When it comes to summer, we might be overheard a song called “Summer Festivals”. “Summer festivals” is one of most famous song of summer in Japan.
Jitterin’ Jinn (ジッタリンジン)…
They are the band who sing this song.
Jitterin’ Jinn were formed in 1986 in the city of Nara, Japan. Japanese pop/rock quartet Jitterin’ Jinn were leading figures in the same late-’80s and early-’90s band boom that also included such luminaries as Begin, Tama, and Blankey Jet City.
The band made their debut in 1989 and started to get plays and gigs around Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka , with the rockabilly-influenced power pop single “Everyday” .
In the same year , they announce the release of album DOKI DOKI. They made a splash on the popular TV audition show ”Ikasu Band Tengoku”, where they took the title of “king” of the show. This time , they had already achieved a level of attention that would catapult them into stardom.😃
In 1990, “Present” (プレゼント) ”Sunday “ (にちようび) “summer festivals” (夏祭り) became a big hit for the band, which found the band beginning to fuse their ska-pop sound with more traditional Japanese and Okinawan.😄
While the band continued to release singles for the next few years, 1990 proved to be a high point, with the more synthetic, heavily produced sounds of J-Pop taking over the airwaves and charts, forcing the band’s movement into steadily diminishing returns.
Bassist left the band and in the end was never permanently replaced, with the band eventually settling for working as a trio with a string of support musicians. Nevertheless, Jitterin Jinn continued releasing albums throughout the ’90s, increasingly focusing on fan club-only releases.☺️
At the same time, bandleader Haya’s songs were successful for a number of other artists, such as pop singers Noriko Sakai and Tomoe Shinohara, as well as for anime voice actress Yuko Miyamura.
In 2000, a cover of “Natsu Matsuri” was a hit for all-girl punk-pop quintet Whiteberry, causing a renewal of interest in the band, with another of their periodic revivals occurring in 2008 with two Jitterin Jinn songs featuring on the soundtrack of the film Aozora Punch.
♪ Natsu Matsuri ♪ by Whiteberry
When it comes to summer, we might be overheard a song called “Summer Festivals”. Although this song was created more than 20 years ago, I do not feel it old.
Simple poem…
Impressive melody…
You may want to sing it involuntarily.
( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ
What is the significance of festivals for the Japanese?
“Matsu”, the original meaning of the word “matsuri” (festivals) in Japanese, means “to welcome the invisible to a place where they became visible.”
In other words, gods, who are usually invisible, visit during festivals, and are welcomed by the people. Japanese festivals handed down from ancient times are basically celebrated to bring about communication between gods and people.
Among the myriads of gods, however, there are some that bring about diseases and natural disasters, so festivals are also set up to ward off evil gods.
We usually don’t think about that though
(^ ^)
What are the three largest festivals in Japan?
The Japanese like to use the number 3 to summarize things, but as far as festivals are concerned, opinions are divided on which three to choose.
For instance, there is a view that the Sanja Festival in Tokyo, the Gion Festival in Kyoto, and the Tenjin Festival in Osaka are the three largest festivals.
But another view holds that the three largest festivals are the Sanno Festival in Tokyo, the Aoi Festival in Kyoto, and the Tenjin Festival in Osaka.
Each region has its three largest festivals. In the Tohoku region, the Nebuta Festival in Aomori, the Kanto Festival in Akita, and the Tanabata Festival in Sendai are said to be the largest three. In kyoto there are the Aoi Festival, the Gion Festival, and the Jidai Festival.