{"id":2415,"date":"2013-07-30T18:59:06","date_gmt":"2013-07-30T18:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2024-01-22T17:28:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T01:28:52","slug":"239","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/239\/","title":{"rendered":"The Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> Theme"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> theme is now universally recognized as a classic, approaching the level of a national anthem in Japan. Here we examine the circumstances of its recording and present a broad overview of the many, many times it has been released to the public.<\/p>\n

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The opening theme song was rendered in three different variants, two for broadcast and one for commercial record release. The two meant for broadcast can be referred to as the slow version<\/a> (starting with an acapella chorus) and the fast version<\/a> (something like a march). A third version was refined after the TV broadcast to become the overture for the 1977 Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> feature film. The ending theme, The Scarlet Scarf,<\/em> had its chorus line removed at this time as well.<\/p>\n

(For those keeping count, episodes 22 and 26 had no opening title.)<\/p>\n

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In all versions, Hiroshi Miyagawa is credited for the composition, Yu Aku is credited for the lyrics, and Isao Sasaki is credited as the vocalist. (All pictured here from left to right.) Kazuko Kawashima, the female singer heard in Endless Expanse of Outer Space,<\/em> performed the backing vocal, but was not credited. There are two other names that appear on separate releases of the song: Musical Academy and Royal Knights.<\/p>\n

Musical Academy was simply the name of Office Academy’s music department. ‘Royal Knights’ was the temporary name given to the chorus, which was brought together only for this project. Their contribution was diminished throughout the various remixes, then restored from original master tapes in a later compilation LP called The World of Leiji Matsumoto.<\/em> Released by Nippon Columbia in January 1979, it collected the themes of various Matsumoto anime programs onto a single album. This included both the Yamato<\/em> Theme and The Scarlet Scarf,<\/em> remixed from original master tapes and upgraded to full stereo.<\/p>\n

Adding further wrinkles to the story, the opening theme was remixed for the Yamato 2<\/em> TV series<\/a> and again for Yamato III,<\/em><\/a> which added a newly-recorded chorus line. These would be made commercially available in subsequent years, and the very first “slow” version would eventually appear as a “TV Size” bonus track on the 2005 CD Yamato the Best II.<\/em> Isao Sasaki would be called upon at various times to re-record the theme, starting with Yamato ’83<\/em> to commemorate Final Yamato,<\/em> and most recently for a 2008 pachinko game.<\/p>\n

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The last bit of trivia concerning the opening theme is the existence of an NG (“No Good” in film-production jargon) version that was recorded before Isao Sasaki arrived on the scene. It was only ever attached to a forgotten workprint of episode 1 that surfaced sometime during the 1980s and found its way onto Emotion’s DVD box set<\/a> of the first series. The identity of the singer is unconfirmed, but to some ears it sounds like Hiroshi Miyagawa himself doing a demo. Another suspect is a now-retired vocalist named Akira Yamasaki, who was mentioned in internal memos kept by Nippon Columbia. <\/p>\n

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Complicating the matter even further, a popular singer of early 70s children’s songs named Masato Shimono was mentioned by Sasaki as an “involved party” in a 1978 interview. It doesn’t help matters that the playback speed of the NG main title is slightly faster than normal, which pitches the voice up to make it even more of a mystery. According to vocalist Mitsuko Horie, who was under contract with Columbia at the time, Masato may have sung it as part of the studio’s audition system. Either way, this performance didn’t live up to Nishizaki’s expectations and brought about the hiring of Isao Sasaki. From that day on, the Yamato<\/em> Theme would be eternally his. <\/p>\n

For many years, the only commercially available versions of both the Yamato<\/em> Theme and The Scarlet Scarf<\/em> were the full-length singles. Slightly more rare were the one-verse ‘TV size’ editions. All known versions of the songs (including braodcast versions) were eventually released in 1999 as part of a box set called The Music Encyclopedia of Leiji Matsumoto.<\/em> This remains the only single source for the entire lineup.<\/p>\n

Below are some of the LPs and CDs that reprinted this most famous of all anime themes over the years. The fact that this is NOT a complete representation should help to illustrate what an enormously popular song it became.<\/p>\n

