Special Favorite Music -- Royal Memories

 

Well, we're basically at the halfway point of 2026, and things here at least are looking very summery. In fact, Toronto is going into a heat wave for the next few days. It certainly was quite the sweaty trek from the store and back this morning. Before folks start complaining though, let's remember that it wasn't too long ago when we were all griping when winter would end.

Then, let's start today's edition of KKP with something nice and rosy and happy. The band Special Favorite Music had a track from their August 2017 2nd full album "Royal Blue" called "Royal Memories". No special genre inflection was attached to this one; it's just a happy-happy-joy-joy pop tune with some Motown horns (though "Royal Memories" doesn't sound particularly Motown) accompanying it. Have a listen to it with the air conditioner on full.

STUTS & Taeko Ohnuki -- Ohayou（おはよう）

 

Recently, the NHK morning information show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）has been getting cancelled or truncated. That's not a real surprise since there are a couple of phases during the year when this happens but this year, it's a bit more prevalent right now because of a national track-and-field meet, the World Cup and televised government deliberations. We were a bit luckier yesterday though since we did get the full one-hour-and-forty minutes.

Well, I figure that we'll have only a couple of more weeks of this before things get back to normal. The good news is that the theme song for "Asaichi" finally has a full version out on YouTube. A few months ago, when the new theme "Ohayou" (Good Morning) started each show, I couldn't find it on the platform although in my exertions, I was able to find a past collaboration by trackmaker/producer STUTS and legendary singer-songwriter Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）from 2024.

Still, it's nice to find "Ohayou" at last which apparently hit YouTube a little over a month ago. It's a nice breakfast plate of musical nostalgia via fluegelhorn and electric piano. Those two instruments give the song a sunny 70s feeling...in a way, it feels rather Carpenteresque, and it's a friendly way to start off "Asaichi". Maybe it can even get folks up-and-at-'em all on its own.

Flower Kayo

 

Yesterday on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, the episode's theme was on flower-titled kayo kyoku. That did get me to thinking...as I recall, there have been quite a few such songs that I've remembered over the decades, so I've decided to provide my own short list. My list kinda breaks out a little more widely although the first entry here was also included on the program's own list. Anyways, without further ado:

(1964) Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

(1966) Mike Maki -- Bara ga Saita （バラが咲いた）

(1980) Mariya Takeuchi -- Morning Glory

(1983) Yumi Matsutoya -- Dandelion ~ Osozaki no Tanpopo （ダンデライオン〜遅咲きのたんぽぽ）

(2012) Yoko Kanno -- Hana wa Saku （花は咲く）

Cheuni -- Glass no Tokyo Tower（ガラスの東京タワー）

By Wladyslaw via Wikimedia Commons

I remember as an elementary school kid in downtown Toronto when I was at recess seeing the CN Tower gradually being built up. From our schoolyard, we had a pretty clear view of the tower as it was going up. And then one day in 1976, it finally opened as the world's tallest free-standing structure at 553 metres high, a record which it held for about twenty years. And as of a couple of days ago, it celebrated its 50th anniversary. Maybe I'll go up the tower again this year although it now costs a good chunk of an arm and a leg to enter.

Now, it's safe to say that I won't be able to find any kayo kyoku that pays tribute to Toronto's most famous landmark. However, perhaps I can still acknowledge the fact of the CN Tower's golden anniversary through another tower...let's say Tokyo Tower! And coincidentally enough, tomorrow is the 68th birthday since Tokyo's own famous landmark was erected and opened. So I guess we can celebrate the two towers with one song.

That song is "Glass no Tokyo Tower" (Glass Tokyo Tower) which was Cheuni's（チェウニ）16th single from December 2009. Cheuni seems to have become KKP's poster child for the genre of New Adult Music with its mix of enka/Mood Kayo and urban contemporary influences, and it looks like she has enjoyed singing about aspects of Tokyo through songs like "Tokyo Twilight"（トーキョー・トワイライト）which was her debut single in 1999, so I guess "Glass no Tokyo Tower" could be seen as a 10th anniversary song for her. Yuko Natsumi（夏海裕子）was the lyricist here, as she also was for "Tokyo Twilight" and other songs for Cheuni, while Kazuya Amikura（網倉一也）took care of the classy and elegant melody surrounding a woman who is wishing upon Tokyo Tower itself through her apartment window (that's prime real estate there) to somehow bring back the lover that she let go unfortunately. The song reached No. 46 on Oricon.

