Japanese idol singers. Who are they? Where they come from and gone now? They are our idology, eternal memory, always with us from their young years dancing and singing. They become their ages of twilight, way back to their teenager debut years, many fans become their ages of children of the idols. The fans keep their memories over the beautiful solidarity where existed way back to their non-existence because of earlier than birth, the fans have fave over the years. The professional mind of idols as one road of entertainer, have been living life with the professional mind of entertainer. They do joining to the present day entertainment. In any ages of our evolvement, they are eternal idologies with us, as a contemporary figures having symbolicism for entertainment history.
Postwar period, when Japan was defeated by the United States of America, Japanese economy was beginning to settle in stability and postwar economic boom started until 1990s. The economic boom of the restoration of Japanese economy, makes advancement in national cultures, the idol singers appeared on television programs are idology and icon of the years. The postwar generation, resonated with idol cultures debut at 1970s to 1980s, the authentic idols, started their history as everyone has memory.
The history of authentic Japanese idols made joins with accumulation of our contemporary 21th century. The idol cultures are very popular and familiar with us, before telling about our identity as idol fans, we should be able to know who they are and how they remain into our mind, is mandatory duty as fans. The knowing about identity of idols is the knowing of ourselves, the knowing is necessary condition of this duty.
The origin of idols
The Kabuki is Japanes traditional performative art, based on actor and actress’s appearance. The thick makeup and large actions make sense of impactful perception. The main actors are at the main topic, and became stars and the takers of audiences’s favor. The impactful appearance looks like joyful lookouts. The more audience’s favor, the bigger scale stars they become. It is not so quickly spreaded out compared to today’s Youtube sensation, the becoming stars are meaning that they have honors. The years of Kabuki performances, could be the years important condition to be entertainer.
The makeup, apparels, and unique performativeness have similarity in modern idol industry, cultural influences to it, for example, present day idol cultures how fans think about their fashion styles of idol singers. There was no systematic entertainment offices, (so-called Jimusho), there was national acclaimation which stars had taken. Of course, this years, more than appearance, sentiment of narratives, and actor’s talent were more significant factor to be stars, so the word “talent” is used to call entertainers.
The catchphrase “In the process of becoming a crafted gem from an uncut stone”, it was years of narrative aesthetics, fans have empathic mind for the narrative.
The stars and star system stemmed upon narratives. The narratives are root condition of idol industry. The activity of stars, remains legend, and stemmed upon the story of continuation and not continuation. The modern sense of idol cultures are idol industry, which is depended on goods consumeration and makings of profit, when narratives are concerned, it is nostalgic of cultures, performatives and audienceships, this is the origin of idols in Japanese entertainment.
The Kabuki and Boogie-Woogie performances, too, have narratives as important part of the entertainment gossips. The gossips focused on the performances itself, the focus is also to entertainers, led the performances. The years the systematic entertainment offices didn’t exist, was beginning of the idol cultures, even the years of Kabuki.
The establishment of present day idol cultures
In 1850s, many western ships arrived at the coast of Japan. The Perry Expedition, requested trade treaty to Japan. The treaty was remained in the first time performance of western music played in Japan, US wind band performances. Before Perry Expedition, there were several visits of western ships, however, the Perry Expedition is the one most important turn in Japanese reception of western musics. After Meiji Restoration, western musics were introduced culturally, and Japanese people listen them up more widely. The Jazz was particularly popular in Japan. The Jazz performance was team based one, all Jazz musicians are professional.
In present day too, Jazz is popular music played in Jazz Kitsa, often the topic of novel and essays such as written by Murakami Haruki, Jazz is surely the genre of western music modern entertainment is possible.
The peculiar feature of beginning years of this musical intake was that spatially and temporally, the performance was unique and non-repeatable properties. Rather than our present day, the value of original is very big significance. This feature is in other view, restriction, because it evaporates when time passes.
This restriction ends with the development of radio technologies and record phonograph. The development of radio and photograph were surely the innovation of technologies, the most important one of these is to ameliorate the restriction of traditional form of musical performance as spatio-temporal properties. The development was very special event in history, as well as it is beginning of the turn exclusive contract started, which teamed up with composers, lyricists, and singers for release of records. The turn exclusive contract started begins the Jimusho system. The audition of stars and contract system begin with it.
The first radio program was Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 playback, and after 1 year later, total 100,000 people were listening it up. The record disc also advanced into new format and portable phonograph was also invented.
The audience of that era would have felt a deep emotion in their hearts as they listened to the somewhat melancholic sound of the record and the sorrowful music with a bit of a metallic sound. The revolution of that time was, of course, the disappearance of the constraints of time and space, but the performance existed only in the imagination and was not directly visible to the eyes.
The business of popular music industry
The singing industry record companies led out to grow was precursor of modern day idol industry. The talented composer and lyricist teamed up to make songs and talented singer sang it, and releases to records. These team up had the role to release by contract with record companies. If this contract is successful, industrial profit was produced, this means entertainment industry is another form of capitalism.
