Ritsuko Kazami -- Kekkon Tekireiki（結婚適齡期）

 

Well, I've learned a new expression today: kekkon tekireiki which means "marriageable age" although the kekkon (which means "wedding") isn't needed for the definition to pass, according to Weblio. When I was teaching in Japan, I had a lot of single female students, a few of whom would joke around with me about the Japanese slang term known as a Christmas cake. Of course, Christmas cakes could be eaten on December 24th or 25th or earlier but those remaining on the Fujiya shelves past Xmas Day were seen to be old. And so, women who were older than 25 in Japan were seen to be old maids or past their prime so they were called (unsold) Christmas cakes which is frankly a whole lot of bunkum. I don't even think that the term holds much water anymore considering that I think that there are plenty of women in the nation who are more than happy to stave off marriage until they're well into their thirties.

Now, where did I learn about kekkon tekireiki? It was actually the title of a Ritsuko Kazami（風見律子）tune from her July 1987 album "Nouvelles"（ヌヴェル）. Kazami has often performed songs that fell under the City Pop umbrella, but this time, "Kekkon Tekireiki" has more of a technopop sheen arranged in either a light samba or rollicking bossa nova rhythm, thanks to composer Toshihiko Yamamoto（山本俊彦）who was actually one-third of vocal group Hi-Fi Set（ハイファイセット）with arranger Keiichi Oku（奥慶一）. Kazami provided the lyrics and delivered them in her delicately high voice.