Yukiko (Yuyu) Iwai -- Yozora no Menu（夜空のメニュー）

 

What was once the tallest free-standing structure on Earth, Toronto's own CN Tower, had the world's highest disco called Sparkles. It was also one of the smallest discos but for us in the Japanese-Canadian Students' Association at the University of Toronto, it was one of our go-to places although not to the extent of The Copa, The Diamond or karaoke bar Kuri. Had our fair share of cocktails and snacks at Sparkles, but I have to admit that I never went to the revolving 360 Restaurant. I did hear that it's a bit of a tourist trap but if anyone would like to correct me...🙏 Regardless, Happy 50th Birthday to the ol' CN Tower!

And we come to the song for this article, "Yozora no Menu" (Menu of the Night Sky). Written by Hiroko Tania（谷亜ヒロコ）and composed by Yasuko Kawakami（川上泰子）, this was recorded by aidoru Yukiko (Yuyu) Iwai（岩井由紀子）on her 4th and final album to date, "Kotteru ne!"（こってるネ!...You're So Particular!）, from December 1988. It's quite the high-flying romantic song and it has a smooth and refined arrangement by Ryo Yonemitsu（米光亮）that almost had me thinking City Pop. I just hope that the happy couple don't have any vertigo issues. As for the album, "Kotteru ne!" scored a No. 49 ranking on Oricon.

Shigeru Suzuki -- Kaiyuu（回遊）

 

I know that musician, songwriter and former member of Happy End, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）, has been continuing to make his way through the music industry to the present day. However, up to now, I'd usually seen him as a fellow making the good stuff in the 1970s such as the song I noted only a few weeks earlier "Brandy Wine".

Only recently have I discovered some of his music following the decade of disco and early City Pop. One such example is his "Kaiyuu" from his 1998 album "Kujira no Umi"（クジラの海〜Living Whales）. "Kaiyuu" can mean "excursion" but it can also be defined as "seasonal migration" for sea life such as fish. Considering the album title, Suzuki could have been referring to the migration of whales themselves. But whatever is moving around out there in the grand blue, Suzuki means it as a very languid and relaxing fusion number that kinda hovers around jazz and pop...maybe it's more accurate to say New Age. Let us lie down in those deck lounge chairs, shall we?

David Bowie -- Ashes to Ashes

By Redeytraveler via Wikimedia Commons

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since music icon David Bowie left this mortal coil. Perhaps it's a mere guess from me, but I think fans and people who are just discovering Bowie are probably going through his discography and perhaps even his filmography right now to view his creations.

As I mentioned in my first ROY article on Bowie, "Ashes to Ashes" was the first time I'd seen him in a music video, following my first ever sighting and listening to him on the Martin Sheen-hosted "Saturday Night Live" episode. Bowie Boy, did he make an impression! Music videos were just at the beginning of their lifetime as a pop culture force and this one for "Ashes to Ashes" was kinda like one of my dreams if I had a little too much spicy food the night before. 

I will leave the interpretation of the song to better people at Genius and Wikipedia, but suffice it to say, it was something that left me somewhat shaken considering that I'd seen it on some video show late at night and it was something that I'd never seen before with all of those special effects and Bowie taking on multiple characters. I also read that "Ashes to Ashes" has been lauded for its distinct structure and I could attest to that with the melodic shifts in direction knocking me around for an absolute loop. Art pop and art rock were the right labels for this one, along with New Wave. At the time, I was ready to use avant-garde.

 "Ashes to Ashes" was released on August 1st 1980. It did OK in Canada by scoring a No. 35 ranking on RPM and in the United States, it actually hit No. 21 on the Billboard Disco chart, but it reached No. 1 in the UK and France. Let's see what was up at the top of the Oricon charts a few days later on August 4th.

1. Monta & Brothers -- Dancing All Night

2. Toshihiko Tahara -- Aishuu Date （哀愁でいと）

I just wanted to leave things off with Jason Shulman's wonderful paean through his video for Bowie's 1972 "Starman". The song wouldn't fit for ROY because I frankly didn't hear it for the first time until much later into my adulthood but this video probably has had fans weeping for joy.

Hiroshi Miyama -- Hana to Samurai（花とサムライ）

 

As I mentioned in the previous article, "Uta Con"（うたコン）was back after several weeks of hiatus due to the Holidays. One of the guests was enka singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）who, back on New Year's Eve, managed to pull off another Guinness world record of sustained kendama catches (there are actually other snakes of people doing this sort of thing?!) on the Kohaku Utagassen.

It seems as if Miyama is taking after another famous enka legend by the name of Hiroshi (Itsuki) and becoming quite the Renaissance man or Swiss Army knife. He not only sings but loves kendama, breeds Rhinoceros beetles and handles the drums with aplomb, and those are the things that I remember; there were a few other hobbies that popped up on the screen but I forgot what they were.

Anyways, Miyama was on the drum set last night as he performed his latest single which was released only a couple of weeks ago and which makes the song the second one to be listed under the 2026 label here on KKP after this particular tune. "Hana to Samurai" (The Flower and the Samurai) is an enka song with a bit of a jazzy/rock n' roll twist so I guess I can also place this under the category of New Adult Music as well. Written by Haku Ide（いではく）and composed by Koji Tokuhisa（徳久広司）, it's all about remembering and engaging in all of those Japanese ideals such as being faithful to duty and family. I gather that it's the added genre panache that kinda softens the doctrinaire in "Hana to Samurai".

