Peggy Hayama -- Nangoku Tosa wo Ato ni Shite（南国土佐を後にして）

With the changing of the seasons, NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）had its spring-themed show a couple of nights ago, and one of the guests, enka singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）, gave a lovely version of the kayo chestnut "Nangoku Tosa wo Ato ni Shite" (Leave Nangoku Tosa Behind).

The song had its origins in wartime Japan as something that had been sung by soldiers in a regiment, many of whom hailed from Kochi Prefecture (which was once known as Tosa) on the island of Shikoku. After World War II, the song was brought back to Kochi where it solidified as a hometown ditty, according to a 1997 Kobe Shimbun article (via J-Wiki). Songwriter Eisaku Takemasa（武政英策）from neighbouring Ehime Prefecture then transcribed and arranged this original song to write and compose "Nangoku Tosa wo Ato ni Shite", as a kayo of longing for the homeland of Kochi.

"Nangoku Tosa wo Ato ni Shite" was recorded and released in 1953 and 1955 by Kyoko Oka（丘京子）and Mieko Suzuki（鈴木三重子）respectively but neither version made much of a ripple. But then Peggy Hayama（ペギー葉山）was offered the opportunity to sing this very song on a special program commemorating the beginning of the Kochi branch of NHK TV in November 1958. Hayama had initially not been too interested since she considered herself a jazz singer rather than an interpreter of kayo, but she finally performed it in front of the audience and she was surprised due to the rousing reaction from them.

Hayama's version became known around the nation due to the spread of television and transformed into a huge hit, with the single released in April 1959 and sales reaching 1 million within a year, eventually selling 2 million records in total. Hayama would also end up performing "Nangoku Tosa" on the 1959 and 1989 Kohaku Utagassen broadcasts. On top of that, she became only the second person to be granted a honourary citizenship of Kochi in 1974.

The song also got transformed into a movie later in August 1959 with Hayama as part of the cast.