Karaoke: Breaking Down Social Barriers

Jonel Nicole A. Jao

“I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have

yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of
us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby
we feel these emotions in their universality.”
H.A. Overstreet
I. Introduction
The entire room was decorated red all over, I hear the sound of the clashing forks and
spoons as the waiters were rushing to set up all the tables on time. There was this small stage and
a 14” TV set with a microphone stand placed right in the middle of it. I remember vividly how I
ran all over this place when I was little. My mom used to work in a Chinese restaurant and every
weekend, I would come with her to work and have my free delicious lunch and dinner. But that
day was special, it was the time that I’ll be singing my first karaoke piece. If my memory does
not deceive me (I was 4 or 5 back then), I was carefully studying the machine, I curiously held
the microphone and began to utter words on it, the little me was so amazed to hear her own voice
over the echoing speakers. My mom came to me and said, why don’t you sing, while the
customers aren’t around yet? She selected a song from a big bulky book but I don’t remember
how she managed to let the song play. A familiar tune started to fill the air, “I know this song!” I
loudly exclaimed, it was entitled 新鴛鴦蝴蝶夢 (xīn yuān yāng hú dié mèng), a song from a
famous Taiwanese drama 包青天(bāo qīng tiān) (this drama is about a strict and honest judge in
the Song dynasty), aired in the early 90s, which I would always watch with my dad during
Sundays. And so, the little me began uttering words to the beat, of course, with the wrong lyrics,
however, it was acceptable for a 5-year old performing. As soon as I finished singing, my mom
exclaimed clapping, saying 很好 (very good) in Fookien. Proud as I was, the tale ends, that was
the first ever karaoke performance of yours truly.
Karaoke, as we all know, has become a global phenomenon. From the busy commercial
Shinjuku district in Tokyo to the country bars in Texas to the wake on the streets in Tondo here
in Manila, karaoke has seeped into the heart of every culture in the world. Coined from the two
Japanese words ‘kara’ ( 空 ) meaning empty and ‘oke’ ( オ ケ ) abbreviated from the word
orchestra, this beloved machine has gone through several transformations from its first
emergence in Japan in the 1960s.
Although karaoke is loved by most of the people all over the world, its function is not the
same for all cultures. While in the West, it is seen as a joke for people to embarrass themselves
(Lee, 2008) or as a talent contest (Shimatachi, 2000), for the Japanese, karaoke is not ‘just a
machine’, it is taken very seriously (Lee, 2008). Karaoke singing is an important aspect in
Japanese lives because it is not only a leisure activity but it also breaks down social barriers
created among people. This paper will explore the karaoke culture in Japan, particularly karaoke
as social lubricator in the Japanese company setting.

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 This paper includes a history and in what state the karaoke machine is in at present. It
will also discuss how Confucianism affected the Japanese psyche and why this philosophy is one
of the reasons of the success of karaoke in Japan today. Finally, the paper will also discuss that
while karaoke is has its good side, it is also seen as a burdensome obligation for some.
The sources of this study include books, magazines, online publications, online reviews,
anime, and personal accounts from Filipino teachers (teaching Japanese language) who have
mingled with the Japanese and stayed in the land of the rising sun for years.
II. Karaoke, where did you sprout from?
It has been a long debated issue where the magic machine karaoke came from. The
Japanese, the Chinese, the Filipinos, even the Welsh (Zhou & Taracco, 2007) are arguing that
they were the ones who invented karaoke. But before we continue the karaoke battle story, let us
first discuss into detail the word ‘karaoke’. As mentioned earlier, karaoke came from the two
Japanese words ‘kara’ and ‘oke’ which can be literally translated as ‘empty orchestra’. Meaning,
there is an orchestra playing, however, the live band itself is not visibly present, thus empty.
Whoever really coined the term is still unknown.
The early form of karaoke has been attributed to coffee shops called utagoe kissa (歌声
喫茶, singing cafes) which became popular in Japan in the early 1900s (Zhou & Taracco, 2007).
In this venue, individuals can request songs and sing to it while a live band, usually composed of
piano, accordion, or guitar, provided the background music for the songs. Song books with
dozens of lyrics are usually placed on top of the tables which can be purchased for a small
amount. Although songs were requested individually, everyone, friends or strangers, was free to
join in and sing along (Lam, 2009). Nevertheless, this activity would have not been easily
accessed by the common people as hiring live bands is very expensive and the range of songs a
band can play might have also been limited.
During the 1960s, there were two recorded technologies available: the phonograph disc
and the recorded tapes. These can be easily played as long as their playing machines are
available, however, selecting songs was proved to be a lengthy process. To aid this, the juke-box
was utilized. The juke-box was brought in to Japan by the Americans after the World War II and
they became moderately popular in the country. People can sing along to these records, but all of
them have the original vocals on it (Mitsui, 1998).
In the late 1950s, the audio tape and deck went available in Japan, making recording
possible. In 19521, a morning radio program called 歌のない歌謡曲 (uta no nai kayoukyoku,
Japanese popular song without singing) began which aired one or two popular Japanese songs
played by an orchestra without vocals. With the technology of easy recording available, some bar
owners started to record the program and played the music in their bars at night. However the
songs were not good to sing along to, as they were arranged intended to be for background
music. Also, the issue of the copyright infringement came into the spotlight (Mitsui, 1998).

