The , generally known as , was a Japanese popular music contest which ran from 1969 to 1986. It was sponsored by the

Yamaha Music Foundation The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established in 1966 by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization. It continued a program of music classes begun by Yamaha ...

and was held annually (later, twice a year) at the Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi in

Kakegawa, Shizuoka is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,925 in 45,519 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kakegawa is in the coastal plains of southwest Shizuoka Prefecture. It is borde ...

, Japan. The grand prix winners were to be qualified for the

World Popular Song Festival The , also known as Yamaha Music Festival and unofficially as the "Oriental Eurovision", was an international song contest held from 1970 until 1989. It was organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokyo, Japan from 1970 until 1989. The first e ...

History

* 1969: The first competition, as the , took place at the in

Shima, Mie is a city in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 47,272 in 22,599 households and a population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Shima hosted the 2016 G7 Summit. Geography Shima is loc ...

, Japan. * 1972: The contest was renamed . * 1973: From this year, the event was held twice a year. *May 1974: The contest venue was changed to the from this year. *May 1984: Due to a gas explosion in Tsumagoi the previous year, the

Nakano Sun Plaza , formerly Nakano Sun Plaza, is a hotel in Nakano, Tokyo. The hotel includes a concert hall, the Nakano Sunplaza Hall (formerly Nakano Sun Plaza Hall). Built in 1973,

temporarily hosted the event. *September 1986: The 32nd competition was held as the final Popcon event. * 1987: replaced the Popcon.

Notable participants

The following professional singers have won in some division of awards. *Junko Yagami (1974) *

Miyuki Nakajima (born February 23, 1952, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She has released 43 studio albums, 46 singles, 6 live albums and multiple compilations as of January 2020. Her sales have been estimate ...

(1975) *

Motoharu Sano , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. A graduate of Rikkyo University, Sano is a frontman with a history of performing in several bands which feature music both in Japanese and occasionally, English, playing songs that often have a ro ...

(1978) *

Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has appeared in movies and television dramas. His wife Etsuk ...

(1978) *

Frecuencia Mod Frecuencia Mod (also known as Super Frecuencia or Super in some countries) was a girl group from Chile, which achieved considerable success in Latin America and Europe at the height of the 1970s disco era. The group is also considered a pioneer t ...

(1978) *

Chage and Aska were a Japanese popular music duo composed of male singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture: and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan. History They were formed in the late 1970s at the suggestion of the A&R ...

(1979) * Crystal King (1979) *

Aming Aming (あみん) is female Japanese pop music, pop/Folk music, folk duo composed of Takako Okamura and Haruko Kato that debuted in 1982 with their hit "Matsu wa". However, they disbanded quickly, in November 1983. They have released a new album i ...

(1982) *

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(1983) *

Akino Arai is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and lyricist for various anime theme songs and shows, including '' Record of Lodoss War'', '' Please Save My Earth'', '' Macross Plus'', '' Outlaw Star'', '' Kaze no Stigma'', '' Maoyu'', and ''Aria The Originat ...

(1984)

Winners

1st Composition Concours (1969)

At the Nemu no Sato Yamaha Music Hall, on November 23, 1969. *Grand Prix ** Jun Mayuzumi

2nd Composition Concours (1970)

At the Nemu no Sato Indoor Hall, on November 5, 1970 *Grand Prix **

Mieko Hirota was a Japanese singer. Her nickname was Mico (also spelled ''Miko''). Hirota was born in Setagaya, Tokyo. She grew up listening to pop and jazz in places like Tachikawa, which was frequented by Occupation troops. She made her debut in 1961 at ...

3rd Composition Concours (1971)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 9, 1971 *Grand Prix ** Hide and Rosanna

4th Popcon (1972)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 8, 1972 *Grand Prix **

Chewing Gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/ plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its ...

, folk duo *Awards **

Yōsui Inoue is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. "Hailed as the Bob Dylan of Japan .. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he alway ...

Yumiko Kokonoe Yumiko Kokonoe (九重佑三子, born 21 March 1946) is a Japanese actress and singer. Her most notable role was the protagonist of the series '' Comet-san'' filmed by Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation (TBS). 79 episodes of Comet-san were produced ...

5th Popcon (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on May 20, 1973

6th Popcon (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 13, 1973 *Awards **

Akiko Kosaka Akiko can refer to: * ''Akiko'' (comic book), an American comic book * ''Akiko'' (film), a 1961 Italian comedy film * Akiko (Amiga), a custom chip used in the Amiga CD32 games console * Akiko (given name) is a feminine Japanese given name. Po ...

Popcon Grand Prix '73 (1973)

At the Nemu no Sato Outdoor Hall, on October 14, 1973 *Grand Prix **Kouichi Ise and Manji **Akiko Kosaka

7th Popcon (1974)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 5, 1974 *Grand Prix ** Kyoko Kosaka *Top Prizes ** Akira Yamazaki ** Yuki Katsuragi

8th Popcon (1974)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 13, 1974 *Chewing Gum

9th Popcon (1975)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 18, 1975 *Grand Prix **Shichifukujin *Best Song Award **

Shigeru Matsuzaki , known professionally as and sometimes as Shigeru BROWN, is a Japanese singer and actor. He is most known in the West for his contributions to the Katamari Damacy soundtrack, performing the theme songs of '' Nerima Daikon Brothers'' and acting ...

