Karaoke: A Place to Restore the Soul
Recommended songs, frequently sang at karaoke, to listen to while reading the article:
Ishikawa Sayuri – ‘Amagi-goe’, 1986: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvc0LadtZUk
Tokunaga Hideaki – ‘Rainy Blue’, 1986: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVsVWSq_wNE
Golden Bomber – ‘Memeshikute’, 2009: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC9P3DSZu0A
Begin – ‘Shimanju nu Takara’, 2002: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iZ4-4EYNnk
Takahashi Yoko – ‘Zankoku na Tenshi no Tēze’, 1995: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6wtDPVkKqI
Mongol 800 – ‘Chisana koi no uta’, 2001: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8EkSB9zSpE
You can also listen to this playlist containing some of the songs:
Have you ever wondered how Japanese people manage to cope with their stress? Japanese society and its work ethic have been depicted for a long time as a nerve-racking environment that puts a lot of pressure on the person. Although the reality might be slightly more nuanced than that, like every modern society Japan also comes with its fair share of stress. High schoolers as well as salarymen (white collar employees) and other workers need a way to distract themselves from the everyday tasks. Luckily for them, the Japanese entertainment industry is probably one of the most diversified around the globe. In big cities you can easily find game arcades that have gone almost extinct in the rest of the world (with the exemption of Korea) and amusement centres, where you can enjoy all sorts of activities such as bowling, darts, pool and even baseball practice. Among the many attractions of this industry, one of its oldest is probably karaoke, where you can sing until exhaustion without troubling anyone. The concept is simple: music recorded without the singers’ voices is played while the lyrics are projected on a screen, so the visitors can pick up a microphone and sing. Many venues offer you the possibility to modify sound output or the key of the song, and you will receive a score according to how much on pitch you sang. The word ‘karaoke’, as you might know, stands for ‘empty orchestra’, referring to the fact that it’s a place where music is played without the vocal part.
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Demographically karaoke appeals to everyone and is offered in a wide variety of venues. Usually students prefer cheaper places like Round One or Ban-Ban chains, which provide minimal – but perfectly fine – services. Other karaoke can be expensive and luxurious, in buildings looking more like shining palaces, some may say extravagant love hotels, rather than actual karaoke boxes.
Most karaoke offer three types of packages: 1 hour, 3 hours and so-called ‘free time’, with prices differing depending on the time of the day. Generally speaking, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. is the most expensive period, as it coincides with the time span when workers and students are done with their activities and might want to enjoy themselves before heading home. ’Free time' comes with a fixed price but allows you to stay at karaoke as long as you feel like, until morning. Yours faithfully has experienced some legendary asa made (until morning) karaoke sessions, where the body and the soul were pushed to their limits, but on the way home, as the sun was rising, peace of mind and lack of sleep was completely winning over stockpiled stress.
Karaoke usually offer an all-you-can-drink service with soft drinks, which can be upgraded to include alcohol if the customer is at least 20 years old, which is the legal age to drink alcoholic beverages in Japan. In almost every karaoke you can also order food, which – despite being cheap heated snacks – help you go through the singing session.
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Once you step into a karaoke building, the receptionist, usually a young student working part time, will greet you at the counter, asking which option you would like to purchase. Karaoke charges per hour, so you need to decide how long you are planning to stay before starting the session. There is always the possibility to extend your stay if you feel like. Usually, you do not have to go back to the counter to order food or prolong the visit, as you communicate with the waiter on a phone installed in your karaoke box. Good luck, however, if one of your comrades just decided to scream their favourite song.
Older people might remember a time when karaoke had a different charm, as it started as a nightlife pasttime. Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s small bars called ‘Snacks’, managed by women called ‘mama-san’, were quite popular among men wanting to enjoy some drinks and a chit-chat after work. Snacks were celebrated as sanctuaries offering leisure to men burdened with their everyday life, who could enjoy alcohol and flirt with the mama-san, despite sexual intercourses being strictly prohibited. Fuelled by several drinks, men liked to sing popular songs of the time on top of records played in the snacks, which were mainly enka, a tradition flavoured genre. Allegedly this is the activity that inspired karaoke. Nowadays karaoke has become a part of Japanese society. A visit to karaoke is often made at the end of a social meeting, such as shopping with friends or going out to drink with colleagues. It can also serve as shelter that gets you through the night until the first train in the morning can take you home. Many philosophers said, in relation to public baths in Japan, that social boundaries vanish once people undress – when everyone is equally naked, they are equally human. I would argue that, to some extent, this applies to karaoke as well. In a karaoke box you will not be severely judged for butchering songs, because the important thing is to share a fun moment with everyone. You just need to pick up a microphone and sing, which is best in company!
Written By Marty Borsotti