Ichiro Toba -- Otoko no Minato（男の港）

 

When it comes to enka singer Ichiro Toba（鳥羽一郎）, I think the song that most people will always associate him with is his debut single "Kyodai Bune"（兄弟船）, a song so manly and seaworthy that I can smell the sweat and the fish.

Along with that 1982 hit for Toba, here is a similarly themed song that was released in April 1986 as his 14th single, titled "Otoko no Minato" (A Man's Harbour). The lyrics by Jun Hozumi and Shinobu Yuuki（穂積淳・結城忍）relate the tale of hitting the oceans on that small ship to bring in the haul of fish, a job that has been passed down from calloused-hand generation to calloused-hand generation. The music by Tensho Nakamura（中村典正）is appropriately majestic and wistful...much like the cover of Toba's single...to induce those images of the mercurial sea: smooth sailing or tempestuous trial? I guess the 1980s were the beginning of placing together the instrumental triumvirate of grand strings, rock guitar and gentle acoustic guitar in enka.

Of course, there are the vocals by Toba which are alternatively pining and powerful. By the time the song is finished, it's almost inevitable that a cigarette is going to have to be pulled out or an alcoholic libation will be needed to be poured.