Oshi-Katsu Chronicle: The 1950s — The Three Girls, Rikidozan on Street TV, and the Birth of Kohaku
In 1950s Japan, television, which began broadcasting in 1953, joined film and radio as a new form of entertainment. While TV sets were still expensive, crowds gathering around “street TVs” in front of stations and in public squares became a familiar sight across the country.
Your oshiA singer, actor or athlete
- CinemaAbout 1.127 billion admissions in 1958
- Street TVCrowds gathered in plazas and by stations
- RadioKohaku began here in 1951
- MagazinesHeibon passed 1.4 million copies
- TheatersNichigeki Western Carnival, 1958
- Fan lettersA how-to book appeared in 1957
Television had begun, but fans still went out to find their stars.
Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and Izumi Yukimura: Stars of Song and Film
Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and Izumi Yukimura were all female singers born in 1937. Each had her own hit songs, and in their late teens the three began appearing in films together.
Hibari Misora
The 1950 film Tokyo Kid was a hit. In 1952, "Ringo Oiwake" (Apple Oiwake) sold 700,000 copies.
Hibari Misora official chronology (in Japanese)Chiemi Eri
Debuted in 1952 with "Tennessee Waltz" and became a popular singer of overseas popular songs.
NHK Archives: Chiemi Eri (in Japanese)Izumi Yukimura
Debuted in 1953 with "Omoide no Waltz" (Waltz of Memories). Loved for jazz and Western pop music, too.
Victor Entertainment: Izumi Yukimura (in Japanese)The three first shared the screen in Toho’s Janken Musume (The Rock-Paper-Scissors Girls, directed by Toshio Sugie), released on November 1, 1955. Seeing three top stars sing and dance on the same screen proved a hit, and co-starring films followed with Romance Musume (1956) and Oatari Sanshoku Musume (1957). Known as the “Three Girls” (Sannin Musume), the trio was admired by female fans of the same generation. (NHK Archives: “Sannin Musume”, in Japanese)
Hibari Misora
- Tokyo Kid was a hit in 1950
- Ringo Oiwake sold 700,000 in 1952
Chiemi Eri
- Debuted in 1952 with Tennessee Waltz
- One of the popular singers of overseas songs
Izumi Yukimura
- Debuted in 1953 with Omoide no Waltz
- Also loved for jazz and popular music
They first shared the screen in Janken Musume, released in 1955.
Kohaku Starts on Radio, and the Record Awards Are Born at Year’s End
The first NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (the Red-and-White Song Battle) aired live on radio from Studio 1 of the NHK Tokyo Broadcasting Hall on January 3, 1951. Fourteen singers took part, seven on each team. It did not begin as the New Year’s Eve television show known today. (NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen History, in Japanese)
After the third edition aired on radio on January 2, 1953, the fourth edition moved to New Year’s Eve on December 31, 1953. Held before a live audience at the Nichigeki Theater in Yurakucho, Tokyo, it was broadcast simultaneously on television and radio for the first time. (NHK Archives: “History of Kohaku Uta Gassen”, in Japanese)
On December 27, 1959, the first Japan Record Awards were held at Bunkyo Public Hall, and Hiroshi Mizuhara’s “Kuroi Hanabira” (Black Petals, lyrics by Rokusuke Ei, music by Hachidai Nakamura) won the Grand Prix. Separate from record sales figures, a year-end ceremony in which composers evaluated and honored musical works had begun. (Japan Composers Association, in Japanese)
Rockabilly Takes Off at Nichigeki, and Movie Stars Sing Too
On February 8, 1958, the first “Nichigeki Western Carnival” opened at the Nichigeki Theater in Yurakucho, Tokyo. Masaaki Hirao, Keijiro Yamashita and Mickey Curtis—the “Three Rockabilly Men”—headlined, drawing 9,500 people on opening day and a cumulative 45,000 over the week. (nippon.com, in Japanese)
The rockabilly they sang was born in America from the fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. Teenage audiences focused not only on the driving beat, but also on the slicked-back pompadours and slim trousers. (PBS: an explanation of rockabilly)
Five-colored paper streamers flew from the seats toward the stage, and excited teenage fans rushed the stage, drawing wide attention to a new style of cheering loudly for young singers in theaters. (NHK Archives: “Rockabilly Whirlwind”, in Japanese)
- Kohaku on radioBroadcast on January 3
- Television beginsNHK and Nippon Television
- Rikidozan on street TVAbout 20,000 at Shimbashi
- Western CarnivalNichigeki, plus 1.127 billion admissions
- Record AwardsShonen Magazine and Sunday launch too
Key moments from 1951 to 1959.
