JUNKO YAGAMI

Musician Junko Yagami, debuted her work at the tender age of 20 in 1978, in 1974, while still at high school, she entered the 8th Yamaha Popular Song Contest, winning the Excellence Award for her song Ame no Hi no Hitorigoto. She made her debut with the song Omoide wa Utsukushisugite, and through masterpieces like Mizuiro no Ame and Purple Town, she became a diva who quietly yet undeniably coloured our hearts. In 2022, she achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first Japanese artist inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in the United States.

At first glance, it appears to be a story of success, all smoothly prepared. Yet behind the scenes, the expectations and constraints imposed on her as a professional, along with a growing unease toward the music industry, quietly accumulated. Originally, she didn't have a clear goal of “becoming a singer”. Looking back on that time, she reflects, “It felt like I just became a singer without realising it. I never once thought about aiming to be a professional; I just sang because I wanted to sing.” During her high school years, she gained recognition at the Yamaha Popular Song Contest and even had her original songs released on record, but that was merely a “commemorative” of sorts. Travelling to music festivals and encountering music from around the world, she felt, “This was enough for me.”

Words by Makoto Matsuoka

The turning point came with a single word from Yamaha. She was walking home after finishing a radio programme recording near the Imperial Palace. “Why don't you try going pro?” she was asked. Without much hesitation, she replied, “Oh, sure, I'll do it!” Contrary to that lighthearted response, the reality of being a professional was anything but free.

Her third single, Mizuiro no Ame, became a massive hit. While she instantly became a focal point of attention, the atmosphere around her changed completely. Looking back on that time, she reflects, “I started being told things like, ‘You have to keep releasing hit songs,’ or ‘Next, we need a song like this.’ It was completely different from the feeling of ‘singing freely’ I had initially envisioned.”

The background behind that hit song Mizuiro no Ame was also far from smooth sailing. Following her debut song, which was in the bossa nova style she loved, she was pressured to produce a follow-up quickly. When she said, “I can't write a song that fast,” she was told, “Yamaha has songs available; just sing one of those,” leading her to sing a waltz. However, it didn't hit, and she was even told, “Maybe you should go back to Nagoya.” What could she do to continue making music in Tokyo? After agonising over it, she had an epiphany: “Write songs for someone else.” That's how Mizuiro no Ame was born. The fact that it wasn't originally written for her lends this masterpiece an indescribable tension.

Images from Junko Yagami album, Full Moon in 1983. This includes the single Tasogare No Bay City, one of the most known Japanese City Pop hits. Image courtesy of Yamaha

Experiencing a major hit right after her debut brought joy, but it also created an inescapable framework. Concerts and TV appearances weren't necessarily the activities she desired. Confusion about these “stages meant to be seen” is different from music festivals, an unease born from inexperience. Yet the days of having to fulfil the expected role continued. Then, about ten years after her debut, she paused and headed to America. She refers to this period as her “first musical life.” This experience became the quiet runway that would later allow Junko Yagami to consciously choose music anew and set herself free.

She had moved her base of operations to Los Angeles, returning to Japan only for concerts. Around that time, the September 11 attacks occurred in 2001. Terrified by the events, she suspended her activities. During this time away from music, she lost her sense of self. The women she met in America each had jobs and spoke naturally about their titles. While she still introduced herself as “I'm a singer,” as her hiatus lengthened, that phrase gradually shifted into the past tense. “I used to be a singer” — she felt a sense of dissonance within herself at that phrasing. She realised that without singing, she wasn't truly herself. That realisation drew her back to music.

The turning point came in 2011. Appearing on the TV program SONGS gradually led to concert offers trickling in. At the same time, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck Japan. Yagami headed to Tohoku, travelling to the disaster areas as a volunteer. She went prepared for the possibility of being asked to clear debris — but she also stood there ready to sing if asked.

Ultimately, her volunteer work in the disaster zone and her musical rebirth began simultaneously. “Things I couldn't do for myself, I could do for others.” This realisation held profound meaning for her. This accumulation eventually led to a completely new style: organising her own concerts and taking full responsibility for everything, including management. “It was a precious treasure cultivated through volunteer work,” she says. 

Photography by Oyoshi Sueishi

Thus began her “second musical life” in 2011 — music that didn't belong to any group but started with her. Embracing freedom and responsibility, singing by her own will. At its core lay the experiences gained through volunteer work and the tangible satisfaction of singing for others. For her, this second chapter of music was also a time of deep connection with society and others, while simultaneously reclaiming herself more strongly.

At the core of Junko Yagami's music lies the Western music she grew up with. As a child, she was obsessed with copying the twin singers The Peanuts. Through them, she discovered Western music. While still in elementary school, Yagami would transcribe the incomprehensible English lyrics into katakana and sing them over and over again. “I hardly listened to Japanese music back then,” she reflects, her ears always tuned to music from overseas.

Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Neil Sedaka, and Michel Polnareff — the artists she was obsessed with were all performers radiating strong individuality and presence. Barbra Streisand's attitude, in particular, left a deep impression on Yagami. One reason she was drawn to Western music was the portrayal of women within it. Whereas Japanese music often depicted “women suffering heartbreak,” Western pop presented women standing alone, navigating life with resilience. It was an admiration for the image of “American women = strong women.” This sensibility represented a distinctly different value system from Japanese pop, which had developed on a foundation of Enka-style passion.

This influence is clearly evident in her early debut songs. Lyrics that observe love and life from an independent perspective rather than drowning in emotion, paired with a dignified singing voice. From the very beginning, Junko Yagami’s music breathed with the spirit of pop music that transcended borders and embodied a strong yet resilient female image. Over time, Junko Yagami's songs, including Tasogare no Bay City, have been reevaluated within the context of city pop and listened to by audiences worldwide. She herself describes this phenomenon as “very interesting.”

Selection of some of Junko Yagami's extensive discography: 素顔の私, 1979; Lonely Girl and Full Moon, 1983; Communication, 1985; There You Are, 2016 and TERRA - here we will stay, 2021

In the 1970s, Japanese musicians collectively admired American and British music, sharing the aspiration to “create music like that.” Yagami was one of them. Tasogare no Bay City  was a song explicitly crafted with America in mind. “What kind of atmosphere would this song have if performed over there?” She layered sounds while imagining this, harbouring a faint hope that it might be accepted in America. But back then, they would joke, “That'll take about 50 years.”

And indeed, nearly half a century later, the song reached the world as ‘City Pop.’ She herself describes this situation as “like a reverse import.” It's the feeling of music returning from the very place they once admired and reached for. It symbolises the wonder of pop music transcending time and distance.

Her current approach to music-making stands at a different point than back then. In 2022, she was inducted into the U.S. Women Songwriters Hall of Fame, becoming the first Japanese artist to receive this honour. The catalyst was concert footage from Japan reaching overseas audiences via YouTube. The judges saw her performing in those videos and became aware of her existence. This event made her strongly resolve, “I want to become a singer who can sing Japanese beautifully.” Precisely because she gained international recognition, she felt a renewed desire to cherish what only she could sing, the nuances expressible only in Japanese. Thus, she created stages that thrilled audiences not only with past hits but also with new songs. This is also a testament to the efforts she built over a decade.

When discussing Junko Yagami's current creative work, there is one piece that cannot be overlooked. It is a piece she herself describes as “making me feel my entire musical life up to now existed for this one song” — TERRA - here we will stay. Meaning ‘Earth’ in Latin, this piece is an epic work exceeding 11 minutes, and also Yagami's first serious attempt at a “suite.” At its origin lay Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. “I've always wanted to create a suite like this someday.” TERRA was the first tangible form of this long-held aspiration. The theme of the piece is the very Earth we inhabit today. 

Earth has survived for aeons by eliminating entities that destroy its environment. Humanity is merely one chapter in that history. “TERRA” depicts modern events like war and pandemics. Perhaps these were meant to be trials for humanity to unite. Yet in reality, divisions deepen and conflicts persist. She entrusted these contradictions and questions to her music as “the Earth's cry.”

After completing the song, she visited the Grand Canyon. Before her eyes stretched layers upon layers of magnificent rock formations. They bore the imprint of history—where dinosaurs once lived, died, and over time became part of the earth's strata. Facing that overwhelming scale of time, the world she envisioned for “TERRA” struck her with a more vivid, tangible reality.

Photography by Oyoshi Sueishi

Reflecting on that moment, she said, “I thought, someday in the future, when new life emerges, they might say at that very spot, ‘Apparently, something called humans lived around here’” Humankind, too, is merely a fleeting presence in Earth's long history. Holding this perspective close, she feels TERRA should remain a song that breathes and evolves alongside the planet. That is precisely why the time may come to record a second, a third TERRA someday. It wouldn't be a mere re-performance, but a new chapter reflecting the ever-changing Earth and the present state of humankind.

Thus, she has experienced a “first musical life” spent racing through professional constraints and conflicts, and a “second musical life” where she deliberately unleashed her music and spread her wings. The songs continually renewed throughout this journey still radiate a fresh brilliance. Her voice, changing hues with the times, will continue to resonate quietly within our hearts. Junko Yagami's musical journey is far from over.

This interview appears in The MUSIC Issue 16, available here.

Junko Yagami will also perform alongside legendary guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, Himiko Kikuchi and DJ Ginger Root in London on August Friday 7th.