The , generally known as , was a

Japanese popular music J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...

contest which ran from 1969 to 1986. It was sponsored by the

Yamaha Music Foundation The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established in 1966 by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization. It continued a program of music classes begun by Yamaha ...

and was held annually (later, twice a year) at the Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi in

Kakegawa, Shizuoka is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,925 in 45,519 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kakegawa is in the coastal plains of southwest Shizuoka Prefecture. It is border ...

, Japan. The grand prix winners were to be qualified for the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989. The first ed ...

History

* 1969: The first competition, as the , took place at the in

Shima, Mie is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,272 in 22,599 households and a population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Shima hosted the 2016 G7 Summit. Geography Shima is loc ...

, Japan. * 1972: The contest was renamed . * 1973: From this year, the event was held twice a year. *May 1974: The contest venue was changed to the from this year. *May 1984: Due to a gas explosion in Tsumagoi the previous year, the

Nakano Sun Plaza , formerly Nakano Sun Plaza, is a hotel in Nakano, Tokyo. The hotel includes a concert hall, the Nakano Sunplaza Hall (formerly Nakano Sun Plaza Hall). Built in 1973,

temporarily hosted the event. *September 1986: The 32nd competition was held as the final Popcon event. * 1987: replaced the Popcon.

Notable participants

The following professional singers have won in some division of awards. *Junko Yagami (1974) *

Miyuki Nakajima (born February 23, 1952, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She has released 43 studio albums, 46 singles, 6 live albums and multiple compilations as of January 2020. Her sales have been estimated ...

(1975) *

Motoharu Sano , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. A graduate of Rikkyo University, Sano is a frontman with a history of performing in several bands which feature music both in Japanese and occasionally, English, playing songs that often have a rock ...

(1978) *

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has appeared in movies and television dramas. His wife Etsuk ...

(1978) *

Frecuencia Mod Frecuencia Mod (also known as Super Frecuencia or Super in some countries) was a girl group from Chile, which achieved considerable success in Latin America and Europe at the height of the 1970s disco era. The group is also considered a pioneer t ...

(1978) *

Chage and Aska were a Japanese popular music duo composed of male singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture: and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan. History They were formed in the late 1970s at the suggestion of the A&R ...

(1979) * Crystal King (1979) *

Aming Aming (あみん) is female Japanese pop/folk duo composed of Takako Okamura and Haruko Kato that debuted in 1982 with their hit "Matsu wa is the debut single by Aming released on July 21, 1982 in Japan. Track list # "Matsu wa" (待つわ) ...

(1982) *

Tom Cat Thomas Jasper "Tom" Cat Sr. is a fictional character and one of the two titular main protagonists (the other being Jerry Mouse) in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's series of ''Tom and Jerry'' theatrical animated short films. Created by William Hanna and J ...

(1983) *

Akino Arai is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist for various anime theme songs and shows, including ''Record of Lodoss War'', ''Please Save My Earth'', ''Macross Plus'', ''Outlaw Star'', ''Kaze no Stigma'', ''Maoyu'', and '' Aria The Origination'' ...

(1984)

Winners

1st Composition Concours (1969)

At the Nemu no Sato Yamaha Music Hall, on November 23, 1969. *Grand Prix **

Jun Mayuzumi Jun Mayuzumi (黛ジュン ; born 26 May 1948, in Chōfu, Tokyo) is a Japanese singer. Her best known songs include "Tenshi-no Yūwaku" (Angel's Temptation 1968).John Francis DE FRANCIS, Leatrice T. Mirikitani ''Things Japanese in Hawaii'' 1972 ...

2nd Composition Concours (1970)

At the Nemu no Sato Indoor Hall, on November 5, 1970 *Grand Prix **

Mieko Hirota was a Japanese singer. Her nickname was Mico (also spelled ''Miko''). Hirota was born in Setagaya, Tokyo. She grew up listening to pop and jazz in places like Tachikawa, which was frequented by Occupation troops. She made her debut in 1961 at ag ...

