Teruhiko Aoi/Miyoko Yoshimoto -- Sentimental Carnival（センチメンタル・カーニバル）

 

Another blistering day out there. As such, this has been the earliest that our family has pulled out the air conditioner and activated it. Mind you, from tomorrow, the high temperatures will plummet like rocks for the rest of the week, but that's OK. We'll be happy to have the AC on standby for the eventual summer that does arrive.

A couple of days ago, I was watching "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本のうた）and encountered a new song that I hadn't heard before titled "Sentimental Carnival" by Teruhiko Aoi（あおい輝彦）. Listening to it on the show and then hearing it on YouTube, I had assumed that it was a Group Sounds/pop creation from the 1960s, only to realize that Aoi had released it as his 14th single in June 1977. Yes, the very first "Star Wars" movie is older than this song. 

But as written and composed by Toshiro Abe（阿部敏郎）, it's still quite the jangly and twist-happy tune. Yesterday, I wrote about The Tube's "Midnight Beach" and how the seashore at night can make for a romantic setting. Well, I gather that the same can be had for the annual carnival although folks will be a lot busier on the rides or just strolling hand-in-hand through the various games and concession stands. With the snappy arrangement by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）, "Sentimental Carnival" was Aoi's final Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 8 and eventually becoming the 53rd-ranked single of 1977.

Eleven years later, "Sentimental Carnival" was covered by aidoru Miyoko Yoshimoto（芳本美代子）as her own 14th single in June 1988. As arranged by Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）, it was given some snazzy contemporizing with synths, syn-drums and sharp horns, and it earned the snaggle-toothed lass a No. 20 ranking on Oricon. Maybe it's just me, but I think Yoshimoto's voice seems a fair bit more mature here.

Maki Ohguro -- Shiroi Gradation（白いGradation）

 

A few days ago, commenter and contributor Fireminer was asking about a particular Maki Ohguro（大黒摩季）song, and to be honest, it's been a few years since she's been up on the blog, so why not give this one a whirl?

It's nice to hear the ol' Ohguro arrangements of the 1990s (crashing synths and booming sax) again and her 7th single from January 1994, "Shiroi Gradation" was released between a couple of other singles that have been posted here: "Anata dake Mitsumeteru"（あなただけ見つめてる）and "Natsu ga Kuru"（夏が来る）. Takeshi Hayama（葉山たけし）was responsible for arranging all three songs.

Indeed, it's a very upbeat song written and composed by Ohguro, providing a surprisingly dark scenario (to me, anyways) of an erstwhile couple who've apparently drifted apart to the point of no return, although one of the duo still maintains a love for the other. As for the meaning of the title which I prefer to translate into "Shades of White" rather than "Gradations of White" (the latter sounds a little technical), the J-Wiki article simply says that the title really refers to the gradations of the heart...which doesn't really solidify things for me...and that gradations of white don't exist. What? What about pure white, creamy white, off-white for example?

But in the end, the title probably came into being because perhaps Ohguro had been asked to come up with a song for a Victoria Sporting Goods commercial, and with the January 1994 release, I can only think of skiing being the thing. The colour white in the title helped a lot, too. 

Does she look like a bear to you?

Anyways, "Shiroi Gradation" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon and went Double Platinum. It ended the year as the 48th-ranked single. It is also a part of Ohguro's 4th album from November 1994, "Eien no Yume ni Mukatte"（永遠の夢に向かって...Towards the Eternal Dream） which hit No. 1 and became a million-seller.

One last piece of bitterly sweet humour regarding the single was given in the J-Wiki article. Apparently, the photographer and the director were biting their nails about the photos taken of Ohguro for the single jacket. She was referred to as looking like a bear or an old hag. On the surface, she laughed it off but she used a marker to draw some very vivid anime anger hash marks on her manager's palm. I'm surprised that she didn't use something sharper to carve something similar into the director's head.

Stanley Clarke and George Duke -- Sweet Baby

It is a national holiday today so as per KKP custom, we have a special holiday version of Reminiscings of Youth. I'd say this story goes back almost thirty years but when I was teaching a class in Tokyo, I recall asking the students regarding their favourite ice cream flavour (my classes were often quite whimsical). One of the students was a half-French/half-Japanese lass named Francoise who was quite popular in the group and had quite the outgoing personality. As usual, she went beyond the parameters of the question and gave us her own choice of an invented ice cream flavour. When I then asked her what she would name this new taste, she enthusiastically chirped "SWEET BABY".

Not too long after, I was at Yamano Music in Ginza doing my usual browsing of anything interesting in the CD department. I ended up purchasing the two discs making up the BRIO AOR collection, one of which had a song by a couple of musicians that I had never heard before: the late American keyboardist George Duke and American bassist Stanley Clarke, and the two of them had apparently collaborated back in 1981 through an album titled "The Clarke/Duke Project". The song from that album was the song chosen for the BRIO collection and it was called surprisingly enough, "Sweet Baby".

Yes, I will always remember Francoise and her ice cream flavour through Clarke and Duke's "Sweet Baby". For one thing, the song is probably one of the smoothest and most enjoyable AOR songs that my ears have had the honour to absorb and digest, and for another, it came out in the year that I was finally awakened to the wonders of not only Japan but also music in general. My only regret is that I hadn't discovered it back then and that I would have to wait until the end of the century to finally know about it. And who would have thought that an AOR tune would invite an electric sitar into the mix? To finally reach full circle, I would love to encounter an ice cream at a parlor somewhere that was actually called Sweet Baby.

