Position Paper #4 | Wild Card

Japanese Music

Because of my huge interest in music for my wild card I wanted to research foreign music in another country. With my track record in this class, it only felt right to stick to my tried and true, Japan. Earlier in the semester, while researching for my radio paper, I was exposed to the world of Japanese music. While doing that paper, I found I really enjoyed listening to their music and hearing similarities between their music and American music. 

On this week's Billboard Japan Hot 100, Kenshi Yonezu’s “Kick Back” takes the number one spot. The song has been on the chart for 7 weeks and this is its first week at number one. Number two and three are occupied by “Subtitle” by Official HIGE DANdism and “Tsukiyomi” by King & Prince. In 2016, the song “Koi” by Gen Hoshino held the top spot on Billboard Japan for a record-breaking 11 weeks. The next longest time spent at #1 was in 2021 by Amier and their song “Zankyo Sanka.” As far as songs that spent the most time overall on the charts was “Lemon” by Kenshi Yonezu and “Pretender” by Official Hige Dandism. The first spent over 220 weeks on Billboard Japan’s Top 100 and the latter spent over 159 weeks on the chart. All of the previously mentioned songs are categorized as the genre pop. 

The top album in Japan as of this week according to Japan Billboard’s Top Album chart is always somewhere by Keisuke Kuwata. The second and the third positions are taken by DREAM by SEVENTEEN and on an autumn day by Koji Miyamoto. The top three artists right now are Keisuke Kuwata, Official Hige Dandism, and Kenshi YONEZU. Japan Billboard also has a TikTok Weekly Top 20 chart that displays the most popular TikTok songs of that week, which I think is very interesting. America has a similar chart, but the songs from this chart I am unfamiliar with. It puts into perspective how big the world actually is. The top three songs from Japan’s TikTok Weekly Top 20 are “Cute and Sorry” by HoneyWorks ft. Kapi, “Blue Moon” by NiziU, and “XOXO” by Repezen Foxx & Sprite.

@cybr.grl 可愛くてごめん / I’m Sorry for Being Too Cute - HoneyWorks feat. Capi English translations by takanenene.tumblr.com #decorafashion #decorakei #harajukufashion #jfashion #honeyworks #可愛くてごめん ♬ 可愛くてごめん (feat. かぴ) - HoneyWorks

Japanese music has become popular here in the United States. One of the first Japanese songs to hit the Billboard Top 100 was “Ue o Muite Arukou” (“Sukiyaki”) by Kyu Sakamoto in 1963. The song is about a failed student protest against the continued American military presence in Japan so the composer didn’t have any expectations for its success in other countries, especially America. It remained the only track by an Asian artist to top the Billboard Top 100 until BTS’s song “Dynamite.” The only other Japanese recording act to break the top forty in America is the song “Kiss in the Dark” by Pink Lady in 1979. It was the first song by the duo that failed to make the top ten in their homeland. Nonetheless, it was their most successful hit internationally, peaking at number 37 on Billboard Top 100.

In 1980, “Subete no Hito no Kokoro ni Hana wo” (“Flowers for your Heart”) by Shoukichi Kina & Champloose became an international hit. It was featured on Shoukichi Kina & Champloose’s sophomore album Blood Line. The LP is considered one of the most significant records in the history of Okinawan music. The song was sung by Tomoko Kina and Ry Cooder, the latter being voted number 8 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 2003 list of the greatest guitarists of all time. The song contains elements of mandolin and slide guitar. It was reported that the song was crafted with inspiration from the 1964 closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. 

In 2000, the song “Battle Without Honor or Humanity” by Tomoyasu Hotei was written for Junji Sakamoto’s film New Battles Without Honor and Humanity (also known as Another Battle). Three years later the track became far more famous after filmmaker Quentin Tarantino used the song for his movie Kill Bill Vol. 1.  Before choosing this song, Tarantino was thinking of using a Metallica song before he watched Sakamoto’s movie. Today, we hear the song in several Hollywood movies, TV shows, commercials, and even by sports teams.

The song “Gimme Chocolate” by Babymetal was a rock song that gained popularity across the seas. Bands like Sonic Youth and Nirvana were some of their fans and endorsed them, giving them a name and popularity in America. Lately, Babymetal has had the opportunity to support huge acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses, Korn, and Metallica. Their style consists of upbeat pop mixed with thrash metal. “Gimme Chocolate” peaked at number five on the US World Digital Songs Chart. They also sang the song on their American TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 

Artist Babymetal 

Japanese artist LiSA has become an icon in the anime industry. Her songs are featured in many anime series but she is mainly known for her work on Demon Slayer: Kimetesu no Yaiba. After performing the opening theme song “Gurenge” her career was propelled. Her fan base grew substantially and the track became the first track by a female artist to surpass one million downloads on Oricon’s Digital Single Ranking Chart. The theme song for the movie Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, “Homura” has arguably been more successful. It was the winner of the grand prize at the 62nd Japan Record Awards, which is comparable to America’s Grammy Academy Award. The movie also topped box offices in several countries around the world including Australia, South Korea, Spain, and America.