『'''第23回NHK紅白歌合戦'''』（だい23かいエヌエイチケイこうはくうたがっせん）は、NHKで生放送された。

== 概要 ==
*将来を有望視された野口五郎が当時最年少で初出場を果たした。
*絶大な人気を誇り初出場を果たした天地真理がトップバッターの大役を務めたが、歌唱後に美空ひばりが駆け寄り「あなた、堂々として良かったわよ」と声をかけてくれ驚いたと後に語っている。このひばりの言葉は台本にはなかった。
*男女混合3人組グループメインヴォーカル的存在が女性メンバーの西口久美子である為、紅組出場だと思われていたが、実際は白組出場であった。詳しい理由は不明ではあるが、紅組に同じく初出場であった男女混合グループの平田隆夫とセルスターズがいた為に枠が空いている白組に入れられたのではないかとの説がある。
*同じく初出場の上條恒彦は熱唱のあまり、かけていた眼鏡が床へ飛んでしまうハプニングがあったがレンズは割れずに済んだ。そのバックには小室等がギターで、そして、上條を輩出した若者向け音楽番組『ステージ101』のレギュラー「ヤング101」がコーラスで参加した。この「ヤング101」のメンバーの中に、後にソロデビューした田中星児・一城みゆ希・太田裕美・谷山浩子らが混ざっている。
*直前の『孤独」が選曲された。
*長髪（＝不良のイメージがあった）が理由で紅白出場が認められなかったザ・タイガースの人気ヴォーカリストの沢田研二が、ソロ歌手としてこの年に念願の初出場を果たした。
*10回連続でトリを務めていた美空ひばりは、翌年に実弟・第24回は落選となり、同回が連続としては最後の出場となった。
*バックプロデューサーが命名した。歌手デビューは翌年9月「第26回「年下の男の子」）。
*平均視聴率は'''80.6%'''（関東地区、ビデオリサーチ調べ）で、紅白史上第2位の視聴率を記録した。
*東京宝塚劇場での開催は、この回が最後となった。翌年の第24回から会場を現在のNHKホールに移した。
*放送用ビデオテープはこの当時（録画設備を含めて）非常に高価であったが、NHKはこの回から制度的な紅白の収録ならびにVTR保存を開始。この回を含めて、以降の紅白はすべて鮮明なカラーのビデオ映像の完全版VTRが残っている。この年の紅白はそのカラーのビデオ映像の完全版で、後年に『思い出の紅白歌合戦』（NHKBS-2）で再放映された。

== 司会者 ==
*紅組司会:佐良直美
*白組司会:宮田輝アナウンサー
*総合司会:山川静夫アナウンサー
*紅組応援団長:水前寺清子
*白組応援団長:堺正章
*102スタジオ:金子辰雄アナウンサー

== 演奏 ==
*紅組:ダン池田とニューブリード（指揮 ダン池田）
*白組:小野満とスイング・ビーバーズ（指揮 小野満）
*総合指揮:藤山一郎

== 審査員 ==
=== 東京宝塚劇場 ===
*大河ドラマ『国盗り物語』の妙鴦尼役）
*中原誠（棋士）
*森英恵（ファッションデザイナー）
*金曜時代劇『赤ひげ』の赤ひげ先生こと新出去定役）
*中村汀女（俳人）
*井上ひさし（作家）
*中野貴代（消防官）
*神田好武（日本航空機長）
*真木洋子（女優。この年の連続テレビ小説『藍より青く』のヒロイン・村上真紀役）
*輪島大士（大相撲・大関）
*会場審査員のみなさん10名
*加藤稔・NHK芸能局長

=== 地方審査員 ===
東区／中区）／南区／沖縄県那覇市　以上全国8地区より10名ずつ計80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>