Timeline of Japanese music

This page is a timeline of Japanese music and also indexes the individual year in Japanese music pages.

1880s

• 1888 - Kimigayo adopted as national anthem

1890s

• 1897 - Gunkan kōshinkyoku

1910s

• 1910 - Nipponophone founded
• 1912 - 1st Japanese symphony: Kachidoki to Heiwa  [ ja ] by Kōsaku Yamada ^[1]
• 1914: Katyusha's Song

1920s

• 1921 - Inno Meiji  [ ja ] by Kōsaku Yamada; ^[2] Sendō Kouta
• 1927 - Akatombo

1930s

• 1931 - King Records founded
• 1932 - Seki Taneko  [ ja ] releases "Akemi no Uta" (あけみの唄), composed by Masao Koga, with lyrics by Hara Asao  [ ja ] ^{[3] [4]}
• 1934 - Nagauta Symphony

1940s

• 1942 - Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association founded
• 1946 - 1st Mainichi Film Award for Best Music; 1st broadcast of NHK Nodo Jiman

1950s

• 1951 - 1st Kōhaku Uta Gassen
• 1954 - Godzilla includes music by Akira Ifukube
• 1959 - 1st Japan Record Awards ^[5]

1960s

• 1961 - 1st broadcast of Minna no Uta
• 1963 - Sukiyaki reaches number 1 in the USA
• 1962 - 1st broadcast of Shichiji ni aimashō
• 1964 - 1st broadcast of Music Fair
• 1967 - Oricon founded; Akiko Nakamura  [ ja ] released Nijiiro no mizūmi  [ ja ]; ^[6] Hibari Misora released Makkana Taiyō ^[7]
• 1968 - 1st broadcast of Yoru no Hit Studio; CBS/Sony founded
• 1969 - 1st Yamaha Popular Song Contest

1970s

• 1970 - 1st World Popular Song Festival; 1st Japan Music Awards; 1st publication of Music Labo; Nippon Music Foundation established
• 1971 - Debut of Saori Minami, Mari Amachi and Rumiko Koyanagi ^[8]
• 1972 - 1st Tokyo Music Festival
• 1974 - 1st FNS Music Festival
• 1978 - 1st broadcast of The Best Ten ^[9]
• 1979 - Number one singles include Chameleon Army, Young Man (Y.M.C.A.) and Ihojin.

1980s

• 1980 - Number one singles include Ihojin and I'm in the Mood for Dancing
• 1981 - A Long Vacation
• 1982 - Number one singles include Matsu wa and Second Love
• 1983 - Number one singles include Second Love, ½ no Shinwa, Flashdance... What a Feeling, Kinku and Cat's Eye
• 1984 - Number one singles include Southern Wind, Amaoto wa Chopin no Shirabe, Jukkai (1984) and Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa
• 1986 - 1st broadcast of Music Station

1990s

• 1993 - 1st broadcast of Count Down TV
• 1994 - 1st broadcast of Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ
• 1996 - 1st broadcast of Utaban
• 1998 - 1st broadcast of Channel A

2000s

• 2004 - 1st broadcast of Bokura no Ongaku
• 2005 - 1st broadcast of J-Melo
• 2006 - 1st broadcast of Idoling!!!; 1st broadcast of Rock Fujiyama
• 2007 in Japanese music
• 2008 in Japanese music
• 2009 in Japanese music

2010s

• 2010 in Japanese music
• 2011 in Japanese music
• 2012 in Japanese music
• 2013 in Japanese music
• 2014 in Japanese music
• 2015 in Japanese music
• 2016 in Japanese music
• 2017 in Japanese music
• 2018 in Japanese music
• 2019 in Japanese music

2020s

• 2020 in Japanese music
• 2021 in Japanese music
• 2022 in Japanese music
• 2023 in Japanese music
• 2024 in Japanese music
• 2025 in Japanese music

See also

• List of Oricon number-one singles
• List of Oricon number-one albums

References

• Tokyo Ongaku Gakko. Kinsei Hogaku Nempyo. Rokugatsu-Kan. Volume 1. 1912. Volume 2. 1914. Volume 3. 1927.

1. Handbook of Japanese Music in the Modern Era, p 256.
2. Music on the Move, p 123
3. The Movie Times. No 432: 11 April 1932. p 77. Google
4. JASRAC No.000-4690-6
5. 1959年12月27日、第1回日本レコード大賞が開催。受賞曲は水原弘「黒い花びら」. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 27 December 2017.
6. 1967年10月10日、中村晃子の「虹色の湖」が発売～“一人GS”と呼ばれる理由. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 10 October 2018.
7. ちょうど50年前･1967/5/25 GSブームから生まれた美空ひばりの大ヒット‘真っ赤な太陽’リリース【大人のMusic Calendar】. News Online. Nippon Broadcasting System. 25 May 2017.
8. 1971年の音楽界　フォーク台頭、洋楽ロック浸透、女性アイドル確立. News ポストセブン. 9 February 2021.
9. 「１９７８」エンタメプレイバック. ZAKZAK. 23 June 2023.