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 In 1964, a night-club owner called
Seiji Kawabata from the seaside town
Ishikawa hired an old pianist from Nagoya.
With over 500 songs in pianist’s collection,
the man played his instrument as an
accompaniment for the drunken singers. To
reduce the pianist’s labor, Kawabata
recorded the accompaniments in a reel-to-
reel tape that made the songs easily
accessible for the customers. The lyrics of
the songs were available in print, however
with wear and tear, the owner tried to
transfer lyrics to slides and project them on a
screen (Mitsui, 1998). This was probably the
first attempt to do such. However, the
disadvantage of this reel-to-reel tapes is the
time consuming rewinding, fast-forwarding The reel-to-reel tape needed to be threaded from one
reel to another if it one wants to repeat playing the
and searching of songs.
recording in it

In 1967, a record store called Yamachiku produced professionally-performed ‘music-

minus-ones’ of Japanese popular songs. Together with Japan Victor, these recordings were sold
to clubs that had Victor juke-boxes and microphones were installed to these machines. The
business lasted for about 10 years, however, due to the juke-box’s bulky size, the limited songs it
can contain (about 200 at most), and the damage created on the records due to constant usage,
these juke-boxes eventually faded from the scene (Mitsui, 1998)

In the late 1960s, the 8-track stereo

continuous loop cartridge was introduced in
Japan. In each track of the loop cartridge, 4
songs can be recorded, so in one cartridge,
16 songs may be recorded. This was an
entirely more convenient gadget than the
reel-to-reel tape that most people used for
early recording. While the reel-to-reel tape
needed to be threaded from one reel to
another if it finishes, the 8-track loop
cartridge continuously plays without having
to thread anything as it automatically stops
itself when the track is finished and
automatically shifts to another track (Mitsui,
1998).
The 8-track stereo continuous loop cartridge allowed
continuous playing of songs without the need of
threading

