Angela Aki -- Hajimari no Ballad（始まりのバラード）

 

In the past few days, the Japanese entertainment world lost a couple of notable figures.

Rakugo-ka comedian San'yūtei Enraku VI（6代目 三遊亭円楽）lost his battle to illness including lung cancer on September 30th a few days ago. He was 72.

I knew him simply as Enraku, and not being a fan of rakugo, I always saw him solely on Japanese television's 2nd-longest running variety show "Shoten"（笑点）on Sunday nights here and in Japan. He was the purple-garbed panelist during the ogiri session with that tanned complexion and the sly grin who had the silver and sharp tongue, often to skewer the host for no particular reason except fun. He had been away from "Shoten" for several months due to his health issues but since TV Japan's broadcasts of the program are a few months behind the ones in Japan, the show has been inviting guest comedians in Enraku's stead and usually letting him know that his place would always be open for him. Unfortunately, that will not happen now, and I can only imagine that there is a lot of grieving among the "Shoten" cast and his fans.

I got the news this morning from NHK, but former wrestler, entertainer and Parliamentarian Antonio Inoki（アントニオ猪木）passed away yesterday at the age of 79 due to systemic transthyretin amyloidosis. 

I didn't see him nearly as often as I did San'yūtei Enraku VI, but whenever he did appear, he always made quite the entrance. He had that epic theme song which accompanied him wherever he went (and I even wrote about it a few years ago); it was the song for such a big man in physical size and personality. He always had those loud greetings: "Genki desu ka?"（元気ですか...How are ya?）and "1, 2, 3, DAA!" to rouse up the crowd. As I was telling one of the commenters here, James, Inoki was the type of guy to either cheer you up or give you a slap across the chops to knock you out of the blues. A lot of his fans are probably wondering how they are going to get out of those blues right now.

Not that I would presume that this song would be the ultimate cure for fans of Enraku and/or Inoki feeling badly right now, but the message behind Angela Aki's（アンジェラ・アキ）lyrics in her "Hajimari no Ballad" (Ballad of Beginnings) is one of reassurance and encouragement for those in dark times who may feel that the tunnel never ends. The singer's 11th single from June 2011 is as comfortable as a warm blanket, and as someone who used to listen to his fair share of the radio back in childhood, there is something of the 1970s soft rock feel in the song. 

"Hajimari no Ballad" reached No. 17 on Oricon and was used as the theme song for the Fuji-TV drama "Namae wo Nakushita Megami"（名前をなくした女神...The Goddess Who Lost Her Name） back in 2011. The song is also included as a track on Aki's 5th album "White" from September of that year, and it reached No. 4.

My condolences go to the families, friends and fans for San'yūtei Enraku VI and Antonio Inoki.