Yes, a Japanese song topped the US charts in 1963. This nostalgic song was also featured in a recent Ghibli film set in that post World War 2 Showa Era.
The song spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard charts
in June 1963 and was already a huge hit in Japan before its American
debut. But what most listeners probably didn't realize was
how it symbolized Japan's return to the world stage.
"1963 was when Japan was returning to the world scene after the
destruction of WWII,"... "1964 was the Tokyo Olympics. And
Japan's economy was expanding globally and so, in some ways, the song is
kind of an interesting metaphor for that global expansion of Japan on
the world scene."
Kyu Sakamoto was the face of this new postwar
Japan: a clean-cut, 21-year-old pop idol. But Condry says that
underlying the song's sweetness was a story of sadness and loss.
Bento Box:
"I Look Up As I Walk" (more popularly known as "Sukiyaki") is one of several beautiful songs featured in the soundtrack of the 2013 Ghibli animation "From Up on Poppy Hill". Now on Netflix.
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