Yoshio Tabata -- Amami Sodachi (奄美育ち)

 

Osu
Yukata & electric guitar is a
choice, but I'm here for it.

Among the fellas I love - *ahem No.5*, I noticed that the one that wears the most hats is Yoshio Tabata (田端義夫) - literally and figuratively. Sailor hat? Aye. A wanderer's sandogasa (straw hat)? No doubt about it. Mood Kayo and Jazz tux? For sure. Island yukata? Yessir. But among the numerous music themes he dabbled in, I'd say that the guitar-wielding singer was most synonymous with madorosu kayo and shima uta. 

According to Kotobank.jp, shima uta (not the song by THE BOOM) refers to minyo from the Southwestern islands off the coast of Japan. The ones I see surface most often in the contemporary music scene are those featuring Okinawa and Amami Oshima (Kagoshima), but maybe that's because they're popular vacation retreats. Maybe it's also because Batayan did A LOT of Amami-themed stuff and I've been listening to him A LOT - he's one of my travel companions when I make my hour and fifteen-minute journey to school eVeRy morning. The one everyone knows him for is his contemporary cover of the Amami shin minyo "Shima Sodachi" (島育ち) in the early 60s which got him out of his mid-career slump and further cemented his place in enka-kayo history. Whether it was simply the success of "Shima Sodachi", or whether Batayan loved the Kagoshima islands in general, or at least, grew to love them, or all of the above, a whole string of tunes revolving around Amami Oshima followed in the subsequent years. One of the many I uncovered was "Amami Sodachi" (Raised in Amami) from 1967.

I think I mentioned some time way back then somewhere that I greatly enjoy "Shima Sodachi" for its laidback vibe and tranquil imagery of the (sub?)tropical island. "Amami Sodachi", despite having a similar title to the former, sounds nowhere like it. Imagine you set foot on the island and a rowdy festival is in full swing: folks dancing about to the steady beat of the drum and the shrill flute piercing the heavens. The hearty kakegoe in the back only adds to the raucous atmosphere. That's "Amami Sodachi". In hindsight, its sound does feel reminiscent of actual shima uta. I say this because the tune is not a native folk song, but one created by prolific songwriter Minoru Endo (遠藤実) in the vein of one. I believe this is the essence of a lesser-known sub-genre called "shin minyo" (new minyo), where folk songs are produced by songwriters in record companies and do not originate from their source locales. Old or new minyo aside, I'm a big fan of what Endo did here and the modern twang of the electric guitar amidst the boisterous traditional instruments is a nice touch and makes it recognizably a Batayan number.  

Now, no tune I greatly enjoy comes without a set of words I like, be it meaning-wise or sound-wise. "Amami Sodachi" has both. Endo writes of a young native who daydreams about the day her special one will drop by to sweep her off her feet, or minimally send a missive, attributing her patience and faith to being brought up on the values of the island. Batayan's gentle and emotive delivery here wonderfully conveys our protagonist's innocent longing and even slight disappointment when she realizes that today's yet another day of nothing. I think my favourite stanzas are a strong tie between the third and fourth ones. Somehow, hearing Batayan utter those lines gives me... feelings.

It's a shame "Amami Sodachi" isn't one of his more popular shima uta. While the languid entries are pleasantly relaxing, sometimes one needs a number like this to get the day going.