Miki Nakasone -- Kawa wa Nagareru（川は流れる）

The Katsura River in Kyoto
from Wikimedia Commons 
by Basile Morin

 

I heard this for the first time on the latest episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌） the other day and the melancholy nature of this was very plain to hear.

"Kawa wa Nagareru" (A River Flows) started out as the B-side to singer and actress Miki Nakasone's（仲宗根美樹）4th single "Ame no Hanazono"（雨の花園...Rainy Flower Garden） when it was released in September 1961, but witnessing how much more popular "Kawa wa Nagareru" was with the listening audience, the single was released once more in November with the sides switched. A reflection of some sad times, Nakasone's stoic performance of the song as if she were too exhausted and depressed to even cry won over fans along with her haunting vocals. Written by Hiroshi Yokoi（横井弘）and composed by Seiichi Sakurada（桜田誠一）, it would become a million-seller by the end of the year and in the following year, she would be invited onto the 1962 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen to start the show as the top batter.

As was often the case back then with hit songs, they inspired cinematic adaptations and "Kawa ga Nagareru" which was known in the West as "Okinawa Blues" was released in theatres from March 1962. Nakasone herself received second billing as part of the cast.

Born Katsuko Kuniba（國場勝子）in 1944, she and her parents fled their native Okinawa to Tokyo due to World War II. Nakasone would release a total of 86 singles and 9 original albums up to early 1974, although she'd already retired once in 1971 due to marriage. She would go through a couple of those and also suffered a number of financial crises in addition to the tragic loss of a son due to cancer. She herself would succumb to lung cancer early in 2024 at the age of 79.