Popular Japanese music and Stage performances

Japanese music is the highly eclectic musical culture of the Japanese islands. Over the years, Japan has borrowed musical instruments, scales, and styles from many neighboring areas.

Japanese music to a great extent evolved through the centuries in conjunction with the literature. This was particularly true from the medieval period on, when music was used as an accompaniment both to plays of the no~ theatre and to the reactions of itinerant storytellers, who strummed their lutelike biwa as they chanted excerpts from such works as The Tale of the Heike.

Probably, the first public performance of Western music in Japan in modern times was the playing by Perry's naval band during its visit to Edo in 1853. And as in the case of the conversion to Western style clothing, it was the Japanese military that led the way in the adoption of Western music.

It was in the public schools, that the most important measures were taken to advance knowledge and appreciation of Western music among the Japanese.

The pop/rock music scene has gone through a few different stages over the years. The rockabilly sounds of the late 50's became popular in the cities of Japan just after they revolutionised the US music scene. Young guys and girls flocked to see the stars of the day do their best impersonations of Elvis and Gene Vincent at the Western Festival in Tokyo in Februaury 1958.

I could read in Japan zone that Think about it - Sony Music Entertainment is one of the biggest record companies in the world; Yamaha is the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world; Japan has the sixth-largest population in the world; the music industry generates billions and billions of dollars worldwide every year. Yet how many Japanese artists have had a No. 1 hit in the US or European charts? One. Yes, one - and that was way back in 1963 (Sukiyaki by Sakamoto Kyu).

I could see the list of popular singers who have established themselves in the Japanese music world - Glay, Hamasaki Ayumi, Fukuyama Masaharu, Kitajima Saburo, Komuro Tetsuya, Morning Musume, Utada Hikaru, Go Hiromi, The Alfee, Matsuda Seiko, hitomi, Hotei Tomoyasu, Yazawa Eikichi and the list go on....

I could not see the name Hasegawa Shingo. Infact I was searching for his name in the list of top performing singers in Japan. This is beacause, many days, after taking my lunch at McDonalds or KFC, I have seen Hasegawa Shingo san performing at Ito Yokado. For me, a new comer in Japan, his songs, eventhough without knowing the meaning of what he sing, sounded good. His performance is also attractive and he pulls the crowd.

Ladies are especially found great fan of Hasegawa Shingo. Sometimes he whirls a towel to the audience and many are crazy to catch it and keep it with them. When I searched in google for his name, I could see one result in ebay with this caption - Find more items similar to: Import - HASEGAWA, SHINGO- YUBAENOMACHI/YOGIRINOKUTSUOO See all items in: Music > CDs

I am not sure, whether he is the same Hasegawa shingo san or not. If any of the readers know, please share it with me.

Hasegawa Shingo san performing at Ito yokado. He pulls the crowd and keeps them with him throughout the show. He knows the necessary stage tricks to cheer up his audience.

Music loving Japanese people are interested to watch his shows hosted at Ito Yokado. I have seen atleast a couple of times and many times missed his shows. He take care to shake hands of his audience and one day I also had that opportunity. Over the period, it has become usual practice for me to watch his performances at Ito Yokado.

Hasegawa Shingo is one of the known performing artist, who dance well and take his audience along with his music. His ability to dance and sing makes him a popular figure in the shows. He looks young, though I have no previous experience of introduction with Hasegawa Shingo san.

Music loving Japanese people encourages him throughout his performance by clapping and singing along with him. People enjoy him performing and he enjoy them listening and watching him and many time I enjoy both Hasegawa Shingo san and the public watching him.