Rediscovering Japan’s Age of Boogie: How Kasagi Shizuko and Hattori Ryōichi Transformed Entertainment

Kasagi Shizuko performs “Jungle Boogie” in the 1948 Kurosawa film Drunken Angel. (Courtesy Kasagi Shizuko Photo Archive)

Wajima Yūsuke’s Shōwa bugi ugi (Shōwa Boogie Woogie.)

Hattori Ryōichi no sekai: Aoi sanmyaku (The World of Hattori Ryōichi: Blue Mountains), a two-CD collection of Hattori’s favorite songs, recently released by Nippon Columbia.

Singer Kasagi Shizuko working with songwriter and conductor Hattori Ryōichi. (Courtesy Hattori Music Publishers)

Kasagi Shizuko no sekai: Tōkyō bugi wugi (The World of Kasagi Shizuko: Tokyo Boogie Woogie), a two-CD collection of Kasagi’s recorded songs (including all her “boogies”), recently released by Nippon Columbia.

Kasagi Shizuko in publicity photos for the musical Janguru no joō (Queen of the Jungle), performed at the Nippon Theater (commonly known as Nichigeki) in 1948. (Courtesy Kasagi Shizuko Photo Archive)

Kasagi Shizuko shows a different side in a performance of “Shopping Boogie.” (Courtesy Kasagi Shizuko Photo Archive)