One additional thing that I discovered in Miyama's Wikipedia page is that his vocals have been called the Vitamin Voice because fans have claimed that his golden tones have provided a sense of security and vitality. So, he's the tonic that rejuvenates...something that will always be welcome in enka.

Aki Toyosaki, Maaya Uchida, Ayane Sakura, Miku Ito and Momo Asakura -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

 

Wow! All this time knowing the song "Akai Sweet Pea" (Red Sweet Pea) by Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）and the above 1910 painting is the first time I get to see a real red sweet pea. This is by Edward H. Mitchell (1867–1932) and it's in the public domain according to Wikimedia Commons.

One other thing that I found out on the first episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）in 2026 last night was that "Akai Sweet Pea" is celebrating its 44th anniversary today since its release in 1982. Well, of course, I wrote up an article on one of Seiko-chan's evergreen hits all the way back in 2012 so I can't really repeat myself. However, I did look up the many cover versions of "Akai Sweet Pea" via J-Wiki and found this one.

It is indeed a very sweet version via the December 2020 album "VOICE ~ Seiyuu-tachi ga Utau Matsuda Seiko Song ~ Female Edition"（VOICE〜声優たちが歌う松田聖子ソング〜 Female Edition...Voice Actresses Sing the Songs of Seiko Matsuda）. As the title says, a whole bunch of the big guns in the anime voice actress industry came together to provide their own versions of Matsuda's music. Their take on "Akai Sweet Pea" is the 12th and final track on the album and it is an appropriately stately but adorable cover sung by all of the seiyuu involved in the project to wrap things up: Aki Toyosaki（豊崎愛生）, Maaya Uchida（内田真礼）, Ayane Sakura（佐倉綾音）, Miku Ito（伊藤美来）and Momo Asakura（麻倉もも）. Probably not a dry eye in the house.

Anyways, all hail "Akai Sweet Pea"! All hail Seiko-chan!

Akemi Misawa -- Ashita wa O-Tachi ka?（明日はお立ちか）

 

I see that "Uta Con"（うたコン）is back in the saddle again on NHK after several weeks' Holiday hiatus. I'll have to take a look at that later tonight, but it'll be nice to see and hear some of the ol' kayo kyoku again.

Reading that enka veteran Akemi Misawa（三沢あけみ）is 80 years old, I can't imagine that I would see much of her on television again. However, she can be active on YouTube via her long discography of music. One such song is her November 1964 single "Ashita wa O-Tachi ka?" which literally translates as "Are You Standing Tomorrow?" (OK, let's not giggle too much here, eh?) but I think it's likelier that it means "Are You Leaving Tomorrow?". I did hear some references in Takao Saeki's（佐伯孝雄）lyrics that the young fellow will be departing by sea.

I gather that this would be another parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow type of enka with the melody by Shunichi Sasaki（佐々木俊一）and arrangement by Masanobu Tokuchi（渡久地政信）. However, there is something rather interesting in there with the inclusion of what sounds like a steel pedal guitar for that Hawaiian feeling. Usually, I'd hear that most Polynesian of instruments in Mood Kayo but it's actually included in an enka tune. Maybe the fellow is headed off to the Aloha State for an undetermined period of time.

Miyuki Kosaka -- Season Off

 

I think opinions may vary here, but today's feeling like the coldest day of the year thus far in my city. The wind chill factor took things down to -24 degrees Celsius! Had wanted to get my hair cut at the local barber but when I got to the place, it still hadn't opened and one poor guy was waiting in his car for the salon to open up. Wasn't going to wait and even the walk over to the convenience store to pick up the paper was an arduous odyssey.

At this point, still several weeks away from spring, I wouldn't blame folks for wanting to take the season off and make like bears going into hibernation. Instead, I'll be content to listen to heartwarming tunes like "Season Off" by Miyuki Kosaka（香坂みゆき）. A track from her September 1985 album "Fairway", it feels like a summer breeze with the melody and arrangement by the late singer-songwriter Kazuhito Murata（村田和人）, and it does have that laidback Murata merrily-we-roll-along jauntiness along with, I suspect, his voice as the background chorus and his guitar in the instrumental bridge. Kazuko Kobayashi（小林和子）was responsible for the lyrics. Nice to have a bit of summer back again.

Hiroshi Itsuki -- Akari ga Hoshii（灯りが欲しい）

 

Hard to believe that enka singer Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）will be turning 78 in a couple of months' time. I haven't seen him on the Kohaku in over five years now since he retired from the annual NHK special. 

When I first heard his 28th single from September 1977, "Akari ga Hoshii" (I Want to See the Light), I had assumed that this was one very dramatic enka for a person looking to cadge a light for his cigarette. But looking through Masato Fujita's（藤田まさと）lyrics, I quickly realized that the light this particular protagonist is looking for is the light of hope and recovery because it became evident that the fellow is pretty much at the end of his rope after drinking himself into isolation. 