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 According to a magazine called Gekkan Karaokefan (cited in Mitsui, 1998), someone
thought of using the 8-track continuous loop cartridge and install it in a juke-box. Iwao
Hamazaki produced such machine and named it ‘Mini-Juke’. A microphone mixer and a coin-
timer came with this machine so that customers can sing along with a fee of ¥100. Hamazaki
rented them out to bars and found that there was a big market awaiting so with the company
called Teikoku Dempa Co. (which is now the karaoke manufacturer Clarion), the product began
to be mass-produced. However, music recorded on these cartridges weren’t minus one but the
Japanese popular songs with vocals (Mitsui, 1998).
In 1972, a stereo-set equipped with a ‘voice-changer’ came out on the market. This
‘voice-changer’ allowed consumers to drop down the frequency of the vocal part of the
recording, almost deleting it, thus enabling them to sing the songs without the extra vocals
(Mitsui, 1998)
Daisuke Inoue has been known as the father of karaoke by the common folk as soon as a
Singapore-based all-karaoke TV channel "discovered" him in 1996 (Iyer, 1999). Born in Osaka
in 1940, Inoue was a mediocre backup player in utagoe kissas. Although the man cannot read
musical notes and only relied on his adept ear, he became popular for his extraordinary flair:
‘manipulating music to make the worst singer croon in tune’ (Lee, 2008).
One day, an owner of a small ironworks company asked Inoue to record accompaniments
for songs that he’ll bring with him in a company recreation trip. The owner intended to entertain
his employees with his own singing. Inoue saw the potential of the market so he and his band
mates recorded their own performances of accompaniments in 8-loop cartridges. The beauty of
this invention by Inoue (which he named ‘8-juke’) was that his accompaniments were
specifically arranged for amateur singers so the consumers can sing to it effectively. Aside from
this, Inoue was able to modify the 8-track loop cartridge allowing instantaneous selection of the
songs (Mitsui, 1998). As mentioned earlier, each track of the 8-track loop cartridge contained
about 4 songs, so one cannot just start playing the music he likes if it’s recorded in the middle of
these 4 songs (e.g. as song number 3). Inoue cut these tapes so that each track would only
contain one song allowing instant selection once placed in the machine. The machine also came
with hand written lyric sheets inserted in a vinyl album to protect from spillage of drinks. The
lyrics were proved to be indispensible until the superimposed lyrics appeared on screens (Mitsui,
1998).
However, as Inoue failed to patent his invention, he never earned much from this multi-
million industry. He said “I took a car stereo, a coin box, and a small amp to make the karaoke.
Who would even consider patenting something like that?” (cited in Lee, 2008). He did however,
indirectly earn from his genius invention, this was from the cockroach and rat repellent he made
for the easily infested karaoke machines (Lee, 2008).
In 1999, Daisuke Inoue was named as one of Time Magazine’s ‘The Most Influential
Asians of the Century’, where big politicians such as Mao Zedong, Lee Kwan Yew, Park Chung
Hee and Cory Aquino were included. Inoue was said to have “helped to liberate legions of the
once unvoiced: as much as Mao Zedong or Mohandas Gandhi changed Asian days, Inoue
transformed its nights.” (Iyer, 1999).

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 In 2004, Inoue was also presented the Ig Nobel Peace Prize, this is a parody of the real
Nobel Prize, where winners are chosen through “achievements that first make people laugh, and
then make them think” (Improbable Research). Inoue was awarded with the Ig Nobel Peace Prize
“for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each
other” (Improbable Research).

Daisuke Inoue and the prototype of karaoke, the 8-Juke

Inoue failed to patent his invention, but someone else did. The first person ever known to
patent the karaoke machine was a Filipino named Roberto “Bert” del Rosario in 1975. Del
Rosario developed the ‘Sing-along Machine’ equipped with a double to single tape deck, an amp,
an optional tuner, and a mic mixer. Then a Chinese company came suing del Rosario and
claimed that they were the inventors of karaoke. Del Rosario won the case as he was the first
patent holder according to the Philippine Supreme Court (Lee, 2008). The lesson: Once you
invent something, patent it as soon as possible, no matter how silly you may think it is. You’ll
never know, maybe your silly invention will win you a Nobel Prize.
III. Karaoke Today
From Daisuke Inoue’s 8-juke box to the modern touch screen karaoke establishments
today, karaoke has really experienced numerous transformations.
In 1978, a machine that scores karaoke singing appeared on the market, the 100 point
system rates the singer according to his pitch, tempo and rhythm. In 1982, visual karaoke came

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to the scene through laser discs eventually replacing the audio tapes. The key-shifting capability
also came out of the market, allowing the key of the recorded accompaniments to be shifted
according to the singer’s range. In 1986, karaoke boxes sprouted everywhere. These karaoke
boxes allowed personal space for different groups of people which the bars and pubs cannot give.
Each group had their own karaoke set in their sound-proof room without having to worry about
strangers hearing them sing (Mitsui, 1998). In the late 90s, portable karaokes, where everything
you need is in a microphone, was introduced to the world market. This microphone has a built-in
number key for the selection of songs and songs can be added through microchips. Its features
include a scoring system and key-shifting capabilities. Today, with the advent of touch screen
technology, styluses can be used to select karaoke songs instead of the old number buttons.
Whereas before, karaoke machines were just added bonus to pubs, bars and other
drinking establishments, now it has become a business in itself (e.g. karaoke boxes). According
to All-Japan Karaoke Industrialist Association, in 2007, there are about 129,400 karaoke box
establishments in Japan alone.
Karaoke goers range from high school students, salarymen, old women, even foreigners 2.
Karaoke boxes cater to almost all generations and all kinds of customers. There are karaoke
boxes that come with a playground so that families with little children can go and some karaoke
boxes even include jet baths.