3rd Composition Concours (1971)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 9, 1971 *Grand Prix **

Hide and Rosanna __NOTOC__ Hide or hides may refer to: Common uses * Hide (skin), the cured skin of an animal * Bird hide, a structure for observing birds and other wildlife without causing disturbance * Gamekeeper's hide or hunting hide or hunting blind, a struct ...

4th Popcon (1972)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 8, 1972 *Grand Prix **

Chewing Gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its te ...

, folk duo *Awards **

Yōsui Inoue is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. "Hailed as the Bob Dylan of Japan .. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he alway ...

Yumiko Kokonoe Yumiko Kokonoe (九重佑三子, born 21 March 1946) is a Japanese actress and singer. Her most notable role was the protagonist of the series '' Comet-san'' filmed by Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation formerly is a Japanese media and license ...

5th Popcon (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on May 20, 1973

6th Popcon (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 13, 1973 *Awards **

Akiko Kosaka Akiko can refer to: * Akiko (comic book), ''Akiko'' (comic book), an American comic book * Akiko (film), ''Akiko'' (film), a 1961 Italian comedy film * Amiga custom chips#Akiko, Akiko (Amiga), a custom chip used in the Amiga CD32 games console * Ak ...

Popcon Grand Prix '73 (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 14, 1973 *Grand Prix **Kouichi Ise and Manji **Akiko Kosaka

7th Popcon (1974)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 5, 1974 *Grand Prix **

Kyoko Kosaka is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko. Possible writings The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子. It is a common suffix to female names in Japan. The first sy ...

*Top Prizes **

Akira Yamazaki Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

Yuki Katsuragi Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuki, ...

8th Popcon (1974)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 13, 1974 *Chewing Gum

9th Popcon (1975)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 18, 1975 *Grand Prix **Shichifukujin *Best Song Award **

Shigeru Matsuzaki , known professionally as and sometimes as Shigeru BROWN, is a Japanese singer and actor. He is most known in the West for his contributions to the Katamari Damacy soundtrack, performing the theme songs of ''Nerima Daikon Brothers'' and acting as ...

*Awards **

10th Popcon (1975)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 12, 1975 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award **

Akira Inaba (composer) is a Japanese professional shogi player, ranked 8-dan. Inaba, together with Tetsurō Itodani, Masayuki Toyoshima and Akihiro Murata, is one of four Kansai-based young shogi professionals who are collectively referred to as the "Young Kansai Bi ...

11th Popcon (1976)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 16, 1976 *Grand Prix **

Sandii Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provid ...

*Best Son Award **

Yukio Sasaki Yukio is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukio can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸夫, "happiness, man" *幸生, "happiness, live" *幸男, "happiness, man" *幸雄, ...

12th Popcon (1976)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 3, 1976 *Grand Prix **White House II

13th Popcon (1977)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 8, 1977

14th Popcon (1977)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 2, 1977 *Grand Prix **

Masanori Sera & Twist Masanori is a masculine Japanese given name. Kanji and meaning The name Masanori is generally written with two kanji, the first read and the second read , for example: *Starting with ("correct"): **: second kanji means "rule" or "regulation". ...

15th Popcon (1978)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 7, 1978 *Grand Prix **U・U *Best Song Award **

*Award ** Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and Salty dog

16th Popcon (1978)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 1, 1978 *Grand Prix **

Hiroshi Madoka is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can also be transliterated as Hirosi. Possible writings Hiroshi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *浩, "meaning" *汎 *弘, *宏, *寛, *洋, *博, *博一, *博司, ...

*Best Song Award **

Yūko Ōtomo or Yuuko is a common feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yūko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *優子, "gentle, child" *裕子, "abundance, child" *祐子, "helpful, child" *夕子, "evening, child" *� ...

