J-pop Cultural Timeline

J-Pop is a type of genre within the music industry, similar to k-pop, and rap and is an abbreviated term for "Japanese popular music." The origin of j-pop can be traced back to the Shōwa period (1926-1989) and was originally derived from various other music genres such as jazz, and folk. J-Pop is unique as compared to other forms of music it has a distinct "cutesy" also known as "kawaii" style which is present in the upbeat and themes of love and friendship in the lyrics. Ignore date required

Ryukoka is a musical genre that developed on the later end of the 19th century specifically in the Kansai region of Japan. ryukoka is unique as it is symbolic as one of the founding staples of J-pop. It's roots can be traced back to the influence of western classical music. A historical figure that found success with ryukoka was Sumako Matsui, as her song "Katyusha's song" is often referred to the as the first ryukoka song.

Enka, similar to ryukoka is the successor to it following the diminish of ryukoka as enka developed. Enka's evolution from ryukoka changes as enka was generally considered a "speech song" in Japan which was used to criticize or satirize politics and politicians during the Meji period (1880-1990s). This was a way of bypassing a regulation in place at the time that disallowed the criticism of Japanese politics which is why Enka found success following ryukoka.

Kayokyoku is often referred to as the "base of modern J-pop" as the evolution from enka and ryukoka is vastly different. Kayokyoku represents a blend of both Western and Japanese musical scales, as a result, music of Kayokyoku is tremendously varied. Although often referred to as the "base of modern J-pop", it has near zero influence with actual J-Pop as unlike enka, and ryukoka, Kayokyoku was sung with traditional Japanese and often did not invoke emotions like enka and ryukoka in its lyrics.

Following the events of World War 2, it put a pause on the jazz elements of J-pop but was reintroduced in 1952 as that year became known as “Year of the Jazz Boom” in Japan. The following 4 years was dominated in an era or Jazz inspired J-pop

The Oricon chart is a chart ranking based on sales depending on statistical dates. Ex. Weekly Original Confidence Inc., the original Oricon company was founded by Snow Brand Milk Products promoter Sōkō Koike in 1967. On November of that same year, the company released an experimental chart that surveyed the sales of each album and ranked so accordingly. The influences of J-Pop has resulted in widespread media of it which allowed the creation and showcases the symbolic expression of J-Pop.

As it stood, J-pop was a combination of homegrown versions of hard rock, singer-songwriter-styled folk, and punk. This style of J-Pop was diversified into an idol system which music labels shaped their singers' image to fully appeal their audience/fans. Alongside this, Synthesizer-driven electropop, and other forms of pop including city pop, funk, and boogie dominated the Tokyo area and massively grew in popularity. This was the staple of J-pop between enka and kayokyoku until the '80s and ’90s

The J-Pop scene grew exponentially in the 1990s which was the result of groups such as the "B'z", and "Mr. Children" with their songs "love me, I love you", and "Shirushi" respectively. Both of these groups acquired platinium sales which means either an album sold 1 millon+ copies or a single sold 2 million+ copies. This demonstrates the widespread expression of J-Pop to the world and its influence it had.

Rising into the scene, Ayumi Hamasaki is a solo artist who wrote her own music with a trendy style that caught on to her fanbase. The catchy and upbeat lyrics lead to the popular characteristic of J-Pop known with its "cutesy"/"kawaii" style of singing. Hamasaki is one of Japan's biggest stars having a total of 30 albums including a biopic TV drama.

"Arashi" is a Japanese boy band which formed in 1999 and have consistently released songs that dominated the leaderboards.Their influence reached as far as some Taylor Swift and K-Pop group BTS. For such an early appearance, Arashi demonstrated what J-Pop had to offer to the world and how it influences the world.

The rising growth and implementation of anime allowed not only groups and idols to join the industry of J-Pop. Voice actors who played roles of fictional characters were often tasked with singing the opening or endings to animes which can be considered a sub-category of J-Pop that does not entirely represent J-Pop be exhibits strong connections to it.

Similar to the anime industry, Vocaloid could be considered another sub-category of J-Pop having its own distinct sound compared to J-Pop. Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer software which takes human voices and merges them with sounds to create a techno sounding voice. Many human voices were turned into anime fictional characters which are differentiated by their voice. Hatsune Miku is a perfect example of what Vocaloid is, her distinct voice has allowed her to expose herself to the world

On April 3rd of 2009, the popular anime "K-On!" debuted its first episode. K-On! is an anime that consists of 5 high-school girls who participate in a small music club comprised of a pianist, drummist, guitarist, vocalist, and a bassist. On July 22nd of 2009, the characters from the anime series K-On!, released the mini-album "Hōka-go Tea Time" which topped the leaderboards of the Oricon weekly album charts. This showcases the evolution of anime in J-Pop.

Hatsune Miku is one of many Vocaloid but is special in the case that she is the most well-known Vocaloid, even know internationally by majority. Her significance has allowed her to express this sub-category of J-Pop all over the world with her distinct avatar consisting of 2 light blue twin tails and a school-like uniform. In May of 2010, Exit Tunes Presents Vocalogenesis feat. Hatsune Miku became the first album that featured Vocaloids to reach number 1 on Oricon weekly charts.

BABYMETAL is a idol group that formed in 2010 with the concept of merging heavy metal and Japanese idol groups. J-Pop as a whole is generally regarded as "kawaii" and uplifting with themes of love and friendship whereas metal is often regarded as intense, and powerful. The combination of these 2 genres would often catch a listener off-guard but BABYMETAL showcases just how these 2 genres blend perfectly together. The creativity derived from J-Pop showcases just how many ways it can be expressed.

J-Pop is a widespread popular music genre that has gained traction all over the world and is listened to by all. As of 2022 J-Pop has evolved from traditional, folk, etc to sub-categories consisting of anime, vocaloid, etc. This does not mean the likes of traditional and folk has faded but more so diminished over time. Idol groups of the present dominate the J-Pop scene with groups such as "AKB48", and "Kanjani Eight" This showcases the evolution and how J-Pop strayed from its original styles.

Hatsune Miku: Rise of a virtual pop star: What is a vocaloid? The University of Rhode Island. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2022, from https://urilis.libguides.com/c.php?g=894968&p=6436235 MasterClass Staff. (2022, February 24). All about J-pop music: A brief history of japanese pop music . MasterClass. Retrieved March 28, 2022, from https://www.masterclass.com/articles/j-pop-music-guide#what-is-jpop/ Ignore date, required

Real Word. (2021, January 20). An introduction to the wonderful world of J-pop. trafalgar. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/introduction-world-j-pop/ Ignore date, required