Saturday, December 26, 2015

Kyoko Nakazawa -- Machi-wabite （待ちわびて）


Well, I hope everyone has enjoyed their Xmas. Perhaps some of you are already getting into Boxing Day Sale mode. As for me, I was on turkey roasting duty today, and I realized how much of a Halo game making a traditional Xmas dinner can be. The bird took longer to defrost and took longer to roast, and the stuffing didn't quite work out by my estimation. All I can say to you who may be interesting in taking up the baster someday, DO NOT take any advice from the Internet at face value; take it as a guide but not as the hard rule.


In any case, now that I've gotten that (and other things) out of my system, allow me to give you (and me) some mellow time with Kyoko Nakazawa's（中沢京子）"Machi-wabite" (Pining For You). Who she, you ask? Yes, well, that was something I was also pondering myself. Her brief story reminds me a lot of another young singer of the 1970s who had also come and went like the wind, Kayoko Ono（小野香代子）with "Sayonara no Kotoba"（さよならの言葉）.

Like Ono, Nakazawa had entered the Yamaha Popular Song Contest  (the 1974 edition) with her own creation of "Machi-wabite", won a prize, and then basically left show business. Mind you, Nakazawa had written and composed a few more songs whereas Ono made just the one, but "Machi-wabite" was Nakazawa's only single released in April 1975. And although I admit I haven't nosed around too hard, I think there is even less information on this singer than what I could find for Ono.


Ono's "Sayonara no Kotoba" is this sweet innocent waltz but "Machi-wabite" seems to be a somewhat more grounded and wistfully introspective ballad with the girl from the first song becoming the more mature woman in the second, still pining for that lost love whether he was a love-'em-and-leave-'em cad or a boy who just merely drifted away into history. There is something about this song that would make it sound perfect for listening in some cafe during a rainy day.

In any case, this is another one of those intriguing musical mysteries. By the way, the video directly above is a radio broadcast which only seems to come through just one speaker so please be advised.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 27, 2015 at 12:50 AM

    1970s related question - was Miyoko Asada (浅田 美代子) very popular in the 1970s? I wonder how this song charted -
    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTY3MDY3NTAw.html

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    1. J-CanuckDecember 27, 2015 at 10:25 PM

      Hello there.

      Although I'm not well versed in Miyoko Asada's discography from that time, I was aware that she became a household name not only because of her time as an aidoru but also due to her appearances in the family comedy-drama "Terauchi Kantarou Ikka" which is featured in the video of the link that you sent me.

      I have never seen an episode of the old series but I remember that scene of Miyoko's character on top of the roof with Hideki Saijo singing "Shiawase no Ichiban Hoshi" (The Happy No. 1 Star). After its release in March 1974, it broke into the Oricon Top 10 at No. 7 and became the 62nd-ranked song of that year.

      I've known about Asada since she has appeared frequently as a TV personality on many shows over the decades.

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  2. AnonymousDecember 28, 2015 at 7:51 PM

    Thanks for the information! I thought that she was a one-hit wonder, it's good to know that she had long post-aidoru career.

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  3. Noelle ThamDecember 30, 2015 at 9:44 AM

    Well, thanks for the tips on turkey roasting, J-Canuck. :) Again, I don't think roasting the enormous bird is a thing here in Singapore, so I've never had a turkey dinner nor have I tried to roast one; I have heard of the hazards of handling the bird though, like the thing capable of crushing one's foot. It sounds interesting albeit labour-intensive... I think I may try it some time.

    On to the song. Kyoko Nakazawa is a new name to me, and I can't say that I'm a fan of her vocal delivery - she sounds like another singer I know of, but I can't put my finger on it - but I like the music to "Machi-wabite". It is indeed very mellow, as you said. Reminds me of the quiet and tranquil island of Tasmania in spring-summer with the sun shining on to the colourful wild flowers and shrubs and filtering into forests with green trees.

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    1. J-CanuckDecember 30, 2015 at 8:47 PM

      Yeah, the turkey is more of a North American thing. Definitely not for the faint of heart. :)

      Nakazawa is definitely a new name for me as well especially she didn't stay long at all in show business. Just another one of those mysterious fleeting figures in kayo kyoku.

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