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

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