Masahiko Kondo -- Yoisho!（ヨイショッ!）

 

It hasn't been quite a year since weathercaster Rinon Oshima（大島璃音）made her debut on Japan's "Weathernews Live", but almost as soon as she made her debut, she became a quick hit among the fans. Apparently, when she started her segment in December 2021, she allowed herself to quip "Yoisho!" which means "Heave-ho!" or "Upsy-daisy!" or "Here we go!" depending on the situation. 

Perhaps that might not mean much here, but kinda like having one's stomach growl in front of people, in Japan evidently, a young person caught squealing "Yoisho!" might be reason enough for the person to dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment. That certainly seemed to be the case for young Ms. Oshima. I was scratching my head a bit at that, but perhaps "Yoisho!" is something more an older person would remark on standing up with some arthritic knees. I also witnessed a similar situation in an anime when a young lady blurted out "Yoisho!" and it got some laughs from her senpai. If that is indeed the case, then what would a Japanese teen or twenty-something say instead?

Unfortunately, I have no idea at the present time, but heck, back in the 1980s, I guess it was OK for young folks to say this...such as aidoru Masahiko "Matchy" Kondo（近藤真彦）through his 16th single "Yoisho!" from February 1985. Composed by Hiro Nagasawa（長沢ヒロ）and written by Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）, the whole feeling behind another quintessentially dynamic Matchy tune is of a summer Japanese festival, but the setting involves a guy really ready for some aggressive romancing and/or busting of heads. And I get the feeling that Matchy's "Yoisho!" is probably more powerfully profane than merely "Upsy-daisy", but that's just me.

"Yoisho!" hit No. 1 on Oricon and ended 1985 as the 57th-ranked single. It also got Matchy his 5th straight invitation to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen at the end of the year.