For Westerners of a certain age, the '60s were an era of social and cultural ferment, when the Vietnam War, the Pill, rock music, drugs and the sexual revolution shook the foundations of society. In Japan, however, a "can-do" spirit prevailed as the postwar blahs were left behind and the country entered a period of rapid economic growth.
The Japanese pop music of that era reflects the bright, optimistic outlook that supposedly characterized the national mood back then. Besides their obvious nostalgic appeal, classic kayokyoku (Japanese pop songs) have a timeless, almost naive charm.
Oddly enough, in a culture where the tendency to sentimentalize the past is all too apparent, relatively little attention has been paid to Japan's rich kayokyoku heritage.