The Kohaku Song Contest Is Full of Singers I Don't Know. But Sayuri Ishikawa Will Be There Again This Year

Once again, the performers for NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, a New Year’s Eve tradition in Japan, have been announced.

Kohaku is an annual live music show on Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, that has been a fixture of New Year’s Eve for decades.

I looked over the list and had one immediate thought.

I hardly knew any of the names.

I used to at least recognize the names of popular singers. Now I can look at a group’s name and have no idea how many members it has, or even what kind of music they perform.

Moments like this force me to realize that I am getting old.

When I was a child, Kohaku seemed to be full of enka, a traditional style of Japanese popular ballad.

Back then, I would think, “What is this hopelessly old-fashioned show?”

Now, however, enka singers have almost disappeared, while a few pop singers from decades ago are scattered among the younger artists.

Their names are familiar to me, but younger viewers are probably thinking, “Who are these old people?”

They are looking at them exactly the way I used to look at enka singers.

History repeats itself in the most unpleasant ways.

When the Whole Family Watched the Same Television

In the past, the end of the year brought several major music programs, not just Kohaku but shows such as the Japan Record Awards.

Almost everyone in the country knew the names of the popular idols and singers of the day.

That was because everyone watched the same television programs.

For one thing, each household usually had only one television, and the parents controlled the channel.

Even if the children wanted to watch an idol, if their parents wanted enka, the family watched enka.

Whenever an enka singer appeared, I would sit there hoping the song would end soon.

Looking back, perhaps that was a kind of forced interaction between generations.

Today, we have gone beyond having one television per person. Everyone can watch whatever videos they like on their phones.

In fact, many young people do not watch television at all.

Families no longer need to watch the same programs, and nobody needs to remember the names of singers who do not interest them.

The phrase “national idol” once made sense. Today, even a popular singer may be completely unknown to people outside their audience.

So perhaps age is not the only reason I do not know today’s young singers.

Still, if you asked whether I wanted to return to the days when I was forced to watch enka in front of the family television, I would politely decline.

Sayuri Ishikawa Is There Again This Year

One person who continues to stand out on Kohaku is Sayuri Ishikawa.

While enka singers have disappeared from the show one after another, she has continued to appear almost every year.

And the song she performs is usually predictable.

Either “Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki” or “Amagi Goe.”

Those are essentially the two choices.

She occasionally sings something else, but those two songs overwhelmingly dominate.

She appears every year and sings almost the same song every year.

Normally, people might say, “Not again.” In Ishikawa’s case, however, that repetition has itself become an annual Kohaku tradition.

By now, she is almost like an automatic music player that switches on once a year at a fixed date and time.

The Comfort of Things That Do Not Change

Lately, though, I have found this repetition strangely comforting.

I do not know the names or songs of the young performers. Even singers I once knew have quietly disappeared from Kohaku.

Through it all, Sayuri Ishikawa is still there singing as always.

If her name disappeared from the list one year, I am sure I would feel lonely.

As a child, I thought enka was hopelessly old-fashioned.

Now I find the presence of an enka singer reassuring.

Enka used to bore me whenever it came on. Today, I feel relieved when Sayuri Ishikawa appears.

When I think about it, that is a rather frightening change.

The enka songs I once wished would end quickly are now something I look forward to.

Sayuri Ishikawa has continued singing, unchanged, for decades.

It seems that I am the one who changed.

And this year, she will probably sing either “Tsugaru Kaikyo” or “Amagi Goe” once again.

The question is how many more years I will be around to hear it.