"The Clarke/Duke Project" came out in April 1981, so let's find out what else came out that month in Japan. 

Toshiyuki Nishida -- Moshimo Piano ga Hiketanara（もしもピアノが弾けたなら）

Hitomi Ishikawa -- Machibuse（まちぶせ）

Saki Kubota -- Orange Airmail Special

Mebae Miyahara -- Tasogare Metro（黄昏メトロ）

 

The KKP file for singer-songwriter Mebae Miyahara（宮原芽映）isn't very large but from the relatively few songs that I've heard, she's dabbled into both pop and City Pop. Furthermore, her style strikes me as being rather light and eclectic.

Case in point: the B-side to her 2nd single "10 Years" which was released in July 1981. "Tasogare Metro" (Sunset Metro) fulfills both adjectives that I used in the previous paragraph, and as written/composed by Miyahara, there is something that feels like French pop and 1950s pop at the same time. At the same time, Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）was also utilizing some of that Gallic flavour in her music but I wouldn't say that Miyahara's style is similar to that of Ohnuki...at least, not from what I'm hearing in this particular song. 

"Tasogare Metro" can also be found in Miyahara's debut album "Cat" which came out earlier in May of that year. Have a gander at "Milky Cat" which is also on the LP.

The Tube -- Midnight Beach

 

Welcome to the Victoria Day 2026 edition of "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Yes, we actually do have national holidays here although in Canada, they may seem rare when compared to the bushelful of holidays that Japan has. And since it is Victoria Day, it's also known as the unofficial beginning to summer and perfect timing, too, because we surprisingly have our first heat advisory of the year with Humidex readings threatening 36 degrees C! No worries, though...in a couple of days, our high will only reach 14.

Of course, if summer has arrived, then it's time for the usual TUBE article. If I'm not mistaken, Nobuteru Maeda（前田亘輝）and his guys are celebrating 41 years in the music business. And from their very first album released in July 1985, "Heart of Summer", here is "Midnight Beach", a languid nighttime ballad that brings to mind cool nights, crackling beachside campfires and most importantly, a lot of snuggling by the fire. Composed by Masao Nakajima（中島正雄）and written/arranged by Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸）, it's a pleasant way to finish off Side A of the album. 

We may be a little early for this scene this year but I hear in Japan, they are more than ready for beachside activity. According to some of the citizenry though, the heat wave has come in a little too hot and early.

Fire Treasure(炎のたからもの) by Yuji Ohno & Toshie Kihara

Hello, J-Canuck here. I'd like to welcome Rocket Brown to "Kayo Kyoku Plus" as a new contributor to the blog. For those among the City Pop fandom, Rocket's been known for years for providing his thoughts on the music via his "Come Along Radio" broadcasts,  some of which I've been honoured to be invited to over the past number of years. He's been a good friend and fellow City Pop fan, so right after the rocket photo below, he'll take over with his first article.

Wikimedia Commons

Sometime in high school, I became disillusioned with modern movies. They just weren’t capturing my attention in a way that sparked my imagination anymore. One day, after spending my entire Japanese language class discussing Studio Ghibli films, I decided to look into Hayao Miyazaki’s filmography and discovered that he had directed a Lupin III movie called The Castle of Cagliostro.

After sitting down and watching the movie, I was hooked. The comedy, the action, the fun and witty dialogue — always watch the Manga dub if you can — all pulled me in. But what captivated me the most was the music, especially the main theme song, Fire Treasure (炎のたからもの). 

It’s no secret that legendary jazz composer Yuji Ohno (大野雄二) practically defined the musical identity of Lupin III. But what makes this particular theme so special is that it isn’t bombastic like the big band sound of “Lupin ’89,” nor does it have the exploitation-style funk of the 1979 theme. Instead, it’s a nostalgic ballad sung by Toshie Kihara (木原敏恵), with lyrics by Jun Hashimoto.

Much like the movie itself, “Fire Treasure” embodies a feeling of longing for adventure and romance. I can’t think of another song in the Lupin III canon that captures the same whimsical sense of mystery this song evokes. Ohno would try to recapture that feeling in the 2019 film Lupin III: The First — Lupin’s first 3D CGI movie — with the song “GIFT ” featuring Lyn Inaizumi (稲泉りん). It’s a beautiful song in its own right, but it just doesn’t hit the same way. 

“Fire Treasure” is truly lightning in a bottle and a showcase of Yuji Ohno’s genius. Most people only know him for his Lupin III music, but he did so much more. As J-Cannuck once put it, Ohno was essentially the Japanese Henry Mancini, composing iconic themes and soundtracks for various television and film productions such as Proof of the Man and Dai Gekitō Mad Police ’80.

Yuji Ohno would pass away in his sleep on May 4, 2026, but he left behind an incredible legacy of music for the world to enjoy. And much like Lupin himself, he stole our hearts.

Seri Ishikawa -- Desire

 

It's been a while since Seri Ishikawa（石川セリ）has been up here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", so I've got some of her "Desire" for a Sunday. And no, it has nothing to do with Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）signature song that would come out in 1986.

Ishikawa's "Desire" actually was a track on her September 1985 album, "Rakuen"（楽園...Paradise）. Written and composed by Moonriders' drummer Tetsuro Kashibuchi（かしぶち哲郎）, it's got that 80s combination of thrumming bass synth and boppy bass so I think I can hear this on many an American cop show from that decade as background music. Yeah, it's an upbeat pop song of the times. I also wrote about another track on "Rakuen", "Ai no Bunryo"（愛の分量）back in 2020, so give that a gander as well.