Drinking and enka have gone together like hamburgers and cola but "Akari ga Hoshii" is different in that Mr. Booze isn't seen as the good ol' buddy or salve for what ails someone but the thing that brings someone down to his knees. Prolific Minoru Endo（遠藤実）was also the composer of the very bittersweet melody including those silky and flourishing strings. There's no one better to tearfully beckon for salvation than Itsuki and the song didn't do too badly by scoring a No. 14 ranking on Oricon and selling around 200,000 records. It also got him his 7th invitation to the 28th edition of the Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1977.

YONA YONA WEEKENDERS -- Yoyoi no Yoi（予酔いの宵）

 

In recent years through Japanese television, I've become aware of a type of vacationing called glamping which is a portmanteau of "glamorous" and "camping". From what I've seen, it apparently looks like bringing 5-star hotel accommodations out to the woods. I've seen tarento partake in the activity. I've gone camping only once in my lifetime so it's not something for me but there is a part of me that wonders whether glamping kinda takes the meaning out of camping...but I'm not judging. I only know of one person who has gone camping by herself so if I ever meet her again, I'll have to ask her about her feelings on glamping.

I was reminded of this by the music video for YONA YONA WEEKENDERS' September 2025 EP "Yoyoi no Yoi". Now, it translates into "Pre-Drunken Evening" but I have heard it before as a part of a chant during some Japanese party game such as a really intense version of paper, rock and scissors (the strip kind). If I'm mistaken, please correct me here. To extend the definition further, the expression was used to describe the early evening when partygoers are already feeling the effects of alcohol but are still looking forward to the main event of drinking, eating and carousing. For those 80s music fans, I guess it's the stuff before everyone wang chungs that night.

However in this case, vocalist Isono-kun's（磯野くん）lyrics seem a bit more toned down. It's all about having a few friends get together to chill or maybe for a couple to snuggle one night. I've usually categorized YYW's music as Neo-City Pop but this time, I would probably say that it's more really groovy pop. The environment shown in the video helps in my decision although I posit that Isono-kun and his bandmates are taking part in camping rather than glamping.

Caoli Cano & Haruo Chikada -- Mechanica（メカニカ）

 

Considering the music and age of this particular album, this might be one of the rarest of the rare. And yet, I would like to explore it further. According to the explanation underneath the YouTube video, this is "Tokyo-teki"（東京的...Tokyo-esque） from March 1993, a compilation of songs under the aegis of Haruo Kubota（窪田晴男）who had been a band member of Haruo Chikada & The Vibratones（近田春夫&ビブラトーンズ）and a music producer.

With each of the nine tracks on the album addressing some aspect of Japan's capital city, the first track is "Mechanica" which was written by singer and sake brewer Caoli Cano（かの香織）and composed by Kubota's old boss Haruo Chikada. Kubota himself was on the keyboards here. It's quite the way to start things off with Cano's light and breathy vocals fronting a half-strutting, half skulking House beat, it seems like, as if some guy or lady in a red convertible is making Shinjuku or Roppongi their territory on a Friday night.  There are also a couple of times when this musical flourish suddenly bursts forth like a fountain going several metres up into the night sky which in a way reminds me of some Pet Shop Boys tunes. This album may be quite the ride in my old stomping grounds.

Chiyono Yoshino -- Icy Doll

 

Chiyono Yoshino（吉野千代乃）may not be the most well-known singer even within the City Pop umbrella that I've often associated her with, but she has had performed her material with sophistication and grace such as has been the case with her "Birthday Eve" from 1994. This came from her album "Crescent Moon" which was her final album until her 2018 "Canary".

Going to her debut album "Rain Ballade" from March 1986 then, it was a bit of a revelation to hear one of the tracks "Icy Doll". It is indeed Yoshino's resonant vocals but the melody and arrangement sound so mid-1980s European synthpop that I'd expected to see a couple of songwriters from halfway around the world responsible for this. Instead, Kyoko Matsumiya（松宮恭子）took care of both words and music. There's something about it that sounded rather Gazebo to me and I'd also expected to hear some French mumbling during the instrumental bridge.

Testpattern -- Souvenir Glacé

 

One of the many amazing things that I learned during my time in Japan was something of a gastronomic nature. I realized that chestnuts could be used for dessert! All this time growing up in Canada, I only knew chestnuts could be roasted and sold in brown paper bags in front of Maple Leaf Gardens here in Toronto to eat as a salty snack. But chestnuts as sweets?! Mon Dieu! 

But the Japanese certainly love their French pastries and so there I learned and enjoyed marron glace (glazed chestnuts) in the higher of the two videos and Mont Blanc in the lower video. It was just like when I discovered the joys of eating my first pumpkin pie.

Well, speaking about marron glace, I've come across "Souvenir Glacé" (Frozen Memories), a track from the 1982 album "Après-Midi" by the technopop duo Testpattern. I first wrote about the musical odyssey that graphic designers Fumio Ichimura（市村文夫）and Masao Hiruma（比留間雅夫）had taken under the tutelage of Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame when I wrote about another track from the album, "Techno Age", back in 2022. However, I have to give my apologies and note that it wasn't just Hosono who helped produce "Après-Midi", but also Hosono's YMO drumming and singing bandmate, the late Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）. 

