Ikuzo Yoshi -- Kaikyo（海峡）

Man, sometimes I think that the Tsugaru Strait between the main island of Honshu and the northern island of Hokkaido probably has to be heavily monitored since according to some kayo, it's the place that seems to attract a lot of very sad and heartbroken souls. Arguably the most famous ballad depicting this waterway is Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）classic "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki" （津軽海峡・冬景色）from 1977.

Recently, though, I found out that veteran enka singer-songwriter Ikuzo Yoshi（吉幾三）had also created his own lovelorn tribute to the Tsugaru Strait through his contribution of "Kaikyo" (The Strait) as his 13th single in May 1987. With a woman's wailing voice as harrowing as a stiff cold wind, Yoshi also explains his own tale of woe, hoping beyond hope that a love can be salvaged but perhaps knowing in his heart that it's far too late.

I don't know how "Kaikyo" did on Oricon but it followed Yoshi's huge hit of "Yukiguni"（雪国）from the previous year, and perhaps not surprisingly, there are a few similarities between the two songs.