This is quite a chipper tune by veteran kayo singer Hachiro Kasuga(春日八郎). In fact, I'm not quite sure whether "Tokyo Hatoba" (Tokyo Wharf) would be a purely enka song. The melody by Toshio Saeki(佐伯としを)has got that certain enka lilt but running under it is this snappy beat which admittedly brings me images of twisting swivel hips on a dance floor.
Hiroshi Nagai(永井ひろし)wrote the lyrics for "Tokyo Hatoba" which was released with its mate on the 45 single, "Asakusa Ninjo"(浅草人情...Asakusa Kindness)in 1967. I couldn't find the actual words, unfortunately, but it does seem to relate a tale of sunny times ahead despite the hard work that still must have been going on in bringing Japan up from the ashes of World War II. Considering what the Tokyo waterfront looks like now, I don't know what it must have appeared as back in the 1960s. Perhaps it was more rough-hewn and bustling with industry but it may also have been quite a happy place as well.
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