As for "Souvenir Glacé", Hiruma was responsible for the melody while someone named Linsui took care of the all-French lyrics which come across as rather avant-garde. In fact, I'd say that the lyrics could be taken apart into separate parts and used as oral signs and countersigns between two spies during a tradeoff somewhere in Berlin. There's something about mint promises and someone named Billetdoux but things don't get much more legible than that. In any case, Hiruma's melody is haunting and classical in a Kraftwerk crystalline way. It really stands out and away from anything that YMO has done which I believe that Hosono and Takahashi would have been proud about.

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Shikaranai de（叱らないでね）

 

Wow! It's been around 13 years since I first posted the article on Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）1973 debut single "Toshigoro"（としごろ）onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Going back to my earliest memories of the 1970s aidoru when she was already in the latter half of her career in the persona of that seen-it-all and done-it-all world-weary woman, it was rather surprising to hear her all the way back to her first single when she was indeed acting and singing as the high school kid she was.

This is actually the first time though that I've gotten to hear the B-side to "Toshigoro", "Shikaranai de" (Don't Be Mad). When I saw the title, my assumption was that the song would be a rather melancholy ballad about a relationship going sour. Instead, it's arguably even more happy-go-lucky than the A-side. The same folks behind "Toshigoro" also took care of "Shikaranai de": Kazuya Senke（千家和也）on the lyrics and Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）on the melody and arrangement. The tempo is even a slight bit slower as those lyrics describe a young girl getting all gushy with her beau and leaving the big decisions up to him. I don't really know for sure, but my impression is that B-sides don't usually get performed on stage or TV but if it had been performed by Momoe, I would imagine a lot of young couples behind her doing some very cute choreography.

WONK -- Cyberspace Love

 

I haven't posted an article on the experimental soul band WONK in over a year so I was happy to find this one called "Cyberspace Love". But it isn't available on any of the band's singles or albums it seems. Instead, one can find it on an October 2017 compilation album titled "MONK's Playhouse".

The chill modern club vibe is there in "Cyberspace Love" although the feeling is almost as if the song was really meant to be played while listeners were actually on their computers or smartphones finding their ideal match via the Internet. Personally, I would just like to enjoy a martini in such a club while listening to this one. The music video is also kinda Kafkaesque as four friends separately see a well-dressed man pop up in all sorts of bizarre environments including one of the guys' coffee cup; I'm not sure but I am wondering if the mystery man is supposed to be the legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk. As it turns out, the four friends are actually the members of WONK themselves. I never would have thought that I would actually be Neo-City Pop grooving to an animated version of "The Twilight Zone".

Noriyuki Makihara feat. Taeko Ohnuki -- Tokai（都会）

 

Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. "Tokai" (The City) is one of the famous tracks from Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）1977 album "Sunshower" that has always given me the melodic image of being in the city and enjoying its benefits while at the same time, Ohnuki's lyrics relay the message that it's time to leave the metropolis. Considering the massive breakdown of the Yamanote Line in Tokyo yesterday, I can understand the feeling of commuters there perhaps wanting to flee, but still, I'll go with the hopeful and lighthearted and funky melody.

I'm not sure how many covers of "Tokai" have been done over the years but I do know of the one that the funkster Yasuyuki Okamura（岡村靖幸）and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）did on the 2013 album "Tribute to Taeko Ohnuki"（大貫妙子トリビュート・アルバム）which amps up the funk even further. And just a few days ago, I became aware of a new version by singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敬之）joined by Ms. Ohnuki herself in the final verse. It's been released as the 5th single in a series of cover songs commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Panam record label. Compared to the original and the 2013 cover, this 2026 version feels a little more 80s AOR (funk is still there) with an electric sitar joining in. Yoshiyuki Sahashi（佐橋佳幸）arranged the song. 

To think that "Tokai" is approaching its 49th birthday...quite the timeless tune, and one that I'm happy to incorporate as the first 2026 entry on KKP!

Kei Ishiguro -- Camel no Nioi（キャメルの匂い）

Museum Rotterdam via Wikimedia Commons

 

OK, I have to admit that I was glad that I hadn't been imbibing anything when I first came across this song since I probably would have done a major spit take all over my computer screen. Please imagine: "Camel no Nioi" (The Smell of Camels); from what I heard about camels, they don't really smell too good. And I was a bit worried that singer Kei Ishiguro（石黒ケイ）may have been confessing to some sort of weird fetish.

So, I was somewhat relieved to find out that the title was actually referring to the distinct aroma of Camel Cigarettes...not that I can remember what those smelled like. Back in my childhood when cigarettes were still socially acceptable on a wide basis, there was that general smell of burning tobacco but I guess that Camels must have had something special since they included something Turkish. Still, there is the danger of secondhand smoke and all that.

Anyways, "Camel no Nioi" is a track from Ishiguro's 1984 album "You Remember Me", and it's one of those songs that are delectably difficult to categorize one way or another. There is the City Pop and the AOR, but I could also pick up a bit of New Wave in the first few measures. Yoichi Takizawa（滝沢洋一）was behind the introspective melody with Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）weaving the story of a woman's memory of a one-night stand and the lingering smoke of a Camel. After all, people have got to deal with the afterglow.🚬

Dance for philosophy -- It's My Turn（イッツ・マイ・ターン）

 

Hello, Dance for philosophy? Jamiroquai would like to speak with you.

