is a 1975 song by Japanese singer-songwriter

Miyuki Nakajima (born February 23, 1952, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She has released 44 studio albums, 48 Single (music), singles, 6 live albums and multiple compilations as of January 2020. Her sales have ...

. It was used as the official theme song of the Osaka Expo, and won the grand prize at 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. The first edition of the World P ...

in November 1975. It was released as a single in December 1975 and sold over 2 million copies. In 1993, it was redubbed for release in '' Jidai: Time Goes Around,'' and in 2007 it was included in the ''

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''. A cover was released by

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in 1988, and in 2008 it was translated and sang by

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. An instrumental version was used in

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's series

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(2001).

Ayumi Hamasaki version

Singer-songwriter

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...

initially mentioned working on new music at the beginning of 2024, going on to write about feeling "nervous" about a recording session, for "a song that's simply too great". A few weeks later, it was announced that she would be covering "Jidai". It was released as a digital single on March 25. Upon the song's release, Hamasaki paid tribute to the original track, stating "I worked with the best staff and musicians to produce this song, paying due respect to Nakajima Miyuki's great masterpiece. I expressed myself the best I could." The track was used as the theme song for ''Banpaku no Taiyo,'' a TV-drama based in 1970s Japan. Actress

Kanna Hashimoto is a Japanese actress and former singer. From 2011 to 2017, she was a member of the Fukuoka-based idol girl group Rev. from DVL. During her time with the group, in 2013, a fan-taken photo of her performing went viral on Twitter and 2channel, b ...

starred as heroine Asano Kyoko, the show following her journey working for the Osaka Expo and her goal to connect people from all over the world; it is described by critics as a "heartwarming" drama focused on celebrating the history of the era. When asked about the show, Hamasaki commented "I agreed to sing the theme song because I empathized with the world view depicted in this drama, especially the story of the main characters, who continue to pursue their dreams in an era when women's advancement in society was not recognized at all."

Critical reception

Critics complimented Hamasaki's interpretation, comparing its production and quality to her previous covers of

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's "Sotsugyou Shashin" and "Haru yo, koi". "(Hamasaki) brings out the charm in every song" ''Sponichi'' said in its coverage, while another critic compared it to Hamasaki's previous hit song "

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": "Listening to (Jidai), I remember how much I love Hamasaki's singing voice." Other commentary was similarly positive, the release being met with reported responses of "It's a song that has been covered by hundreds of artists, so why does Ayu's voice pierce my heart so much?" and "Ayu is the epitome of this generation". The song debuted at number one on the Oricon Daily Digital Single Chart, and placed at number thirty-one on the Oricon Weekly Digital Singles Chart with 1,790 downloads.

References

{{authority control 1975 songs Miyuki Nakajima songs