Oshi-Katsu Chronicle: 1981 — YMO and Dr. Slump, the Rise of Radio's Postcard Regulars, and Donkey Kong
In 1981, YMO, a group known for its electronic instruments, released two albums. On TV, Dr. Slump Arale-chan, based on Akira Toriyama’s manga, began airing.
On late-night radio there was the pleasure of hearing your own contribution, written on a postcard, read out on air.
- Beat Takeshi's All Night NipponA Thursday late-night radio program begins
- YMO releases BGMThe first of two albums that year
- Dr. Slump Arale-chanThe anime begins broadcasting
- MTV launchesThe US music video channel
- TechnodelicYMO's second album of the year
- Japan Record AwardsKondo wins Best Newcomer
The same year connected stage, screen, studio and mailbox.
Masahiko Kondo’s Newcomer Award, and Akira Terao’s Grand Prix for “Ruby no Yubiwa”
At the year-end Japan Record Awards, Masahiko Kondo won the Best Newcomer award for “Gingiragin ni Sarigenaku” (Casually, Glittering). Following Toshihiko Tahara the year before, a singer from the “Tanokin Trio” took the prize for the second year running. (Japan Composers Association, in Japanese)
The Grand Prix went to “Ruby no Yubiwa” (Ruby Ring) by Akira Terao, who was also known as an actor.
The people behind the songs had something in common too. Takashi Matsumoto, who wrote the lyrics for “Ruby no Yubiwa,” also wrote Seiko Matsuda’s “Shiroi Parasol” (White Parasol) that year, the first Seiko single he had written lyrics for. (Seiko Matsuda official site, in Japanese)
Akira Terao
- Ruby no Yubiwa
- Known as an actor as well
Masahiko Kondo
- Gingiragin ni Sarigenaku
- Following Tahara, the second Tanokin Trio member to win
Hiromi Iwasaki
- Sumire-iro no Namida
- Lyricist Takashi Matsumoto was active that year
Matsumoto wrote "Ruby no Yubiwa" and Seiko Matsuda's "Shiroi Parasol."
YMO Releases BGM and Technodelic
YMO is a trio of Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Known for music made with electronic instruments, they released two albums in 1981.
- March 21BGM
- Even after the huge hit Solid State Survivor, they took on new ways of building sound.
- November 21Technodelic
- The next album, worked on in the same year. The members themselves thought highly of it.
(Article looking back on the making of the two albums, in Japanese)
In the US, the music channel MTV launched in August. It was a channel that broadcast music videos. (Record of MTV’s launch)
Arale-chan on TV and in Merchandise, and Donkey Kong in Games
Dr. Slump Arale-chan, which began broadcasting in April, is an anime starring Arale-chan, a robot in the form of a human girl. Toei Animation’s company history notes that the show ran for five years and that its character merchandise was a huge hit. (Toei Animation, in Japanese)
That same year, Nintendo released Donkey Kong, a game played on arcade machines. Nintendo’s home console, the Family Computer, would appear two years later, in 1983. (Nintendo history)
Magazines about anime multiplied as well, with the launch of My Anime and Animedia. Like the existing Animage and Monthly OUT, the new magazines covered a work’s artwork, voice actors and reader contributions. (Agency for Cultural Affairs: explainer on anime magazines, in Japanese)
Contributing to Late-Night Radio, and Regulars Called “Hagaki Shokunin”
On January 1, Nippon Broadcasting began Beat Takeshi’s All Night Nippon. It was a Thursday late-night program, and the contributions listeners sent in on postcards drew a following. (Gendai Business, in Japanese)
Regulars became known by their pen names, and the term hagaki shokunin (“postcard artisans”) also came into use. The activity of that show’s contributors is cited as the origin of the word.
- 01WriteCompose it on a postcard
- 02MailSend it by post
- 03ListenTune in to see if it was chosen
- 04Hear it readThe host reads it on air
- 05Become a regularKnown by your pen name
Regulars were known by pen names; some later became radio writers.
