Happy Sunday! It's been a thankfully quiet weekend especially since I've been quite busy over the past couple of weeks with translation work. Had my lesson with my student last night and will be talking with old friend JTM later tonight.
Was thinking of handling some oldies today and came across this number by Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）from November 1964, "Aishitewaikenai" (Must Not Love). Listening to it a few times, I think it's a mix of concepts here. Of course, with the Mahina Stars singing this, it is a Mood Kayo tune by default (with that touch of Hawaiian, a Mahina Stars trait) but there is also something rather enka about it since I can't imagine the setting being necessarily a city. I can just as easily envisage this intense talk between a couple taking place on some arched bridge near a temple in the countryside with cherry blossom petals blowing about.
Gou Ishigouoka（石郷岡豪...not sure of the reading of that first name）created the lyrics while Keitaro Miho（三保敬太郎）came up with the music which also has a mix between melancholy and hopeful. I believe the lyrics involve a woman stating the title as the first line in each verse in various forms as she gradually amps up her insistence to the love of her life that he is not a person who cannot return her love. The first verse has her repeating what her boyfriend (perhaps a lone wolf) has just said as a so-called final description of his emotional state whereas the second verse begins with her questioning his opinion. The final verse has the lady stating in no uncertain terms that he is dead wrong and that she will always love him so he had better shape up. As the song progressed, I got the impression that the music got more positive. Hopefully, the lug came to his senses.
Incidentally, "Aishitewaikenai" was used as the theme song for a TBS drama "Onna no Shatou"（女の斜塔...A Woman's Leaning Tower）.
Never heard of Ari Hanabusa（英亜里）before and was intrigued by the reading of her kanji. According to one website, a lot of Japanese had apparently struggled with the reading, too, since usually that first kanji is read "hide"（ひで）or "ei"（えい）. She was actually born Yoshiko Endo（遠藤貴子）in downtown Tokyo so I gather that her manager or record producer wanted to have her stand out in some way, so why not through the name?
That same website is the only source for information on the singer because J-Wiki doesn't have an article for her (and that page got its information from the liner notes from a BEST album of hers). She debuted in 1968 and released several singles at least before calling it quits in 1980 at the age of 30.
In 1973, Hanabusa released a single that covered the Mahina Stars' "Aishitewaikenai". The cover takes things out of the Mood Kayo genre and into an even more relaxing kayo arrangement with some mellow horns. The arrangement was done by veteran Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）. I don't think this version was used as a TV theme tune but if it had been used as such, it would have been for some suburban home drama.
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