Utagoe coffeehouse

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Utagoe coffeehouse (歌声喫茶, utagoe kissa) refers to the type of coffeehouses that featured the customers' joining in singing songs together, which was very popular in Japan in ca. 1955-1975.

Utagoe coffeehouses were usually associated with the leftist movement at that time, called the , supported by the labor unions, backed up by the socialist and communist parties. The songs that were sung, therefore, were mostly anti-establishment, anti-war songs that included many of Russian, Eastern European and Chinese origins.

Most of the utagoe coffeehouses went out of business in ca. 1995-2005, giving way to the karaoke houses that became a big business during the 1980s, but two or three utagoe coffeehouses still exist in Tokyo, such as Tomoshibi. ^[1]

See also[]

• Coffeehouses
• Karaoke

References[]

External links[]

• Utagoe Cafes in Tokyo