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.
Welcome to your second visit to the AI Gallery for 2025. Since I've kept the generator open because of my previous article, I thought "Heck! Why not put up another trio of pieces?". Plus, I wanted to see if it can handle the styles of some more famous artists.
No, the above isn't an anime depiction of Tom Cruise circa 2000. I was so taken by the cool charisma of the singer-songwriter Tetsuya Itami（伊丹哲也）that I felt that I just had to get the Bing AI generator to create something similar to the guy.
Well, I have heard of rockers such as Shogo Hamada（浜田省吾）and Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi（長渕剛）, but I only came across the Osaka-born Itami in the last little while. Having enjoyed music since he was little, he jumped onto the folk boom by purchasing an acoustic guitar and making his own compositions, especially influenced by American rock n' roll.
In 1980, he brought together a band and called themselves Side By Side, and in May of that year, their entry song in the 19th Yamaha Popular Song Contest, "Machi ga Naiteta"(The Town was Crying), won the Grand Prize and it won a similar prize at the 11th Annual World Popular Song Festival (also organized by Yamaha) later in November. On November 28th,"Machi ga Naiteta" was released as their debut single.
Looking like one tough chopper-riding lone wolf troubadour in his sunglasses and leather jacket, Itami cuts quite a figure as he sings a folksy blues rocker about having to very reluctantly leave the town that he grew to love for unknown reasons. Of course, within that town is that lovely someone who used to be the paramour. Those Osaka roots and that growly voice not only give him some of those scary gravitas but also the chops to properly sing out the rock. "Machi ga Naiteta" reached No. 19 on Oricon. It's also available on the band's debut album"TETSUYA ITAMI" which was released in September 1981.
Following a total of four albums and nine singles, Side by Side called it a day in 1986. However, Itami has kept on performing and from 2017, he has taken on the new stage name of T.I. Beat.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone is having a good start to 2025.
One thing that I've started doing since the tail-end of 2024 was participate in the Kasuga Enka Densho Kai (春日艶歌伝承会).This is essentially the Hachiro Kasuga posthumous fan club's (Zenkoku Kasuga Hachiro Shinobu Kai… 全国春日八郎偲ぶ会) karaoke circle. The club is organised around the goal of ensuring Hachiro Kasuga's (春日八郎) songs will live on in the artist's absence and has been active since July 2000, its participants congregating every first and third Saturday of the month. Considering the frequency of the meetings and the regularity of which certain club members show up, I can only say that my love for Hachi is paltry compared to these veterans. To my knowledge, Kasuga Enka is exclusively sung at these gatherings. The neat thing about it is that ALL of Hachi's songs, from singles to albums to unreleased recordings, are available to sing thanks to the work of some of the members.
Thus far, I've only participated in two meetings: the final one of 2024 and the first of 2025. Since this was organised by the Kasuga fan club, it was the perfect space for me to be as extra as possible with my oshikatsu shenanigans, i.e. bringing along a Hachi bromide and setting it on the table. I don't think the members expected the extent of my Hachi fangirling. On the other side of the coin, though, I didn’t expect the members to zero-in on my secondary fixation with Tadaharu Nakano (中野忠晴). If you've read some of my past Hachi articles, you'd know that Mr. Nakano was responsible for some of Hachi's moderate successes and minor works, a few of which I greatly enjoy. As such, the very first song I attempted was "Ruten no Yoru" (流転の夜) my current favourite entry among all the Nakano Melody. My explanation of choosing this tune partially for its composer and brandishing the Nakano photo card manufactured by one of my friends seemed to have bewildered the good folks. That incident seemed to have conditioned them to expect a Nakano composition when my turn comes around as one of them went, "Ah, of course it's a Nakano one!" when I picked "Jirocho Tabi Shigure" during my second attendance.
Released in May 1953, "Jirocho Tabi Shigure" was Hachi's 4th single and the first song that Mr. Nakano composed for him. To my knowledge, this song has only been re-released as part of Hachi's 40th Anniversary super album "Kasuga Hachiro / Daizenshu Uta Koso Waga Inochi" (春日八郎/大全集歌こそ我が命) from 1991, though it is available on YouTube for easy access. Nevertheless, I would consider one of Hachi’s deeply buried gems considering how early in his career this was produced. This was also a Matatabi Kayo - while a perennially well-loved genre/sub-genre, it wasn’t Hachi’s specialty, so that may have accounted for the lack of attention to it, even after he became a national star. To be more critical, perhaps it’s also because it sounds too... orthodox. To Yuzaburo Wakasugi's (若杉雄三郎) lyrics featuring infamous yakuza ring-leader Shimizu no Jirocho (清水次郎長), Nakano provided a melody that sounds like one from your bog-standard Matatabi Kayo. This is pure speculation on my part, but it could be that the powers that be in King Records demanded that Nakano, then still a new King employee, make something that would sell, i.e. an easy to consume kayokyoku piece that fits the theme. And so, he did. Despite what my spiny critique suggests, though, it’s not a bad song at all, and I actually like it quite a lot… No, it's not just because Nakano made it… I think.
