23rd Japan Record Awards

23rd Japan Record Awards
Date	31 December 1981
Location	Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, Japan
Hosted by	Keizō Takahashi
Most awards	Akira Terao (3)
Website	http://www.tbs.co.jp/recordaward/
Television/radio coverage
Network	Tokyo Broadcasting System Television
← 22nd · Japan Record Awards · 24th →

The 23rd Japan Record Awards ceremony was held on 31 December 1981 at the Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, and was broadcast live in Japan through the TBS Television network.^[1] The broadcast ran from 19:00 (JST) to 20:54 (JST).^[2] Keizō Takahashi hosted the ceremony for the thirteenth time.

The 23rd Japan Record Award went to Akira Terao for "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]". "Ruby no Yubiwa" also won the Gold Award as well as the Lyricist, Composer, and Arranger Awards. Best Vocal Performance went to Hiromi Iwasaki for "Sumire Iro no Namida [ja]", and Best New Artist went to Masahiko Kondō for "Gin Gira Gin ni Sarigenaku [ja]".

The audience rating was 35.3%.^[3]

Presenters

Main host

• Keizō Takahashi

Progress hosts

• Kentaro Watanabe (TBS announcer)
• Keiko Takeshita

Nominees and winners

Japan Record Award

• "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]"
  • Artist: Akira Terao
  • Lyricist: Takashi Matsumoto
  • Composer: Akira Terao
  • Arranger: Akira Inoue

Best Vocal Performance

• Hiromi Iwasaki – "Sumire Iro no Namida [ja]"

Best New Artist

• Masahiko Kondō – "Gin Gira Gin ni Sarigenaku [ja]"

New Artist Award

Best New Artist Award nominations.

• Masahiko Kondō – "Gin Gira Gin ni Sarigenaku [ja]"
• Takayuki Takemoto – "Terete Zin Zin"
• Yūko to Yayoi – "Otōsan"
• Yutaka Yamakawa – "Hakodate Honsen [ja]"
• Hiroyuki Okita – "Hamidashi Champion"

Gold Award

Japan Record Award nominations.

• Miyuki Kawanaka – "Anata Hitosuji"
• Shinichi Mori – "Inochi Ataete"
• Masako Mori – "Kanashimi Honsen Nihonkai [ja]"
• Hiroshi Itsuki – "Jinsei Kakurenbo [ja]"
• Kenji Sawada – "Stripper [ja]"
• Hiromi Iwasaki – "Sumire Iro no Namida [ja]"
• Hideki Saijo – "Sentimental Girl [ja]"
• Chanels – "Machikado Twilight [ja]"
• Toshiyuki Nishida – "Moshimo Piano ga Hajiketa nara [ja]"
• Akira Terao – "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]"

Golden Idol Award

• Seiko Matsuda – "Kaze Tachinu [ja]"
• Tahara Toshihiko – "Good Luck Love [ja]"
• Naoko Kawai – "Smile For Me [ja]"
• Yoshie Kashiwabara – "Hello Goodbye [ja]"

Best Album Award

• Off Course – We Are [ja]
• Yumi Matsutoya – Mizu no Naka no Asia e [ja]
• Eiichi Ohtaki – A Long Vacation

Best Ten Albums

• Off Course – We Are [ja]
• Tatsuro Yamashita – On the Street Corner 1
• Yasuko Agawa – Sunglow
• Southern All Stars – Stereo Taiyō-zoku [ja]
• Yumi Matsutoya – Mizu no Naka no Asia e [ja]
• The Venus – Love Portion No.1
• Miyuki Nakajima – Ringetsu
• Eiichi Ohtaki – A Long Vacation
• Creation – Lonely Heart^[4]

Lyricist Award

• Takashi Matsumoto – "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]" (singer: Akira Terao)

Composer Award

Also known as the Shinpei Nakayama Award.

• Akira Terao – "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]" (singer: Akira Terao)

Arranger Award

• Akira Inoue – "Ruby no Yubiwa [ja]" (singer: Akira Terao)

Special Award

• Utako Matsushima

Planning Award

• Masayoshi Takanaka, Kitty Films, Polydor Records – Niji Densetsu
• King Records – Uta wa Ikiteiru
• Saori Yuki, Toshiba EMI – Shōwa Tsuyasho

Long Seller Award

• Yujiro Ishihara – "Brandy Glass [ja]"
• George Yamamoto – "Michi no Kuhitori Tabi [ja]"
• Tetsuya Ryu – "Okuhida Bojō [ja]"

See also

• 1981 in Japanese music

References

• "Japan Grand Record Prize Awarded to Akira Terao". Billboard. 23 January 1982. p 86.
• 狂奏! 競争! はやり歌からはやらせ歌へ やぶにらみレコード大賞賛歌. Shukan Asahi. vol 86. 31 December 1981: 年末年始テレビ徹底ガイド. pp 31 to 34.
• "Japan Record Prize" in "Today's TV Choice". The Japan Times. 31 December 1981. No 29805. p 8. col 3.

1. "活動〜日本レコード大賞〜【公益社団法人 日本作曲家協会】" (in Japanese). Japan Composer's Association. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
2. "第23回レコード大賞" (in Japanese). sound.jp. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
3. 輝く！80年代のスタート、それは日本レコード大賞受難の始まり？ Re:minder. 1 January 2021.
4. Cf. the single Lonely Heart [ja]

External links

• Official website