# The Rainbow Goblins (虹伝説) (album)
**The Rainbow Goblins** (虹伝説, *Niji Densetsu*) is a 1981 concept album by the Japanese guitarist [Masayoshi Takanaka](https://www.edgepedia.org/masayoshi-takanaka) (高中正義), built as a musical retelling of the Italian painter Ul de Rico's picture book *The Rainbow Goblins*. Released on March 10, 1981, it was Takanaka's seventh original album and his first double album, and it remains his most celebrated work[1](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upjy-9523/). The music blends jazz fusion, city pop, prog rock, funk, and tropical styles, with spoken-word narration carrying the story between pieces[2](https://deadtankrecords.com/products/masayoshi-takanaka-the-rainbow-goblins-cd). A Japanese translation of the source picture book was published by [Shogakukan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shogakukan) one month before the album appeared[3](https://something-else.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E9%82%A6%E6%A5%BD%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88_20250727.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Masayoshi Takanaka, Japanese jazz fusion guitarist |
| Released | March 10, 1981 |
| Position in catalog | Seventh original album; Takanaka's first double album[1](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upjy-9523/) |
| Basis | Picture book *The Rainbow Goblins* by Ul de Rico (published 1978)[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/les-claypool-takes-us-through-primus-multicoloured-world) |
| Length | 14 tracks, roughly 68 minutes total[5](https://open.spotify.com/album/6es3mdUqpOlHSXPT6QeC7Y) |
| Companion concert | "RAINBOW GOBLINS STORY" at Nippon Budokan, March 10–11, 1981[6](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-8125/) |
| Sequel | 虹伝説II THE WHITE GOBLIN (1997)[7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/news/2021-09-17/) |
| Notable reissues | 40th Anniversary box (November 17, 2021)[8](https://store.universal-music.co.jp/products/d2gt1007); 180g clear purple 2LP remastered by Miles Showell (October 29, 2025)[1](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upjy-9523/) |
## The source book
Ul de Rico, the Italian illustrator Ulderico Conte Gropplero di Troppenburg, published the children's book *The Rainbow Goblins* in 1978. Its story concerns seven evil goblins named after the colors of the spectrum, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and [Violet](https://www.edgepedia.org/violet-color), who roam the land lassoing rainbows and draining their color, and who come to a violent end for their greed[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/les-claypool-takes-us-through-primus-multicoloured-world). The book is known for saturated oil-on-oak illustrations across 32 pages[9](https://www.allbookstores.com/Rainbow-Goblins-Rico/9780500277591). Takanaka encountered the book in Guam[7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/news/2021-09-17/).
## Concept and music
Takanaka composed one piece for each of the book's twelve illustrations, moving through the story in sequence[10](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-9056/). Spoken-word narration between the songs tells the tale directly[2](https://deadtankrecords.com/products/masayoshi-takanaka-the-rainbow-goblins-cd), and a Japanese rock critic describes the opening "Once Upon a Song" as a prologue announcing the story, with Takanaka's guitar acting as a narrator voicing the protagonist's feelings[11](https://rockcollector.blog31.fc2.com/blog-entry-7635.html).
The 14-track sequence runs:[5](https://open.spotify.com/album/6es3mdUqpOlHSXPT6QeC7Y)
1. Prologue (3:16)
2. Once Upon a Song (5:10)
3. Seven Goblins (3:12)
4. The Sunset Valley (4:21)
5. The Moon Rose (5:39)
6. Soon (6:27)
7. Magical Night Light (1:52)
8. Rainbow Paradise (5:03)
9. Thunderstorm (3:13)
10. Rising Arch (4:50)
11. Just Chuckle (3:43)
12. Rainbow Was Reborn (5:56)
13. Plumed Bird (7:33)
14. You Can Never Come to This Place (8:05)
Reviewers single out "Thunderstorm," an intense electric guitar piece depicting lightning chasing the goblins; it later served as the entrance music for the wrestler Genichiro Tenryu[12](https://www.theshfl.com/album/The-Rainbow-Goblins).
