Yoshie Kashiwabara/Miyuki Nakajima -- Haru Nanoni (春なのに）

"Haru Nanoni"(Although It's Spring) is another song that has become popular during Graduation Season in Japan. Written and composed by singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima(中島みゆき） and first sung by aidoru Yoshie Kashiwabara（柏原芳恵） in January 1983, Kashiwabara's version has a more classical feel than a lot of other aidoru-sung ballads thanks to the strings arrangement. Lyrically, it probably hit a nerve and tugged at the heartstrings of many a graduating female student as Yoshie sings about the parting between a girl and a boy after leaving school for good.

Kashiwabara was born in 1965 in Osaka and was found via the talent show "Star Tanjo"(スター誕生..."A Star Is Born") in 1979. She debuted in the following year with "No. 1" and joined the ranks of a new generation of aidoru along with Seiko Matsuda (松田聖子）and Naoko Kawai.（河合奈保子） "Haru Nanoni" was her 14th single and peaked at No. 6 on Oricon. It later became the 31st-ranking song of 1983. The singer gathered a lot of fans even within the celebrity field, including the current Crown Prince of Japan. Crown Prince Naruhito even went so far as to present her with a bunch of roses (Oooooh...) at a 1986 concert for which she gave him an autographed photobook of hers in return.

(karaoke version)

This is Miyuki Nakajima's own version of the song, which incidentally won a Gold Award at the 1983 Japan Record Awards. Nakajima's take on it is more mature and world-weary, a bit at odds with the lyrical content, but befitting her own singing style.