Tomi Kitagawa -- Hajimete no Haru（初めての春）

 

The above photo was actually taken four years ago downtown near the University of Toronto but the weather reflects what it's like today as we take our baby steps into Spring 2022. Yup, no sight of snow on the ground except for the blackened piles at certain points on the curbs, but the weather forecasters have stated that there will be another dusting of the pure white stuff later on this week.😞

I did want to find at least one kayo with a hint of spring in there so I was able to track down one song in the backlog titled "Hajimete no Haru" (The First Spring). Sung by Tomi Kitagawa（北川とみ）, this number is a folksy New Music number that starts off pensively enough before suddenly launching into something more determined. Written and composed by Keizo Okuyama（奥山景三）, the song details the story of a young couple who may be reaching a turning point into the relationship which has reached its first spring. Although the song strikes me as being a little too quick-paced to be purely a folk number, Okuyama's lyrics have that folk message of naïve youths making those hesitant strides into adulthood.

Having written about Kitagawa once before for her "Wasuretainoni"（忘れたいのに）, I'd made an error when I said that it was her debut single. Actually I was able to find out some more about the singer via "Idol.ne.jp" that "Hajimete no Haru" is the B-side to her actual first single, "Ajisai Dera"（あじさい寺...Hydrangea Temple） from February 1976 before her sophomore entry "Wasuretainoni". In total, Kitagawa released three singles and an album up to 1977. Returning to her native Aichi Prefecture in 1980, she went into writing and radio program production.