Shōwa nostalgia () includes nostalgia for certain aspects of the postwar Shōwa era.Showa Nostalgia. NHK World-Japan. Broadcast 2 March 2024.Japan is nostalgic for a past that was in part worse than its present. The Economist. 22 June 2023.New era aside, Showa nostalgia continues to keep rolling along. The Japan Times. 20 July 2019.The Showa Revival in Japan: Why It's Happening and Where to Get Your Retro Fix. Tokyo Weekender. 16 June 2017. Shōwa retro () is retro related to the Shōwa era. The Shōwa retro boom () includes increased popularity and sales of Shōwa retro goods and services.なぜ昭和レトロな商品やサービスがヒットするのか 「写ルンです」や「商店街」など. News ポストセブン. 11/10/2021. The expression also loosely includes increased popularity of some things from the early part of the Heisei era.Kohei Takano. 昭和レトロはどこへ行く——令和の若者にウケるわけ. Chūō Kōron. 10 May 2024. The beginnings of periods of increased nostalgia have been dated to 1974, 1986,もはや「レトロブーム」自体が懐かしい. Yomiuri Shimbun. 19 April 2024. 2005, 2012令和の若者には新鮮「昭和レトロ」...純喫茶のクリームソーダやプリン人気、花柄グラス復刻. Yomiuri Shimbun. 11 April 2024. and 2017.

Overview

As of 2017, three quarters of the Japanese population were born in the Shōwa era.Japan's magazines get misty-eyed over Showa Era brothels. The Japan Times. 4 March 2017. By 2004, the expression was in use.The Showa days: Were they really that good?. The Japan Times. 26 August 2004.

Neo Shōwa () is a fusion of the culture of the past Shōwa and current Reiwa eras.「ネオ昭和」インフルエンサーの阪田マリンが語る 恋・ファッション・映画. AERA dot. 20 March 2023.

Enthusiasm for Shōwa retro is not confined to people who remember the Shōwa era. Shōwa retro is popular with Generation Z, who were born after the Shōwa era. Enthusiasm for Shōwa retro is not confined to Japan or to Japanese people.「昭和LOVE」な外国人が大集合！ 下町、屋台、自転車...新年一発目「YOUは何しに日本へ？」1月6日OA. iza. 3 January 2025.外国人を魅了「昭和レトロ喫茶」 モーニング目当てに殺到 行脚で新たな魅力発見も. テレ朝news. TV Asahi. 23 November 2024. As of 2024, there is a Shōwa retro boom in Thailand, where people are enthusiastic about Shōwa era Japanese drama and anime.壮絶な奪い合い...世界が恋する日本の中古品：ガイアの夜明け. TV Tokyo. 13 September 2024. Shōwa nostalgia includes anemoia.Retro cafes bring sips of nostalgia to Japan's social media-driven youth. Kyodo News. 20 January 2025.

It has been said that Shōwa retro is popular with Generation Y.昭和レトロなLINEスタンプの人気拡大 制作者も予想外の驚き. マネーポストWEB, from Shogakukan. 27 September 2021.黒柳徹子にも影響を与えた"カワイイの生みの親"内藤ルネの功績. マネーポストWEB, from Shogakukan. 23 September 2021.

It has been said that the Shōwa nostalgia boom was preceded by Meiji and Taishō nostalgia,Sandra Buckley. "nostalgia boom". The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture. Routledge. 2002. Taylor & Francis e-Library. 2006. p 365. which existed circa 1950.

It has been said that nostalgia for the Shōwa 30s existed by 1971.昭和レトロブームは1971年に始まった. Shūkan Bunshun. 15 February 2025. In 2011, Thompson said that nostalgia seemed to be centred on the Shōwa 30s (1955 to 1964). There was said to be a Shōwa 30s boom (Japanese: 昭和30年代ブーム).Kumiko Aoki. 変わりゆく「昭和30年代ブーム」 : キッチュからイデオロギーへ (2011) 32 社会学論考 83. CiNii. In 2016, Hidaka said that nostalgia seemed to be centred on 1968 and the rest of the Shōwa 40s (1965 to 1974).Hidaka, "Showa nostalgia and the year of 1968", Japanese Media at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2017, hardback p 157, ebook PT243. In 2024, Kohei Takano said the retro boom that began in 2017 is centred on the 1980s, the end of the Shōwa era, and the start of the Heisei era.