In film, Yujiro Ishihara took the lead role and made his singing debut in Nikkatsu’s 1956 release Kurutta Kajitsu (Crazed Fruit). In the following year’s Arashi o Yobu Otoko (The Man Who Causes a Storm), his performance singing behind a drum kit captivated young audiences, and the theme song record became a major hit. (Nikkatsu Film History; NHK Archives: Yujiro Ishihara, both in Japanese)
Crowds Gather at Street TVs to See Rikidozan
NHK began regular television broadcasts in February 1953, followed by Nippon Television in August. Because TV sets cost between 170,000 and 200,000 yen—far beyond the reach of most households—Nippon Television installed large outdoor “street TV” receivers at station plazas and public squares in Shimbashi, Shinjuku and elsewhere. (National Archives of Japan, in Japanese)
In February 1954, when international pro wrestling tag matches pitting Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura against the Sharpe Brothers were broadcast live, huge crowds gathered around street TVs across Tokyo and its suburbs. Viewers roared as Rikidozan felled foreign wrestlers with his karate chops, and some 20,000 people packed the west plaza of Shimbashi Station, bringing nearby traffic to a standstill. (Tokyo Shimbun, in Japanese)
In professional baseball, the Giants-Tigers “Tenran Jiai” at Korakuen Stadium on June 25, 1959—watched in person by Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun—was broadcast nationwide. With the score tied 4–4 in the bottom of the ninth, the Giants’ Shigeo Nagashima hit a walk-off home run into the left-field stands off the Tigers’ Minoru Murayama. (Records on the Tenran Jiai, in Japanese)
1.1 Billion Cinema Admissions, and Rules About Where Actors Belonged
Annual cinema admissions in 1958 reached approximately 1,127,450,000, the all-time peak in Japanese film history. That cumulative total includes repeat visits by moviegoers who went to the theater many times a year. Even after television broadcasts began, movie theaters remained the largest venue for entertainment throughout the 1950s. (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, in Japanese)
Meanwhile, studio agreements governed which films an actor could appear in. The “Five-Company Agreement” (Gosha Kyotei), signed in September 1953 by Shochiku, Toho, Daiei, Shin-Toho and Toei, strictly restricted the poaching and loaning out of studio-contracted actors and directors. (Agency for Cultural Affairs, in Japanese)
No matter how popular two actors were, they could not freely co-star on the same screen if they belonged to different studios.
In animation, Toei Doga (now Toei Animation) released Hakujaden (The Tale of the White Serpent) in October 1958. Japan’s first feature-length color animated film laid the production foundations that later expanded into television anime. (Toei Animation, in Japanese)
Reading Tetsuwan Atom and Enjoying the Extras in Girls’ Magazines
In April 1952, Osamu Tezuka’s Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy) began serialization in Kobunsha’s monthly magazine Shonen. Readers met Atom in manga a full 11 years before the 1963 TV anime broadcast. (Osamu Tezuka official site, in Japanese)
Among monthly magazines for girls, Kodansha launched Nakayoshi in December 1954 and Shueisha launched Ribon in August 1955. Alongside manga, girls’ magazines of the era drew readers with elaborate papercraft supplements and photo pages featuring young stars. (Meiji University Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures, in Japanese)
On March 17, 1959, Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine and Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday launched on the very same day. Young readers who had previously waited a month between issues could now pick up new manga magazines every Wednesday. (Record of the launches, in Japanese)
Myojo’s Photo Pages, and Fan Letters to Your Oshi
Shueisha’s entertainment magazine Myojo launched in August 1952. Its predecessor, Heibon Shuppan’s Heibon, surpassed a circulation of 1.4 million with its June 1955 issue, and both titles flourished as magazines for viewing star photo spreads and songbook supplements. (Yuki Tajima, Shuppan Kenkyu no. 46, in Japanese)
