Kidorikko -- Ukiyo no Koi（浮世の恋）

from J-Wiki

I don't consider myself someone who has a great appreciation for the arts anywhere in the world. I've heard of genres such as Impressionism, Brutalism (architecture) and ukiyo-e（浮世絵）, and I can imagine what they are, but couldn't give much beyond that. Especially with that last one which is one style of Japanese art that had its fine time hundreds of years ago but is still greatly appreciated today, I couldn't come up with any sort of analysis on a typical painting. It is iconic, though, in that if anyone on the street was asked about Japanese art, their mind would usually come up with ukiyo-e.

I'll let you watch the above episode of "Japanology Plus" with Peter Barakan or check out the link to Wikipedia's article on the subject to get a better insight on ukiyo-e. I knew that the term meant "pictures of the floating world", so my initial impression was that those relevant artists focused on fantastical sights for their works, but actually the paintings also depicted scenes of everyday life in Japan whether it be residents attending a kabuki performance or spending time at a sento. It's just that the style to bring the scenes to life was fantastical.

The reason that I've begun the Sunday round of KKP articles with something historically artistic today is that a few days ago, commenter Tae informed me of one of her favourite songs by the technopop band Kidorikko（きどりっこ）via her remarks under the article for their 1985 "Momoiro Kingyo"（桃色金魚）. She's mentioned that she's heard "Ukiyo no Koi" (Love in the Floating World) several hundred times; the song comes from Kidorikko's 2nd album "Ryukou Tsushinbo" (流行通信簿...Trend Report Card) released in 1987. Well, with that sort of numerically based endorsement, I just had to check it out myself.

Although I know that in all likelihood the members of Kidorikko: keyboardists and composers Kimitaka Matsumae（松前公高）and Ryuichi Sato（佐藤隆一）, plus vocalist/lyricist Chiyumi Ten（てんちゆみ）were responsible in the creation of "Ukiyo no Koi" as well as "Momoiro Kingyo", I couldn't help but do some analogizing with Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）, who had his own love with computers and music. Whereas "Momoiro Kingyo" by Kidorikko has that feeling of early 80s Sakamoto and his collaboration with Taeko Ohnuki (happy and quirky synthpop replete with Ten's cutesy baby voice), "Ukiyo no Koi" is Sakamoto later in that decade on the cusp between technopop and New Age music, and for this particular song, Ten delivers the lyrics in a far richer and dreamier fashion. Those lyrics also provide a scene of what I had always envisaged about ukiyo-e: an otherworldly paradise above the world of humans where eternity and love reside side-by-side.

Giving a rough translation: 

Silver scales from between my fingers

Spilling down spilling down

Dreams, dreams, distant dreams

Even if I'm tired of waiting, if it's love in the floating world

I'll be reborn and reborn

Over hundreds of thousands of years

Well, that is what I call patience, especially considering all that rapid-fire dating stuff that's been happening in bars and libraries these days. "Ukiyo no Koi" was also included in that 1989 merger of "Ryukou Tsushinbo" and Kidorikko's 1986 debut mini album, "C'est L'elegance na Tanoshimi" (セレレガンスな愉しみ...Enjoyment of This Elegance) known simply as "Kidorikko".