Yoshimi Tendo -- Hinode Mae（日の出前）

For the first time in over 2 months, NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）refrained from its regimen of several weeks of viewer requests and past video footage, and finally put on a live show onstage. Mind you, it was just the house band and no orchestra, and of course, there was no audience, but it was a start at having something close to the old days of multiple singing guests appear while the hosts sat appreciatively in the seats with some chats. In a way, it was rather cozy seeing singers such as Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）and Yoshimi Tendo（天童よしみ）talking about the past few months in isolation.

Ah, speaking of Yoshimi Tendo, one of the grande dames of enka performed her 75th and latest single from March 2020, "Hinode Mae". Initially, I took a look at the arrangement of the title in its native Japanese and wondered it would be translated as either "Before the Sunrise" or "Home Delivery of the Sun". Y'know, I think that I'll tempt fate and go with the former. The short version of the music video above pretty much proves my choice anyways.

"Hinode Mae", written by Reiji Mizuki（水木れいじ）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）, is truly a grand enka, a traditional ballad that sounds tailor-made for the late Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）to whom Tendo has often been compared. It gives great tribute to the wonder of nature and the push for people to take those long strides forward into life. The electric guitar, the timpani and the low brass really punch the message through while the singer gives a performance that would probably have Misora nod in affirmation wherever she is now.

(karaoke version)