Karaoke box for the family with young children

(photo from: http://hararie-japan-tokyo-
tokyo.com/japanese_culture/2009/12/japans-karaoke-
is-continuing-evolving.html)

The videos flashed behind the lyrics in karaoke also vary. Some cater to kids, with the 3-
D cartoon background, while some are aimed at men, with women on sexy bikinis. In other
countries cheesy scenes that are connected to the song are filmed and used as a background for
karaoke screens. Recently in the Philippines, the WOW Magic Sing manufacturers coordinated
with the local Department of Tourism to promote tourism in the Philippines. Pictures of beautiful
sceneries found in the Philippines are flashed as the background of this portable karaoke
machine.
Moreover, karaoke can be seen not only in establishments, but also in other forms of
devices such as mobile phones, videogames, and even automobiles.

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 One of the first companies that introduced karaoke in cellular phones was the Finnish
firm Nokia in cooperation with Japanese videogame machine maker Taito Corporation in 2003
(CNET Asia Staff, 2003). This enabled users to follow the lyrics displayed on the cell phone
screen as it also changes color, like most karaoke machines today, to the progress of the song. In
2004, Vodafone in cooperation with Sharp and Toshiba launched a portable karaoke machine,
mobile phones that can be attached to an external display, so that consumers won’t have to
endure the small display capability of the phone. Users can use the mobile phone as their
microphone and their voice will be heard from the TV. Most of these services are downloadable
via mobile internet, however at first, they were only available in Japan (Williams, 2004).
Recently, Griffin Technology launched iKaraoke3, an accessory for the iPhone and iPod
(with dock-connector). For $50, one can plug this little microphone to one’s iPod, and it ‘isolates
the lead vocal track in your favorite music and fades it’(Griffin Technology). It comes with a 12-
foot cord that you can plug to your stereo. You can also create your own video via the preloaded
software, Tuneprompter (Geeksugar). The setback however, this device does not give you the
lyrics of the song. Another from iPhone and iPod is an application called KaraokeAnywhere.
Real karaoke track-like songs can be purchased and downloaded via the internet. The goodness
of this application is that it provides and prompts you with the lyrics, however, unlike the
iKaraoke, this does not come with a microphone.
To cater the expanding young consumers (children) of karaoke in Japan, in 1987, Bandai
released a video game called ‘Karaoke Studio’ for the Nintendo Famicom (more known as
family computer) (Gamespot). Gamers can sing-along to the 25 Japanese songs programmed to
this cartridge that comes with a microphone. There is also the cheesy video accompanying the
lyrics’ theme, and the game also scores your singing (Famicomworld), however, this game could
not have measured up to the real karaoke machine during those days since the Famicom’s sound
and display capabilities were only limited. The latest karaoke video games released are Konami’s
‘Karaoke Revolution’ and Sony Computer Entertainment’s ‘SingStar’. Karaoke Revolution 4 can
be played in the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. This game lets you create your own
character, from hair, eyes to skin color, and lets you choose your stage backdrop for the whole
experience. You can see the character you’ve made singing and dancing to the groove of the
song you’re singing. Like the normal karaoke, it is equipped with superimposed lyrics. Your
accumulated score can be seen rising in the screen, unlike the traditional karaoke, where you
have to wait till the end to know your score. The scoring system is also different, whereas the
traditional karaoke have the 100-point system, in Karaoke Revolution, you can score up to a
million. Aside from this, you can play it online to bond with your friends. Sony’s SingStar on the
other hand, has almost the same features as the Karaoke Revolution but in SingStar, the original
music video of the song plays on the screen and the game is only developed for the PlayStation
consoles. SingStar comes with a pair of USB microphones and the players can use the
PlayStation cameras so they can see themselves while singing. Additional songs can also be
downloaded from the internet. These video games might be a cheaper alternative for those
karaoke addicts out there. Instead of going to a karaoke boxes every night, one can just purchase
a $299 PlayStation 3, and you can keep it all your life and sing all you want in your home.
Who said that transportation must be dull? Tour buses and even taxis in some parts of the
globe are equipped with karaoke equipments. The karaoke machines set on these automobiles are
the regular ones however, but just imagine the experience! According to Japan Pictorial (1996),

