When talking about Japanese music, the average viewer has in mind its widely known form, which is j-pop. This is a term used by Western audiences, and it encompasses a great many musical genres such as pop, rock, dance, hip-hop and soul. J-pop singers include both popular musicians and seiyū. The latter are simply voice actors who provide voiceovers for anime series, games or commercials, and they usually perform songs as well.… Read more
J-pop music is an integral part of Japanese culture. It is used everywhere: in anime, stores, commercials, movies, radio and television programs, and computer games. Some TV news programs also play J-pop songs during the credits. Its main characteristic is the very high turnover of performers in the Japanese market. Many artists appear - and disappear after releasing an album and a few singles. Sometimes bands are formed specifically for some anime or game production and are automatically disbanded once the work on it is completed. However, there is a group of bands and performers who have permanently established themselves in the Japanese music market and, what's more, are also known outside its borders, not only in Asia but also in Europe and America. These include bands such as Dreams Come True, B'z, SMAP, Southern All Stars, Mr. Children, Morning Musume, Arashi, singers Masaharu Fukuyama, Yazawa Eikichi, Noriyuki Makihara, and singers Mika Nakashima, Mai Kuraki, Ayumi Hamasaki or Koda Kumi. They have not left the scene for about 10 to 15 years.
One of the currents of j-pop is J-rock music, which includes many varieties of rock music, referring mainly to the style presented by European bands. The current includes rock, soft rock, alternative rock, as well as punk, metal, symphonic metal, electronic music and many others. Japanese rock began to develop in the 1960s, but only gained popularity in the 1970s. A well-known J-Rock performer is Japanese singer Miyavi.
As already mentioned, most of the production of Japanese music is used in the production of anime or dramas (drama series with various themes, very popular in Japan). It is very often the case that a particular production is popular not only because of the engaging storyline, but because of the participation of specific performers. As a curiosity, I will mention that Japanese artists are very flexible and are involved in various fields of show business, so practically every actor is also a singer, and most singers sooner or later appeared in a feature production or backing vocals for anime.
A genre of Japanese music practically completely unknown with us is Enka. In its former sense, the enka style included songs performed by political activists during the Meiji and Taisho periods to avoid reprisals for criticism of the government "smuggled" in song lyrics. In contrast, contemporary enka encompasses popular music that is sometimes compared simultaneously to American country music and Portuguese fado. Enka is characterized by sentimentality, soft vocals and calm melodies. Another characteristic of this type of music is that most of the performers are women. A particularly common theme in the lyrics is the moment when a loved one passes away and the associated feelings of sadness and resignation. Currently, its popularity has declined in favor of j-pop.
All lovers of Japanese music and Asian music in the broadest sense are invited to send us song suggestions and expand our database of these songs together with us.