The Dawn of Trendy Songs - Chiyoko Sato and "Tokyo March" 1920s-1960s

The Dawn of Trendy Songs - Chiyoko Sato and "Tokyo March" 1920s-1960s

Chiyoko Sato is a singer who represents the dawn of Japanese popular music. Born in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, she studied at the Tokyo Music School before dropping out and traveling around the country with Noguchi Ujo and Nakayama Shimpei to popularize her songs. He was one of the first to appear on radio broadcasts that began in 1924, bringing his voice to the common people, which was revolutionary at a time when phonographs had not yet become widely available.

One of his best-known works was the theme song to "Tokyo Koshinkyoku" (Tokyo March), based on the novel by Hiroshi Kikuchi, which was made into a movie in 1929. The song, which sold 250,000 copies, was a record-breaking success in an era when only 100,000 phonographs were available, and spread the modern atmosphere of the modern city of Tokyo throughout Japan. Saijo Hachiju, who wrote the lyrics for the song, took this opportunity to enter the world of song, and became a colorful figure in the Showa era songs that followed. His songs "Beniya no Musume" and "Kuroyuri no Hana" also became hits, and had a strong influence on popular culture.

She also became the singer of Masao Koga's masterpiece "Kagewositaite," and played an important role in introducing Koga as a composer to the world. She later studied opera and attempted to promote Japanese folk songs abroad, but after returning to Japan, she lost her presence due to the rise of a new generation, including Ichiro Fujiyama. Nevertheless, during the war, he went to the southern front to comfort soldiers.

While his contemporaries Taro Tokai-Lin and Noriko Awatani maintained their popularity before and during the war, Sato reached the pinnacle of his career early on, but was subsequently tossed about by the current of the times. While Tokai-bayashi established a standard for male singers with his orthodox stance that utilized classical vocalization, and Awatani maintained her longevity as the queen of the blues with "Farewell Blues," Sato made her mark with a single, spectacular hit song, but embodied the glory and fall of a short-lived career.

In her later years, her life was full of vicissitudes, including living in poverty and arrests, and she was called "the songstress of the light-hearted. She passed away in 1968 at the age of 71. It is said that she sang "Tokyo March" on her sickbed. Her life story condensed the lights and shadows of the era in which popular songs were born, and it is a story that will be passed down to future generations.