Unlike today, when you can post to social media instantly, back then you wrote on a postcard and mailed it, then listened to the broadcast to find out whether it had been chosen.
Record Output Falls, but TV Song Shows Were Still Being Watched
Analog disc production in 1981 was about ¥172.4 billion, down about 4.9% from the year before. Unit output was about 168.53 million discs, down about 13.5%. (Recording Industry Association of Japan, in Japanese)
Meanwhile, that year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, NHK’s New Year’s Eve song show, recorded a household rating of 74.9% in the Kanto region. (Video Research, in Japanese)
Record production and home viewing are separate numbers.
- -4.9%
- Change in analog disc production value from 1980, to about ¥172.4 billion
- -13.5%
- Change in unit output, to about 168.53 million discs
- 74.9%
- Household rating of the Kohaku Uta Gassen in the Kanto region
Sources: Recording Industry Association of Japan (discs, in Japanese); Video Research (Kohaku rating, in Japanese)
Key Events of the Year
- Jan. 1"Beat Takeshi's All Night Nippon" begins broadcastingMedia
- Mar. 21YMO releases the album "BGM"Music
- Apr."Dr. Slump Arale-chan" begins airingAnime
- MayPia renames its independent film festival the "Pia Film Festival"Media
- May"The Elephant Man" is released, the top foreign film at 2.45 billion yenFilm
- JulyTakashi Matsumoto works on a Seiko Matsuda song for the first time, "Shiroi Parasol"Idols
- Aug."Rengo Kantai" is released, the top Japanese film at 1.9 billion yenFilm
- Aug.MTV launches in the United States (Aug. 1 local time)Music
- Oct.Seiko Matsuda's "Kaze Tachinu" is releasedIdols
- Nov. 21YMO releases the album "Technodelic"Music
- Dec. 31The 23rd Japan Record Awards. The Grand Prize goes to Akira Terao's "Ruby no Yubiwa"Music
- Dec. 31The 32nd NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen reaches a viewer rating of 74.9% (Kanto region)Media
- Full yearNintendo releases the arcade version of "Donkey Kong"Games
- Full yearRecord production value reaches 172.407 billion yen, the first year-on-year decline in the statisticsBusiness
- Full yearThe Nippon-Ham Fighters win the Pacific League, and the Giants win the Central LeagueSports
Words of the Year
- PFF (Pia Film Festival)
- An independent film festival run by the information magazine Pia. It took this name in May 1981
- Donkey Kong
- An arcade video game released by Nintendo. It popularized the experience of meeting the same character again and again at the arcade
“PFF” in the chart stands for the Pia Film Festival. The event for independently made films that Pia had held before took on this name in 1981. (Pia history, in Japanese)
In 1982, Akina Nakamori, Kyoko Koizumi and others make their debuts. The CD and the CD player, new products for playing music, arrive that year too.
FAQ
How did record sales change in 1981?
According to Recording Industry Association of Japan statistics, analog disc production came to ¥172.407 billion, down about 4.9% from ¥181.238 billion the year before. Unit output fell about 13.5%.
Who won the 23rd Japan Record Awards?
The Grand Prix went to Akira Terao's "Ruby no Yubiwa" (Ruby Ring), the top vocal performance award to Hiromi Iwasaki's "Sumire-iro no Namida" (Violet Tears), and the Best Newcomer award to Masahiko Kondo's "Gingiragin ni Sarigenaku" (Casually, Glittering). The lyricist Takashi Matsumoto had a bigger presence this year.
When did the term "hagaki shokunin" (postcard artisan) come about?
It's the name for regulars who write in again and again to radio shows and become known through the program. Accounts of the term link it to the regulars of *Beat Takeshi's All Night Nippon*, which began in 1981.
What was YMO doing in 1981?
They released the album BGM on March 21 and Technodelic on November 21. Two different albums in the same year, each pushing further into sound made with electronic instruments.
What happened in anime and games in 1981?
In April the TV series *Dr. Slump Arale-chan* began airing and its character merchandise was a huge hit. In the same year Nintendo released the arcade version of *Donkey Kong*.