Putting any biases aside, "Jirocho Tabi Shigure" is a jaunty song that is simply pleasant to listen to. The blaring horns and strings swelling grandiosely with a steady rhythm make for a heroic-sounding tune that I think conveys the masculinity and power of the titular gangster. I say it's orthodox because Matatabi Kayo, as with stories of chivalrous yet morally grey figures like Jirocho, generally portray their source material characters in such a light. Another running trope these characters express in this sort of narrative is the conflict between duty and compassion/humanity (giri-ninjo). While they may present themselves as stoic and duty-bound, these figures are still written to have a soft side hidden away from the public eye. I think Wakasugi’s portrayal of Jirocho conveys this aspect, which is wildly contrary to my impression of the gangster: fearsome and father figure to other infamous Shizuoka-based ruffians, namely Mori no Ishimatsu (森の石松). I suppose, in this respect, Mr. Nakano's melody represents Jirocho's giri tatemae (front), while Wakasugi's words disclose his ninjo honne (real feelings).
Mami's bringing her treasured morning just for you.
Coffee, salad, morning dew.
Wake Pop with Mami's songs!
Translating this from the cover of the 1982 special promotion single and debut single for singer-songwriter Mami Kikuchi（菊地真美）, it's obvious the copyrighter here perhaps had too much Mountain Dew for breakfast.😵
But in any case, I'm here to talk about "Morning Dew" which was written by Kikuchi and composed by Yasunori Soryo（惣領泰則）. The arrangement and the singer's vocals make it sound a little calmer and more relaxing than the hyper copy adorning the single cover which should be the atmosphere for the average Sunday brunch. You can compare this one with the B-side that I covered years ago in 2019, "Neo Silk Road"（ネオ・シルクロード）which has a more City Pop bent. Both songs were included on her "Morning Dew" album released also in 1982.
Actress Kaori Momoi（桃井かおり）isn't known too much for her time behind the microphone in the recording booth, but up to now, she has had four entries here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", including her duet with singer-songwriter Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）for their ballad "Nejireta Heart de"(ねじれたハートで）from 1982.
Well, earlier in August 1981, Momoi self-produced her own single titled "Make Ni-juu-san Byou"(Make-Up in 23 Seconds) with the help of lyricist Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. A saucy pop number which kinda reflects the nature of the actress herself, Momoi sultrily sings about a lady who can keep her youthful looks day after day with some of those wonderful Shiseido products even with the demands of a paramour. And yep, if this does sound like the premise for a commercial, that's because "Make Ni-juu-san Byou" was used in a Shiseido ad...with special guest R2-D2! Of course, the average droid knows where it's at!
Continuing on from that "Seishun" songs article I wrote just some minutes ago, my further observation when it comes to the Japanese and their salad days is that after several years away from formal education, they start getting those urges to get back together through various school reunions whether it be elementary, junior high or high school...and probably university as well. Maybe they'll reserve a large room at an izakaya and then hit the nearest karaoke box to sing all those oldies-but-goodies with plenty of alcohol imbibed.
However, this particular song by Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）that I heard being covered on a recent episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた...Songs of Japanese Spirit） doesn't involve any sepia-toned reminiscing although that word of "seishun" is in the title. "Meguriau Seishun" (Youthful Encounter) is more of the here and now with a young man getting stabbed full bore by several arrows as he lusts for a young lady. This was Noguchi's 6th single released in September 1972.
Written by Toshiko Ohinata（大日方俊子）and composed/arranged by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）, I gather that the deep feelings that the lad has for the lass is on full display through the oomph-laden arrangement. In fact, with the electric guitar and the smooth strings in there, I thought that "Meguriau Seishun" would have been fine as a theme song for a tokusatsu hero series or a cop show. Mind you, I'm sure that the guy would love it if he could become the hero for the target of his affections. Anyways, the song reached No. 12 on Oricon and became the 90th-ranked single of 1972. It also garnered Noguchi his first of twelve invitations to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen that year.
First off, I heard about the major quake in southern Japan so I'm hoping that folks there are doing OK.
January 13th 2025 has been set aside as the annual Seijin-no-Hi（成人の日）or Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. It's the time when all young people turning 20 this year get the big ceremonial welcome into adulthood (although there has been some recent movement in taking things a couple of years younger). The guys get all decked out in suits while the ladies are dressed meticulously into their kimono. After the speech at the local town or city hall, the freshly-minted adults can finally take that "first official" sip of booze with family and friends...and perhaps experience the exquisite pain of a hangover.
But give the new generation a decade or fifteen years and they may receive those pangs of nostalgia and longing for their salad days in high school...known as seishun（青春）in Japanese. Nostalgia has been a vital ingredient in kayo kyoku so it's not all that of a shock to know that there are also plenty of songs that have seishun in the titles and/or seishun in the feelings. So allow me to give you a few examples.
