Keiongaku = 輕音樂 (Popular Music)
- Place of Publication: Tokyo, Japan
- Language: Japanese
- Date of Publication: 1946-1947
- Introduction by: Stella Li
The RIPM Jazz Periodicals collection will include four issues of Keiongaku [Popular music] from September 1946 to July 1947: vol. 1, no. 1–3, and vol. 2, no. 2. Published in Tokyo by Keiongaku-sha, each issue is approximately 30 pages in length. From January to August 1948, the journal adopted a new title, Keiongaku to eiga [Popular music and film], but does not appear to continue after 1948. The journal was edited by photographer Tomizawa Kunihide 富澤邦英, brother in-law of the renowned songwriter Hattori Ryōichi 服部良一.
The journal devotes its attention to popular music in Japan, with a particular focus on the culture and practice of singing as well as pop stars in the entertainment industry. Featured celebrities include Kasagi Shizuko 笠置シヅ子, Ri Kōran 李香蘭 (Yamaguchi Yoshiko 山口淑子), Namiki Michiko 並木路子, Matsubara Misao 松原操, Watanabe Hamako 渡辺はま子, and Haida Katsuhiko 灰田勝彦. In addition to artist profiles and interviews, the journal includes educational materials such as singing technique guides and introductions to social dance.
A recurring lecture series by Hattori Ryoichi, titled “Swing Lesson,” offers a pedagogical overview of the musical foundations of swing. These lessons aim to teach readers how to sing popular songs and include music examples illustrating rhythm, melody, groove, and articulation. A notable feature of the journal is its inclusion of sheet music. The vocal scores notate melodies using cipher notation; the vocal-piano scores are presented in staff notation with harmonic indications in letter notation. Full lyrics accompany the scores.
The journal also provides regular coverage of developments in the U.S. jazz scene. A regular column by Noguchi Hisamitsu 野口久光 is devoted to profiles of prominent American bandleaders, including Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Duke Ellington.
Frequent contributors include Hattori Ryōichi, Noguchi Hisamitsu, Futaba Jūzaburō 双葉十三郎, and Hoshino Hikari 星野光. Of interest are biographical sketches and interviews with Japanese female singers and actresses, such as Yamaguchi Yoshiko and Todoroki Yukiko (vol. 1, no. 1); Naragi Michiko and Kasagi Shizuko (vol. 1, no. 2); Matsubara Misao and Sayo Fukuko (vol. 1, no. 3); and Ike Mariko (vol. 2, no. 2). The interview with the Hawaiian-born musicians Haida Yukihiko and Katsuhiko (vol. 1, no. 3), and Enomoto Eiichi 榎本映一’s the commentary on the popular singing culture of the time (vol. 2, no. 1), further illuminate the musical landscape in early postwar Japan.
This RIPM Index was produced from copies of the journal held by the Gordon W. Prange Collection at the University of Maryland, College Park.