Released just before Christmas Day in 1975, "Momen no Handkerchief", her 4th single, peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and became the 4th-ranked song for 1976. It became Ohta's biggest hit and is basically her trademark song. It is also included on her 3rd album, "Kokoro ga Kaze wo Hiita Hi"(心が風邪をひいた日.....The Day My Heart Caught A Cold) which had been released a couple of weeks earlier.
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.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Hiromi Ohta -- Momen no Handkerchief (木綿のハンカチーフ）
Released just before Christmas Day in 1975, "Momen no Handkerchief", her 4th single, peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon weeklies and became the 4th-ranked song for 1976. It became Ohta's biggest hit and is basically her trademark song. It is also included on her 3rd album, "Kokoro ga Kaze wo Hiita Hi"(心が風邪をひいた日.....The Day My Heart Caught A Cold) which had been released a couple of weeks earlier.
This was another staple of my 1970s Kayokyoku youth but didn't really embrace the entire melody until I was much older.
ReplyDeleteNot being fluent at all in Nihongo I didn't consider this song exceptional or special (probably on par with a popular Sakurada Junko song) until I saw a really good translation of the lyrics.
This couldn't have been more than several years ago and it knocked me off my feet! I couldn't believe how they paired this peppy, bright arrangement with such a heartbreaking narrative (the exchange between two lovers is something I never could have interpreted as a kid listening on the radio).
#JPopCanon
I was never much of a lyrics guy but over the years, I've come to realize how kayo songwriters paired those happy rhythms with less-than-happy lyrics. Kyu Sakamoto's trademark "Ue wo Muite Arukou" was another example. As for Ohta's famous song, I hadn't been aware about how melancholy its lyrics were; I always heard the happy melody and just imagined some boy getting that handkerchief from the love of his life.
DeleteOh yeah that Sakamoto Kyu song is the all-time champ. Sounds like he's skipping around, la-la oh what a wonderful day.
DeleteMan, he's REALLY gonna go empty out a sake bottle or two!
Another kayo song brought me to your blog and I am truly overwhelmed by the volume of your collection. Momen no handkerchief, though it is a song of my parents' generation, is one of my all-time favorite, but yes, since I realized the story it sings when I grew old enough, I could not sing this anymore without trying to catch back a sob...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wanted to show appreciation for your work.
Hello, Yuna. Thanks for your kind comments and glad that you enjoy one of Ohta's classic songs. Can't quite believe that I've been doing this for nearly 9 years; I only expected it to go for just 1!
DeleteHiromi's voice is like that of a fairy. She's amazing.
ReplyDelete