Timeline of Japanese music
This page is a timeline of Japanese music and also indexes the individual year in Japanese music pages.
1870s
- 1878 - Demonstration of phonograph by James Alfred Ewing at Tokyo Imperial University on 16 November[1]
- 1879 - Demonstration of phonograph by James Alfred Ewing at Tokyo Chamber of Commerce on 28 March[1][2]
1880s
- 1888 - Kimigayo adopted as national anthem
1890s
- 1897 - Gunkan kōshinkyoku
1900s
- 1901 - Kōjō no Tsuki
1910s
- 1910 - Nipponophone founded
- 1911 - Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra founded[3]
- 1912 (Meiji 45 / Taishō 1) - 1st Japanese symphony: Kachidoki to Heiwa by Kōsaku Yamada[4]
- 1914 - Katyusha's Song
- 1915 - Gondola no Uta
1920s
- 1921 - Inno Meiji by Kōsaku Yamada;[5] Sendō Kouta; Nanatsu no Ko
- 1923 - Omocha No March[6][7]
- 1927 - Akatombo
1930s
- 1931 - King Records founded
- 1932 - Seki Taneko releases "Akemi no Uta" (あけみの唄), composed by Masao Koga, with lyrics by Hara Asao[8][9]
- 1934 - Nagauta Symphony
- 1938 - Tabi No Yokaze by Misao Matsubara[10] (alias "Miss Columbia")[11][12]
1940s
- 1942 - Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association founded
- 1946 - 1st Mainichi Film Award for Best Music; 1st broadcast of NHK Nodo Jiman
- 1947 - Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra founded;[13] Shizuko Kasagi released Tokyo Boogie Woogie;[14][15][16] lack of suitable locations for jukeboxes[17]
1950s
- 1951 - 1st Kōhaku Uta Gassen; New Symphony Orchestra became NHK Symphony Orchestra; Toho Symphony Orchestra became Tokyo Symphony Orchestra[18]
- 1952 - 1st Otaka prize[18] on 26 December[19]
- 1953 - Omoide No Warutsu by Izumi Yukimura[20]
- 1954 - Godzilla includes music by Akira Ifukube
- 1955 - Film musicals include Janken Musume[21]
- 1956 - Japan Philharmonic Orchestra founded[22]
- 1958 - 20,000 people attended record festival;[23] 1st Osaka International Festival of Music, Drama and Arts[24][25]
- 1959 - 1st Japan Record Awards[26]
1960s
- 1960 - Sega 1000 jukebox;[27][28] 5,616 new record releases;[29] Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra founded[22]
- 1961 - 1st broadcast of Minna no Uta; Sapporo Symphony Orchestra founded;[22] 50 record labels from 9 companies;[30] Utamatic chart number one singles include Tokyo Dodonpa Musume by Mari Watanabe[31]
- 1962 - 1st broadcast of Shichiji ni aimashō; Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra founded[22]
- 1963 - Sukiyaki reaches number 1 in the USA; estimated 5,000 jukeboxes;[32] 56 million records produced[33]
- 1964 - 1st broadcast of Music Fair;[34] 3rd largest record market[35]
- 1965 - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra founded;[22] electric boom (Japanese: エレキブーム, ereki būmu)[36][37][38]
- 1966 - Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra founded[39]
- 1967 - Oricon founded; $96 million records production;[40] Japanese musicians sell more records than foreigners;[41] Hibari Misora released Makkana Taiyō[42]
- 1968 - 1st broadcast of Yoru no Hit Studio; CBS/Sony founded; Ox released Girl Friend and Swan No Namida;[43] The Fingers released "Ai No Densetsu" (Japanese: 愛の伝説);[44] Purple Shadows released Chiisana Snack;[45] The Spiders released Anotoki Kimi Wa Wakakatta[46] and "Shinju No Namida" (Japanese: 真珠の涙);[47] 1st soul music festival[48]
- 1969 - 1st Yamaha Popular Song Contest; 2nd largest record market;[49] 1st broadcast of NTV Kōhaku Uta No Best Ten;[50] Kaze by Hashida Norihiko and Schuberts[51][52]
1970s
- 1970 - 1st World Popular Song Festival; 1st Japan Music Awards; 1st publication of Music Labo; Nippon Music Foundation established; approx start of jukebox boom;[53] 11,000 jukeboxes;[54] Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra founded;[39] debut of Miki Hirayama[55]
- 1971 - Debut of Saori Minami, Mari Amachi and Rumiko Koyanagi;[56] Gagaku revival reported[57]
- 1972 - 1st Tokyo Music Festival; 1st broadcast of Best 30 Kayōkyoku; Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra founded;[39] New Japan Philharmonic founded;[58] Naomi Chiaki released Kassai[59]
- 1973 - "Shura No Hana" (Japanese: 修羅の花) by Meiko Kaji;[60] Candies released 1st single[61]
- 1974 - 1st FNS Music Festival; debut of Chieko Matsumoto[62]
- 1975 - 44,000 jukeboxes[63]
- 1978 - 1st broadcast of The Best Ten;[64] Candies Final Carnival concert[65][66]
- 1979 - Number one singles include Chameleon Army, Young Man (Y.M.C.A.) and Ihojin.
