Shizuko Kasagi? Hibari Misora?　Who really are Japan’s “original idols”? A look at idols before Saori Minami

An idol is an idol to be worshipped

• [Idol.
• 1. an idol.
• A person or thing that is worshipped. 3.
• A target of admiration. A person who has a passionate fan base. Idol singer.
• (from Digital Daijisen)

What really is an “idol”?

We have reviewed the history of modern idols over the past 50 years, starting with Saori Minami and Mari Amachi, who debuted in 1971, but “idols” existed even before that.

For example, a French movie starring Sylvie Vartan, released in 1963, was clearly titled “Cherchez l’idole” (Search for the Idol). Sylvie Vartan, Milène de Monjo, Charles Aznavour, and other popular French singers and actresses of the time played the roles of themselves, and the song of the same name sung by Sylvie Vartan was a hit (it was also covered by Mie Nakao and The Peanuts in Japan in 1965). (It was also covered in Japan by Mie Nakao and The Peanuts in 1965.)

) Further back, Judy Garland, who played the main character Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” a musical movie released in 1939 and famous for “Over the Rainbow,” is said to have been the origin of the idol-like popularity of the actress. The term “idol” is used to refer to a person who is popular as an idol.

The word “idol” originally meant an idol. Idols that are worshipped religiously are sometimes replaced by familiar figures. This sense of worship and the positive feelings one gets from watching and rooting for young singers and actors in recent years have somehow overlapped, and the highly enthusiastic “push/promoted” existence has come to be known as “idol” in the real world.

Asumitaiko, the original idol who gave smiles and courage to soldiers going off to war

Let us go back even further in time from the appearance of Saori Minami mentioned in the first article of this series.

In prewar Japan, there was a woman who is sometimes called “the original idol,” and she had a large and enthusiastic fan base.

Her name was Waitako Asumo. She was a singer who performed at the Moulin Rouge Shinjukuza theater in Shinjuku. Many people may remember that in 2010, the NHK drama “Idol,” starring Kotone Furukawa, was produced and broadcast to great acclaim, depicting her activities. As the signature actress of Moulin Rouge, her singing and dancing became popular, and she was featured on posters for Calpis and Lion Toothpaste, making her a truly “idol-like” presence.

You can see her at the theater (Moulin Rouge), and she was the original “idol you can go see. As depicted in the drama, Taiko’s presence brought energy and courage to the young soldiers of the time, and soldiers going off to war would watch her on stage and shout, “Long live Taiko! and Taiko would gently call out to them from the stage, “We wish you a long and prosperous military career. This relationship is no different from the atmosphere of the idol scene that continues to this day.