Akihiro Miwa -- Itoshi no Gin Paris（いとしの銀巴里）

 

The news came in last night just before I was about to turn in, but singer and commentator Akihiro Miwa（美輪明宏）had passed away at the age of 91 on June 20th from old age. Miwa was a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, chanson singer, drag queen, raconteur and commentator on a number of topics including government policy, and he even had at least a couple of shows where he provided advice to people, famous or not. In fact, the last show featured on TV Japan before it converted to Jme over a couple of years ago was his advice program on NHK. Most times, he was very courteous and elegant but there were a few times where Miwa verbally eviscerated other people onscreen in a rage if he felt they deserved it.

Up until 1971, Miwa had been known by his birth name of Shingo Terada（寺田臣吾）or his first stage name Akihiro Maruyama（丸山明宏）. In his obituaries on television, reporters noted his most famous song "Yoitomake no Uta"（ヨイトマケの唄）from 1965. I've already noted that so I wanted to provide a song of his titled "Itoshi no Gin Paris" (My Beloved Gin Paris). I couldn't definitively track down the recording year but according to his discography on J-Wiki, the earliest that I've seen it mentioned is 2003 so I will go with that.

Miwa's creation is done in the lightly lilting chanson style and he's paying tribute to Japan's first cafe devoted to chanson, Gin Paris（銀巴里）, which was open between 1951 and 1990 in Ginza 7-chome in Tokyo. It was also where Miwa built up his career and a number of other artists have found it to be their breakthrough home such as the late Mina Aoe（青江三奈）. At this time, there is a stone monument at 7-chome near the former site of Gin Paris which has its name carved in.

My condolences go to Miwa's family, friends and many fans. 

Monument of Gin-Paris
by Baynosuke via Wikimedia Commons

Kokusyoku Sumire -- Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo（永久に麗しく、すみれの花よ）

Charron Freres Accordion by Uberprutser

It's hard to believe, but the very first time I posted anything about the eclectic accordion-based sister duo Charan-Po-Rantan（チャラン・ポ・ランタン）was over a decade ago in 2015 with their "Moebius no Ikitomari"（メビウスの行き止まり）. The sisters Matsunaga struck me as being unique within Japanese pop music.

But then, not too long ago, commenter YMOfan04 informed me of another duo who have a similar style and actually debuted around half a decade earlier than Charan-Po-Rantan. Kokusyoku Sumire（黒色すみれ）, which translates into Black Violets, started up in 2004, and they specialize in pop and retro kayo kyoku. There's Yuka（ゆか）who's the vocalist, accordionist and pianist while Sachi（さち）is on the violin and a number of other instruments.

On listening to "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo" (Beautiful Violet Forever) which comes from their 2nd album "Ander Meruhen Kakyokushuu"（アンデルメルヘン歌曲集...Andersen Fairy Tale Lieder Collection） from January 2006, Yuka and Sachi on their instruments brought that feeling of music from Old World Europe of a certain age as well as what I would imagine Taisho Era non-Japanese-style music was like a century ago. Not sure what Yuka, who wrote and composed "Towa ni Uruwashiku Sumire no Hana yo", was inspired by when she created it, but I've had hints of Russian folk music, Argentine tango and maybe even some of that Fashion Music essence from Japan. Maybe YMOfan04 can provide further insights, too.

Kokusyoku Sumire has continued recording up to the present day with thirteen albums including their most recent release, "Kinsei Club"（金星倶楽部...Venus Club） which came out last month.

Shoko Sawada -- Tokaijin（都会人）

Wikimedia Commons

This is the eighth article for singer-songwriter Shoko Sawada（沢田聖子）on KKP, and when it comes to her music, my memories always drift to the first song I ever heard from her, the warm and folksy "Ochiba no Heya"（落葉の部屋）from 1981, thanks to that listening on "Sounds of Japan" many moons ago.

On the other hand, Sawada's 11th single from April 1984, "Tokaijin" (Woman of the City) is quite different. For one thing, she had nothing to do with its creation; instead, it was written by veteran lyricist Masao Urino（売野雅勇）and composed by Eiji Nishiki（西木栄二）. For another, it's a rumbling pop/rock song about a young lady who gets seduced by the night life of a metropolis despite her friend's increasingly angry and desperate warnings. Although I think Sawada handled the song ably enough, I couldn't help but feel that "Tokaijin" was perhaps not the most perfect fit for her and maybe the powers-that-be above her had wanted to put a bit more boost in her variety of music. Mind you, it's all speculation from me but I also thought that this was something that an aidoru like Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）would have tackled with more energy. The song was also placed as a track on the singer's 6th album "Kaze no Yokan"（風の予感...Presage of the Wind） which was released a month after the single.