The Blossoming Middle-School Trio — The First Idols Television Mass-Produced

As the 1970s arrived, a new light was glowing in Japan’s living rooms: the television that had begun to switch from black-and-white to color. Having gained vivid hues, the screen became not merely a box for showing programs but ‘another window’ the whole family gathered to watch. Beyond that window, a new face appeared almost every week, sang before an audience, was judged, and sometimes welled up with tears — the very process of becoming a star was now delivered to the living room as entertainment. The idol was no longer something that arose by chance but a being ‘discovered, raised, and mass-produced’ by the device called television. The symbol of this was three same-aged girls, the Blossoming Middle-School Trio.

The Era When the Living Room ‘Found’ Its Stars

In 1971, a program called ‘Sutaa Tanjo!’ began on Nippon Television. This program, in whose planning the lyricist Yu Aku is said to have been deeply involved, took the form of contestants who had applied from the general public surviving preliminary rounds to perform a song before professional judges. Behind it, it is said, lay the idea of making use of the qualities of the color television then spreading into every home, to produce stars by the hands of television’s own makers.

Until then, stars had been discovered and polished within the world of entertainment, only to emerge one day before the public in ‘an already completed form.’ But what ‘Sutaa Tanjo!’ showed was the very process of boys and girls who were still nobodies, their voices trembling with nerves, rejoicing and despairing at the judges’ words, drawing little by little closer to stardom. Viewers came to watch over and cheer for that growth with the feeling that they themselves had ‘found’ them. Rather than looking up at stars from afar, they were present at the moment of birth and raised them together — television rewrote the very relationship between fans and idols.

Three of the Same Age — Masako Mori, Junko Sakurada, Momoe Yamaguchi

Among the singers who graduated from this program, the three most often recounted are Masako Mori, Junko Sakurada, and Momoe Yamaguchi. All three were born in the same school year and were of the same generation, debuting close together in time. Masako Mori shone as the program’s first grand champion, debuting in 1972 with ‘Sensei.’ Junko Sakurada followed in 1973 with ‘Tenshi mo Yume Miru,’ and Momoe Yamaguchi took her first step as a singer that same year with ‘Toshigoro.’

Each one’s individuality was contrasting. Masako Mori, who captivated with clear singing; Junko Sakurada, with a bright and lovely smile; and Momoe Yamaguchi, who radiated a presence all her own with a somehow shadowed gaze. Three who emerged into the world from the same program at the same time, drawing people in with utterly different charms. As a name to bind together those three distinct radiances, the title ‘Hana no Chusan Trio’ is said to have been given around the time of the program’s commemorative episode. This is said to have been modeled on the ‘Sannin Musume’ — Hibari Misora, Chiemi Eri, and Izumi Yukimura — who had once enjoyed great popularity. Magazines vied to feature them, and the name spread through the world in an instant.

The three stood on the same stage and were spoken of in the same words, yet fans chose their own favorite and cheered as if in competition. Whom you held first in your heart became an expression of who you were — the enjoyment that had budded in the era of the Gosanke here became an even greater swell, driving the idol boom of the 1970s.

The Honeymoon of Television and Idols, and Its Shadow

The few years through which the Middle-School Trio raced may be called the era when television and idols joined hands most happily. Music programs filled the screen almost daily, new songs flowed through the living room when they were released, and fans watched over their growth before the screen. Television gave young stars fame on an unprecedented scale, and young stars brought television the fruit of ratings. The two needed each other and raised each other up. In 1977, the three held a concert at the Nippon Budokan at the milestone of their high-school graduation, and are said to have brought one chapter of their journey as a trio to a close.

And so in the early 1970s, Japan’s idol culture, having gained the device of television, began to draw its outline sharply. An audition program discovered the stars, the living room raised them, and magazines spread their stories. The prototype of the mechanism surrounding idols was nearly all in place in this era. And over the next ten years, that mechanism would be refined still further and grow vast. A single songstress would become the queen of her age, and mass-produced idols would become social phenomena — the golden age in which idols shone most dazzlingly was drawing near.