13
‘if a taxi has karaoke equipment, there’s a chance customers will ask the driver to around the
block one more time’. This is beneficial for both the taxi driver and the passenger, more earnings
for the former and more fun for the latter. In 2003, Geely Automobile, an automaker in China,
manufactured the sports car Beauty Leopard, the first car equipped with a built-in karaoke
machine (LA Times, 2010).

According to Japan Pictorial, ‘if a taxi has karaoke equipment, there’s a chance customers will ask the driver to
around the block one more time’

IV. Karaoke: Breaking Down Social Barriers

As I have mentioned earlier, although karaoke is accepted by almost every culture, its
function differs in every society. In Japan, where ‘giving it a try’ and ‘making a sincere effort’ is
usually applauded even though you’re the worst singer out there, in the West, it is only reserved
for those who have talent to show off (Shimatachi, 2000). This is may be because of the fact that
people from the West are individualists as compared to group-oriented cultures such as Asia’s.
(Lum, 1998).
Although several individualistic technologies such as mobile karaoke and videogames
have emerged, karaoke boxes are still saleable in the market. According to All-Japan Karaoke
Industrialist Association, in 2007, there are about 46,700,000 customers who frequent karaoke
boxes in Japan alone.
I shall discuss with emphasis the karaoke activities in Japanese companies, where they
use the real machine and the real microphone.
After the World War II, Japan was left in a devastated state. Its natural resources are
limited and the only tool it has is its creative and industrious people. To motivate its people to
work better, Japanese companies gave lifetime job securities and guaranteed benefits such as
company-owned housing and health and welfare benefits (Japan As It Is, 1990). Because the

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company’s success meant more security, employees worked harder and usually never took a
vacation or left early during the day until all the work is done (Morimoto-Yoshida, 2005). Thus,
a strong sense of loyalty is built and a harmonious relationship between the employee, his
colleagues and employers is deemed essential if they were to spend the rest of their working lives
together (Pictorial Encyclopedia of Japanese Culture, 1987).
The importance of a harmonious relationship for the Japanese can be traced back to the
classical Chinese philosophy of Confucianism, which was brought by the Koreans to Japanese
court in the 2nd century. ‘The Confucian vision of an ideal society sees good relationships as
fundamental to social stability’ (Lai, 2008). This can be applied to Japanese companies; with
good relationships, conflicts are resolved, teamwork is improved, productivity is boosted and
more or less, this will lead to economic stability of the firm. To maintain this harmony, the
Japanese also tend to be humble about their abilities and performance in front of people as not to
be conspicuous in the group (Morimoto-Yoshida, 2005). So to get up the company ladder, you
have to be a team player.
However, while Confucianism promotes harmony, it also emphasizes hierarchy; ruler-
subject, father-son, husband-wife, and in the modern setting, employer-employee. In a Japanese
company, most of the high ranking officials are those who have stayed in the company for a very
long time, getting promoted is usually seniority-based and not ability-based.
Because hierarchy is treated with utmost respect in Japanese society and people usually
concentrate at work and never get to speak to each other much, a social barrier is created among
the employees. To break this social barrier and improve relations within the company, the
management organizes and spends millions on social events such as group tours to spas, athletic
competitions for the employees and their families, farewell-parties for those who will be
transferred to another branch, welcome parties for the new hires and year-end parties where
failures are forgotten and good memories are remembered and toasted to (Pictorial Encyclopedia
of Japanese Culture, 1987; Japan As It Is, 1990; Titon, 2005). In these family-like gatherings,
relationships are strengthened. Of course, karaoke, the main star of our show, wouldn’t be left
out.
There is also the tsukiai (付き合い) or the ‘after-hours’, where company employees, with
or without their boss, go to pubs and bars, stop for a drink, relax, talk over arguments and sing
karaoke. These events are important in cultivating the manager-subordinate relationship. The
manager usually stands as the subordinates’ father figure in the company. He does not only
assign tasks effectively to his subordinates but he must also make sure that his subordinates’
emotional and psychological state are well (Morimoto-Yoshida, 2005). When things such as
family problems cannot be talked about in work, usually, the places to go are these tsukiai
venues.
Foreigners who are sent to Japan for business are often surprised by how Japanese
companies do transactions. Often it is slow-paced and discouraging in the part of the outsider.
Whereas in the West, all business transactions are usually done in a formal setting, the Japanese
will drag you to pubs and karaoke bars that don’t seem to have anything to do with the deal you
want to get. They’re not making fun you, they’re just getting to know you.