Gotta admit that there's a fair bit of Dance for philosophy's "It's My Turn", the aidoru group's August 2018 8th single, which reminds me of Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat", but that's not a bad thing. I enjoy both songs for their combination of funk and groove and in the case of "It's My Turn", perhaps Jay Kay should actually phone up composer and arranger Gento Miyano（宮野弦士）. Judging from some of his other arrangements for folks like Galali（がらり）and CHiLi GiRL, this guy really likes the nu-disco. The lyrics were provided by Sho Yamamoto（ヤマモトショウ）.

The original single reached No. 7 on Oricon. A remix version called "T-Groove Remix" was created on Dance for philosophy's "Sapiosexual", their 2020 album of remixes. If anything, this version of "It's My Turn" sounds as if it had gotten even more of that 1970s disco groove and a slightly more laidback approach and a great guitar solo. As is shown in the original music video above, this could be a great tune to play "Dance Dance Revolution" to.

Yoshiaki Miyanoue -- Shiny Scandal（シャイニー・スキャンダル）

 

The first time I heard Yoshiaki Miyanoue's（宮之上貴昭）"Shiny Scandal", I thought it could have made for a bright accompanying BGM for a J-Drama of that time or even an anime. Back then, productions really liked to use their orchestras, especially the string sections.

However, "Shiny Scandal" is actually from Miyanoue's 2nd album "Mellow Around" from 1980, and Miyanoue himself is a Tokyo-born jazz guitarist who started out performing for a number of years in front of the troops at Yokota Air Base back in the 1970s. He then went to the United States to hone his skills for a few years before coming back and releasing his albums which now number up to about 24 up to 2022. Miyanoue was inspired and follows the way of his hero, the late jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. He even uses Montgomery's distinct technique of relying on the side of his thumb instead of a guitar pick to play.

"Shiny Scandal" is indeed a shiny and non-scandalous piece which comes across as being quite refined and relaxing as if Miyanoue were playing in some seashore bar with the view of that ocean and schooner seen on the cover of "Mellow Around". Of course, Miyanoue won't allow the strings to take centre stage and his playing comes to the fore. The song itself was composed and arranged by pianist Chikara Ueda（上田力）, no stranger to fusion himself.

instant cytron -- Shiawase na Jikan（しあわせな時間）

from Amazon.ca

Ten days ago, I introduced a duo known as Les gibis consisting of whisper-voiced singer-songwriter Tomoko Kataoka（片岡知子）and graphic designer Takashi Okada（岡田崇）through their 2004 song "Dancing Cat On The Optigan". It has quite the old-timey spacy loungy feeling as if it originated on some sort of game show from the 1960s.

Well, almost a decade prior, Kataoka was involved with another unit called instant cytron (1992-2006). Kataoka was joined with bassist and songwriter Muneyoshi Matsuo（松尾宗能）and guitarist and songwriter Goro Nagase（長瀬五郎）. They had gotten together while studying at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka while Kataoka and Matsuo were starting up a prior band called House Condition and Nagase was involved in the band Bremen Rocks. 

Starting up instant cytron in 1992, they went for a sound that brought in lounge music, AOR and J-Pop, and in 1995, they released their first singles which included their second release "Shiawase na Jikan" (Good Times) in September. Starting with some cute scatting by Kataoka, the song seems to tow a line between Shibuya-kei and upbeat indies pop. What also helps with that image is the music video which takes on that sepia tone and a slightly jittery filming style (maybe that's the default style for Shibuya-kei music videos). The song was also a track on their major debut album "Change the World" from October 1995.

Melissa Manchester -- You Should Hear How She Talks About You

 

Welcome to another regularly scheduled Reminiscings of Youth outing for this Thursday and today we are more than happy to bring Melissa Manchester. I used to know her primarily for her ballad "Don't Cry Out Loud" from 1978 but then in the early 1980s, she started making waves for this upbeat synthpop song that I used to hear not only on the radio but also on those K-Tel LP compilations on the ol' telly. 

From what I've read about "You Should Hear How She Talks About You" from May 1982, she was very reluctant about the song before and after recording. However, she was still professional about it through her performances on stage and it looks like in the years and decades afterwards, she's gotten to like her hit which reached No. 5 in Canada and No. 5 in the United States as well, becoming her most successful song on the charts. I wasn't quite too sure about it initially also when I heard the chorus briefly on the commercials but hearing the whole thing on radio changed my mind in a good way. Love that 80s pop!

May 1982 is about as specific as Wikipedia has gotten about the release date so why don't we go with May 17th 1982 for what was up on the Oricon charts in Japan? I have No. 1, 2 and 8.

1. Toshihiko Tahara -- Harajuku Kiss（原宿キッス）

2. Seiko Matsuda -- Nagisa no Balcony （渚のバルコニー）

8. Junko Ohashi -- Silhouette Romance（シルエット・ロマンス）

Storm Songs

 

I'd like to interrupt this broadcast of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for a weather announcement. Toronto is currently being pummeled with a foot of snow with the temperature at around -14 degrees Celsius with a wind chill factor of -25. Autos are skidding off the roads and a lot of institutions are closing due to the weather (including schools; yay, Snow Day!😊). It'll probably be one of the rare days that I don't step out of the house, period.