*Highest Award **Monroes *Awards **

** Crystal King **

S.E.N.S. S.E.N.S. is a Japanese new-age instrumental group formed in 1988, originally with two members. The name stands for "Sound, Earth, Nature, and Spirit" based on their spiritual policy. They have produced many musical scores for TV dramas, docum ...

17th Popcon (1979)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 6, 1979 *Best Song Award ** Ippei Suzuki *Awards **

C. W. Nicol Clive William Nicol, MBE (; 17 July 1940 – 3 April 2020) was a British-born Japanese writer. He was a long-time resident and citizen of Japan. Early life Nicol was born in Neath, Wales. He graduated from Tokyo University of Science. ...

and his friends **Chizuru Matsunaga (Try-Tone)

18th Popcon (1979)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 7, 1979 *Grand Prix ** Crystal King *Best Song Awards ** Hironori Kaneko **Gypsy and Arere no Re (the current

Stardust Revue , often called as or abbreviated to SDR, is a Japanese popular musical band formed in the late 1970s. Members Current members Regular members * ; lead vocalist, guitarlist and MC talking * ; vocalist and bassist * ; vocalist and drumme ...

)

19th Popcon (1980)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 11, 1980 *Grand Prix **Tomoya Itami & Side by Side ( Tomoya Itami and Tomoji Sogawa) *Awards **

Haruhi Aiso is a female Japanese popular music J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered th ...

Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe Omega Tribe (Japanese: ; sometimes stylized as Ωmega Tribe) was a Japanese soft rock and city pop project that was led by producer Koichi Fujita, with the bands being handled by industry veterans Tetsuji Hayashi, Tsunehiro Izumi, and Hiroshi ...

(as "Kyutipanchosu")

20th Popcon (1980)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 5, 1980

21st Popcon (1981)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 10, 1981 *Grand Prix **Toshihiro Itoh

22nd Popcon (1981)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 4, 1981 *Grand Prix **Aladdin *Award ** Yuiko Tsubokura *Kawakami Prize ** Megumi Shiina

23rd Popcon (1982)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 16, 1982 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award **Asqua *Kawakami Award **Carlos Torres & the Sweet Dreams

24th Popcon (1982)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 3, 1982

25th Popcon (1983)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 15, 1983

26th Popcon (1983)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 2, 1983 *Grand Prix **

Midori Karashima Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * Mi ...

27th Popcon (1984)

At the Nakano Sun Plaza, on May 13, 1984

28th Popcon (1984)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 7, 1984 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award **Sway *Award **

29th Popcon (1985)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 12, 1985

30th Popcon (1985)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 6, 1985 *Grand Prix **Kazuyuki Ozaki & Coastal City *Best Song Award **Rika

31st Popcon (1986)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 11, 1986 *Award **Jinnouchi Taizō

32nd Popcon (1986)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on September 29, 1986

References

External links

Popcon history
{{Music festivals in Japan Song contests Music festivals in Japan Music festivals established in 1969 Recurring events disestablished in 1986

History

Notable participants

Winners

1st Composition Concours (1969)

2nd Composition Concours (1970)

3rd Composition Concours (1971)

4th Popcon (1972)

5th Popcon (1973)

6th Popcon (1973)

Popcon Grand Prix '73 (1973)

7th Popcon (1974)

8th Popcon (1974)

9th Popcon (1975)

10th Popcon (1975)

11th Popcon (1976)

12th Popcon (1976)

13th Popcon (1977)

14th Popcon (1977)

15th Popcon (1978)

16th Popcon (1978)

17th Popcon (1979)

18th Popcon (1979)

19th Popcon (1980)

20th Popcon (1980)

21st Popcon (1981)

22nd Popcon (1981)

23rd Popcon (1982)

24th Popcon (1982)

25th Popcon (1983)

26th Popcon (1983)

27th Popcon (1984)

28th Popcon (1984)

29th Popcon (1985)

30th Popcon (1985)

31st Popcon (1986)

32nd Popcon (1986)

See also

References

External links