Kaori Mizumori -- Churashima Meguri（美ら島めぐり）

 

Moving on from my preceding article, "Bye-Bye Okinawa"（バイバイ沖縄）, originally by Sadao China（知名定男）and then covered by the Okinawan folk music group Nēnēs（ネーネーズ）which had been formed by China, I did want to cover a song that had been performed on last week's "Uta Con"（うたコン）when it paid tribute to the prefecture in the wake of the 50th anniversary of its return to Japanese administration.

Enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）has long been known for her songs paying tribute to each and every prefecture in Japan for years, and as such, Okinawa was another place that she recognized in a recent song. "Churashima Meguri" (A Tour of the Beautiful Island) was included in her most recent album "Kayo Kikou 20 ~ Naruko Kyo"（歌謡紀行20~鳴子峡~...Song Travelogue 20: Naruko Canyon） from October 2021, and as the title says, it's a sung trip through Okinawa. Although the traditional Okinawan instrument, the sanshin, can be heard here and there throughout "Churashima Meguri", I'd say that it's pretty much the run-of-the-mill enka tune within that setting of Okinawa, beautifully delivered by Mizumori.

"Churashima Megumi" was written by Izumi Danno（旦野いづみ）and composed by Meiyu Ohtani（大谷明裕）. Considering how hot it's been today here in Toronto, I probably wouldn't mind a can of that Orion Beer right now, and I think of myself as a non-drinker.