Presentation Schedule
Podcast-Inspired Lesson: The Significance of “Sukiyaki” (112729)
Session Chair: Mark Rebuck
Tuesday, 10 November 2026 16:35
Session: Session 3
Room: Room B (4F)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
In 1963, a song called “Sukiyaki,” sung by Sakamoto Kyu, topped the US Billboard Hot 100. "Ue o Muite Arukō", as “Sukiyaki” is called in Japanese, was the first song in a non-European language to top the US charts. While most Japanese Zoomers (born 1997-2012) are familiar with this song, the presenter has found that few of them know it was a hit outside of Japan, and even fewer are aware of the song's wider social and political significance. The presenter, who teaches in a faculty of pharmacy in Japan, will give a synopsis of a content-based lesson that was inspired by an episode of a BBC podcast called Soul Music. This lesson, created for first-year university students, includes the concept of diaspora, the experience of Japanese Americans during WWII, the significance of "Sukiyaki", and the song's connection to a deadly airplane crash. The lesson incorporates several clips from the BBC podcast, including one of a Japanese American describing how hearing “Sukiyaki” coming from the radio in the early 1960s—a song in the language of what had been the hated enemy less than two decades earlier— was a sign that he no longer needed to hide his Japanese identity. In another clip, an academic explains how the success of "Sukiyaki" indicated that Japan was being accepted back into the international community as an equal nation among others. Finally, the presenter will review the various ways in which internet-based radio can assist teachers in creating engaging and illuminating lessons.
Authors:
Mark Rebuck, Meijo University, Japan
About the Presenter(s)
Mark Rebuck is an Associate Professor at Meijo University.
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