## The Budokan concert and sequel
**Staging the story.** To mark the album's release, Takanaka performed the concert "RAINBOW GOBLINS STORY" at [Nippon Budokan](https://www.edgepedia.org/nippon-budokan) in Tokyo on March 10 and 11, 1981, the release day and the day after. The first part of the show recreated the album on stage; the second part consisted of his hit songs. The production featured a large rainbow neon whose seven colors pulsed with the music, laser effects, and seven musicians costumed in each goblin's color, while Takanaka, in a yellow jumpsuit with rainbow-dyed hair, played a rainbow-metallic Yamaha SG guitar[6](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-8125/). Recordings of these dates were first released as audio on the album *RAINBOW GOBLINS STORY Live at Budokan 1981〜虹伝説*[6](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-8125/).
**The White Goblin.** In 1997 Takanaka released a sequel album, 虹伝説II THE WHITE GOBLIN, followed by a Budokan concert of the same title. The two album-plus-concert projects have been described as a forerunner of today's media mix franchise formats[7](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/news/2021-09-17/). In Ul de Rico's own later sequel book, *The White Goblin* (1996), an exiled eighth goblin rouses the Cave Goblins after the destruction of the rainbow goblins[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/les-claypool-takes-us-through-primus-multicoloured-world) • [13](https://new.horizoneducational.com/files/detail/Download_PDFS/the_rainbow_goblins.pdf).
## Reissues and later reception
For Takanaka's 50th debut anniversary, Universal released the 虹伝説BOX-40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on November 17, 2021, a limited box compiling both goblins albums and the 1997 Budokan live album on three 2021-remastered SACD hybrids, plus the first Blu-ray editions of the 1981 and 1997 concert videos[8](https://store.universal-music.co.jp/products/d2gt1007). A 2LP analog reissue followed on October 29, 2025, on 180g clear purple vinyl, remastered and half-speed cut by Miles Showell at [Abbey Road Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/abbey-road-studios) from the original master tapes[1](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upjy-9523/).
The album's reputation has grown beyond Japan: an overview describes it as one of Takanaka's most iconic works, where tropical guitar melodies meet a mythic storyline[14](https://wabirecords.com/products/masayoshi-takanaka-the-rainbow-goblins-original-1983), and the goblin story later inspired a separate concept album, Primus's *The Desaturating Seven* (2017)[4](https://www.loudersound.com/features/les-claypool-takes-us-through-primus-multicoloured-world).
## References
1. [虹伝説 THE RAINBOW GOBLINS [初回生産限定盤][アナログ] – 高中正義, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upjy-9523/)
2. [Masayoshi Takanaka "The Rainbow Goblins" CD, Dead Tank Records](https://deadtankrecords.com/products/masayoshi-takanaka-the-rainbow-goblins-cd)
3. [レコード邦楽リスト (notes on 虹伝説 and the Shogakukan picture book), something-else.net](https://something-else.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E9%82%A6%E6%A5%BD%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88_20250727.pdf)
4. [Les Claypool takes us through Primus' multicoloured world, Louder/Prog](https://www.loudersound.com/features/les-claypool-takes-us-through-primus-multicoloured-world)
5. [虹伝説～THE RAINBOW GOBLINS～ – Masayoshi Takanaka, Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/6es3mdUqpOlHSXPT6QeC7Y)
6. [RAINBOW GOBLINS STORY Live at Budokan 1981〜虹伝説[CD] – 高中正義, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-8125/)
7. [デビュー50周年！『虹伝説』BOX ＆ 7枚組CD BOX発売決定！ – 高中正義, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/news/2021-09-17/)
8. [虹伝説BOX-40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, Universal Music Store](https://store.universal-music.co.jp/products/d2gt1007)
9. [Rainbow Goblins by Ul De Rico (9780500277591), AllBookstores](https://www.allbookstores.com/Rainbow-Goblins-Rico/9780500277591)
10. [虹伝説 THE RAINBOW GOBLINS[CD] – 高中正義, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/products/upcy-9056/)
11. [高中正義 – The Rainbow Goblins (1981), Rock Collector](https://rockcollector.blog31.fc2.com/blog-entry-7635.html)
12. [The Rainbow Goblins – Masayoshi Takanaka, The Shfl](https://www.theshfl.com/album/The-Rainbow-Goblins)
13. [The Rainbow Goblins (teaching guide referencing De Rico, 1996), Horizon Educational](https://new.horizoneducational.com/files/detail/Download_PDFS/the_rainbow_goblins.pdf)
14. [Masayoshi Takanaka / The Rainbow Goblins (original 1981), Wabi Records](https://wabirecords.com/products/masayoshi-takanaka-the-rainbow-goblins-original-1983)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Blues and jazz albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license