But hey, it's January in my hometown and this sort of stuff is expected. And I've decided to put up an emergency Author's Picks based on storms.

(1958) Yujiro Ishihara -- Arashi wo Yobu Otoko (嵐を呼ぶ男）

(1979) Tatsuro Yamashita -- Storm

(1982) Taeko Ohnuki -- Tsumuji Kaze （つむじ風）

(1984) Yumi Matsutoya -- Blizzard

(1999) Arashi -- A-RA-SHI

Lily -- Good-By City

 

Arguably, the late singer-songwriter Lily's（りりィ）most famous song is her 1974 "Watashi ga Naiteimasu"（わたしが泣いています）, and so I've usually treated her as a 1970s folk singer. However, as has happened to many singers in Japan during that decade, she also did some wholesale genre-crossing.

She does some fine honky-tonk rock here with "Good-By City", a track from her 1983 album "Say". In fact, I was a bit surprised by how she sounded because the song reminded me more of Linda Ronstadt's material back in the previous decade It's some good-time rock n' roll which was written by Lily and composed by Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ）, a person with a most gregarious personality who I usually associate with R&B. As for that album cover with those glossy lips, I frankly assumed with that design, the album was titled "Sexy" from the handwriting.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE -- Good Day

Wikimedia Commons

Good day? Here? Meteorologically, no. It's rather dreary outside and in the next few hours, the temperature will plummet like Wile E. Coyote after foolishly running off a cliff.

However, we have here for Hump Day, Mrs. GREEN APPLE's big hit from September 2025, "Good Day". Written and composed by vocalist Motoki Ohmori（大森元貴）, it's a sunny side of fun and happiness that has a touch of that early 1970s Motown soul-funk and pop. Quite the day-glo colour scheme in the music video as well; I swear that the boys were going for that United Colours of Benetton pimp feeling. 

I know that actors do pop up in music videos anywhere around the world but I was still curious as to why Haruka Ayase（綾瀬はるか）, Minami Hamabe（浜辺美波）and Ryohei Suzuki（鈴木亮平）showed up in this video to represent different worlds. Well, it turns out that "Good Day" was supposed to become the theme song for the Kirin Good Ale commercial which features all three plus Ohmori.

"Good Day" was also performed on last year's Kohaku Utagassen on NHK with Mrs. Green Apple showing up as the second-last performer of the night. For reasons that I mentioned in my summary on the New Year's Eve special, I thought that "Good Day" should have been the one to finish off the festivities. It was fun and everyone could get to sing along. The song reached No. 3 on the Oricon Digital Singles chart.

Hiroshi Kume (1944 - 2026)

From Oricon

I've never counted but I think that every year that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in existence, there has been at least one article where I've had to note the passing of someone in the music industry. And 2026 is no different. In fact, the person here left this mortal coil right on New Year's Day. 

Hiroshi Kume（久米宏）wasn't a singer or anyone who was deep in this industry. But anyone who has enjoyed music in the later years of the kayo kyoku era for a while at least has seen, heard and known of him because among his many radio and television shows, he gained national popularity especially as the first co-host of "The Best 10"（ザ・ベストテン）, the long-running TBS music ranking series that lasted between 1978 and 1989, which he appeared alongside Tetsuko Kuroyanagi（黒柳徹子）. 

I will always remember him as this rather svelte fellow in the tuxedo and short haircut that a high school baseball coach would appreciate. And I mentioned this in "The Best 10" article, but he and Kuroyanagi had a penchant for talking at about a mile a minute. Perhaps they were afraid of running out of time but their warp-speed patter could have smashed through the fabric of reality.

Kume left "The Best 10" in 1985 and jumped networks to TV Asahi where he became the main anchor of their nighttime news telecast, "News Station"（ニュース・ステーション）. His delivery speed and general sense of whimsy were still there but he also gained a reputation of not mincing words in his commentary and interviews. I never met the man but I once had a student who worked for the Tokyo branch of one of the big movie studios and she had to be the minder for Sir Anthony Hopkins. Apparently, the actor wasn't too fond of Kume's probing and rat-a-tat style which earned Kume a new English nickname of "idiot" or something just as profane. Knowing Kume, he probably flicked that off like a dust mote. He had a longer stint on "News Station" which lasted until 2004.

In any case, I would like to offer my condolences to Kume's family, friends and fans. The broadcaster passed away from lung cancer at the age of 81.

Substance Kayo

By wilfredor via Wikimedia Commons

 

In high school, I was always more adept in Chemistry than I was in Physics (Biology was my favourite, though). I couldn't make heads nor tails of Physics but give me a test tube and some substances, and I was a happy camper. For one class, we had to go crazy making esters. It was indeed great fun but all those odors infused into us so heading home on the bus that day wasn't the most pleasant for my fellow commuters. 

