Japanese women singer-songwriters of the 1970s

Female Agency, Musical Impact and Social Change

Bibliographic Data

ID4304609
AuthorsLasse Lehtonen (0000-0001-7765-6524, The University of Tokyo, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume40
Issue1
Pages114-138
Publication date2021-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePopular Music (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-1430 • E-ISSN: 1474-0095
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0261143021000088
OpenAlexW3170121207
LanguageEN
References cited41

With the debuts of highly popular artists such as Matsutōya Yumi, Nakajima Miyuki and Takeuchi Mariya, Japanese popular music of the 1970s saw a rise of young female singer-songwriters. Not only were they notably successful commercially but they were also respected as creative artists. This recognition and valuation of female professional creativity was extraordinary from a gender point of view. Furthermore, their position as active social agents defied the social expectations for women in Japan at that time. In this respect, they can be conceptualised as a musical embodiment of the movements pursuing female emancipation in the 1970s. While the musical significance of these female singer-songwriters has been recognised in previous studies, the gender point of view has remained largely unaddressed. By drawing from theories about female musicians and canon formation, this article re-assesses the social significance of Japanese female singer-songwriters of the 1970s

Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Art · Creativity · Emancipation · Literature · Musical · Political science · Politics · Popular music · Social science · Sociology · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Gender Studies · History · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Law · Music History and Culture · Psychology · Social Psychology

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