Satoko Shimonari -- Aki no Ichi Nichi （秋の一日）

Autumn arrived officially at 4:02 pm today on September 22nd. However, a certain season apparently didn't get the memo. Yep, summer is making up for what was basically not all that hot (literally and figuratively) with a final week of blazing weather here in Toronto. Until this time next week, there will be plenty of sun and heat and humidity with the highlight possibly being tomorrow as the Humidex pops off potentially at 37 degrees Celsius or 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, true to how quickly weather in my city can turn, once fall truly arrives next Friday or Saturday, the temperature will drop as much as 20 degrees within a day. Even for weather masters such as Torontonians, that could take a toll on the good ol' metabolism.

Still, as I am wont to do on this seasonal day, I try to find an autumnal kayo somewhere. And that I did with Satoko Shimonari's（下成佐登子）"Aki no Ichi Nichi" (One Fall Day). Shimonari has been one of the many singers that I have been able to discover because of my work on the blog and strolls through YouTube.

For the last couple of articles on her, I was looking at her contemporary (for that day) pop work such as "Time goes by" from 1987. Well, I've gone back to her beginnings with her debut single from August 1978 which was written and composed by Shimonari.

As I've mentioned before, autumn, when it comes to kayo, often signals the loss of a relationship, and "Aki no Ichi Nichi" continues that tradition. Her wistful debut depicts a woman dealing with such a loss or lamenting something that never came to pass as she ends up folding up some stationery in her home into a paper airplane and simply tossing it into flight.

Shimonari's melody certainly gives off that melancholy feeling in waves. The version near the top is the original single from 1978 and has that typically wistful feeling thanks to those violins. The one immediately above has a slightly different arrangement with a more intimate-sounding intro with a guitar and an addition of a soft chorus. This version is the title track from her debut album that actually didn't come out until November 1981. I like both versions but if I had to choose, I would probably go with the album take. In any case, I'm a sucker for the nostalgic stuff.

Fall is my favourite season, partially because when I was living in Japan, it was a great time for food. Although the late summer burst will be much appreciated, I will also be grateful when the temps finally get a little more bracing.