For years, on our family forays of Japanese TV via videotape, one of the familiar figures on the kayo shows was the enka singer Mieko Makimura(牧村三枝子). I haven't seen her in decades but on the videos of "Enka no Hanamichi"(演歌の花道)and any of the music shows that NHK put out, she was always out there. Of course back then, I wasn't into enka or Mood Kayo like I am now so it was just the name and the fact that she sang enka tunes that I remember.
So I decided to take a look at her discography on J-Wiki. And I found her 12th single, "Michizure" (Traveling Companion) from October 1978. The Hokkaido native made her debut in 1972 and several years later, she encountered this song that actor Tetsuya Watari(渡哲也)had released a few years earlier. She basically begged him directly for the chance to record it as a single and obviously her efforts bore fruit.
A few years in 1981, Makimura made her debut on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen with "Michizure". It would be her first of four consecutive appearances on the show.
Ironically enough, Makimura would make her 2nd appearance on the Kohaku in 1982 singing "Kuchinashi no Hana"(くちなしの花), another Watari original.
Love this song! First heard it in Okinawa 1985 and became my favorite song.
ReplyDeleteHello there. It's a very comforting enka, isn't it? Where did you hear "Michizure" for the first time? In some bar or someplace similar?
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