Shōwa nostalgia has been followed by, and exists alongside, Heisei retro (Japanese: 平成レトロ) which is nostalgia for certain aspects of, and retro related to, the Heisei era. Heisei retro includes, in particular, nostalgia for the later part of the 1990s, of which the music of Nanase Aikawa, for example, is said to be particularly representative.若者の流行は「平成レトロ」へ。ミレニアル世代のノスタルジーをくすぐるコンテンツまとめ. Backyard, IMJ Corporation. 17 December 2019.

Film and television Manifestations of Shōwa nostalgia include television programmes about the Shōwa era, such as Takeda Tetsuya no Shōwa wa kagayaiteita (2013 onwards),【酒井惇一・昔の農村・今の世の中】第40回 「大正は遠くなりにけり」はどこへ？. JAcom. 14 February 2019. Himekuri Taimu Toraberu (2007 to 2011) and most of the original series of (2000 to 2005).Hidaka, Japanese Media at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2017, hardback pp 3 & 4, ebook PA2003 and PA2004.

It has been said that the film Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005) caused a period of increased Shōwa nostalgia.「良き時代への懐古」が意味するもの——『昭和ノスタルジアとは何か』. 好書好日. 7/1/2021.なぜ今昭和に心惹かれるのか : 映画『ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日』に見る昭和ブーム (2008) 3 表現文化 96. Departmental Bulletin Paper, Osaka City University. CiNii. The film From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) is nostalgic about 1963 Japan.Everyday Life, Washed in the Colors of Memory. The New York Times. 14 March 2013.From Up On Poppy Hill is rich in nostalgia. The Georgia Straight. 21 March 2013. The film's director, Goro Miyazaki, said that he was nostalgic about late 1950s to early 1960s Japan.A Valentine to a Vanished Era. Animation Magazine. 14 December 2012. Other Shōwa nostalgia films include Hula Girls (2006) and Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (2007).Persistently Postwar: Media and the Politics of Memory in Japan. 2019. p 123. There are Shōwa nostalgia films about the 300 million yen robbery.

Shōwa nostalgia is the subject matter of the anime film Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called: The Adult Empire Strikes Back (2001). The film 20th Century Boys (2008) is similar.Hidaka, Japanese Media at the Beginning of the 21st Century, 2017, chapter 4. The television programme (2024) has Shōwa retro content depicting the time before and during Expo '70.1970年"大阪万博"を描くドラマ『万博の太陽』に23歳人気インフルエンサーが魅せられた！「学校で見せるべき」. テレ朝POST, from TV Asahi. 21 March 2024.テレビ試写室：橋本環奈×中園ミホ「万博の太陽」 「人間洗濯機」の再現度に驚き キュートな昭和レトロファッションも. Mantanweb. 24 March 2024.橋本環奈主演『万博の太陽』場面写真が先行公開「太陽の塔」前のコンパニオン集合写真、ポニテ、振り袖など"昭和レトロ"な11カット. TVLIFE web. 3 March 2024.

Oshin (1983 to 1984) was a nostalgia television programme that covered the Shōwa era.

Television programmes made in the Shōwa era, before self-imposed restrictions by the industry, are popular with young people. Extremely Inappropriate! (2024) satirizes the excessive safety of Reiwa era television by contrasting it with Shōwa era television.『不適切にも』TVにとっての"コンプラ"現在地. Toyo Keizai online. 15 February 2024. As of 2023, Takeshi's Castle (1986 to 1990) is popular with young people and got a new season on Amazon Prime Video."あやうさ"と"笑顔"がたっぷり、「痛快なりゆき番組 風雲！たけし城」 に見る昭和のテレビが面白かった理由. WEBザテレビジョン. 25 February 2023.昭和の「懐かし番組」まとめて放送 スカパー！で11月開始. Sankei Shimbun. 26 October 2021.Naman Ramachandran. Amazon Japan Reboots 'Takeshi's Castle,' Sets 'Modern Love Tokyo,' 'Bake Off,' Live Boxing. Variety. 30 March 2022. There is nostalgia for Choudenshi Bioman (1984 to 1985) in South Korea.South Korean fans soak up nostalgia with vintage Japanese superheroes. France 24. 24 February 2025. From AFP.

There is a Shōwa 100th anniversary film festival (Japanese:昭和100年映画祭).「昭和100年映画祭」名作42本を特集上映 木村大作による予告編解禁 岩下志麻“姐さん”の27年ぶり舞台あいさつも決定. Drama & Movie by Oricon News. 28 February 2025.昭和の名作一挙上映「昭和100年映画祭」 ユーチューブで関連作品を大公開. Zak II (Zakzak). 26 March 2025.

Music