Saburo Kitajima/Mirei Kitahara -- Gyouka（漁歌）

Man, I do love my sushi. What I have to remember then is the fishermen who go out into often stormy waters to get the necessary fish and other sea life.

"Gyouka" (Fishing Song) is the 78th single by enka legend Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）, released in 1983. True to his reputation of singing gutsy brio-filled enka tunes of folks working hard, this song pummels through your ears to send the message of the fisherman who won't let something as little as high waves or punishing storms deter him from providing for his family back onshore. I remember this one especially since it has Sabu-chan giving those high-pitched wails near the end. It's about as Kitajima-esque a song that I have heard from him.

One small note about the above video is that this was Kitajima's contribution to the 1983 Kohaku Utagassen and at the end of the performance, you might see the late supermodel Sayoko Yamaguchi（山口小夜子）as one of the judges for the contest that year. For those Steely Dan fans, she was the lady on the cover of the classic "Aja" album.

(cover version)

"Gyouka" was written by Takao Yamada（山田孝雄）and composed by Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）. In the same year of 1983, Mirei Kitahara（北原ミレイ）also released the same song as her 19th single. Not sure if the above performance has the same arrangement in the original recording but it seems like Kitahara's version has a slightly more folksy and romantic quality although it's no less gutsy.