Happy Birthday, Akina-san! (明菜さん、お誕生日おめでとう！)

Today, July 13, 2022, is Akina's (中森明菜) 57th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Akina-san!!! 

This year also marks Akina's 40th anniversary since her debut in 1982.  It's been very quiet though.  According to Wikipedia, earlier in April, NHK BS Premium aired a special called "Legendary Concert~Nakamori Akina" (伝説のコンサート〜中森明菜), which was a remastered version of her Akina East Live Index XXIII live concert recording.  That concert was an outdoor concert held in Yomiuri Land East, an amusement park in Tokyo, on April 29-30, 1989 to celebrate Akina's upcoming 8th anniversary.  That was also less than 3 months before her attempted suicide in July.  After the broadcast, NHK got overwhelming feedbacks from the public that it decided to air it again on June 19 (I was quite surprised that there're still so many Akina fans in Japan).  Unfortunately, due to an earthquake around Noto Peninsula (能登半島), it was rescheduled for July 9.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the entire concert (maybe not the entire one but whatever was recorded at that time and whatever the copyright owner chooses to release) on Warner Music Japan's official YouTube channel.

Separately, NHK BS Premium is scheduled to air "Akina Nakamori Special Life 2009 Empress at Yokohama" on July 15.  This was the concert where Akina covered various Japanese folk songs like Muenzaka (無縁坂) & Gakuseigai no Kissaten (学生街の喫茶店) (also see this album and this album).

Also worth mentioning is that, from 4/9/2022 through 4/16/2022, Japanese company ITmedia did a poll asking people to rank their beloved Akina single songs (B side included).  They published the results today to commemorate Akina's birthday (a total of 4389 people participated).  Here, I'm listing the top 10 songs.  People who are interested can click here for the article in Japanese (just scroll down a bit for the entire ranking).

1                    Southern Wind (サザン．ウインド)

2                    North Wing (北ウイング)

3                    Slow Motion (スローモーション)

4                    Meu amor e (ミ．アモーレ)

5                    Second Love (セカンド．ラブ)

6                    Nanpasen (難破船)

7                    Desire~Jounetsu~ (Desire〜情熱〜)

8                    Juukai (十戒)

9                    Sand Beige-Sabaku e- (San Beige-砂漠へ-)

10                  Liar

Tango Noir is in the 11th place whereas Tattoo is in the 12th, tying with Aibu (愛撫).  Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa (飾りじゃないのよ涙は) is in the 14th.  Shoujo A (少女A) ranks 21st.  Days, which I'm going to talk about later, ranks 35th.  The only B side song I immediately recognized was Refrain (リ．フ．レ．イ．ン), which was coupled with North Wing.  I'm a bit surprised that "Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa" did not make top 10.  In my humble opinion, San Beige doesn't deserve to be in the top 10 and I wish I could replace it with "Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa".

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Enough for the latest news.  Today, as an Akina birthday special, I would like to talk about my all-time favorite Akina album, "I hope so".

I discovered the song "Days" first on YouTube before I found the album itself.  If my memory serves me right, I think this was the first album I bought from Amazon Japan.

Overall Impression

"I hope so" was released in 2003.  It was Akina's 21st album.  It reached number 15 on Oricon's weekly chart.  The last song in the album, "Days", was also released as a single earlier that year.

The album included 10 ballads or soft rocks, although "I hope so" is probably closer to rock and "Kaze no Hate" (風の果て) is probably closer to country in terms of genre.  There're 4 pieces of instrumental music, 1-2 minutes each, that interleave between the 10 songs.  Here, I think the producer put a lot of effort.  The transition between songs and instrumental music is so smooth that the whole album feels like one single concert performance.

Most of the songs were written by 3 song writers: Takebe Satoshi (武部聡志), Oda Tetsurou (織田哲郎), and Kawae Minako (川江美奈子).  As for lyrics, they're mostly written by Kawae Minako, Matsui Gorou (松井五郎) and Nakamori Akina herself.   Yes, Akina herself wrote the lyrics of 4 songs in this album, including "I hope so" and "Days", my favorite song in this album.  I also want to mention that the first song of the album, "Rain", was written by female singer songwriter Okamoto Mayo (岡本真夜).  She would later self-covered it as well.  All music except the song "Shoukei (憧憬)" was arranged by Takebe Satoshi, who was also the producer of this album.

Honestly, there's not a single song in this album that I don't like.  Even though rock music is not my cup of tea in general, I actually like "I hope so".  Akina's mature, sexy, and husky voice also plays a role here, I think.  I especially like the interleaving instrumental music.  They provide breaks throughout the album, give more musical variety so that it doesn't feel like you're bombarded by one ballad after another.

As I mentioned earlier, when I listen to the whole album, there's a sense of coherence and the whole album feels like one single giant performance.  I would encourage you to listen from start to finish and appreciate the whole production.  This is an album of ballads.  I love ballads but I also understand that it's not everyone's favorite.  But for me, this is the perfect Akina album.

