Kiyoshi Maekawa -- Kanashimi no Owari ni (哀しみの終りに)

Over the weekend, I finally managed to get my final year report off my back. Well, fine, it's only a full draft and I can't completely wash my hands off this nightmare spawn of a project on clown fish breeding yet, but I did feel a huge sense of relief and accomplishment as the last sentence was typed. And I think Kiyoshi Maekawa's (前川清) "Kanashimi no Owari ni" can sum up this ordeal quite nicely.

While I had "Kanashimi no Owari ni" in my Mae-Kiyo playlist ever since I got my first Mae-Kiyo album, I admit that, for a long time until now, I wasn't able to appreciate it fully. I listened to it a couple of times on days where I felt more adventurous - it was indeed a nice song music-wise - but that was about it. It was only recently when I began paying attention to the lyrics, brought to you by Shizuka Ijuin (伊集院静). From what I understand, our main character is going through a real rough patch in his life as he tries to come to terms of not having the love of his life by his side, and he can't wait for his sadness to end. Don't worry, guy, I can't wait for my project to end too. But the good thing for us both - or minimally me - is that the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel.

Moving on, composing the tune was Mae-Kiyo's frequent collaborator, Takashi Tsushimi (都志見隆). The song starts of soft and forlorn with just the strings and piano, combined with the kayo singer's delicate delivery. That part seems to show the character in his rough patch. Then things pick up at the chorus and the intense vocals I know Mae-Kiyo for come back, and that's where the character sees hope that his sadness will come to an end and that he will be able to smile again.

"Kanashimi no Owari ni" was released on 9th May 2012 and the highest it got on the Oricon charts was 77th place.

P.S. I do have one more item regarding my trip to Japan that I'd like to talk about, but I'm going to hold that one off for a while until I have more time. I'm going to try my hand at one of those "The Works Of..." articles J-Canuck has been doing.