Radio programs tied to the magazines also aired, allowing readers to hear the voices and new songs of the stars they saw in print. Popularity polls in the magazines linked directly with radio broadcasts, creating a cross-media system for supporting stars. (Same paper, in Japanese)
Key Events of the Decade
- Jan. 1951The 1st NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen is broadcast live on Radio 1Music
- Apr. 1952"Tetsuwan Atom" (Astro Boy) begins serialization in Kobunsha's Shonen magazineAnime
- Aug. 1952Shueisha launches the entertainment magazine MyojoMedia
- Feb. and Aug. 1953NHK and Nippon Television begin regular television broadcastsMedia
- Sept. 1953The five major film studios sign the Five Company Agreement, banning the poaching of contract actorsBusiness
- Feb. 1954Rikidozan's team faces the Sharpe Brothers, and crowds rush to street televisionsSports
- Nov. 1955"Janken Musume," the first film starring the Three Girls together, is releasedMusic
- Jan. 1956Hibari Misora's performance at the Asakusa Kokusai Theater descends into chaos, and one fan diesMusic
- Feb. 1958The 1st Nichigeki Western Carnival draws 45,000 people in one weekMusic
- Mar. 1959Weekly Shonen Magazine and Weekly Shonen Sunday launch at the same timeMedia
- June 1959At the Emperor's-attendance game at Korakuen Stadium, Shigeo Nagashima hits a walk-off home runSports
- Dec. 1959At the 1st Japan Record Awards, Hiroshi Mizuhara's "Kuroi Hanabira" wins the Grand PrixMusic
Words of the Era
- Gaito terebi (street television)
- The sight of crowds gathering around sets on streets and plazas to watch, before TV sets spread to homes
- Rockabilly
- A wave of music and fashion that spread after the 1958 Nichigeki Western Carnival
- Sannin Musume (the Three Girls)
- The name for Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and Izumi Yukimura. They first appeared together in the 1955 film "Janken Musume"
- Gosha kyotei (Five Company Agreement)
- A 1953 pact among the five major film studios forbidding the mutual poaching of contract directors and actors
Sannin Musume (“Three Girls”) names a combination of popular singers, and gaito terebi (“street TV”) names the place where people watched programs. Words for talking about the entertainment of the day spread too, such as rockabilly, the name of a genre of music.
In the next installment, the 1960s, television spreads into homes, and song shows, TV anime and Group Sounds join everyday pleasures.
FAQ
What kind of decade were the 1950s in oshi-katsu history?
It was a decade when the ways to see your oshi (cinemas, theaters, magazines, radio and street-corner TV) competed with one another. Televisions weren't yet in every home, so people went out to see their oshi and gathered in crowds.
Who were the "Three Girls" (Sannin Musume)?
The nickname for Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri and Izumi Yukimura, all born in 1937. They first starred together in Toho's *Janken Musume* (The Rock-Paper-Scissors Girls), which opened on November 1, 1955. *Romance Musume* and *Oatari Sanshoku Musume* followed.
When did NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen begin?
The first one aired live on Radio 1 on January 3, 1951, before an audience of about 300, with 14 singers, seven on each team. It moved to New Year's Eve and began airing on television as well from the fourth show, on December 31, 1953.
What kind of show was the Nichigeki Western Carnival?
A series of rockabilly shows that began on February 8, 1958, at the Nichigeki Theater in Yurakucho, Tokyo. Masaaki Hirao, Keijiro Yamashita and Mickey Curtis headlined, drawing 9,500 on opening day and 45,000 over the first week.
How did 1950s fans connect with their oshi?
Through reader-contribution pages and popularity polls in magazines, postcards sent in to radio programs, and fan letters. In 1957 a guidebook called *Fan Letter no Kakikata* (How to Write a Fan Letter) was even published.
When and who won the first Japan Record Awards?
It was held on December 27, 1959, at the Bunkyo Public Hall, and the Grand Prix went to Hiroshi Mizuhara's "Kuroi Hanabira" (Black Petals). Frank Nagai won the vocal performance award. The awards were created by an association of composers under contract to record labels.