In this beginning years, the teams become famous are many. Saijo Yaso, Nakayama Sinpei, Hattori Ryoichi, Awaya Noriko, Kasagi Shizuko and others. The most popular was in 1940s, comical performance made her famous, namely Kasagi Shizuko, sang boogie-woogie songs composed by Hattori Ryoichi. She died at 1980s, acted very brilliant career, appearing in movies, red team tori at Kohaku Utagassen. The case of Shizuko is one example special concept was gaining popularity, she could be named as pioneer of idol singers.
Another entertainment industry other than radio and record was movie industry. In duration between 1945 to 1950s, renowned director Kurosawa Akira had awarded in international film festival, Japanese movie industry was blooming their golden age. Audiences watched movie. The peculiar feature that helped the blooming of music industry was that the protagonists sang the theme song of the movies, it led out the bloomings of music industry to grow together. In other words, there was not full definition of idol cultures, there was prototype of idol stars combined song and act. After 1970s, when television audition program was popular, childrens also try to debut at the audition, far way back to 1940s, with the movie proliferation, Misora Hibari, aged 9, was pardigm case. This singer is same scale with Pattie Kim or Lee Mi-za in South Korean big stars.
However, in these years, there was lacking regulations and modern form of Jimusho was not complete as today. Hibari often sang the song Shizuko’s releases, the Shizuko side disallowed it. It means that the license of songs are considered as important copyright property, there was beginning recognition that business regulations are required, even when there was no large scale Jimusho business as today.
The bloomings of idol cultures with television distribution
After 1950s through 1960s, when calendar turns out 1970s, color television was distributed widely in terms of economical advancement. The television becomes colorful, the technological innovaction was very special effect, the enjoyment of entertainment turned out from hearing to watching it, even at home, and entertainer’s look and feel are important feature of talented performers, which were managed systematically by Jimusho business system. The handsome boys and girls had been growing up together, training dancing and signing, Jimusho was told as growing with them. In addition to this, the innovation of television broadcasting companies led out stage settings, and produced many audition programs, so from 1970s, it is said that initialized the idol industry blooming around the years.
In summary, the transition between listening music to watching music, the central condition was distribution of television at home, it led out singer’s look and feel become more focus on them, the young people’s participation were increased.
The audition program’s success
The television audition program Star Tanjo (Birth of Stars) was best example in color television helped increase of children’s dreaming to be entertainer, and they could debut at teenager social status. Similarly to the Korean audition program 위대한 탄생, the program collected national wide subscriptions, and casted them to television show, Jimusho officials evaluated them, and award final champions. This program’s meaning was the contest of singer’s debut, the initialization of industrial trendy that makes young people’s idologies, the debut of authentic idols at showa age. The significance of Star Tanjo was that they led out this trendy.
The most notable stars awarded by Star Tanjo were Mori Masako (1st grand champion), Sakurada Junko (other episode grand champion), Yamaguchi Momoe (2nd place with Junko), Nakamori Akina (38th grand champion) and Koizumi Kyoko. These people are still remained as legendary idol singers at Japanese idol history, and many idol fans had them as sentimental narratives.
After 1970s
The peculiar feature of Japanese singer’s industry is to publish picture books of their appearances with sexually appeal photography. It is different from nude images, it is so-called man and woman’s beauty of health, the tradition started by television appearances. After 1970s, there were important factor of popularity, not only to sales records of musics, poster sales was also the factor of popularity. The extreme form was sometime special character of the singers, the girl group Pink Lady is example.
In 1980s, it was golden age of authentic idols. The audition programs hit the big time, not speciallized audition program, Onyangko club or Momoco, gained popularity with the trend. The Onyangko club star Kudo Shizuka and Momoco star Sakai Noriko were authentic showa age idols at the later years of idol bloomings.
This years, Jimusho’s knowhow were effective. Jimusho’s had made impactful growth, collected capitals, to the rival with broadcasting companies. The horsepower of giant Jimusho such as Johnny’s in present day industry, was initialized in 1970s and 1980s idol cultures. In other words, the star system known as idols became official when Western music was introduced to Japan, and with the establishment of the Genojimusho, it underwent industrial and technological developments, and through a period of preparation for the golden age of idols, it emerged during a turbulent period until the end of the Showa period.
After the 1980s, some say that the 1990s marked the Ice Age of idols. It’s not that singers with idol-like characteristics didn’t debut, but it was a time when the idol rush ended, not the authentic idols of the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to this industry situation, coincidentally, the year 1989 was the year that Emperor Hirohito passed away and the era name changed, so idols who debuted before then were called Showa Idols. It’s a word that combines the emperor’s era name, Showa, with the idol meaning “idol.” The turbulent times and nostalgic sentiments of this era still resonate and touch the hearts of many fans.
This writing introduced the history from the beginning to present day idol industrial advancement. The next series will be provided for other topics too. Stay tuned.