EPISODE · May 14, 2026 · 17 MIN
The Saddest (and Funniest) Hit Parade — A Brief History of J-Pop
from POST-WHATEVER with Ken Nishikawa · host Ken Nishikawa
Japan never really did “happy” love songs - traditionally, at least. Here's why — and why that's more interesting than it sounds.In this episode of Post-Whatever, Ken Nishikawa traces the surprisingly dark — and occasionally hilarious — history of Japanese popular music, from 19th-century geisha ballads to City Pop to modern J-Pop, and asks what it all reveals about how Japanese culture has always understood love, melancholy, and the business of being human.Along the way: the tragic story of Okichi, a 17-year-old geisha forced to serve the first American Consul to Japan, whose story became one of the most famous songs in the geisha repertoire. The word "aishiteru (= I love you)” — which didn't exist until someone invented it 150 years ago. A drunkard who dies, misbehaves in heaven, and gets deported by God — whose song sold 2.8 million copies. An Italian children's song that finished last in an Italian children's competition, crossed the Pacific, and sold 3 million copies in Japan. And the all-time best-selling Japanese single — certified by Guinness World Records — about a fish-shaped pastry making a doomed bid for freedom. The pastry lost. The record stands.We also look at what the data actually shows: how the proportion of "happy" love songs in Japan has shifted across seven decades, how the Bubble era briefly made optimism fashionable, how the Lost Decades brought the melancholy back, and how — in a twist nobody quite predicted — the West's pop charts are now heading in exactly the same direction Japan started from.Post-Whatever with Ken Nishikawa — weekly cultural commentary on the space between Japan and the West, presented by Ken — composer, broadcaster, DJ, film director, and occasional grumpy old man — who has worked for the BBC, MTV, TBS, J-WAVE, and several organisations that probably regret it.New episodes every Thursday. Like and subscribe if you know what’s good for you.Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.Search: POST-WHATEVER with Ken Nishikawa#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #Podcast #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan #TokyoVlog #JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #CulturalCommentary #Observational #Japan #Tokyo #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TravelJapan#TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TokyoHistory #JapanHistory #BurtonCrane #JPop #JapaneseMusic #Japan #Podcast #CityPop #Enka
What this episode covers
Japan never really did “happy” love songs - traditionally, at least. Here's why — and why that's more interesting than it sounds.In this episode of Post-Whatever, Ken Nishikawa traces the surprisingly dark — and occasionally hilarious — history of Japanese popular music, from 19th-century geisha ballads to City Pop to modern J-Pop, and asks what it all reveals about how Japanese culture has always understood love, melancholy, and the business of being human.Along the way: the tragic story of Okichi, a 17-year-old geisha forced to serve the first American Consul to Japan, whose story became one of the most famous songs in the geisha repertoire. The word "aishiteru (= I love you)” — which didn't exist until someone invented it 150 years ago. A drunkard who dies, misbehaves in heaven, and gets deported by God — whose song sold 2.8 million copies. An Italian children's song that finished last in an Italian children's competition, crossed the Pacific, and sold 3 million copies in Japan. And the all-time best-selling Japanese single — certified by Guinness World Records — about a fish-shaped pastry making a doomed bid for freedom. The pastry lost. The record stands.We also look at what the data actually shows: how the proportion of "happy" love songs in Japan has shifted across seven decades, how the Bubble era briefly made optimism fashionable, how the Lost Decades brought the melancholy back, and how — in a twist nobody quite predicted — the West's pop charts are now heading in exactly the same direction Japan started from.Post-Whatever with Ken Nishikawa — weekly cultural commentary on the space between Japan and the West, presented by Ken — composer, broadcaster, DJ, film director, and occasional grumpy old man — who has worked for the BBC, MTV, TBS, J-WAVE, and several organisations that probably regret it.New episodes every Thursday. Like and subscribe if you know what’s good for you.Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.Search: POST-WHATEVER with Ken Nishikawa#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #Podcast #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan #TokyoVlog #JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #CulturalCommentary #Observational #Japan #Tokyo #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TravelJapan#TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TokyoHistory #JapanHistory #BurtonCrane #JPop #JapaneseMusic #Japan #Podcast #CityPop #Enka
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The Saddest (and Funniest) Hit Parade — A Brief History of J-Pop
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