1980s
- 1980 - Number one singles include Ihojin and I'm in the Mood for Dancing
- 1981 - A Long Vacation
- 1982 - Number one singles include Matsu wa and Second Love
- 1983 - Number one singles include Second Love, ½ no Shinwa, Flashdance... What a Feeling, Kinku and Cat's Eye
- 1984 - Number one singles include Southern Wind, Amaoto wa Chopin no Shirabe, Jukkai (1984) and Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa
- 1985 - Number one singles include Meu amor é..., Akaitori Nigeta and Sand Beige (Sabaku e)
- 1986 - 1st broadcast of Music Station; number one singles include Desire (Jōnetsu), Gypsy Queen, Fin, Jā ne, Otto Chikan!, Osaki ni Shitsurei, Koi wa Question and Aozora no Kakera
- 1989 (Shōwa 64 / Heisei 1) - Debut of CoCo[67]
1990s
- 1990 - Debut of Rumi Shishido;[68] Sherry (psuedonym of Izumi Kato) released OVA song "Kaze No Fantasia" (Japanese: 風のファンタジア)[69][70][71]
- 1991 - Debut of Mi-Ke[72]
- 1992 - Moonlight Densetsu;[73] debut of Manish[74]
- 1993 - 1st broadcast of Count Down TV; The Boom released Shima Uta (Original Version)[75]
- 1994 - 1st broadcast of Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ
- 1996 - 1st broadcast of Utaban; debut of dos[76]
- 1998 - 1st broadcast of Channel A
2000s
- 2004 - 1st broadcast of Bokura no Ongaku; Hitomi o Tojite was annual number 1 single;[77][78] Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 was annual number 1 album[79]
- 2005 - 1st broadcast of J-Melo
- 2006 - 1st broadcast of Idoling!!!; 1st broadcast of Rock Fujiyama
- 2007 in Japanese music
- 2008 in Japanese music
- 2009 in Japanese music
2010s
- 2010 in Japanese music
- 2011 in Japanese music
- 2012 in Japanese music
- 2013 in Japanese music
- 2014 in Japanese music
- 2015 in Japanese music
- 2016 in Japanese music
- 2017 in Japanese music
- 2018 in Japanese music
- 2019 (Heisei 31 / Reiwa 1)
2020s
- 2020 in Japanese music
- 2021 in Japanese music
- 2022 in Japanese music
- 2023 in Japanese music
- 2024 in Japanese music
- 2025 in Japanese music
See also
- List of Oricon number-one singles
- List of Oricon number-one albums
- List of best-selling singles in Japan by year
References
- Tokyo Ongaku Gakko. Kinsei Hogaku Nempyo. Rokugatsu-Kan. Volume 1. 1912. Volume 2. 1914. Volume 3. 1927.
- Bonnie C Wade. "Chronology". Composing Japanese Musical Modernity. University of Chicago Press. 2014. pp p 217 to 220.
- 美空ひばりさんデビュー. Showa Mainichi (昭和毎日), from the Mainichi Shimbun.
