レコード
レコード
rekoodo
= record (vinyl record); record (a recorded achievement)
レコード (rekoodo) is the Japanese word for record — both the vinyl disc that plays music and the concept of a recorded achievement. Japan was one of the world’s largest vinyl markets in the golden age of records, and remains so today: the vinyl revival has hit Japan hard, with Japanese pressing plants among the most technically respected in the world and Japanese city pop records fetching extraordinary prices among global collectors.
Rekoodo (レコード) has two main meanings: 1) A vinyl record (レコードをかける rekoodo wo kakeru — to play a record, レコード盤 rekoodo ban — record disc, レコード針 rekoodo hari — record needle/stylus). 2) A record/achievement (世界記録 sekai kirokuu — world record, 記録を破る kirokuu wo yaburu — to break a record). In music: レコード会社 (rekoodo gaisha — record label/company), レコード大賞 (Rekoodo Taishou — Japan Record Award, a major music prize). レコードショップ (rekoodo shoppu — record store) has seen a revival with vinyl’s resurgence.
Japan’s レコード大賞 (Nihon Rekoodo Taishou — Japan Record Award), held annually on December 30th, is one of Japan’s most prestigious music awards — the last major music ceremony before the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. Winning the Record Award is considered a career-defining achievement. The award’s history since 1959 charts the evolution of Japanese popular music through each decade. City pop (シティ・ポップ, shitii poppu) records from the 1980s — particularly albums by Mariya Takeuchi, Tatsuro Yamashita, and Anri — have become collector’s items internationally since around 2019.
レコード is written in katakana from English ‘record.’ The ー in コー represents the long ‘o’ vowel in ‘rec-ord.’ In kanji, the achievement sense is often written as 記録 (kiroku), while the music disc sense stays in katakana.
Everyday use
祖父の家にたくさんのレコードが残っていた。
Sofu no ie ni takusan no rekoodo ga nokotte ita.
There were lots of records left at my grandfather’s house.
Casual / Social Media
竹内まりやのレコードが海外で数万円するって聞いてびっくりした。シティポップ人気すごい
Takeuchi Mariya no rekoodo ga kaigai de suumannen suru tte kiite bikkuri shita. Shitii poppu ninki sugoi
I heard Mariya Takeuchi records go for tens of thousands of yen overseas and was shocked. City pop is huge
Formal / Cultural context
日本のシティ・ポップ作品はインターネットを通じた再評価によって国際的な注目を集め、1980年代の国内盤レコードが海外コレクターによって高値で取引される現象は、デジタル時代における音楽消費とノスタルジアの複雑な交差を示している。
Nihon no shitii poppu sakuhin wa intaanetto wo tsuujita saihyouka ni yotte kokusaiteki na chuumoku wo atsume, 1980-nendai no kokunai-ban rekoodo ga kaigai korekutaa ni yotte takane de torihiki sareru genshou wa, dejitaru jidai ni okeru ongaku shouhi to nosutarujia no fukuzatsu na kousha wo shimesu mono de aru.
Japanese city pop works have attracted international attention through internet-driven reappraisal, and the phenomenon of 1980s domestic vinyl records trading at high prices among overseas collectors illustrates the complex intersection of music consumption and nostalgia in the digital era.
Japan’s vinyl record culture has a unique depth. Japan was one of the top three global vinyl markets throughout the LP era (1960s-1980s), and Japanese pressings of Western artists were often considered technically superior to their country-of-origin counterparts — leading to a collector category called ‘Japanese pressing’ (日本盤, nihon-ban) that commands premiums globally. Japanese record sleeves also featured detailed liner notes, lyrics, and translations unavailable in Western editions, making them valuable to international music scholars.
The city pop (シティ・ポップ) boom that began around 2017-2019 created an international demand for Japanese 1980s vinyl that surprised even Japanese collectors. Mariya Takeuchi’s ‘Plastic Love’ (1984) became a global internet phenomenon, and Japanese city pop records previously selling for a few hundred yen in used record stores began fetching tens of thousands internationally. The vinyl revival — Japanese pressing plants like Victor Entertainment have long waiting lists — has reinvigorated Japan’s レコードショップ (record store) culture, with specialty shops in Tokyo’s Shimokitazawa and Nakameguro becoming pilgrimage destinations for music tourists.
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