Lovely love song

A classic song about a forbidden love

Keyboard playerSAKI
I play Electone, piano, and piano with vocals, and I upload performance videos to social media like YouTube! I’ve loved Disney music since I was little and have played many pieces on the Electone. I’ve been a fan of GLAY since junior high, and from there I started listening to all kinds of music, both Japanese and international. In Western music, I like Avril Lavigne♫
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICSasashina
Deputy Editor of the web media RAG MUSIC. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. In my student days, I studied broadly at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, covering sound, lighting, and video technology, and acquired skills from comprehensive stage production to the fundamentals of creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, and have consistently built my career on the production side, taking on diverse tasks centered around music. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting in my own way, as well as insights and discoveries from interacting with my kids every day. I hope I can be of help to you, even just a little!

Adultery dramas we often see in dramas, movies, and TV talk shows—the love that can never come true.

We’ve gathered songs about these “forbidden loves.” There are many beautifully portrayed dramas that make your heart race, but what if you yourself were to fall into a love that isn’t allowed…? Here, we’ll introduce plenty of songs that capture the bittersweet feelings of such forbidden love.

From songs told from a woman’s perspective to those from a man’s point of view, there are more tracks about forbidden love than you might think.

Perhaps that’s because many people are secretly suffering over a love that shouldn’t be….

Masterpieces about forbidden love (11–20)

MELROSE: A Promise Not to LoveEXILE ATSUSHI

EXILE ATSUSHI / MELROSE ~A Promise Not to Love~

MELROSE ~A Promise Not to Love~ EXILE ATSUSHI

It’s included on the album Love Ballade, which was released with the catchphrase “Your love is surely here—14 love stories.” A forbidden love where, despite promising not to love each other, they do—this world feels real and stylishly adult.

It’s the kind of romance you can’t help but admire.

There’s also an acoustic version of this song.

If you have the chance to listen, please do.

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Pure Love RhapsodyMariya Takeuchi

Pure Love Rhapsody – Mariya Takeuchi

Pure Love Rhapsody Mariya Takeuchi

One of Mariya Takeuchi’s signature songs and also famous for its theme of an extramarital affair, “Jun’ai Rhapsody” was used as the theme song for the drama “Stay the Way You Were When We Met.” While many songs about affairs are sad and heartrending, this one has a very bright melody and lyrics.

That’s because it doesn’t dwell on the hopelessness of an impossible love; instead, it celebrates the joy of being able to fall in love.

There may be painful and difficult moments, but listening to this song may remind you that, at its core, love is something that brings happiness and makes your world more beautiful.

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Don't Stop LoveKumi Koda

Koda Kumi — “Don’t Stop Love” ~ 20th Year Special Full Ver. ~

Don't Stop Love - Koda Kumi

It’s a tragic love song about continuing to love you over and over, no matter how far apart we are.

It’s a track by Kumi Koda, the songstress who led the Japanese music scene in the 2000s, released in 2011 as her 51st single.

It drew attention for being chosen as the theme song for the film Second Virgin.

This is an R&B ballad featuring beautiful piano and string melodies.

Koda’s delicate, ephemeral vocals suit the tone of the song perfectly.

With its mellow, intimate vibe, it’s best enjoyed alone, taking your time to listen.

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short-sleevedMiki Imai

Short Sleeves – IMAI Miki (with Chinese Subtitles)

Short-sleeved Imai Miki

I know I won’t be loved, but I’ll keep loving you forever… It’s a heart-wrenching love song with lyrics like that.

It’s a track by Miki Imai, the singer known for “PIECE OF MY WISH” and “PRIDE,” included on her fifth album, retour, released in 1990.

There’s a scene where she spots someone precious playing with a child in their front yard—so vivid you can see it, and it squeezes your heart.

Songs with such a strong sense of story can be painful to listen to…

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Inn of the Night Cherry BlossomsMiyu Tsubuki

Miyu Tsubuki “Yozakura no Yado” MUSIC VIDEO

Miyu Yodazuki of Yozakura no Yado

Enka singer Miyu Tsubuki—known for her “resonant, straight-down-the-middle voice”—released her single “Yozakura no Yado” in September 2025.

Set in a hot spring town, this classic enka number portrays the heartache of a forbidden love.

Through a round window, the protagonist gazes at fleeting dreams; their helpless longing seeps into your heart alongside Tsubuki’s richly expressive vocals.

This bittersweet yet beautiful tale of adult romance is perfect for a quiet night of solitary reflection.

Be sure to give it a listen.

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secretYU-KI

YUKI “Secret ~Teasing ver.~”

Secret YU-KI

A number about adult love sung by YUKI, who has been energetically active even after going solo.

There are romances that get more intense precisely because they’re forbidden, aren’t there? Words used as keywords—like burn, red thread, and pinky finger—are filled with a bittersweet feeling.

The song title, “Himitsu” (Secret), refers to a love that mustn’t be known by others.

This bittersweet track sung by the adorable YUKI seems likely to continue winning support.

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Masterpieces about forbidden love (21–30)

Run through the nightSpitz

Yoru o kakeru Spitz

Spitz Running Through the Night

A Spitz song that portrays an elopement born from a forbidden love.

Knowing theirs is a relationship no one will bless, it depicts a poignant night as the couple runs off into a world for just the two of them.

Aware that they’re connected not by a destined red thread, but by something far more fragile, they still try to believe in that bond alone—an attitude that leaves you with a sense of helpless sorrow.

The track was included on the classic album Mikazuki Rock, released in September 2002, and was later used as an insert song in an anime.

It’s a work that confronts you with the purity and peril of a love you’d uphold even while turning your back on the world, prompting deep reflection.

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