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 For the Japanese, even if the products you’re offering are of high quality, they are
hesitant to transact with new dealers (Morimoto-Yoshida, 2005). Before they go to a serious
stage such as business, you have to gain their trust first. They have to see how well you handle
yourselves, your competence, your company’s products’ quality and whether you are trustworthy
enough to do business with. And how is this trust achieved? Through informal meetings such as
drinking at bars, karaoke golf, fishing and such (March). Before you can make a deal with the
Japanese, you have to be technically, friends first.
In trust-building karaoke setting such as this, one must be careful as not to sing Elvis
Presley or Frank Sinatra songs, as you might be taking away the Japanese’s chance to impress
you (Shimatachi, 2000).
So how does karaoke break social barriers and strengthen harmonious relationships
between people in the company? Whereas conversations requires knowledge and wit, music is a
different type of socializing (Titon, 2005), as H.A. Overstreet puts it “I have my own particular
sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong
to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these
emotions in their universality”. With music, nostalgic feelings are shared and all become equal in
their sentiments. For the Japanese, it is not how well you sing, but how much effort you put to
participate in the said event, as Ogawa (1998) states:
Karaoke can reinforce the sense of belonging within a group. With its wall of
music, karaoke encloses a ‘karaoke space’. People within it are thought to be
friends. There a singer has to show a different face from normal. And singing in
the presence of the others in spite of shyness in thought to be trustworthy. Both
sharing a ‘karaoke space’ and singing in the presence of others reinforce group
consciousness.
In order to maintain the spirit of harmony, although one is shy to sing, he entrusts himself
to the audience and through that, he gives away a part of himself.
Each member is anticipated to participate, both as an audience and as a performer
(Ogawa, 1998). As a spectator, they are expected to simultaneously choose their own song, talk
with their colleagues, play the tambourine or maracas if the instruments are available and clap in
between the performances of the singers. On the other hand, the performer is expected to give it
his best shot at delivering his song with the best possible emotion as to entertain his spectators.
Although karaoke is a casual event, there are still some etiquette guidelines one must
follow when participating in it. Some of these ‘hidden rules’ according to Ogawa (1998) are: (1)
one must not sing two songs in succession so that more people will have the chance to sing, (2)
one must not sing the same song that others have sung to avoid boredom and competition among
the participants, and (3) when others are singing, be able to clap in between verses and at the end
of the song. This does not entail that one must seriously listen to the singer, but responding
through clapping shows ones respect to the performer.
According to Shimatachi (2000):
In Japan the good salaryman is also a good karaoke participant, he is never so
horrible a singer to irritate his colleagues, yet he is not necessarily vocally

