Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 1991: Tokyo Love Story and "SAY YES," the J.League Is Founded and the Wakataka Sumo Boom

In 1991, the Monday 9:00 p.m. TV dramas Tokyo Love Story and The 101st Proposal drew huge ratings, and each of their theme songs sold more than 2.5 million copies. Buying slim 8-centimeter CD singles at record shops the day after a broadcast and replaying them while recalling favorite scenes spread across the country.

In the city, the large-scale disco Juliana’s Tokyo opened in Shibaura, Tokyo, while Sanrio’s outdoor theme park Harmonyland opened in Oita Prefecture. In grand sumo, the brother wrestlers known as “Wakataka” challenged the top ranks, and in November the professional soccer league, the J.League, was established as a legal corporation.

1. FebruaryTwo debuts and a hitZARD debuts; Oda's drama theme is released
2. April-MayHarmonyland and Juliana's TokyoSanrio park in Oita; Shibaura disco in Tokyo
3. JulySAY YES released13 straight weeks at No. 1 on Oricon
4. SeptemberSMAP release their debutCan't Stop!! -LOVING-
5. November 1J.League foundedLeague play begins in 1993
6. November 24Freddie Mercury diesLead vocalist of Queen

Drama songs, new idols, dance floors and a new soccer league in one year.

Tokyo Love Story, The 101st Proposal, and the Boom in 8-Centimeter CDs

From January to March, Fuji TV aired the Monday 9:00 p.m. drama Tokyo Love Story, adapted from Fumi Saimon’s manga. The romance between Rika Akana, played by Honami Suzuki, and Kanji Nagao, played by Yuji Oda, drew an enormous response, with the final episode reaching a 32.3% rating. Kazumasa Oda’s theme song “Love Story wa Totsuzen ni” (“Love Story Comes Suddenly”), released on February 6 as a double A-side single with “Oh! Yeah!”, sold a cumulative 2.58 million copies. A double A-side is a single format in which both included tracks are treated as title songs (Kazumasa Oda official, in Japanese).

From July to September in the same Monday 9:00 p.m. slot, Fuji TV aired The 101st Proposal, written by Shinji Nojima and starring Atsuko Asano and Tetsuya Takeda. Takeda’s line “Boku wa shinimasen!” (“I won’t die!”), shouted after leaping in front of a dump truck, became one of the year’s biggest catchphrases. CHAGE and ASKA’s theme song “SAY YES,” released on July 24, held No. 1 on the weekly Oricon chart for 13 straight weeks (Oricon, in Japanese; Sponichi’s record from the time, in Japanese).

Tokyo Love Story

Kazumasa Oda
"Love Story wa Totsuzen ni"

The 101st Proposal

CHAGE and ASKA
"SAY YES"

Cumulative Oricon sales of “SAY YES” reached 2.82 million copies. No single had spent 10 or more consecutive weeks at No. 1 since Akira Terao’s “Ruby no Yubiwa” ten years earlier in 1981. An era had begun in which the intro and vocals playing at the climax of a weekly television drama directly propelled sales of 8-centimeter CDs. Sponichi’s record from the time (in Japanese)

1. 01Watch weeklyA drama you follow every Monday night
2. 02The song sticksTied to the scenes you loved
3. 03Buy the 8cm CDYour own copy of the song
4. 04Replay anytimeEven on days with no broadcast

The same path runs from today's anime openings to a new favorite artist.

At the 33rd Japan Record Awards at year-end, KAN’s “Ai wa Katsu” (“Love Wins”), an uplifting song that spread from the variety program Kunichan no Yamada Katsutenai TV, took the Grand Prix in the Pop and Rock category. “SAY YES” and “Love Story wa Totsuzen ni” also won Gold Disc awards, while Noriyuki Makihara, whose “Donna Toki mo.” was a major hit, won Best Pop and Rock New Artist (Japan Composers Association, in Japanese).

ZARD and SMAP Debut on CD; X Plays Tokyo Dome

Artists who would anchor the 1990s music scene also made their debuts one after another. On February 10, ZARD, centered on vocalist Izumi Sakai, debuted with the single “Good-bye My Loneliness.” On September 9, the six-member idol group SMAP, who had been active in variety shows and stage productions since forming in 1988, made their CD debut with “Can’t Stop!! -LOVING-.” SMAP had also held their first Nippon Budokan concert on New Year’s Day of this year (ZARD official, in Japanese; Victor Entertainment, in Japanese).

B’z, who had earned their first weekly Oricon No. 1 the year before, achieved their first million-seller with the single “LADY NAVIGATION,” released March 27. They followed in autumn with the single “ALONE” and the album IN THE LIFE, while running the national tour “Pleasure ‘91” from May. On August 23, the rock band X staged their first Tokyo Dome concert as the finale of their national tour (B’z official, in Japanese; Tokyo Dome: performance records, in Japanese).

On November 24, Freddie Mercury, lead vocalist of the British rock band Queen, died at age 45. His death came about 24 hours after he issued a statement making public that he had AIDS. Deeply loved by Japanese music fans since Queen’s first visit to Japan in 1975, he was mourned across the country (Queen official).

