50 Years of NHK Television

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Pop, variety and quiz shows for the whole family have been a staple of NHK's prime time programs (8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.) for 50 years.

Pop and variety

Changing face of pop shows
The history of popular music programs on television began with This Week's Star, staged in Tokyo's Hibiya Kokaido Hall on February 1, 1953 as part of the launch of TV broadcasting in Japan. Kirishima Noboru and Kasagi Shizuko were among the performers. In the early days, TV pop programs also went out as simultaneous radio broadcasts. The leading contemporary stars included Fujiyama Ichiro, Futaba Akiko and Ichimaru.
In 1955, NHK Hall opened in Tokyo's Uchisaiwai-cho district. The Monday evening Song Plaza was broadcast live from here, followed by Personal Secrets, a quiz show launched one year later. The same announcer, Takahashi Keizo, served as MC for both programs.
Pop Grand Stage began in 1964, pioneering the pop show format. Unlike earlier programs, which consisted only of songs, it featured a combination of song, dance and skits woven together by the three main presenters: Baisho Chieko, Kanai Katsuko and Antonio Koga.
In 1973, the present NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, was completed. By then, the regular program had become Golden Pop Stage, MC'd by announcer Yamakawa Shizuo with the assistance of a popular teenage trio called The Candies.
One of the successes of 1981, helped by the boom in karaoke singing, was NHK Pop Concert Hall, which featured performances by leading actors and actresses and cover versions of past hits. In 1993, the program took its present form as NHK Song Concert, which is now in its 10th year. Launched in 1970, Stage 101 targeted a younger audience in response to the growing popularity of teenage stars in the 1960's. It was pre-recorded in NHK Studio 101, and was followed by Let's Go Young! in 1974, Young Studio 101 in 1986, and Just Pop Up in 1988. In 1993, the name was Pop Jam, and every show was recorded at NHK Hall. The MCs for Pop Jam have been such popular figures as Motoki Masahiro, Moriguchi Hiroko, Bakusho Mondai, Domoto Koichi, and currently Yuuka.

Variety Shows
Gesture Game was first presented in the early days of experimental broadcasts and secured a regular place in the schedule when regular television got under way. Originally broadcast once a month, it went on to showcase the talents of Yanagiya Kingoro and Mizunoe Takiko every Friday evening. Starting with Aoki Kazuo, the program's MC has always been a popular announcer. Aoki was followed by Takahashi Keizo, Sasaki Toshimasa, Ogawa Hiroshi, and other household names.
In 1961, Dreamtime Rendez-vous was launched. This was a mix of song, dance and skits and produced a multitude of hits and new stars. The MC was the fashion designer Nakajima Hiroko, and regulars included such famous names as Miki Norihei, Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, Atsumi Kiyoshi, Sakamoto Kyu, Sakamoto Sumiko, and Okada Masumi. The program featured a popular "This Month's Song," including such hits by the super duo of Ei Rokusuke and Nakamura Hachidai as "Walk with Your Head Held High" (the famous "Sukiyaki Song"), "Look Up at the Starry Sky" and "Welcome to Baby." Dreamtime Rendez-vous was on the air for five years, until April 1966, when it was followed by Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-TV, featuring Tamori. Dreamtime Rendez-vous truly provided the foundation for all NHK's subsequent variety shows.

Quizzes with catchy openings
NHK's first quiz program was Personal Secrets, which opened with the catchphrase "Truth is stranger than fiction" (MC: Takahashi Keizo and others). The program took the form of questions about participants' unusual experiences and skills. It was very popular during television's early days, and ran from 1955 to 1967.
Nineteen eighty-one saw the start of Quiz Omoshiro Seminar (MC: Suzuki Kenji), whose opening catchphrase was "Learning is fun." This show provided knowledge in an entertaining way with such features as a textbook quiz and a history quiz. Questions and answers were supplemented by skits, a format that successfully tapped into audience tastes and won a maximum viewing share of 42%.
Following Quiz Perfect Score, and Numbers and Q, NHK's current quiz show Questions of the Japanese (MC: Furutachi Ichiro) opens with the catchphrase "Let's stray from the path of common sense into a maze of questions." Four regular panelists who pretend to be know-it-alls give their answers to each question, and the participants must try to pick which answer is correct. The appeal lies in the banter and repartee among the panelists, through which viewers try to guess who is telling the truth. The program is now in its 10th year.

Gesture Game

Dreamtime Rendez-vous

Pop Grand Stage