and you can feel a sense of masculine romance in it.

It might jump into the chorus so quickly because it was a commercial song, but in fact it’s a song with a storyline: a young man who went to the city was betrayed by someone, and now he carries a dream of working hard in the countryside with a red tractor.

Song of IppondokkoSuizenji Kiyoko

Ippon Dokko no Uta, Showa 59 (Sung by: Kiyoko Suizenji) - Japan Kayō Channel

Younger people have probably at least heard “March of 365 Steps,” but Suizenji’s true forte was mainly these valiant enka songs.

Released in 1966, the song is a life-affirming anthem that people in their 60s today find deeply nostalgic.

While women’s kimono stage costumes are typically furisode or tsukesage, Suizenji’s men’s-style kimono worn casually was really cool.

brave personYoshinaga Sayuri / Tonīzu

"The Brave Ones" by Sayuri Yoshinaga

For people in their 60s—especially men—there are surely many who have memories of this as a youth-boosting anthem.

In any case, Ms.

Yoshinaga, the heroine of so many coming-of-age films, is, as you know, also a big favorite of Tamori.

This famous song cheerfully encourages us to keep walking through life with a constant smile.

Before anything else, from atop the roadIsseifubi Sepia

From the road, with no preamble — Issei Fūbi Sepia

The spirited chants of “Soiya! Soiya!”—and even Yanagiha, who now plays an obnoxious boss in the Lotto commercials—had their time back then too.

Ikkaku Fūbi Sepia was a unit formed out of the theater troupe Gekidan Ikkaku Fūbi, a street performance collective.

When they called for “anyone who wants to sing” within the troupe, these members raised their hands, forming a seven-person group that also included Sho Aikawa.

The song was such a hit that they even received an offer to perform on NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen, but four out of the seven members declined, so they didn’t appear.

It’s a track brimming with fighting spirit!

festivalKitajima Saburō

Festival - Saburo Kitajima [COVER]

These days, Saburō Kitajima is more prominent as a racehorse owner than as a singer.

While many loyal fans love Sab-chan’s demanding enka, this song, Matsuri, stylishly sings of a man’s romance and way of life, making it more popular with men than women.

It’s a perfect number to lift everyone’s spirits.