'''第1回NHK紅白歌合戦'''は、NHKで生放送された。
== 概要 ==
*1945年の番組「紅白音楽試合」の流れを引き継ぎ、近藤積（つもる）ディレクターを中心に制作された。
*当時のNHK東京放送会館で一番大きいラジオ第1スタジオに、300人ほどの観客を入れて行った。
*勝利した白組は小さい優勝カップをもらった。キャプテン（トリ）の藤山一郎を中心に「エイ、エイ、オー」と勝ちどきを上げた（藤倉修一談、NHK「紅白50回・歌は時代を語り続けた～昭和編～」1999年12月26日放送）。
*この回の映像・音声・写真など、番組風景を推測できる資料は全く現存していない。

== 司会者 ==
*紅組司会:加藤道子
*白組司会:藤倉修一アナウンサー
*総合司会:田辺正晴アナウンサー

== 審査委員 ==
*春日由三･NHK芸能局長
*吉本明光（音楽評論家）
*聴取者代表男女各2名

, more commonly known as simply ''Kōhaku'', is an annual music show on the New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas (mainly cable) broadcasters which bought the program. The show ends shortly before midnight (when NHK switches to a frenzy of "Happy New Year" greetings from around the nation).

Literally "Red and White Song Battle," the program divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing teams of red and white. The "red" team or  is composed of all female artists (or groups with female vocals), while the "white" team or  is all male (or groups with male vocals). The honor of performing on Kōhaku is strictly by invitation, so only the most successful J-Pop artists and enka singers can perform. In addition to the actual music performances, the costumes, hair-styles, makeup, dancing, and lighting are also important. Even today, a performance on Kōhaku is said to be a big highlight in a singer's career because of the show's large reach.

==Song selection process==
The songs and performers are examined by a selection committee put together by NHK. The basis for selection are record sales and adaptability to the edition's theme.

At the same time, a survey on various amalgamation of J-Pop acts and enka and adult contemporary artists.

There are, however, exceptions to the process. Momoe Yamaguchi chose to sing her favorite song ''Hito Natsu no Keiken'' (ひと夏の経験) during the 25th edition, despite NHK's pick of a different song and the suggestive lyrics (see her page for details.)

==The show proper==
When the show was first broadcasted on radio in 1951, each team had a few performers, all of whom would perform within the span of an hour. Since 1989, television viewers watch and radio listeners listen for at least four hours as both teams, each having at least 25 performers, perform their songs.

At the end of the show, the audience and a panel of judges&mdash;notable celebrities who may or may not have a connection to the music industry&mdash;vote to select the winning team. In the past, the audience vote has been composed of a head count of the venue audience members, who can vote for either team (NHK Hall, which has been the venue for most Kōhaku editions since 1971, can seat 3,000 people). This counted as one vote.

As of the 54th (2003) and 55th editions (2004), viewers who watch the program through ISDB-S on NHK BS Hi-vision could also take part in the voting by having their own head count in their respective households. Although it is still sketchy to determine in the 55th, the audience vote is counted as two votes; one for the venue audience and one for ISDB-S viewers. 

The audience vote(s) are added to those of the judges who each have to vote for one team. The team with the most votes wins.

The above process was done differently for the 56th edition (2005). Instead, the NHK Hall head count, the vote count from cellphone users, and the vote count from ISDB-S viewers each counted as one vote. As stated above, the team that got at least two votes won.

In the 57th edition (2006), aside from cellphone and ISDB-S viewers and the NHK Hall audience, 1seg users also voted. Its format had also been reverted back to the ball voting system - from the audience head count and the judges' votes. 

In the 58th edition (2007), the winner was determined through an overall head count, all from cellphone, ISDB-S viewers, 1seg users, and the NHK Hall Audience (including guests).

Aside from the performances, there are special performances where certain performers do their act together, and the so-called "Ring Show" where performers from both teams take part in a "singing exercise."

