Springtime Sounds

When blossoming cherry trees wow Japan every spring, J-pop celebrates via “sakura songs”, which honour the flowers' emotional heft; thanks to their short lifespan, they're considered a handy metaphor for life itself. Naotaro Moriyama and AKB48 sing their praises in piano-accented ballads, and Dempagumi.inc celebrate through zippy shape-shifting pop. Others, like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, explore the bloom's coming-of-age symbolism on the twinkling dance-pop cut “Harajuku Iyahoi".