- ^ a b "The Oldest Phonograph in Japan". The Japan Times. 16 November 1958. No 21476. p 3. cols 1 to 3.
- ^ Kerim Yasar. Electrified Voices: How the Telephone, Phonograph, and Radio Shaped Modern Japan, 1868–1945. 2018. Chapter 3.
- ^ The Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. 2003. p 277.
- ^ Handbook of Japanese Music in the Modern Era, p 256.
- ^ Music on the Move, p 123
- ^ 太田信一郎. 東京のわらべうた. 東京新聞出版局. 1983. p 60.
- ^ Kenichiro Yokota. 教科書から消えた唱歌・童謡. Fusosha. 2002. p 41.
- ^ The Movie Times. No 432: 11 April 1932. p 77. Google
- ^ JASRAC No. 000-4690-6
- ^ 発見!意外に知らない昭和史: 誰かに話したくなるあの日の出来事194. Tokyoshoten. 2007. p 36.
- ^ 3 The Japan Times Weekly 422
- ^ Cf. cover in 1962 charts: Utamatic
- ^ The Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. 2003. p 279.
- ^ Nagahara. Tokyo Boogie-Woogie: Japan's Pop Era and Its Discontents. 2017. p 1.
- ^ Rediscovering Japan's Age of Boogie: How Kasagi Shizuko and Hattori Ryōichi Transformed Entertainment. Nippon.com. 18 October 2023.
- ^ 「東京ブギウギ」大ヒット. Showa Mainichi (昭和毎日), from the Mainichi Shimbun.
- ^ Billboard. 9 August 1947. p 129.
- ^ a b Wade. Composing Japanese Musical Modernity. p 218.
- ^ NHK交響楽団50年史 1926-1977: The NHK Symphony Orchestra: Fifty Years of Its Growth. Nippon Hoso Shuppan Kyokai. Tokyo 1977. p 296.
- ^ (1999) 朝日新聞縮刷版 (Asahi Shimbun shukusatsuban). Number 938.
- ^ Gailbraith. The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. 2008. p 115.
- ^ a b c d e Wade. Composing Japanese Musical Modernity. p 219.
- ^ "Disk Festival Draws 20,000". Billboard. 22 December 1958. p 1.
- ^ Gyo Hani. "Fine Start for Asia's First: Osaka Arts Festival Inaugerated". The Japan Times. 11 April 1958. No 21259. p 1, cols 2 to 4. Continued at p 2, col 4.
- ^ 1958年度のラインナップ. Asahi Shimbun Foundation.
- ^ 1959年12月27日、第1回日本レコード大賞が開催。受賞曲は水原弘「黒い花びら」. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 27 December 2017.
- ^ Jérémie Pelletier-Gagnon. Space and Play in Japanese Videogame Arcades. 2024. p 31.
- ^ History. Sega.
- ^ "Revival for Wonderland Disks at All-Time High". Billboard. 27 February 1961. p 14.
- ^ Cash Box. 15 April 1961. p 53.
- ^ Billboard. 24 April 1961. p 21.
- ^ Billboard. 6 July 1963. p 41.
- ^ Billboard. 11 January 1964, p 1.
- ^ About Music Fair. Fuji Television Network.
- ^ Billboard. 8 August 1964, p 8.
- ^ Stevens. Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity and Power. p 43.
- ^ エレキギターの「エレキ」ブームは一九六五年一月のザ・ベンチ.... Tokyo Shimbun. 22 June 2021.
- ^ 1964 to 1967: Michael Furmanovsky, "Electrifying the Japanese Teenager across Generations" in Alisa Freedman, Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, 2nd Ed, chapter 15
- ^ a b c The Cambridge Companion to the Orchestra. 2003. p 281
- ^ Japan Report. Vol 14. No 2: 31 January 1968. p 8.
- ^ The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music. p 355.
- ^ ちょうど50年前･1967/5/25 GSブームから生まれた美空ひばりの大ヒット'真っ赤な太陽'リリース【大人のMusic Calendar】. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 25 May 2017.
- ^ 1968/5/5 失神パフフォーマンスのオックス/ガール・フレンドリリース【大人のMusic Calendar】. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 5 May 2017.