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 blessed. Having practiced a wide repertoire of songs, he is prepared to
accommodate any audience with his talents, however limited. If he is called upon
to play the role of a host, he may be the first one to step up to the microphone, but
he will wait until everybody has had his turn before he selects a second round of
songs. He has already memorized his boss’s favorites and chooses one of these to
save his superior the appearance of being overly eager. He may elect to sing
medleys by popular singers to allow other to join in. If spirit starts to sag, he
might wail a nostalgic tune in falsetto. Like a good emcee, finally, he can be
counted upon to make appropriate compliments or jokes after each person’s
performance to show appreciation.
For a better imagery of the karaoke space, I shall discuss an episode of the anime ‘The
Laughing Salesman’(笑ゥせぇるすまん) entitled ‘The Karaoke Patient’ (カラオケ症患者)5
aired in 1990. (However, due to my limited Japanese language knowledge, the following is only
my understanding of the episode, I have also deleted some unimportant parts in this discussion).
The episode starts in a karaoke bar, the 30-year old salaryman named Karao Keichi (I just
observed that if you merge his name and you get karaokeichi, which can be roughly translated as
‘karaoke one’) looks irritated as he hears his boss’ singing. The next scene was the alley where
Karao throws up, the laughing salesman rubs the salaryman’s back and asks ‘Do you feel bad?’
(more likely to mean ‘Are you okay?’). The salaryman gets shocked and exclaims ‘What the?!’,
‘I’ve kindly given you a pat on your back…’ the laughing salesman replies. ‘Sorry for that’
murmurs Karao.
‘You seem to have done a lot of drinking, don’t you?’ the laughing salesman asks.
‘There’s no escaping my boss’ bad singing, so I came to drink a lot,’ explains Karao.
‘That’s a great advantage, there’s a place near here that I plan to go to, why don’t you
join me and you can rest there?’ invites the laughing salesman.
The laughing salesman brings Karao to a jazz bar. The laughing salesman says that
karaoke is always done in tsukiais right? You don’t want others to hear you singing badly,
eventually the salesman offers a karaoke set called ‘karaoke master’ so Karao could practice his
karaoke singing.
The next day, the karaoke set arrives, Karao’s wife is quite disturbed by its image. Karao
enters the capsule-like machine and examines it. He figures out how to operate it and started
practicing, practicing and practicing even while taking a bath with his baby. His wife had a
positive response to it.
Then at night, the salesman and Karao went for a karaoke. Karao sang for the salesman
and the salesman responded positively by saying ‘I’m surprised by how good you got, next time,
why don’t you let you boss hear it?’ Karao refused and said when it comes to his boss, he loses
his confidence. The laughing salesman said ‘I will let them hear you sing~!’ and magic sparks.
Karao’s boss said ‘There’s this important transaction we have to make so we’ll meet this
particular company president at a karaoke.’

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 Night came and it was karaoke time, Karao’s boss introduces the company president to
the hostesses and asks them to serve the guest well.
Karao’s boss asks the company president ‘Why don’t you sing a song for us?’
The company president replies, ‘I cannot make a decision yet… you (referring to Karao),
why don’t you sing a song for us?’
Karao’s boss declines and says ‘No… he’s no good.’
Karao keeps quiet but suddenly the image of the laughing salesman appears tempting him
to sing. He volunteers and says ‘I will sing, just one song…’
‘Is it okay?’ Karao’s boss asks.
‘Yes! I think,’ Karao replied determined.
Karao’s boss worries and jokes to the company president, ‘If he sings badly, we can
cheer him up later,’
Karao goes on stage nervous and starts singing. To everybody’s surprise, he sang rather
beautifully. Everybody looks happy and seems to have connected with the song. After the
performance, everyone eagerly claps. The company president was about to stand up when Karao,
having gained confidence, shyly offered to sing another song. Again, everybody seemed to have
connected to song happily.
However, Karao goes on and sang and sang, the other people in the bar still clapped
eagerly as he finished his song, however his company, his boss and the company president, were
unhappy.
Karao’s boss takes the microphone as soon as the singer finished and offered it to the
company president. The company president eagerly obliges and starts to sing. However, Karao
butts in and sings.
The company president gets angry, breaks the microphone and leaves pestered. (Say
goodbye to any contract for Karao’s company). Karao’s boss reprimands him, pushes him and he
falls unto a table, wounding his forehead. Karao however, exaggeratedly continued singing and
he goes on and on. He didn’t go to work as he continuously sang on his ‘karaoke master’ leaving
himself almost dying.
We can sum up in this episode how karaoke may create or break relationships between
Japanese companies. When Karao was asked to sing by the company president, though not
confident, the salaryman obliged and sang. This left a good impression on the president because
although he was warned that Karao was not a good singer, the salaryman entrusted himself to the
audience. Also, as Karao sang his enka (a Japanese nostalgic and sentimental song) people
connected with the feelings and memories it created, making group consciousness felt. The
audience also encouraged Karao as they cheerfully clapped for the song well sung. However,
Karao came to the point of dominating the microphone and not giving any chance to the
company president to sing, this reflected a bad attitude of greediness, thus breaking the good
impression he created at first.

