Minwoo’s Right Brain Archive

Ue wo muite arukou (aka “Sukiyaki”) by Kyu Sakamoto

Released by Capitol Records in the US as Sukiyaki (Capitol 4945), it topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States for three weeks in 1963 — to date the first and only song sung entirely in Japanese to do so. The lyrics were written by Rokusuke Ei and the melody was composed by Hachidai Nakamura. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears won’t fall. The verses of the song describe him doing this through each season of the year.

The original Japanese title was considered too difficult for American audiences to remember and pronounce, therefore a well-known word that people would associate with Japan was used - Sukiyaki, even though the word has nothing to do with the song. A Newsweek columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing “Moon River” in Japan under the title “Beef Stew.

This is one of my mom’s favorite songs. Long time ago, she and I drove around record stores to trying to find this song on CD. When I sent her this link to this YouTube video, she was so delighted :)

On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123. Before the doomed aircraft hit the ground, he managed to write a farewell note to his wife, Yukiko Kashiwagi. Married in 1971, they had two daughters, Hanako and Maiko.

This sad side story somehow makes the song even more beautiful…