Midori Kinouchi/Kumiko Matsuo -- Tokyo Meruhen（東京メルヘン）

Welcome back to the blog, Midori Kinouchi（木之内みどり）. It's been about 5 years, and I found this 7th single by her titled "Tokyo Meruhen" (A Tokyo Fairy Tale). When I wrote about her more successful "Yokohama Eleven"（横浜いれぶん）back in 2015, I remarked that lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）had come up with the words for her 5th to 10th singles with surprisingly none of them becoming hits.

As well, folk singer-songwriter Takuro Yoshida（吉田拓郎）was responsible for "Tokyo Meruhen" from November 1976 which apparently didn't do much on the charts since I didn't see anything forthcoming from Oricon. Yet, I think this one isn't too bad at all because of its infusion of country twang and something like a French pop style in the arrangement by Takahiko Ishikawa（石川鷹彦）. The lyrics by Matsumoto speak of a woman feeling like she's been taken for granted by her feckless lover.

In January 1984, aidoru Kumiko Matsuo（松尾久美）released a cover of "Tokyo Meruhen" as her 4th and final single in her brief career in the geinokai. The Tokyo-born Matsuo made it through NTV's audition show "Star Tanjo!"（スター誕生!...A Star Is Born） in 1982 and made her debut in 1983. In addition to those 4 singles, she also released one original album in that same year. After giving up the aidoru part of her career, she went into acting and modeling but the latest information on her time in show business was dated 1986.