“Juliana’s Tokyo” Opens in Shibaura, and “Harmonyland” Opens in Oita

In the Cabinet Office’s official business-cycle reference dates, the peak of the bubble economy was later dated to February of this year. Yet across spring and summer, large leisure venues symbolizing the lingering heat of the bubble era opened one after another. On May 15, the large discotheque “Juliana’s Tokyo” opened in a warehouse district in Shibaura, Minato Ward, Tokyo, launched jointly by Nissho Iwai and a British leisure company (Nippon Broadcasting NEWS ONLINE, in Japanese).

Inside, resident DJ John Robinson spun techno and house dance tracks while women in form-fitting “bodycon” dresses danced on elevated stages (“otachidai”) about 1.3 meters high. The sight of dancers waving feathered fans known as “Juli-sen” was featured daily on television and in magazines, and compilation CDs collecting club dance tracks also expanded sales through record labels such as Avex (Nippon Broadcasting NEWS ONLINE, in Japanese; Avex corporate history, in Japanese).

Meanwhile in Hiji, Oita Prefecture in Kyushu, the outdoor Sanrio character theme park “Harmonyland” opened on April 26. Built as a sister facility to the indoor Sanrio Puroland that had opened in Tama, Tokyo the previous December, it gave families and fans in western Japan a park surrounded by nature where they could enjoy live shows, parades and attractions with Hello Kitty and friends (Harmonyland official, in Japanese).

The “Wakataka” Boom: Two Brothers’ Promotions and Bouts Make Headlines

In grand sumo, 18-year-old rank-and-file wrestler Takahanada defeated yokozuna Chiyonofuji on the opening day of the May tournament. Chiyonofuji, who had reigned at the top of the sport for years, announced his retirement on the third day of that tournament, leaving a vivid impression of a generational shift in the ring (Japan Sumo Association: Chiyonofuji, in Japanese; Takanohana, in Japanese).

Riding that momentum, younger brother Takahanada was promoted to his first sanyaku rank at the July tournament, and older brother Wakahanada followed at the November tournament. Sanyaku is the collective name for the three top ranks below yokozuna—ozeki, sekiwake and komusubi—and both brothers reached komusubi this year, stepping into the upper tier to face yokozuna and ozeki head-on (Japan Sumo Association: Takanohana, in Japanese; Wakanohana, in Japanese).

At the eighth New Words and Buzzwords Awards at year-end, “Wakataka,” the name bundling the two brothers together, won a gold prize in the trendy-phrase category. Accepting the award at the ceremony was their mother, Noriko Hanada, affectionately known as the “okami-san” supporting the young wrestlers of Fujishima Stable (Jiyu Kokuminsha, in Japanese).

The J.League Is Founded: Preparations Move Toward the 1993 Opening

On February 14, the ten founding organizations of the professional soccer league—later known as the “Original 10” (Kashima, Ichihara, Urawa, Yomiuri, Nissan, ANA, Shimizu, Nagoya, Matsushita and Mazda)—were selected. Then on November 1, the Japan Professional Football League, known as the “J.League,” was formally established as a legal corporation. With Saburo Kawabuchi serving as its first chairman, preparations began among the ten participating clubs for the league opening on May 15, 1993 (J.League official, in Japanese).

1. 1991

   November 1: the corporation is established

   The organization to run the professional league is launched.

2. 1992

   Cup competition is held

   Ahead of the league opening, the clubs face each other in the J.League Cup.

3. 1993

   May 15: the league opens

   Ten clubs took part, and league matches began.

J.League official site: About the J.League (in Japanese)

Whereas teams in the former Japan Soccer League (JSL) had been corporate works teams, the J.League removed company names from club names and emphasized rooting each club in its local “hometown.” Preparing uniforms and team mascots, the framework that leads to today’s oshi-katsu of cheering on a local club was being built across the country from this year (J.League official, in Japanese).

In August and September, the 3rd World Championships in Athletics were held at Tokyo’s National Stadium, where Carl Lewis set a world record of 9.86 seconds in the men’s 100 meters, Hiromi Taniguchi won gold in the men’s marathon and Sachiko Yamashita took silver in the women’s marathon before nationwide TV audiences.

Comic Market Returns to Harumi, and Street Fighter II Arrives in Arcades

The doujinshi convention Comic Market returned from the previous year’s Makuhari Messe to the Tokyo International Trade Center in Harumi, Chuo Ward, Tokyo. The 40th in August drew about 11,000 circles and the 41st in December about 14,000, with attendance at the summer 40th recorded at 200,000 over two days (Comic Market Preparation Committee, in Japanese).

11,000

Circles at the 40th, in summer

14,000

Circles at the 41st, in winter

200,000

Attendance at the 40th over its two-day summer run

¥800

Price of that year's catalog

Attendance at the 40th was a combined figure over its two-day summer run.

Source: Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)

Because the Harumi exhibition grounds had less floor space than Makuhari Messe, total attendance was lower than the year before, but the number of participating circles in winter set a new high.

