A bit of history about the song “Sukiyaki”
This is an article that we found on the Internet, and thought was interesting. (Unfortunately, I did not keep the webpage)
We hope that you enjoy learning a bit about one of our (European Repertoire) round dances too.
Kyu Sakamoto, the writer of this dance, was born on 10 November 1941 in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kyu Sakamoto (Sakamoto Kyu in Japanese). He made his show business debut in 1960. His biggest hit, Ue o Muite Aruko (I Look Up When I Walk; Sukiyaki in the West), was released in Japan in 1961. After its release in the U.S. in 1963, the song’s beauty proved irresistible despite its incomprehensible lyrics. Against all odds, on 15 June 1963, became the No. 1 popular song in the U.S. Sukiyaki remains the biggest international hit by a Japanese popular singer’s.
Credit for the song’s popularity also is due to the music by Hachidai Nakamura and the lyrics by Rokusuke Ei, who is said to have written this touching story of loneliness after his heart was broken by the actress Meiko Nakamura.
Why the title Sukiyaki? The explanation is simple: intercultural ignorance. Western DJs needed a song title that was at once easily pronounceable and associated with Japan. So, “Sukiyaki” was it, even though the word is not mentioned in the song.
Sadly, Kyu Sakamoto was killed when he was only 43, on 12 August 1985, when a Japanese Airliner bound from Haneda Airport in Tokyo to Osaka lost pieces of its tail sections and spiraled downward nightmarishly for 30 minutes. The plane crashed and burned on a thickly wooded mountain about 60 miles northwest of Tokyo, killing 520 and injuring four, in the worst single airplane disaster in aviation history. Although Kyu Sakamoto’s golden voice was stilled, his songs remain popular in Japan and overseas.
| Ue o muite arukoo | I look up when I walk |
| Namida ga kobore nai yoo ni | So the tears won’t fall |
| Omoidasu haru no hi | Remembering those happy spring days |
| Hitoribotchi no yoru | But tonight I’m all alone |
| Ue o muite arukoo | I look up when I walk |
| Nijinda hoshi o kazoete | Counting the stars with tearful eyes |
| Omoidasu natsu no hi | Remembering those happy summer days |
| Hitoribotchi no yoru | But tonight I’m all alone |
| Shiawase wa kumo no ue ni | Happiness lies beyond the clouds |
| Shiawase wa sora no ue ni | Happiness lies above the sky |
| Ue o muite arukoo | I look up when I walk |
| Namida ga kobore nai yoo ni | So the tears won’t fall |
| Nakinagara aruku | Though my heart is filled with sorrow * |
| Hitoribotchi no yoru | For tonight I’m all alone |
| (whistling) | (whistling) |
| Omoidasu aki no hi | Remembering those happy autumn days |
| Hitoribotchi no yoru | But tonight I’m all alone |
| Kanashimi wa hoshi no kage ni | Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars |
| Kanashimi wa tsuki no kage ni | Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon |
| Ue o muite arukoo | I look up when I walk |
| Namida ga kobore nai yoo ni | So the tears won’t fall |
| Nakinagara aruku | Though my heart is filled with sorrow * |
| Hitoribotchi no yoru | For tonight I’m all alone |
| (whistling) | (whistling) |
* Note that poetic license was used to render the English lyrics.
For a round world,
Susie & Gert-Jan Rotscheid