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Kayōkyoku

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Kayōkyoku

AKA: Kayō Kayou Kayoukyoku Shōwa Era Pop Standard Japanese Pop 歌謡曲かようきょく • 3,575 releases

Japanese popular music prominent during the later period of the Shōwa era (early 1950s to late 1980s).
Read more Kayōkyoku (literally meaning "pop tune" in Japanese) is a term used for the Western-influenced vocal Pop music which was popular in Japan during the latter period of the Shōwa era, approximately from the 1950s to the late 1980s. Though the term would come to cover a rather wide variety of styles over the decades, kayōkyoku overall is characterised by the incorporation of Western instrumentation and musical styles into the characteristics of Japanese popular music. It typically features simple lyrics intended to be broadly appealing and relatable, and is commonly sentimental in mood.

The term has its roots as a name for imported Western Lied in the early 20th century. However, it would rise to prominence as another name for the Ryūkōka style, which blends Min'yō with elements of Vocal Jazz and Western Classical Music and was primarily popular from the 1920s to the 1950s. As the music evolved, losing more of its traditional Japanese elements and becoming more Westernised after World War II due to the Allied occupation of Japan, the term kayōkyoku would overtake ryūkōka and come to refer to the new style specifically. The kayōkyoku of the 1950s and 1960s would build on ryūkōka's jazz influence and Traditional Pop, as well as Easy Listening, and was typically slow or midtempo. This period would also lead to the rise of Mood kayō, a jazz-oriented subgenre that brought in compositional influence and instrumentation from Hawaiian Music and various types of Hispanic American Music. Kayōkyoku would be characterized during the early 1960s as popular singers like 坂本九 [Kyu Sakamoto] and groups like ザ・ピーナッツ [The Peanuts] debuted.

Kayōkyoku entered another major period in the 1970s. The decade's early years brought the advent of Idol kayō, which focused around "idol" singers who were marketed for their personality and image. This new style pulled kayōkyoku even further from its Japanese roots with new influences from Soul and light forms of Pop Rock. At the same time, the Folk Rock of はっぴいえんど [Happy End] and orchestrated stylings of Brill Building would form the basis of the more down-to-earth New Music movement of Singer-Songwriter artists. Later in the decade, the emergence of Disco would have a heavy impact on all forms of kayōkyoku, with idol kayō picking up a more upbeat and dance-oriented sound that would carry the genre to massive popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In addition, the new music movement would use these influences to develop into the lush and funky City Pop sound in the mid 1970s, that incorporated elements of Jazz Fusion, Exotica and Funk in its representation of Japan's bustling urban life.

The 1980s would be the height of idol kayō's popularity, with singers like 松田聖子 [Seiko Matsuda] and 中森明菜 [Akina Nakamori] taking the helm of the "Golden Age of Idols" and several dozen new idols premiering each year. Plus, influential Synthpop group Yellow Magic Orchestra would pioneer the new synthesizer-laden Techno kayō sound early in the decade, composing and producing for a number of idol singers with their new sound.

The Shōwa era ended in 1989 with the death of Emperor Hirohito, and by this time kayōkyoku had already begun to fade from prominence. The term "J-Pop" was coined in 1988 to refer to new developments in the sound of idol singers and groups that incorporated techno kayō and more straightforward synthpop and Dance-Pop, and this term swiftly overtook kayōkyoku and remains the most common term for Japanese pop to the present day. The remaining singers with a more traditional kayōkyoku-based sound would come to be seen as a form of Enka, a parallel development from ryūkōka that retains more Japanese compositional influence.

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Years active

Kayōkyoku

Discography

3,575 Releases

1 2 ... 239 Next

Release Date

Avg Ratings Reviews

東京ブギウギ (Tokyo Boogie Woogie) / 愛の小凾 (My Dear Little Box)
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子 / Tomiko Hattori 服部富子

1948 Single

55 Ratings 3.16 Average

3.16 55 55
ヘイヘイブギー / 恋の峠路
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子

1948 Single

3 Ratings 3.25 Average

3.25 3 3
ブギウギ時代 / ジャングル・ブギー
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子

1948 Single

4 Ratings 3.81 Average

3.81 4 4
アロハ・ブギ / ロスアンゼルスの買物
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子

1951 Single

5 Ratings 2.93 Average

2.93 5 5
ジャパニーズ・ルムバ (Japanese Rumba) / アリランの唄 (The Song of Arirang)
Nobuo Nishimoto ノブオ西本 / George Shimabukuro / Grace Amemiya グレース・雨宮

1951 Single

1 Ratings 3.50 Average

3.50 1 1
オールマン・リバップ / ハーイ・ハイ
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子

Single

2 Ratings 3.43 Average

3.43 2 2
上海歸りのリル / 君よいづこ
Ken Tsumura 津村謙 / Machiko Sanjo 三条町子

1951 Single

5 Ratings 3.00 Average

3.00 5 5
家へおいでよ! (Come On-a My House) / テネシー・ワルツ (Tennessee Waltz)
Chiemi Eri 江利チエミ

1952 Single

22 Ratings 3.12 Average

3.12 22 22
ツゥー・ヤング (Too Young) / ビビディ・ボビディ・ブー (Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo)
Chiemi Eri 江利チエミ

1952 Single

3 Ratings 3.00 Average

3.00 3 3
Pretty Eyed Baby / Forgive Me (Gomen Nasai)
Chiemi Eri 江利チエミ

1953 Single

2 Ratings 2.00 Average

2.00 2 2
ティー・フォー・ツー (Tea for Two) / ガイ・イズ・ア・ガイ (Guy is a Guy)
Chiemi Eri 江利チエミ

1953 Single

2 Ratings 3.50 Average

3.50 2 2
たのんまっせ / おさんどんの歌
Shizuko Kasagi 笠置シヅ子

1953 Single

2 Ratings 2.97 Average

2.97 2 2
雪の降る町を / リラの花咲くころ
Hideo Ko 高英男

1953 Single

24 Ratings 3.13 Average

3.13 24 24
別れの一本杉 / 君は海鳥渡り鳥
Hachiro Kasuga 春日八郎 / Michiya Mihashi 三橋美智也

1955 Single

3 Ratings 3.20 Average

3.20 3 3
バナナ・ボート (Banana Boat) / 恋のヴェネズエラ (Venezuela)
Michiko Hamamura 浜村美智子

1957 Single

8 Ratings 2.99 Average

2.99 8 8

1 2 ... 239 Next

Lists

RYM Ultimate Box Set > Kayōkyoku 2021-12-17T13:31:07Z

TheScientist 5 lists 36 items
Albums Featured on City Pop Discord's Essentials Chart (V2) 2022-01-06T16:35:41Z

TeaKanji 121 items
RYM Ultimate Box Set > New Music (Japanese Genre) 2021-01-10T03:42:07Z

merton 20 items
J-Pop Singles: 1960 2013-07-16T00:55:59Z

BlindNoldor 2 lists 7 items

Hierarchy

See all genres

Pop
Umbrella of popular styles closely tied to mass production and mass marketing, focusing on catchiness and accessibility through melody, rhythm, lyrics, and hooks.
- Kayōkyoku
- - Idol kayō
    More Westernized and upbeat form of Kayōkyoku popular in the 1970s and 1980s which acted as a precursor to J-Pop.
  - Mood kayō
    Early form of Kayōkyoku dominant in the 1950s and 1960s, prominently influenced by American Jazz, Hispanic American Music, and Hawaiian Music.
  - Techno kayō
    Offshoot of 1980s Kayōkyoku and Idol kayō incorporating characteristics from Synthpop.

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Contributors to this page: harhol BlindNoldor

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