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 Also, we can observe from this episode how Karao’s boss tried to maintain the group
harmony by grabbing the microphone from Karao and offering it to the company president.
However, one can also see from this particular episode that not all karaoke participants
enjoy the experience. Maybe some, like Karao, cannot tolerate the bad singing. Some are
pressured as they know that they are really bad singers but they are ‘forced’ to sing no matter
how badly they feel just to maintain the group harmony.
Although I say that social barriers are broken in the karaoke setting, I do not mean that
one can forget the respect to seniors. Even though the strict company hierarchy tends to be more
relaxed when singing karaoke, proper decorum must still be followed, nevertheless.

Japanese salarymen as depicted in Shigeaki Kato’s Sha-la-la tambourine

V. Conclusion
From the finest hotels in the world to the shabbiest of night clubs in the small street
aisles, from barely walking seniors to barely walking babies, karaoke has indeed successfully
dominated almost every culture in the world. For each culture, karaoke has a different purpose.
In the individualistic culture in the West, karaoke is done in the pursuit of social admiration or
just something to amuse himself. In collectivist society such as Japan, karaoke is a significant
social function. Karaoke singing is an important aspect in Japanese lives because it is not only a
leisure activity but it also breaks down social barriers created among people. Japanese are
particularly Confucian in nature where group harmony is essential. Also a Confucian trait is the
high reverence the young gives to its seniors. However, these two things come into clash because
with hierarchy, social barriers are formed, and with social barriers, group harmony is hard to
achieve without the other being subjugated. Music is an effective way of breaking these social
barriers because in it, one does not require knowledge and wit, even without a good voice. A
willing and eager participation is enough capital to communicate with people in karaoke.

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 Karaoke singing has been used by Japanese companies to promote group harmony among
its employees and to get know their clients better, be it local or foreign. In karaoke singing,
where one entrusts himself to audience, an invisible connection is linked between the performer
and the audience. Aside from this, the karaoke setting is a more relaxed place where one can feel
at home and treat each other like family.
However, karaoke is not all good as there are people who feel burdened, pressured or
traumatized when obliged to sing in front of an audience. But in order to maintain the group
harmony, one succumbs to the request and sings eventually. There are also a lot of stabbing and
killing around the world because of arguments of who will sing next and who will take over the
microphone. In the Philippines, singing Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ in public has been avoided
because it has been known recently to that singing My Way will get you killed (New York
Times).
In Japan, it is usual for TV stations to put the lyrics superimposed on the screen during
singing shows. CD singles of singers in Japan also always include the karaoke version of the
song so that the purchaser can sing along with it. Odd as it may be, there are even karaoke
instructional DVDs available in the market6. How one should stand, move or express a verse in a
song are taught. There are even schools that teach how one can polish their karaoke.
This is how serious the Japanese takes karaoke as a social event. Maybe, there is some
truth to the saying ‘Karaoke singing is a businessman’s tool to success’.
Notes:
1. According to Mitsui, the show began in 1958, but according to the official website of the
show (http://www.utanashi.com/whats/index.html ) which is still on-air, it started in the
27th year of Showa (昭和 27 年), which was in 1952.
2. I have included the music video of Shigeaki Kato’s Sha-la-la tambourine in the DVD
(Track1). The video’s setting is a karaoke box and it shows the customers it caters to.
This video can also be accessed in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=7bQICrR5wZc
3. To see how this works, I have downloaded the review of iKaraoke by Raina Lee, author
of the Hit me with your best shot!: The ultimate guide to karaoke domination (Track2).
This video can also be accessed in YouTube:
4. To see the features of this game, I have downloaded a review of Karaoke Revolution by
Greg Miller, editor of ign.com, a video game guide website (Track3). This video can also
be accessed in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDba4pKsQcg
5. To watch this episode, please refer to the DVD’s track 4. This video can also be accessed
in YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nsH3mqHz8
6. The samples of these educational DVDs are on the track 5, 6, and 7 of the DVD.
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