Keiko Fuji -- Onna no Blues （女のブルース）

Over the decades, I'd gotten to know my fair share of enka singers such as Hiroshi Itsuki, Sachiko Kobayashi, Shinichi Mori, and Hibari Misora. But I hadn't heard about Keiko Fuji（藤圭子） until I got to know the music of her daughter, Hikaru Utada（宇多田ヒカル）, in the late 90s. And I hadn't gotten curious enough about Fuji to explore her songs although I heard the titles of "Shinjuku no Onna" （新宿の女）and "Onna no Blues".

Then, tonight as I was watching NHK's "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）, the theme of this week's show was the works of the late kayo kyoku composer, Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）. And one of his most famous songs was "Onna no Blues"(Blues of a Woman), sung by Fuji. Fuji herself didn't come out to sing the song, and unfortunately I didn't get the name of the singer who did, but I was struck by the force of the vocals, and the combination of the piercing trumpet and the lonely guitar. That instrumental duo was the first musical example I got about enka in my life via an old Denon record, and I guess it has become rather Pavlovian, but whenever I hear those two on a Japanese music show, I automatically stand up and take notice.

I've just heard the original version by Fuji, her 2nd single, and she sounds scorned....as in "Hell hath no fury..." The lyrics by Masao Ishizaka（石坂まさを） has her singing in full-throated husky glory about her desires and loneliness in deepest, darkest Tokyo. According to J-Wiki, Fuji became known for singing dark melancholy ballads about the feelings of a woman who works and lives in the entertainment world of the night.

Fuji, who hails from the northern reaches of Japan and was born Junko Abe（阿部純子）, debuted with "Shinjuku no Onna"（新宿の女...Shinjuku Woman) in 1969 which got her started on the path to fame right from the get-go. In fact, her first album of the same title (March 1970) was at the No. 1 position for 20 straight weeks from the end of March to the beginning of August, and became the No. 1 album of the year. "Onna no Blues" the single, was released in February 1970 and spent 8 weeks at the top spot, eventually becoming the 4th-ranked single of the year. In keeping with tradition, her 2nd album also got the title of "Onna no Blues", was released in July 1970, and spent 16 straight weeks at No. 1. It finished the year just four ranks down from her 1st album. I think her daughter could relate to that sort of overnight success.

One interesting side effect to Fuji's success came in the form of literature. The creator of a 1970 manga titled "Sasurai no Taiyo"（さすらいの太陽...The Wandering Sun), Keisuke Fujikawa（藤川桂介） modeled his heroine of Miki after the singer. An anime version was also released in the same year.

Note: August 22 2013. Sadly, Keiko Fuji passed away today at the age of 62 in Tokyo.