Yokohama Kayo: Blue Light Yokohama and Yokohama Tasogare

Like jazz and blues, a lot of the tunes in enka （演歌）and Mood Kayo music often pay tribute to certain cities and regions in the country. A couple of the first examples of the latter that I'd ever heard centered around the port city of Yokohama...and they go way back to the late 60s and early 70s. "Blue Light Yokohama" （ブルーライト・ヨコハマ）is a classic first released on Christmas Day, 1968 and sung by singer/actress Ayumi Ishida（いしだあゆみ）. The horn intro is probably one of the most recognized beginnings to a kayo. The lyrics themselves don't make any strong references to the metropolis aside from the title, but talks of a girl and a guy taking a nice stroll through the big city. "Blue Light Yokohama" hit No. 1 on the Oricon charts and got Ishida a slot on the following year's Red-and-White Song Festival. Prolific composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）took care of the classic melody while Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）wrote the lyrics.

A few years later, another Yokohama-based song also made another singer's career. Hiroshi Itsuki （五木ひろし）was only 23 when he crooned a tune whose lyrics were more lurid than Ishida's innocent walk along the port. "Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）、translated as "Yokohama Sunset". illustrated vignettes from a one-night stand, another enka theme. However, like the first song, it also garnered a No. 1 posting on Oricon for Itsuki (real name: Kazuo Matsuyama) and a spot on the "Kohaku Utagassen"(紅白歌合戦）. The song was written by Yoko Yamaguchi（山口洋子）and composed by Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）.

In a way, both songs could also qualify as City Pop, but this category includes songs with a more overtly Western AOR melody.

February 20, 2022: Check out Takako Uehara's（上原多香子）cover of "Blue Light Yokohama".