Wikipedia mentions a tiny episode regarding the album title "I hope so".  As expected, it was chosen by Akina herself.  Akina was once studying in the US for around a month while staying with a host family.  When she talked to her host family with her broken English, they responded with "I understand what you're saying.  No problem.  I hope so."  Akina resonated most with the phrase "I hope so" because that's when she felt she was able to connect emotionally.  I wonder what Akina said to get the "I hope so" response 🤣.  Also, I wondered if she had misunderstood what her host family was trying to say after all.  A person who says "I hope so" may not always inspire confidence 😂.  For example,

Hiker A: Would this lead us out of the woods?

Hiker B: I hope so.

My Favorite Song - Days

When I first watched this YouTube MV, it was "love at first sight".  I immediately fell in love with this song.  Akina's voice has changed so much that it now has character!  It has become extremely sexy and attractive to me.  I later found out that it was recorded in "I hope so" and that's how I got to know the album.

By the way, the scenes in the MV seem to be taken from a TV drama, or some 2-hour TV special of some sort.  If anyone knows what it is, please let me know by commenting below.

I would like to translate 2 quotes from Wikipedia regarding what some music critics were saying about the song.

"Akina was able to express the intense emotions of the song through her calm and restraining voice.  It was a superb piece of work." - CD Journal

"Her calm voice, yet full of deep emotions, was the best part of the vocal." - Oono Takashi 大野貴史 "WHAT's IN?" magazine

I think the above best summarizes how I feel as well.  Honestly, I couldn't have said it better.  Although Akina's singing in her idol days was not bad at all, when I listen to "Days" I think Akina has truly graduated from an idol.  Her singing is now at a totally different level.

Oda Tetsurou wrote the music and Akina wrote the lyrics herself.

The song is a prayer as well as a vow towards the singer's lover, that no matter how painful the future will be, she'll always be with him.  If anyone is interested in knowing the lyrics, I have an English translation here in my own blog.  Enjoy!

Other Recommendations

Honestly, I would recommend ALL the songs in this album!  As I said before, there's not a single song that I don't like.  If I had to limit myself to 2 songs, the following would be my choices.

Utsutsu no Hana うつつの花

I guess throughout my life, I have always liked music that are a little bit dark.  For instance, I love Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 as well as his Symphony No. 25, both of which were described as having a lingering dark mood.  In general, I have a natural affinity towards minor keys.  "Utsutsu no Hana" carries such a dark undertone that feels particularly attractive to me.  The arrangement also adds to its darkness.  In fact, this is my 2nd most favorite song after "Days" in this album.

Music was written by Mashiko Tatsurou (マシコタツロウ) and lyrics was written by Matsui Gorou.

The song describes a woman who was in a dead-end relationship but couldn’t let go.  "Like feeling lonely and ripping a half-dried wound open, it's bleeding red once again," wrote Matsui Gorou for the opening lyrics of the song.

It's probably ironic for me to say, but Akina's voice becomes especially attractive when she sings sad love songs.  Perhaps, Nanpasen (難破船) is the most representative of all.  It may be due to her circumstances with Kondo Masahiko (近藤真彦).  When it comes to sad love songs, there's something in her voice that is unique, that other female singers just can't reproduce.  I found it especially true after year 2000.

Yuuyami wo Matte 夕闇を待って

Kawae Minako wrote both the music and its lyrics.

The song feels very light, casual, and a little jazzy.  Just like in her early days going from Shoujo A (少女A) to Second Love (セカンド．ラブ), Akina sang with a completely different voice than say, "Days" or "Utsutsu no Hana".

I think the lyrics was beautifully written and from my limited understanding of Japanese culture, it conveys a very unique Japanese emotion.  The song writes about a woman who was by the ocean watching sunset.  It was so lovely that she wished her lover were here.  She recalled the good times they had together and how he had set her free.  She didn't feel sad anymore though, as she recalled various things that her lover had taught her.  Darkness descended and the stars started glistering in the sky.  Everything in this world is fleeting.  That the stars are shining upon her is the only thing that's certain at the moment.

Final Words

According to Wikipedia, it's already been 4 years since we've heard any news from Akina.  It has been widely reported that Akina doesn't have a cell phone.  Her relationship with her father is so bad that they haven't talked to each other for more than 20 years.  She doesn't keep contact with her siblings either.  Shopping was deferred to her manager and she doesn't go out much, according to various Japanese media outlets (for details, here's the article, though it's in Japanese).  In other words, she has become what the Japanese would call a Hikikomori (引きこもり), someone who has withdrawn from society.

As a fan, I certainly hope that she's living happily and healthily regardless of what life style she has chosen.

The other day, I was having dinner with J-Canuck in an Izakaya in Toronto.  We're talking about music that feels timeless and I gave "Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa" 飾りじゃないのよ涙は as an example.  Even now, when I listen to it, it still feels so fresh that it's hard to imagine it's from the 80s.  In my opinion, even if Akina had immediately retired after "Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa", she would still have been remembered as one of the most successful singers in the 80s, along with Matsuda Seiko (松田聖子).  For Akina, there's nothing to prove anymore.  Her place in Japanese pop music was already secured long time ago.  So, wherever you are, be happy, Akina-san!

Cheers! 乾杯！