==Results==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Kōhaku # !! Date !! style="background:red; color:white" | Red Team Host !! style="background:white; color:red" | White Team Host !! style="background:gold" | Mediator !! Winning<br>Team
|-
! 1
| | [[Michiko Katō || | [[Masaharu Tanabe || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 2
| | [[Kiyoko Tange || Shuuichi Fujikura || Masaharu Tanabe || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 3
| | Juka Honda || [[Teru Miyata || Masayori Shimura || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 4
| | [[Takiko Mizunoe || | [[Seigoro Kitade || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 5
| | [[Natsue Fukuji || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 6
| 31 December 1955 || Teru Miyata || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 7
| 31 December 1956 || Teru Miyata || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 8
| 31 December 1957 || Takiko Mizunoe || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 9
| | [[Tetsuko Kuroyanagi || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" |  Red
|-
! 10
| | [[Meiko Nakamura ||  Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 11
| 31 December 1960 || Meiko Nakamura || Keizo Takahashi|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 12
| | Meiko Nakamura || Keizo Takahashi|| [[Toshiaki Hosaka || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 13
| | [[Mitsuko Mori || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 14
| | [[Eri Chiemi || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 15
| 31 December 1964 || Eri Chiemi || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 16
| | [[Michiko Hayashi || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 17
| | [[Peggy Hayama || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 18
| | [[Yumiko Kokonoe || Teru Miyata|| Shouzaburō Ishii || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 19
| | [[Kiyoko Suizenji || Kyu Sakamoto || Teru Miyata || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 20
| | [[Yukari Ito || Kyu Sakamoto || Teru Miyata || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 21
| | [[Hibari Misora || Teru Miyata || Shizuo Yamakawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 22
| 31 December 1971 || Kiyoko Suizenji || Teru Miyata || Shizuo Yamakawa ||  style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 23
| | [[Naomi Sagara || Teru Miyata || Shizuo Yamakawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 24
| 31 December 1973 ||Kiyoko Suizenji || Teru Miyata || Shizuo Yamakawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 25
| | Naomi Sagara || Shizuo Yamakawa || [[Masao Domon & Youzou Nakae|| style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 26
| | Naomi Sagara || Shizuo Yamakawa|| [[Hiroshi Aikawa || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 27
| | Naomi Sagara || Shizuo Yamakawa|| [[Hiroshi Aikawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 28
| | Naomi Sagara || Shizuo Yamakawa|| [[Hiroshi Aikawa || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 29
| | Mitsuko Mori || Shizuo Yamakawa || [[Hiroshi Aikawa || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 30
| 31 December 1979 || Kiyoko Suizenji || Shizuo Yamakawa || Youzou Nakae || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 31
| 31 December 1980 ||Tetsuko Kuroyanagi || Shizuo Yamakawa|| Youzou Nakae || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 32
| |Tetsuko Kuroyanagi || Shizuo Yamakawa|| [[Keiichi Ubukata || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 33
| 31 December 1982 ||Tetsuko Kuroyanagi || Shizuo Yamakawa|| Keiichi Ubukata || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 34
| | Tetsuko Kuroyanagi || [[Kenji Suzuki || Tamori || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 35
| 31 December 1984 || Mitsuko Mori || Kenji Suzuki || Keiichi Ubukata || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 36
| | [[Masako Mori || Kenji Suzuki || Masaho Senda || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 37
| | [[Yuki Saito (actress)|Yuki Saito & |  Yuuzou Kayama & Masaho Senda|| [[Seiichi Yoshikawa ||style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 38
| | [[Akiko Wada || Yuuzou Kayama || Seiichi Yoshikawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 39
| | Akiko Wada || Yuuzou Kayama || [[Keiko Sugiura || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 40
| |[[Yoshiko Mita || | [[Sadatomo Matsudaira || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 41
| |[[Yoshiko Mita || Toshiyuki Nishida || Sadatomo Matsudaira || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 42
| | [[Yuuko Ayano || Masaaki Sakai || Shizuo Yamakawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 43
| | [[Hikari Ishida || Masaaki Sakai || Shizuo Yamakawa || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 44
| | Hikari Ishida || Masaaki Sakai || [[Miyuki Morita || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 45
| |[[Emiko Kaminuma || | [[Yasuo Miyakawa || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 46
| | Emiko Kaminuma || Ichiro Furutachi || [[Ryuuji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 47
| |[[Takako Matsu || Ichiro Furutachi || Ryuuji Miyamoto & Mitsuyo Kusano || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 48
| |Akiko Wada || [[Masahiro Nakai || Ryuuji Miyamoto || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 49
| | [[Junko Kubo || Masahiro Nakai || Ryuuji Miyamoto || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 50
| | Junko Kubo || [[Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII|Nakamura Kankurō V || Ryuuji Miyamoto ||style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 51
| | Junko Kubo || [[Motoya Izumi || Ryuuji Miyamoto || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 52
| | [[Yumiko Udō || | [[Tamio Miyake || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 53
| 31 December 2002 || Yumiko Udō|| Wataru Abe || Tamio Miyake || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 54
| | Yumiko Udō & [[Takako Zenba ||  Wataru Abe & | [[Touko Takeuchi || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 55
| | [[Fumie Ono || Wataru Abe || Masaaki Horio || style="background:red; color:white" | Red
|-
! 56
| | colspan=3 | [[Mino Monta, Koji Yamamoto*|| style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 57
| | Yukie Nakama || Masahiro Nakai || Tamio Miyake & [[Megumi Kurosaki || style="background:white; color:red" | White
|-
! 58
| | Masahiro Nakai** || [[Tsurube Shōfukutei  || Kazuya Matsumoto & Miki Sumiyoshi ||style="background:white; color:red" | White

|}
<font size=1>* In the 56th edition, the roles of mediator and team host were blurred as all four hosts intermingled with both teams.</font><br>
<font size=1>** Masahiro Nakai is the first ''male'' team host of the Red team since Teru Miyata in the 6th and 7th editions. Red team hosts (even in pairs) are usually female.</font>

==Popularity==
Kōhaku was once the most-watched show on Japanese television of the year. One major factor was that New Year's Eve in Japan is a holiday traditionally spent at home (see Ōmisoka). Over the years, the annual event's popularity has declined from an all-time high of 81.4 (14th event) to an all-time low of 30.8/39.3 (55th event) in the Kantō region. <ref>[http://www.videor.co.jp/data/ratedata/program/01kouhaku.htm Official viewership ratings since 13th event (Japanese)]</ref> Despite the drop, Kōhaku is consistently the top-rated musical event each year. <ref>[http://www.videor.co.jp/data/ratedata/r_index.htm Official top-30 viewership ratings from 1995 to 2005]</ref>