Mitsuko Nakamura -- Kawachi Otoko Bushi（河内おとこ節）

Another TV sign in Japan that the year is coming to an end along with NHK's Kohaku Utagassen and Fuji-TV's FNS Music Festival is NHK's "Wagakokoro no Osaka Melody"（わが心の大阪メロディー...Osaka Melodies of My Heart）. A relative baby sister when compared to the first two specials, the national broadcaster's tribute to all music Osakan started only from 2001 but it's been quite popular and certainly my family has made it a custom to see it whenever it broadcasts in December.

The beginning of this year's special which was broadcast here in North America during the same time slot for "Uta Kon"（うたコン）on Tuesday night had bubbly (I'm using Noelle's apt adjective here) Mitsuko Nakamura（中村美律子）and the stalwart Takashi Hosokawa（細川たかし）go into a friendly sing-off. Hosokawa performed the classic "Naniwa Bushi da yo, Jinsei wa"（浪花節だよ人生は）while Nakamura sang a song that I hadn't heard before, "Kawachi Otoko Bushi" (Melody of a Kawachi Man).

Written by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）and composed by Chiaki Oka（岡千秋）, "Kawachi Otoko Bushi" has that same festival jauntiness as "Naniwa Bushi da yo, Jinsei wa". According to the J-Wiki article on the song, the rhythm is based on Kawachi ondo（河内音頭）, the brand of Japanese traditional folk song that originated in what is now part of Osaka Prefecture. It was released back in June 1989 as the Osaka native's 3rd single, and the timing was great since festival season usually starts up from mid-summer.

And it has apparently been used for the bon odori performances that take place in the Kansai area. On the Oricon chart, "Kawachi Otoko Bushi" only made it up to No. 69 but it's more than compensated since Nakamura has sung it a total of 8 times in her 15 times on the Kohaku Utagassen which makes it the No. 3 song in terms of the most repeated performances of a particular song on that special. Only Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）"Amagi Goe"（天城越え）and "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡・冬景色）have had more appearances at 10 and 9 times respectively.

"Kawachi Otoko Bushi" was a hit right from the start in the Kansai area but it took 3 more years before it got its national attention. That late-coming fame was punctuated by Nakamura's debut appearance on the Kohaku in 1992, singing this very song.

Nakamura hasn't appeared on the Kohaku since 2010 after singing her trademark song three straight times up to that year, so I gather that perhaps she and her listeners probably wanted to take a break. However, it would be pretty nice for her to get onto the NHK stage again and bring back this crowdpleaser.