Japan’s music scene has always lived in the tension between precision and spontaneity between restraint and raw expression.
From Yuma Abe’s sun-faded folk meditations to Jirō Inagaki’s electric jazz-funk firestorms… from the timeless melancholy of Nujabes’ “Aruarian Dance” to the emotional gravity of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” each piece carries a distinct pulse. Some soothe. Some swing. All of them say something.
And for a little contrast? We’re also spotlighting Shibuya Meltdown—a beautifully unhinged Instagram archive of Tokyo’s salarymen in full collapse mode.
Japan is my favorite country in the world, hands down, not even a second thought. It’s so amazing on many levels from the people to culture and the food, if possible, I urge you to try and make it there at least once in your lifetime.
Let’s get into it.
aruarian dance - Nujabes
This song is Nujabes most well known track and a tune that any true anime fan will know.
The melody actually traces all the way back to Maurice Ravel’s Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899). That classical piece was adapted into the jazz standard “The Lamp Is Low” in 1939, which Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida later turned into a samba. Nujabes sampled Almeida’s version—layering it with percussion, warmth, and space to create the track we now know.
This song is part of a 100+ year lineage.
French classical → American jazz → Brazilian samba → Tokyo hip-hop.
And Nujabes, aka Jun Yamada, was a master of this kind of transformation. His music lives in a space between genres, between eras. This track feels like a memory that doesn't belong to you. It’s familiar but distant at the same time.
It first hit most people through the anime show Samurai Champloo, and it’s now one of the most iconic lo-fi instrumentals ever made. But it’s more than a lo-fi beat. It’s a quiet anthem for anyone who’s felt that strange, bittersweet pull of nostalgia. Or, as the Japanese call it, mono no aware—the ache that comes with beauty being fleeting.
RIP to Nujabes who tragically passed away in a car accident in 2010.
Beautiful Culture - Yuma Abe
Yuma Abe feels like Japan’s answer to Mac DeMarco. You might know him as the frontman of never young beach, the breezy surf-pop band that helped define Tokyo’s mellow indie scene. But a few years back, Abe stepped away from that momentum to make something closer to home, less polished and more personal.
His solo work leans into woozy guitars, gentle grooves, and a kind of lo-fi charm that feels effortless. The track I’m sharing comes from his 2021 debut Fantasia, a project born out of pandemic-era stillness and self-reflection. It’s warm, whimsical, and quietly transportive. Put the whole album on and let it soundtrack your next slow afternoon.
The Vamp - Jiro Inagaki
If you dig deep enough into Japan’s musical history, you eventually run into a wall of distortion, brass, and pure groove. On the other side of that wall? Jirō Inagaki.
Born in Tokyo in 1933, Inagaki started off playing sax in swing bands before blowing the doors off Japanese jazz in the early ’70s. By then, he had formed Jirō Inagaki and His Soul Media, think: hard bop attitude meets psychedelic fuzz, with a rhythm section that grooves like a rock band trying to fight its way out of a jazz club.
The track that got me hooked was “ザ・ヴァンプ” (The Vamp), a relentless opener from his 1970 album Head Rock. It’s aggressive, unpolished, and alive. You can hear the tension between tradition and experimentation in every note.
His work didn’t always get love at the time, it was too loud for jazz purists, too weird for the mainstream but, it’s been rediscovered in recent years by crate diggers, reissue labels, and producers looking for deep cut samples.
If this song tickles your music pickle, then go explore everything else he has to offer.
Quote of the Day
“I'm just delighted to be living, to be able to have a simple conversation, to feel a ray of sunlight on my skin and listen to the breeze move through the leaves of a tree.”
Video of the Day
There’s something otherworldly about hearing “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” performed live. Ryuichi Sakamoto brings a kind of stillness to the stage..every note feels intentional, suspended in time. It’s minimal, emotional, and absolutely magnetic. One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.
Photo of the Day
Today’s rec: Shibuya Meltdown, an Instagram account that captures the late-night chaos of Tokyo’s most buttoned-up citizens at their most unbuttoned. Fueled by user-submitted photos, it documents salarymen and partygoers passed out in alleyways, train stations, and convenience store aisles across Shibuya. In a culture known for its discipline and decorum, this page is a hilarious reminder that everyone lets loose eventually. Equal parts absurd and oddly poetic.
You can check it out here: https://www.instagram.com/shibuyameltdown/?hl=en
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See you on Friday.