*Awards **

10th Popcon (1975)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 12, 1975 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award ** Akira Inaba (composer)

11th Popcon (1976)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 16, 1976 *Grand Prix **

Sandii Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provid ...

*Best Son Award ** Yukio Sasaki

12th Popcon (1976)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 3, 1976 *Grand Prix **White House II

13th Popcon (1977)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 8, 1977

14th Popcon (1977)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 2, 1977 *Grand Prix ** Masanori Sera & Twist

15th Popcon (1978)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 7, 1978 *Grand Prix **U・U *Best Song Award **

*Award ** Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi and Salty dog

16th Popcon (1978)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 1, 1978 *Grand Prix ** Hiroshi Madoka *Best Song Award ** Yūko Ōtomo *Highest Award **Monroes *Awards **

** Crystal King ** S.E.N.S.

17th Popcon (1979)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 6, 1979 *Best Song Award **

Ippei Suzuki Ippei (written: ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese politician *, Japanese badminton player *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese manga artist and anime producer *, Japanese Language interpretation, ...

*Awards **

** C. W. Nicol and his friends **Chizuru Matsunaga (Try-Tone)

18th Popcon (1979)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 7, 1979 *Grand Prix ** Crystal King *Best Song Awards **

Hironori Kaneko Hironori (written: 浩典, 浩徳, 浩得, 博紀, 宏範, 大徳, 宏典 or 弘則) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese singer and idol *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese f ...

**Gypsy and Arere no Re (the current

Stardust Revue , often called as or abbreviated to SDR, is a Japanese popular musical band formed in the late 1970s. Members Current members Regular members * ; lead vocalist, guitarlist and MC talking * ; vocalist and bassist * ; vocalist and drumm ...

)

19th Popcon (1980)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 11, 1980 *Grand Prix **Tomoya Itami & Side by Side (

Tomoya Itami Tomoya is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tomoya can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *友也, "friend, to be" *友矢, "friend, arrow" *友哉, "friend, how (interrogative particl ...

and

Tomoji Sogawa Tomoji is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Tomoji can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *友二, "friend, two" *友次, "friend, next" *友児, "friend, child" *友治, "friend, manag ...

) *Awards ** Haruhi Aiso **

Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe Omega Tribe (Japanese: ; sometimes stylized as Ωmega Tribe) was a Japanese soft rock and city pop project that was led by producer Koichi Fujita, with the bands being handled by industry veterans Tetsuji Hayashi, Tsunehiro Izumi, and Hiroshi ...

(as "Kyutipanchosu")

20th Popcon (1980)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 5, 1980

21st Popcon (1981)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 10, 1981 *Grand Prix **Toshihiro Itoh

22nd Popcon (1981)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 4, 1981 *Grand Prix **Aladdin *Award **

Yuiko Tsubokura Yuiko (written: 結子, 悠衣子 or ゆい子) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese women's footballer *, Japanese singer *, Japanese voice actress {{given name Japanese feminine given names ...

*Kawakami Prize **

Megumi Shiina is a Japanese feminine given name. In Japanese, the word megumi means "blessing; grace." Possible writings While the word megumi means blessing and can be written using that kanji, it may also be spelled using other kanji, such as the kanji fo ...

23rd Popcon (1982)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 16, 1982 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award **Asqua *Kawakami Award **Carlos Torres & the Sweet Dreams

24th Popcon (1982)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 3, 1982

25th Popcon (1983)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 15, 1983

26th Popcon (1983)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 2, 1983 *Grand Prix ** Midori Karashima

27th Popcon (1984)

At the Nakano Sun Plaza, on May 13, 1984

28th Popcon (1984)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 7, 1984 *Grand Prix **

*Best Song Award **Sway *Award **

29th Popcon (1985)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 12, 1985

30th Popcon (1985)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on October 6, 1985 *Grand Prix **Kazuyuki Ozaki & Coastal City *Best Song Award **Rika

31st Popcon (1986)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on May 11, 1986 *Award **Jinnouchi Taizō

32nd Popcon (1986)

At the Tsumagoi Exhibition Hall, on September 29, 1986

References

External links

Popcon history
{{Music festivals in Japan Song contests Music festivals in Japan Music festivals established in 1969 Recurring events disestablished in 1986

History

Notable participants

Winners

1st Composition Concours (1969)

2nd Composition Concours (1970)

3rd Composition Concours (1971)

4th Popcon (1972)

5th Popcon (1973)

6th Popcon (1973)

Popcon Grand Prix '73 (1973)

7th Popcon (1974)

8th Popcon (1974)

9th Popcon (1975)

10th Popcon (1975)

11th Popcon (1976)

12th Popcon (1976)

13th Popcon (1977)

14th Popcon (1977)

15th Popcon (1978)

16th Popcon (1978)

17th Popcon (1979)

18th Popcon (1979)

19th Popcon (1980)

20th Popcon (1980)

21st Popcon (1981)

22nd Popcon (1981)

23rd Popcon (1982)

24th Popcon (1982)

25th Popcon (1983)

26th Popcon (1983)

27th Popcon (1984)

28th Popcon (1984)

29th Popcon (1985)

30th Popcon (1985)

31st Popcon (1986)

32nd Popcon (1986)

See also

References

External links