Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language

How a J-Pop Star's Stomach Hair Resulted in a NEW Japanese Word (The Origins of Gyarandu/ギャランドゥ) | Japan Station 152


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On this episode of Japan Station, I dig into the history of a fascinating example of Japanese slang: gyarandu (ギャランドゥ). This is a Japanese word that means refers to the patch of hair some people have between their belly button and public area. Often called "happy trail" or "belly/stomach hair," in English, gyarandu has a really interesting history that goes back to one of Japan's most popular 1980s male pop stars: Hideki Saijo. Listen to the episode to learn more!

👉Topics Discussed

  • What does gyarandu (ギャランドゥ) mean?
  • About the meaning of the 1983 Hideki Saijo song "Gyarandu"
  • What the 1983 Saijo Hideki song "Gyarandu" is about
  • How Saijo Hideki's song "Gyarandu" resulted in the creation of the Japanese slang term gyarandu
  • About the etymology/word origin of gyarandu
  • Who coined the term gyarandu
  • Who wrote the 1983 song "Gyarandu"
  • About Monta Yoshinori and his explanation of what "Gyarandu" means
  • And more
👉Subscribe to the Podcast!

  • Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/japan-station-a-podcast-by-japankyo-com/id1440454968
  • Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6lDoFFt4M0HyyKaVeDyKkB

👉Support on Patreon & Ko-fi
  • Support on Patreon https://patreon.com/japankyo
  • Support on Ko-fi https://www.ko-fi.com/japankyo

👉Links, Videos, Etc.

If you'd like to listen to a full version of Saijo Hideki's 1983 song "Gyarandu" (ギャランドゥ) you can do so below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yXpgBUshz8

👉Follow on Social Media
  • X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/japankyonews
  • Instagram: https://instagram.com/tonyrvega
  • The Anime Linguist YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@japankyonews
  • Website: https://japankyo.com/
  • Tony R. Vega Personal X/Twitter: https://x.com/thevegatony
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Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese LanguageBy JapanKyo.com

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