Anyways, I did bring over a periodic table from Wikimedia Commons. At one point, I was able to memorize the first ten elements. I think I still have the ability but I've noticed in the 40 odd years since my last Chemistry class, the periodic table has grown some more elements. Also, I need to put a shoutout to my old Chemistry teacher, Mr. Phillips. He was a grizzled elderly ex-soldier who definitely held a position of some responsibility (sergeant at the very least) and if he detected any nonsense, he made you feel like the lowest recruit at boot camp. But if you were on his good side, he could be quite cordial.

Yes, I am being quite whimsical (and before a Wednesday, to boot) which means that I've got to get an Author's Picks out of my system. This time, it's all about the substances that I've seen in titles of kayo kyoku over the years. And I'm not just talking about the bare elements either.

(1966) Barb Satake -- Neon Gawa（ネオン川）

(1975) Hiromi Ohta -- Momen no Handkerchief (木綿のハンカチーフ）

(1977) Momoe Yamaguchi -- Imitation Gold （イミテイション・ゴールド）

(1981) Anri -- Cotton Kibun （コットン気分）

(1981) Noriko Miyamoto -- Silver Rain

(1981) Jun Horie -- Memory Glass（メモリーグラス）

One more thing about Mr. Phillips. There was once this cockamamie so-called allowance at high school in which if a teacher didn't show up at class within the first ten minutes, then the students could walk out and have a free hour. One time, our math teacher didn't show up due to traffic issues so of course, a third of the class just stood up and walked out gleefully. A minute later, that whole third walked back in looking dramatically glum...and in walked Mr. Phillips behind them looking very miffed. We then got the drill sergeant's reprimand along with a no-nonsense reminder that no such allowance existed. It turned out that the math teacher had called the office to let the school know that he would be late. Mr. Phillips was there to make sure that the allowance never happened.

Ritsuko Kazami -- Yoru no Subete（夜のすべて）

 

I got a message from KKP commenter YMOfan04 regarding a Ritsuko Kazami（風見律子）tune from her 1985 debut album "Kiss of Fire" via one of the tracks there, "Kon'ya mo Tanoshiku"（今宵も楽しく）. The song got my attention through its mingling of Latin, jazz and pop, and generally speaking, a multi-genre tune is something that I will always pay attention to. There is also my remark there that "Kiss of Fire" may be one of those releases which celebrates the merging of synthpop and jazz, something that was tried out a fair bit by other folks in the music industry back in the 1980s.

Well, that's even more of the case with another track on "Kiss of Fire", "Yoru no Subete" (Everything That Night). This time, the melodic cocktail by Haruo Chikada（近田春夫）, who also provided the lyrics for the song, is made up of funky City Pop, synthpop and even a tinge of exotic kayo (maybe that represents the Angostura bitters). Heck, that opening bass synthesizer thrumming through my ears like a tremor and the urban contemporary beat definitely give me a good wake-up call as I write this rare mid-morning article. Plus, Kazami plays the role to the hilt as this seductive siren in an exclusive and hard-to-find downtown nightclub.

The Pursuit of Happiness -- I'm An Adult Now

 

Ahh...yes, it was another long weekend for Japan since Monday was Adulthood Day (Seijin-no-Hi), although I'm not sure whether the holiday's ceremonies now include people turning 18 or whether they're sticking with the former age of becoming an adult which has been 20.

I usually provide special Reminiscings of Youth articles for national holidays here in Canada and not for Japan. However, Adulthood Day had me remembering an old 1980s song by the Canadian alternative rock band The Pursuit of Happiness, so I'm making an exception here.

The Pursuit of Happiness with leader and vocalist Moe Berg started up in 1985 and then the following year, they came out with their breakthrough single "I'm An Adult Now". The music video got plenty of airplay on Canada's own version of MTV, MuchMusic, and other channels and so it's been a fun and nostalgic experience seeing the Toronto of the 1980s including Queen West and City Hall. That video was made on a shoestring budget and looks it, but it also looks attractively grotty and perfect for a rock band in Toronto. And the ironic thing, it got majorly praised (the song helped, too) to the point that it was even nominated for Best Music Video of the Year at the Juno Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Grammys).

Also, I remember enjoying the catchy melody by Berg, especially the main chorus featuring the title as he has a rather tongue-in-cheek take on what it's like to be an adult doing adult things. Let's imagine all of us old fogeys getting together and discussing "I'm An Adult Now".

Only the year was mentioned when it came to the release date of "I'm An Adult Now", so why don't we go with what was up in the Top 10 of Oricon on January 13th 1986? I have Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

1. Eri Nitta -- Fuyu no Opera Glass (冬のオペラグラス)

3. Shonentai -- Kamen Butokai （仮面舞踏会）

5. Rebecca -- Friends （フレンズ）

Yujiro Ishihara -- Ore wa Omae ni Yowainda（俺はお前に弱いんだ）

 

December 28th was the birthday of Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）, often known as the Tough Guy. If he had still been with us, he would have been 91 right now. The above photo, according to Wikimedia Commons, is in the public domain and it shows him back in 1957 as a man in his early twenties.

I was just looking through the Tough Guy's Top 20 singles in terms of sales via J-Wiki. Now, usually when I think of his top songs, my mind often goes to his 1977 "Brandy Glass"（ブランデーグラス）which actually came in at No. 10. But this one, the 1964 "Ore wa Omae ni Yowainda" (I'm No Match For You), scored No. 8 with 1.75 million records sold. Never heard of this one before.

