‘Translation changes the original meaning’: how 70s psych rockers Happy End ended the ‘Japanese rock controversy’

In 1969, Takasshi Matsumoto and Haruomi Hosono opted to defy rock trends by singing in Japanese, not English – paving the way for ‘city pop’ and J-popTakashi Matsumoto and Haruomi Hosono faced a choice when starting a rock band in 1969: should the lyrics be sung in English, the genre’s lingua franca at the time, or Japanese? After a debate, the pair opted for their native tongue, and totally changed the course of their country’s music.Their group Happy End – w