- ^ 新生フィンガーズのデビュー曲「愛の伝説」は、ザ・タイガース「廃墟の鳩」のプロトタイプ!?. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 20 June 2019.
- ^ 大ヒット曲『小さなスナック』 以後全国でスナック増加, News ポストセブン, 23 June 2019. Charts: Billboard, 20 July and 10 August 1968.
- ^ 1968年3月5日、ザ・スパイダース「あの時君は若かった」リリース～若さを相対化したこの名曲の作詞者は？. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 5 March 2019.
- ^ ザ・スパイダース「真珠の涙」早すぎた真のJ-POP. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 5 June 2018.
- ^ 日本初のソウル・フェスティヴァル～モータウン・フェス '68. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 12 February 2019.
- ^ Billboard. 19 December 1970, p J-16.
- ^ 1969年の今日、歌番組の源流となる日本テレビ『紅白歌のベストテン』が放送開始. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 6 October 2017.
- ^ 日本の作曲家: 近現代音楽人名事典. 2008. p 358.
- ^ Charts: Oricon.
- ^ Karaoke Around the World: Global Technology, Local Singing. p 183.
- ^ Billboard. 19 December 1970. p J-28.
- ^ 47年前の本日、平山三紀が「ビューティフル・ヨコハマ」でデビュー. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 10 November 2017.
- ^ 1971年の音楽界 フォーク台頭、洋楽ロック浸透、女性アイドル確立. News ポストセブン. 9 February 2021.
- ^ Billboard. 11 September 1971. p 57.
- ^ Billboard. 5 May 1973. p 53.
- ^ 1972年9月10日、音楽史に残る名曲、ちあきなおみ「喝采」がリリース. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 10 September 2018.
- ^ 梶芽衣子 英名門デッカ・レコードから世界デビュー、「キル・ビル」劇中歌「修羅の花」. Sports Hochi. 29 June 2021.
- ^ 9月1日は【キャンディーズのデビュー記念日】驚くべきことになんとあれから半世紀！. Re:minder. 1 March 2023.
- ^ 松本ちえこさん死去 70年代を象徴する記憶に残るアイドルだった. AERA Digital. 6 December 2019.
- ^ Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World. 2003. vol 1. p 514.
- ^ 「1978」エンタメプレイバック. ZAKZAK. 23 June 2023.
- ^ 〈1978年の今日〉4月4日 : キャンディーズ解散コンサート. (今日は何の日：On This Day in Japan). Nippon.com. 4 April 2025.
- ^ 1978年4月4日『キャンディーズ ファイナルカーニバル FOR FREEDOM』開催～ キャンディーズが伝説になった日. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 4 April 2019.
- ^ パラダイスGoGo!! 乙女塾出身 "CoCo" 80年代最後に芽吹いた5人の少女たち. Re:minder. 11 October 2020.
- ^ 宍戸留美、デビュー曲「コズミック・ランデブー」ほかソニーミュージック時代の全音源が全世界配信. CDJournal. 20 January 2021.
- ^ 加藤いづみ、足跡を振り返る2枚組自選ベスト. Natalie. 4 April 2014.
- ^ シングル売上TOP1作品. Oricon News.
- ^ As to her later career, see Oricon and CDJournal.
- ^ 1991年(平成3年)2月14日、Mi-Keのデビュー曲「想い出の九十九里浜」がリリース～"カタログ・ソング"と言われる所以とは？. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 14 February 2018.
- ^ 「セーラームーン」「幽☆遊☆白書」...アニソンの歴史を振り返ろう！1992年,1993年編. USEN encore, from USEN. 14 June 2025.
- ^ MANISH. CDJournal.
- ^ 元THE BOOMのボーカリスト、宮沢和史さんが『島唄』の歌詞に秘めた「本当の思い」とは...？. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 11 September 2021.
- ^ Mark Schilling. The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. 1997. Weatherhill. 4th printing. 2004. p 103.
- ^ 年間ランキング. Oricon Style.
- ^ 2004年度. 年間 シングルランキング. Oricon Style.
- ^ 2004年度. 年間 CDアルバムランキング. Oricon Style.