Da Capo -- Souya Misaki（宗谷岬）

 

Often when it comes to the kayo of Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island, the genres revolve around enka and Mood Kayo. I gather that there is something about the striking topography and the climate of the prefecture that lend themselves to the traditional music.

For that reason, I think "Souya Misaki" (Cape Souya) by the folk duo Da Capo（ダ・カーポ）is a bit of an outlier. For one thing, it's actually a relaxing folk song and not an epic enka about Cape Souya right at the northern tip of Hokkaido, and in terms of meteorology, the lyrics by Hiroshi Yoshida（吉田弘）depict the gradual warming-up of the region as spring approaches. 

Another thing is that the melody is composed by the late Toru Funamura（船村徹）, someone that I usually expected an enka from through the songs that Noelle and I have covered over the years. But "Souya Misaki" is as gentle as a children's folksy lullaby as the environment thaws out from the winter. The song was released as a track on Da Capo's May 1978 album "Yuuhodou"（遊歩道...Promenade）.

You can read more about Da Capo including how the duo got their name at my first article about them, "Yuki Moyo"（雪もよう）.