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Terebi Manga Action Series
\nYamato b\/w Kamen Rider Amazon
\nEP, Nippon Columbia 1974.12.10<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Terebi Manga Action Deluxe
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1975.2\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Terebi Manga Golden Album
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1975.4\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

Terebi Manga Action Deluxe
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1975.4\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

Golden Terebi Manga
\nBig Hit Song 17
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1975\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
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<\/p>\n

Terebi Manga Main Title
\nSong Walk
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1976\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Best Hit Animation Series
\nYamato b\/w Triton of the Sea
\nEP, Nippon Columbia
\n1977.1\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Terebi Anime best 10
\nMain title theme Collection
\nMini-LP, Asahi Sonorama
\n1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

Terebi Anime best 10
\nMain title theme Collection
\nMini-LP, Asahi Sonorama
\n1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
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Hit Song Big 8
\nAce Puppy Series Mini-LP
\nAsahi Sonorama, 1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

Terebi Animation
\nDynamic March
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Golden Puppy Series:
\nYamato, Kamen Rider
\nAmazon, Great Mazinger,
\nMonkey Army
\nEP, Asahi Sonorama 1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Anime Request Best 28
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1978.10\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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New Screen Themes
\nBest Album
\nLP, Unknown Label
\nCirca 1978\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Anime Best Hit 20
\nCassette, Nippon Columbia
\n1979.6\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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World of Leiji Matsumoto
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1979.12.25\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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TV Manga Hit Parade 24
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1979\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Terebi Manga on Parade
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\nCirca 1977\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Popular Anime 10 Song Collection
\nLP, Sonorama
\nCirca 1978\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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SF Animation & Movie
\nSuper Library
\nDouble LP, Nippon Columbia
\nCirca 1978\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Animation Movie Theme Song
\nBest Collection
\nNippon Columbia, 1980\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Fantastic Animation 24
\nLP, Nippon Columbia
\n1980\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Leiji Matsumoto
\nWorld of SF Roman
\nDouble LP, Nippon Columbia
\n1981.9\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Terebi Manga Best Collection
\nSeries #7
\nYamato b\/w Triton of the Sea
\nEP, Nippon Columbia 1981.10.1\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Popular Anime Main title
\ntheme Collection
\nEP, Victor Entertainment
\n1984.12.25\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n
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World of Leiji Matsumoto
\nTime Trip CD Series
\nNippon Columbia, 1989.11.21\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

SF & Space Animation Vol. 1
\nCD, Nippon Columbia
\n1989.12.1\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Favorite Terebi Anime
\nMain title theme Omnibus
\nCD, Victor Entertainment
\n1991.10.25\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Anime Sound Memorial
\nMain title theme Memorial
\nVol. 10
\nCD, Nippon Columbia 1991\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Terebi Manga Favorite
\nB Side Collection
\nCD, Nippon Columbia 1992.10.1\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Favorite Anime Main Title
\nSong Collection
\nCD, Victor Entertainment 1995.7.12\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Favorite Terebi Anime
\nMain title theme Omnibus
\nCD, Victor Entertainment 1995.11.16\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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TV Anime Super History Vol. 10
\nCD, Columbia Music Entertainment
\n1998.10.21\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n

Youth Song Yearbook
\nBest 30 ’77
\nCD, EMI 2000.11.22\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Showa Kids TV Singles
\nVol. 10
\nCD, Columbia Music Entertainment
\n2003.7.23\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Leiji Matsumoto
\nAnimation World
\n2-CD set, Columbia
\nMusic Entertainment
\n2003.7.30\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Favorite Songs of Showa Children
\nCD, King Record Co.
\n2006.5.10\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\nAniBara: Moved to Tears!
\nMemory of Anime Ballads
\nCD, Columbia Music Entertainment
\n2006.5.24 (CME)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

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\nMaster of Pops
\nThe World of Hiroshi Miyagawa
\nCD, Teichiku Records 2006.7.26<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

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\nPermanent Preservation Version
\nAnime Main title theme Omnibus
\n10-CD Box Set, Unknown Label<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

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Click here<\/a> to learn about the “secret” version of the Yamato<\/em> theme with two additional verses.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to view albums by Isao Sasaki.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see an even bigger gallery (with recommendations) of albums that contain cover versions of the theme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-video-1974-1983","category-music-video-series-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36196,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions\/36196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}