Keiko Matsuzaka -- Ai no Suichuuka （愛の水中花）

Keiko Matsuzaka（松坂慶子） has been a name I've heard off and on for many years....usually through her roles in a number of movies and TV dramas, and also for her commercials. She's been in a couple of Tora-san movies and according to J-Wiki, during her teenage years, she appeared in an episode of tokusatsu series, "Ultra Seven". Her name was even mentioned when I was traveling in Taiwan when our guide, rather blandly, plugged a certain foot massage clinic in Taipei whose customers had included Matsuzaka and comedian Ken Shimura of The Drifters.

However, I hadn't realized until relatively recently that she was also the voice behind this kayo kyoku tune called "Ai no Suichuuka"(The Water Flower of Love). I'd originally heard it way back when I was watching my first video tapes of Japanese music, and even without knowing the lyrics back then, I could tell she was singing something rather saucy and flirtatious. The melody by Masashi Komatsubara（小松原まさし） has got that feel of life in either a Mama-san-owned tiny nomiya in Shinjuku or some hostess bar in Roppongi. Much later on, after going through the lyrics by Hiroyuki Itsuki（五木寛之）, I realized that Matsuzaka was portraying herself as that thirsty water flower pleading for someone to pour on that water. The effect was complete with Matsuzaka's performances on TV in a slinky black dress.

"Ai no Suichuuka" was also the theme song for the TBS drama "Suichuuka"(Water Flower) based on the aforementioned Hiroyuki Itsuki's novel of the same name. In the drama, Matsuzaka portrays Rie Morishita, a 25-year-old company employee who, due to some unfortunate family financial circumstances involving her sister, has to moonlight under the name of Eri in a Ginza club. Matsuzaka's double duty as lead actress and singer of the theme was seen as one of her highlights as an adult actress after her time as a child actress of the 1960s. As for the song's success, it did fairly well by being the 33rd-ranked song of 1979.