In game arcades across town, Capcom’s head-to-head fighting game Street Fighter II began operation in March. Players chose one of eight characters, such as Ryu or Chun-Li, and combined an eight-way joystick with six buttons to unleash special moves. Head-to-head arcade cabinets where another player could drop a coin on the opposite side to challenge a solo player spread across the country, igniting a boom in competitive fighting games (Famitsu.com, in Japanese).

At home on the Super Famicom, Final Fantasy IV was released in July and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in November, establishing the habit of immersing oneself in full-scale stories and adventures on the new console launched at the end of the previous year. On television, the shojo-manga adaptation Goldfish Warning! (Kingyo Chuuihou!) began airing in January and the futuristic motorsport anime Future GPX Cyber Formula in March, expanding fan enjoyment into drama CDs and music albums.

In movie theaters, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, took No. 1 among foreign films with distribution income of ¥5.75 billion, drawing wide attention for its computer-graphics depiction of the liquid-metal enemy T-1000. Studio Ghibli’s Only Yesterday (Omohide Poroporo), directed by Isao Takahata, led Japanese films at ¥1.87 billion (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, in Japanese).

Released February 6

Tokyo Love Story

• Kazumasa Oda
• "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni"
• 2.58 million copies sold on 8cm CD

Released July 24

The 101st Proposal

• CHAGE and ASKA
• "SAY YES"
• 13 straight weeks at No. 1, 2.82 million sold

A weekly drama and an 8cm CD gave the same song two lives.

Key Events of the Year

1. Feb. 6Kazumasa Oda releases "Love Story wa Totsuzen ni"Music
2. Feb. 10ZARD debuts (Being label)Music
3. Feb.The economic peak; a recession begins the following monthBusiness
4. Mar. 27B'z releases "LADY NAVIGATION"Music
5. June 3A major pyroclastic flow occurs on Mount Unzen-FugenSociety
6. JulyTakahanada is promoted to a new sanyaku rank (July 1991 tournament)Sports
7. JulyThe "Dragon Ball Z" theatrical film opensAnime
8. July 24CHAGE and ASKA release "SAY YES"Music
9. Aug."Terminator 2" opens in JapanFilm
10. Aug. 16–17Comic Market 40 (200,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works
11. Sept. 9SMAP makes its CD debut with "Can't Stop!!-LOVING-"Music
12. Oct. 10TV anime "Moero! Top Striker" begins airingAnime
13. Oct. 30B'z releases "ALONE"Music
14. Nov. 1The Japan Professional Football League (J.League) is foundedSports
15. Nov.Wakahanada is promoted to a new sanyaku rankSports
16. Nov. 24Freddie Mercury diesMusic
17. Dec. 29–30Comic Market 41 (200,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works

The Year’s Buzzword Awards

Grand Prize...Ja arimasen ka ("...isn't it?", Charlie Hama's comic catchphrase)

Charlie Hama

New words · GoldKasairyu (pyroclastic flow, from the Mount Unzen eruption)

Unzen Volcano Observatory, Japan Meteorological Agency

New words · SilverHitomebore ("love at first sight," also a rice variety)

Wataru Ito

New words · BronzeHachigatsu kakumei ("August Revolution," the failed hardliner coup in the Soviet Union)

—

Expression · GoldKawasaki Gekijo ("Kawasaki Theater," the Lotte Orions' home stadium)

Masaichi Kaneda

Expression · SilverChikyu ni yasashii ("kind to the Earth")

Tadayuki Tashiro

Expression · SilverKon-bure ("navy blazer")

Representative of self-proclaimed navy-blazer enthusiasts

Popular phrases · GoldWakataka (the sumo brothers Wakahanada and Takahanada)

Noriko Hanada

Popular phrases · SilverJuudai na ketsui ("a grave resolve")

Shigeru Ishiba and others

Popular phrases · BronzeSonshitsu hoten (securities "loss compensation")

Tomoo Takei

Popular category · GoldBoku wa shinimashe~n ("I won't die!" from the drama 101st Proposal)

Tetsuya Takeda

Popular category · SilverDadan boyoyon boyoyon (Pip Fujimoto commercial jingle)

Yoshiji Matsuura

Popular category · BronzeDance Koshien (dance contest on the Nippon Television show)

Nippon Television

Special category · Special AwardChanneling

Ryuho Okawa

Special category · Chain-Words AwardMasami-san, Masako-san, tanuki-gao ("Ms. Masami, Ms. Masako, raccoon-dog face")

Masaru Nashimoto

At the eighth New Words and Buzzwords Awards, the grand prize of the year went to Yoshimoto Shinkigeki comedian Charlie Hama’s catchphrase “…ja arimasenka.” A gold prize in the popular category went to “Boku wa shinimasen” (“I won’t die”), shouted by Tetsuya Takeda in The 101st Proposal (Jiyu Kokuminsha: winners of the eighth awards, in Japanese).

In 1992, X held the first three-day consecutive run at Tokyo Dome by a Japanese artist, and Sony launched the recordable MD Walkman. With the birth of the online karaoke system JOYSOUND and the start of the TV anime Sailor Moon and YuYu Hakusho, new ways to enjoy favorite works arrived one after another.