Ichiko Fujii -- Allergy（アレルギー）

 

I've already declared that one of the very few things about Japan that I don't miss is the summers. Swimming through atmosphere for three months was never my favourite activity. One other thing that I also do not miss is hay fever season. I also suffered from that for about three months just before the three months of torrid heat and humidity. The supremely ironic thing is that I lived in Chiba Prefecture for seventeen years, the biggest source of cedar pollen in the entire nation. Sometimes I marvel that I lasted that long. 

Once more I bring you that preamble ramble to introduce "Allergy" by aidoru, actress and TV personality Ichiko Fujii（藤井一子）. I've seen her name all over the place but this is my first time bringing her onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus", so I bid her welcome. "Allergy" was Fujii's 5th and penultimate single from March 1988. Sounding like a song by Journey with the mix of pop and rock, it's a rumbling number about opposites attracting and repelling as a rough-and-tumble young girl might be falling for a fellow and needling him about it. As she says in the chorus, "I am your allergy!". Lyrics were provided by Masao Urino（売野雅勇）while Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロー）handled the melody under Hiroshi Shinkawa's（新川博）arrangement.

Fujii hails from Fukuoka Prefecture and made her debut in show business through a television drama in 1985 before starting her music career the following year. Along with those six singles, she also released two original albums up to the middle of 1988. She did some more acting up to 1990 and then left showbiz in 1991. She's now married with two kids with the family business being a mentaiko shop. Also, according to this online article, she recently set up her own Italian restaurant called Ichico Jam.