Michiya Mihashi/Kouhei Fukuda/Kiyoshi Hikawa -- Haha Koi Fubuki（母恋吹雪）

 

It's been a few years since I've put up a Michiya Mihashi（三橋美智也）kayo so I thought it was time to bring back some of his enka.

"Haha Koi Fubuki" (Mother's Love in a Blizzard) is a 1956 single that Mihashi released under the aegis of lyricist Ryo Yano（矢野亮）and composer Isao Hayashi（林伊佐緒）. It's an enka that probably had tear ducts flowing as the story tells of a man very much at the end of his rope one wintry night with his hands wrapped tightly around the bottle and wondering whatever happened to his parents (and presumably his entire life) who hadn't been with him long before leaving him alone. The record was a huge hit for Mihashi as it sold two million records.

There were covers made of Mihashi's trademark song including one by current enka singer Kouhei Fukuda（福田こうへい）. His version was released in 2016 as a track on his "Akogare ~ Mihashi Michiya wo Utau"（憧 〜三橋美智也を唄う〜...Yearnings ~ The Songs of Michiya Mihashi）. Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）also provided his own cover in 2013 through the album "Hikawa Kiyoshi ~ Enka Meikyoku Collection 18: Shigure no Minato"（氷川きよし・演歌名曲コレクション18〜しぐれの港〜...Kiyoshi Hikawa: Enka Masterpiece Collection 18 ~ Late Autumn Harbour）.