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The History of Karaoke
Karaoke loosely translated, it is an abbreviated compound
Japanese word where Kara (karappo) means Empty and Oke (okesutrua) means
Orchestra. In other words, karaoke is the music without the lead singer.
So technically speaking, any of the singers you see at
clubs, weddings, etc. that are using recorded music to perform with (no
instrument, band or orchestra) are karaoke singers. Don't tell them that,
though. They prefer to be called track singers, one-man bands, entertainers,
etc.
Born in Kobe
It is now widely recognized that the use of karaoke started
at a snack bar in Kobe City. It is said, that
one day when the strolling guitarist could not come to perform at the bar due
to illness or other reasons, the owner of the bar prepared tapes of accompaniment
recordings, and vocalists enjoyed singing to the tapes. Even though it is only
legend, this might have been the beginning of karaoke, and since then, karaoke
has been commercialized and has become very popular all over Japan
Kobe
Since Kobe Port was opened to international trade in 1868, on
the eve of the Meiji Restoration, Kobe has been
leading the way towards international exchange, and since then many foreigners
have come to live in Kobe.
Western-style residences in which foreigners used to live are located in
Kitano-cho, where a jazz festival is held every year, showing Kobe to be a Mecca for jazz fans. In addition, many foreigners participate in the "Kobe
Festival", known for its very popular parade enlivened with samba rhythms
and dance. Such musical leanings may lie behind the birth of karaoke.
The Background of Karaoke's Popularity
The Japanese like parties. From ancient times, a party
become enlivened when someone started singing and the others kept time with
hand-clapping, making the atmosphere more cheerful. It has never mattered
whether the person sings well or not. Even if he sings out of tune, it can
spark laughter and make the party more lively.
Having such a custom, the Japanese are generous when they
listen to other people sing, and can easily sing in front of others without
feeling reluctance. This also seems to be one of the reasons that karaoke has
been largely accepted in Japanese society
Karaoke was born in a night amusement quarter at the end of
the high economic growth period. Until then, customers used to listen to
popular songs via radio, request favorite songs by telephone, and the radio
station put the songs on the air. Such a system continued for quite a while.
However, it might be unnatural for many Japanese who like
singing to only listen to other people sing.
It was then that karaoke appeared on the scene. Holding a
microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of an "orchestra,"
you can feel like a professional singer. If other customers give you a big
hand, you feel all the happier. Karaoke has thus stimulated people's desire to
sing. For corporate soldiers living in a stressful society, there is no other
entertainment that can make them feel very refreshed. Consequently, karaoke
immediately spread from Kansai all over JapanTechnological Innovations and Karaoke Boxi
Though karaoke was at first an entertainment mainly for
business people, it has grown to be a nationwide amusement, thanks to
technological development and a new business called the "karaoke
box."
Originally in the form of a tape of a popular song's
accompaniment, karaoke evolved to the compact disk, which can locate the
beginning of a song immediately. This development also made possible the
enhancement of video scenes to create an atmosphere suitable to each song,
displayed on a TV monitor along with the words.
Using technological innovations such as the video disk,
laser disk, and CD graphics, karaoke has grown to be a major entertainment
industry. Family-use karaoke sets have also become popular, making the
amusement formerly limited to night spots possible in the home. However, there is an obstacle to this end of the business:
Since most Japanese houses stand close each other and are still built of wood,
with poor soundproofing, it would be very annoying to the neighbors to sing
into a microphone at night.
Seizing upon the opportunity created by this problem,
entrepreneurs created the karaoke box, a roadside facility containing
closed-door insulated rooms for singing. They are advertised as a place where
you can sing to your heart's content. The first karaoke box appeared in 1984 in
a rice field in the countryside of Okayama Prefecture, just west of
the Kansai area. It was built from a converted freight car.
Since then, karaoke boxes have been built on unoccupied
grounds all over Japan, and in urban areas, karaoke rooms, which consist of
compartments made by partitioning and soundproofing rooms in a building, were
introduced and set up one after another.
Karaoke was established mainly to provide
places to enjoy singing, they became widely popular among all sectors of the
population-office workers, housewives, college students, and also high school
students.
Karaoke's Unexpected Effects
Since karaoke boxes are closed-door facilities, they became
an object of public concern as potential havens for misdeeds among young
people. On the other hand, however, since not a few families enjoy singing
together in karaoke boxes, the karaoke box also plays a role as a place where
families can communicate through singing. This is important at a time when
generation gaps and family breakups are a nationwide concerns
Now, the karaoke boom has spread abroad, enjoyed not only in Korea and China but also in Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe.
Since karaoke displays the words and scenes of a song on a monitor, it has also
been attracting the attention of countries trying to improve their literacy
rate, as a good educational tool.
It is likely that karaoke, the entertainment industry born
in a small night spot in Kansai, will continue to make further strides in both
technological development and popularity.
It is said that since the popularization of records, radio,
and TV, people have become passive receivers of entertainment. The advent of
karaoke might help correct this phenomenon and make a great contribution to the
history of musical entertainment.
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