Katsuhiko Miki -- Taiyo no Kakera（太陽のかけら）

 

In my last article last month on Katsuhiko Miki（美樹克彦）via his 1967 single "Hana wa Osokatta"（花はおそかった）, I mentioned that Miki had used one word in the song that had been considered a little too profane at the time for public usage but was seen as a manly way to express his frustrations at love. Then from the following decade onwards, male aidoru such as the late Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）used it as well in his songs.

The Miki and Saijo comparison continues here through an explanation found under the YouTube video for the former's June 1971 single, "Taiyo no Kakera" (Pieces of a Sun). Miki's 30th single and his first under the Canyon label after his first 29 singles with Nippon Crown, the uploader doro2067 mentions that although Saijo wouldn't officially begin his long career until 1972, "Taiyo no Kakera" would be a perfect fit for him.

But as it was, this was Miki's song and by the looks of that single's cover, the singer seemed to be a proto-Hideki in terms of that longer hair, the bare torso and the grinning masculine defiance. Indeed, legendary lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, who wrote the words of living life as if there were no tomorrow on "Taiyo no Kakera", would also provide songs for Saijo. And although I couldn't see composer and arranger Makoto Kawaguchi's（川口真）name on any of Hideki's music, the flying strings, the brass section and the electric piano that he puts together on "Taiyo no Kakera" seem perfect for the future 70s superstar.

Another comparison that I could bring in is with "Taiyo no Kakera" and the aforementioned "Hana wa Osokatta". Whereas "Hana wa Osokatta" was describing one man's anguish at the missed opportunity for love and happiness, "Taiyo no Kakera" looks like a revisiting of that same guy a few years later with a burlier and stronger attitude on life.  Where will he go from there? In any case, this particular song is not to be confused with one with the same title performed by the jazzy unit orange pekoe.