Sukiyaki

50 years ago, this Japanese song was on its way to becoming a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard chart... an incredibly impressive feat considering it was sung in Japanese (and considering also that Kyu Sakamoto was virtually unknown in the U.S.). It's a testament to the beauty of the song and Sakamoto's wonderful singing.

The Japanese title of the song is "Ue o Muite Aruko," but the record company realized Americans would have difficulty saying the Japanese title, so they released it as "Sukiyaki," the name of a Japanese dish. It's pretty strange when you think about it, but commercially a good move.

When I was in high school, radio was the primary source of music for me, and to hear my favorite "oldies," I had to be lucky. I sometimes would fall asleep while listening to the radio. One night in the wee hours, I awoke to hear the song "Sukiyaki" playing on the radio. After that, I couldn't fall asleep again and so I just listened to the radio in bed until it was time to go to school.

Anyway, this is a song I definitely wanted to try to record for YouTube. I recall this being a difficult one, not only because of the language and the frequent chord changes, but also the whistling parts. I had to do numerous takes until I thought I had done the best I could possibly do, and my fingers ached! Hope you like my rendition:

Jon, I rememba dis wen you wen post 'um on your original YT site . . . love it! Mahalos for reposting . . .

I loved it, thanks for posting this!

Thanks for posting this song. One of my favorites growing up. My mom used to play the 45 all the time.

And I hate to admit this, especially since I'm Japanese (yonsei; in my defense), but I thought the Taste of Honey lyrics were true to the original song. Thanks for clearing that up for me

Thanks, friends! Yeah, the Taste of Honey version is pretty different. Cecilio and Kapono did a cover, too, but I haven't heard it for a while.

Thank you for posting

John, my 10 year old daughter has loved this song since she saw "From Up on Poppy Hill". She's going to enjoy learning to play and sing it on uke. Thanks for sharing it in this way - lyrics, chords, video all in one package!

Thank you, DeepWater! I'm glad to hear that!

Lovely

That was just lovely. I passed right over Sukiyaki in my fakebook, assuming that it was too "novelty". Thanks for proving me wrong!

Thanks, Tabitha!

Hey Jon, dis kinda off topic. Wot was dat Christmas song you posted couple of years back? It was in Japanese and if can, the chords and lyrics. You can use PM if you like. Mahalos Brah!

Very nice video! Good job as always. Thanks for the translation, it adds a lot.
The Westside Ukulele Ensemble did an instrumental of that song... starts at 2:14

It's a great song for ukulele.

–Lori

Thanks, for sharing that instrumental rendition, Lori! That was nice!

Kanaka, here are the chords for Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Eve":

[intro: F C Dm7 C Bb Am7 Gm7 C] x2

[F] Ame wa yofuke [C] sugi ni
[Dm] Yuki e to kawa[C6]ru daro
[Bb] Silent [Am7] night
[Gm7] Holy [C7] night
[F] Kitto kimi wa [C] konai
[Dm] Hitori kiri no [C6] Christmas Eve
[Bb] Silent [Am7] night
[Gm7] Holy [C7] night
[Bbmaj7] Kokoro fukaku
[Am7] himeta o[Dm7]moi
[Gm7] kanaerareso mo [C7] nai [Bb – C7]
[F] Kanarazu kon’[C]ya nara
[Dm] ie so naki [C6] ga shita
[Bb] Silent [Am7] night
[Gm7] Holy [C7] night

[ F /// C /// Dm7 /// C6 /// Bb /// Am7 /// Gm7 /// C7 /// ]
[ F C Dm Am Bb F Bb C ] x 2

[Bbmaj7] Mada kie nokoru
[Am7] kimi e no o[Dm7]moi
[Gm7] Yoru e to furi [C7] tsuzuku [Bb – C7]

[F] Machikado ni wa [C] Christmas tree
[Dm] gin-iro no ki[C6]rameki
[Bb] Silent [Am7] night
[Gm7] Holy [C7] night

//: F /// C /// Dm7 /// C6 /// Bb /// Am7 /// Gm7 /// C7 /// ://

Thank you. This has always been one of my most favourite tunes.

Back when I mainly played the piano, I 'worked the tune out' 40 years ago using only the black keys on the piano (for the main tune) and it sounds terrific, even now! You start by playing the the 1st and 3rd black keys together using a finger from both hands (C# and F#) and always playing the 1st and 3rd black key, go up & down the keyboard, matching the tune (if that makes sense!) Strike the first 'chord' twice to start the song off! If I had access to a piano, I'd video it!

Funnily enough, I was just looking at the Uke chords for this song just last week and here it is!

cheers

Roberta

Thanks, Roberta! I just tried it on the black keys. It works!

....Thanks, Roberta! I just tried it on the black keys. It works! .....

COOL!! I am so pleased you could work it out too (even tho I made a mistake - should have been C# & F# payed together!)!

I'm sure I could work the rest out again if I had a piano handy - it was a mix of black & white keys. I recall holding the F# as a bit of a 'drone', playing Bx3, C#, D#,Bb, D#, C#, Bb, C# then Bx3, C#, D, Bb, D, C#, Bb, F#, G# & start from the beginning again ..... he, he, I have just been playing round with a 'virtual' piano!

cheers

Roberta