Budokan "Hana no Gosanke Daikatotsu" - Turning point in song and idol culture (mid-1970s)

Budokan "Hana no Gosanke Daikatotsu" - Turning point in song and idol culture (mid-1970s)

In the mid-1970s, Japan was still full of the vitality of popular culture, even as the feverish afterglow of rapid economic growth cooled. With the spread of color TVs, song programs became the main form of entertainment in the home, and the stars among young people were shifting from movie actors to TV-based singers and idols. It was against this backdrop that the "Grand Clash of the Three Families of Flowers" was held at the Nippon Budokan.

The term "Hana no Gosanke" refers to the male idols of the 1970s, Hideki Saijo, Hiromi Go, and Goro Noguchi, who followed the generation of Yukio Hashi and Kazuo Funaki. They deviated from the traditional enka and uta-yokyoku lines, actively incorporating pop and rock elements, and captivating audiences with their flamboyant costumes, dance moves, and lighting effects. The 14,000 people in attendance at the Budokan, who screamed and clapped continuously, heralded the birth of a new cultural form: the idol concert.

Their stage performances were not just songs, but comprehensive entertainment with humor and theatrical elements. Their stage direction, which was self-deprecatingly referred to as "ready-made rock," had the effect of shortening the distance between them and the audience and presenting a life-size image of young people. It was also a symbol of the "popularization of consumption and entertainment" in Japanese society at the time, and a true indication of the process by which song music was transformed into a new entertainment industry.

This "Gosanke" boom was followed by the rise of the Johnny's agency and the golden age of idols in the 1980s. In other words, the "grand clash" at the Budokan was more than a temporary event; it was a historical turning point that shifted the axis of the Japanese music industry from its traditional focus on enka to idol pop music.