Shiro Miya & The Pinkara Trio -- Okinawa no Hito（沖縄のひと）

 

Early on in "Kayo Kyoku Plus" history, I wrote about a song that had briefly been the biggest-selling single in Oricon history and still owns the No. 2 spot along with its status as the top-selling enka song. That would be Shiro Miya & The Pinkara Trio's（宮史郎＆ぴんからトリオ）"Onna no Michi"（女のみち）. And yes, it's plenty enka!

Well, the B-side of the May 1972 "Onna no Michi" is not only the physical opposite but also the opposite in terms of genre. "Okinawa no Hito" (A Man In Okinawa) is a straight-up Mood Kayo with all of the boozy sax and shimmering strings that you would ever want accompanying you during a drink in a nomiya. Miya's voice even slows down and drops down noticeably as it describes a fellow down on his luck and drowning his sorrows in lots of alcohol in Japan's southernmost prefecture. I figure if folks can get all mopey and drunk in places like Hokkaido, Tokyo and Osaka, why not Okinawa? Methinks that the libations needed here are stronger than the average can of Orion Beer.

Unlike "Onna no Michi" which was created by group members Miya and Hiroshi Namiki（並木ひろし）, "Okinawa no Hito" was written by Hiroko Ogido*（萩堂祐子）and Hachiro Ono（大野八郎）with Ono also providing the music.

*The lyricist's name has a number of ways to read both the given and family names so once again, if anyone out there can confirm the proper reading, I would be very happy about it...and I'm sure her family would be, too.