Well, listening to it a few times, it's evident that the title isn't referring to some sort of fist fight between Ishihara and a movie rival. It refers to him falling in love with a young woman but can't confess his feelings due to his troubled past and his great reluctance to end up pulling her into his sordid world. However, during the narrative parts of "Ore wa Omae ni Yowainda", it's obvious that he has been the perfect gentleman on what has been a regular series of dates with the lady.

The lyricist and composer for the song were Souichiro Ishimaki（石巻宗一郎）and Buckie Shirakata（バッキー白片）respectively. Whenever I tried to look up for one of them, I invariably saw the two together on other things so they've been a songwriting team evidently. Shirakata was actually a Nisei born in Hawaii who became a steel guitar musician and the leader of his own band, the Aloha Hawaiians, and one of the things about the genre of Mood Kayo in Japanese music is that Hawaiian influences were also notable. There is something very melancholy and poignant about Ishihara's narration along with the steel guitar and the haunting keyboard; the romance may not last too much longer.

Perfume -- Meguloop（巡ループ）

by TKS08 via Wikimedia Commons

The trio Perfume had their final public performance on last year's Kohaku Utagassen and they showed off the first song that I had ever heard by Kashiyuka, A-chan and Nocchi, "Polyrhythm"（ポリリズム）, from 2007. That was one standout PSA!

Perfume also performed one of their final singles titled "Meguloop" (Tour Loop) which had been released back in July 2025. Apparently, "Meguloop" was also a track from their final album (for now) "Nebula Romance Part II" that came out a month later. It was all part of some grand concept for a space opera which has been acted out in the video above. As with everything that Perfume has recorded, the song was written and composed by Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）, and this one stands out because I couldn't really hear anything technopop about this one and that's including the vocoders that the ladies have often used. I'd say that there was more warm and sunny 80s pop in this one...perhaps as a bittersweet goodbye to all involved in the trio's success for the past quarter-century. May the ladies enjoy some of that relaxation now that they have gotten some of that "civilian" life now.

"Meguloop" was also used as the theme song for the 2025 TV series sequel in the live-action part of the "Chihayafuru"（ちはやふる）franchise.

The Works of Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）

Wikimedia Commons via the Agency for Cultural Affairs

 

Since going into the 21st century, NHK's Kohaku Utagassen has undergone a number of key changes in its format, but one thing that has been retained is everyone's singing of "Auld Lang Syne" or as it is known in Japanese, "Hotaru no Hikari" (蛍の光）. The orchestra goes into its rendition at the end of the broadcast with a brief glimpse of the man who's conducting them. In the past, that has been singer Ichiro Fujiyama（藤山一郎）and singer-songwriter Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）. For the past several years, though, it's been singer-songwriter Shunichi Tokura.

Well, since it's been several months since I've written up a Creator article (the last one was for Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）back last August), I've decided to whip one up tonight for one of the more prolific songwriters. Tokura has come up with some of the biggest hits in the late kayo kyoku period including those for some of the most famous aidoru of the 1970s: Pink Lady and Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）.

Born in Tokyo in June 1948, Tokura got into music pretty early in life by picking up the violin at the age of 4. His father was a diplomat so for several years, their family was living in West Germany where he started studying the basics of music. Returning to Japan at the age of 12, some of his junior high school classmates included future officials in government and business. He then returned to Germany for high school (where he joined a band called The Beat Cats) before making his way back to his home country.

During his sophomore year in university, Tokura became the vocalist for the folk group The Panic Men which came out with a 1968 single called "Omoide no Komichi"（思い出の小径...Path of Memories）. This was also the time when he took up his future career as a composer and one of his first creations was Chinatsu Nakayama's（中山千夏）"Anata no Kokoro ni" (あなたの心に) in 1969.

A few years later in 1971, Tokura would compose "Tenshi ni Narenai"（天使になれない...Can't Be An Angel） with lyrics by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, a heartfelt 8th single for Akiko Wada（和田アキ子）that became her first Top 10 hit, coming in at No. 8. It was also Wada's ticket for her 2nd appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen that year.

Tokura currently has 60 articles, not including this one but including one which shows his own solo song "I'm Just a Man". I was pretty surprised and happy to get his name on the byline as a performer. But let's show some of the ones that he has composed for other big-time acts. Along with other composers such as Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, there is a bit of a "He made that one?!" buzz around Tokura.

(1977) Pink Lady -- UFO

(1974) Momoe Yamaguchi -- Hito Natsu no Keiken（ひと夏経験）

(1979) Tomoko Kuwae -- Watashi no Heart wa Stop Motion （私のハートはストップモーション）

(1972) Linda Yamamoto -- Dounimo Tomaranai （どうにもとまらない）

(1977) Karyudo -- Azusa Ni-go （あずさ２号）

(1973) Pedro & Capricious -- Johnny e no Dengon （ジョニイへの伝言）

Along with his many accolades over the decades, he was the JASRAC chairman and currently Tokura is the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Not bad for a guy who once whipped up a melody about an alien-human love affair.