I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
Monday, May 11, 2020
Sayuri Ishikawa -- Jinchouge（沈丁花）
Caught this one on a recent episode of NHK's"Songs of Japanese Spirit" a few weeks back, and it turns out that "Jinchouge"(Winter Daphne) is a Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）song. It is actually the first time that I had ever heard of this plant so my horticultural vocabulary has also benefited from the experience.🌲
Released as a New Year's Day 1978 single, "Jinchouge" strikes me as a sweeping romantic enka with some Mood Kayo elements in there as Ishikawa pines away for that lost lover. I gather that since her breakthrough hit of "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡冬景色）in 1977, she may have been seen as the go-to chanteuse for traveling ballads of heartbreak. "Jinchouge" has that feeling for me, and it's that arrangement pattern which brought me over to enka and Mood Kayo in the first place. I simply love those strings and the mournful chorus.
"Jinchouge" reached No. 19 on the Oricon weeklies and it ended up as the 93rd-ranked single for 1978. Written by Ryo Shoji（東海林良）, the composer was none other than Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）, the fellow behind the karaokeMood Kayo classic "Izakaya"（居酒屋）and also the famous theme song for "Detective Conan".
Amazing blog my friend! I have been into Japanese fusion for upwards of 12 years now with a growing CD and vinyl collection - mostly Casiopea, T-Square and associated jazz acts. But I've never been to Japan. Oh, and I just happen to reside in Stratford (Canada) - very pleased to make your acquaintance senpai.
Thanks very much, Dio! Hope you are keeping healthy in Stratford. Yup, I've known about Casiopea and T-Square but if you have any recommendations about other J-fusion bands, please let me know. By all means, when this COVID crisis is finally over, try heading on over to Japan. You'll have a fine time there.
Amazing blog my friend! I have been into Japanese fusion for upwards of 12 years now with a growing CD and vinyl collection - mostly Casiopea, T-Square and associated jazz acts. But I've never been to Japan. Oh, and I just happen to reside in Stratford (Canada) - very pleased to make your acquaintance senpai.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, Dio! Hope you are keeping healthy in Stratford. Yup, I've known about Casiopea and T-Square but if you have any recommendations about other J-fusion bands, please let me know. By all means, when this COVID crisis is finally over, try heading on over to Japan. You'll have a fine time there.
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