Haruo Minami -- Otone Mujou (大利根無情)

"Y'know although I'm not that much of a Haruo Minami fan..."

Apparently, I said that on 20th September 2014 in my first article about Haruo Minami (三波春夫) on KKP. Oh, 2014 Noelle, that about aged as well as your initial opinion on Katsuhiko Haida. Well, maybe not nearly as extreme. Then again, the only one whom my opinion for has barely changed since day one is Yoshio Tabata. 

I wanted to do another Haru san appreciation post today since it's his 100th birthday today (19th July) and I'm all for being a little extra with the festivities. I featured an entry in his biggest chohen kayo-rokyoku project in my previous post, so this time, I thought I'd go a little further back in time before he went big on the concept of this fusion between modern and traditional. We'll go back to what seemed like its nascent stage via "Otone Mujou", which was also the very tune I featured in the aforementioned piece.

Since this article will also be heavy on my nostalgia, I had to put up the video performance of Minami I came across nine years ago that served as my introduction to him. It was from a music program "Big Show" (ビッグショー) from 1976 and it will always be the definitive version of "Otone Mujou" to my eyes and ears. The arrangement of Yoshiji Nagatsu's (長津義司) musical composition here is nice and full without being too rushed, making it menacing enough to match the older Minami's more forceful portrayals of the story's characters. 

On the note of story, we bear witness to the tragic tale of Miki Hirate (平手造酒). Based on the actual historical figure Mikame Hirata (平田三亀) and a character in the novel "Tenpo Suikoden" (天保水滸伝... Tenpo Water Margin), Hirate is often featured in the likes of rokyoku and enka. Recognized for toting around a large pot of sake and clad in black, the once talented swordsman under the Shusaku Chiba (千葉周作) dojo got thrown out due to his alcoholism and terrible behaviour, according to Kozo Futatsugi (二木紘三) in this article. After, he was a drifting drunkard before settling under the yakuza Shigezo Sasagawa (笹川の繁蔵), further damaging his reputation. He eventually met a gory death in a turf war between Sasagawa's and his rival's gang along the Tone river, but not before cutting down a few victims of his own (a highlight in the "Tenpo Suikoden").  

The original rendition

I'm still not as familiar with the nitty-gritty details of the tale (because it's A LOT), but Ryo Inomata (猪又良) seemed to have summarized Hirate's downward spiral within the three stanzas. Haru san temporarily stepping into the roles of secondary characters (I'm not sure who they are) in between does also seem to mark the story's focal points too: The first as one who mocks Hirate for serving a yakuza, the second as one who warns one called another to not underestimate Hirate. These interludes make "Otone Mujou" ever more foreboding, emphasized by Haru san's sinister and explosive deliveries. 

Speaking of Haru san's character portrayals, I love the later-day re-recordings and that 1976 live performance where the flamboyant singer cranks up the drama by screaming like a mad man before going about business as smiley usual. It was exactly how he captured my attention back when "I [was] not that much of a Haruo Minami fan". But the original 1959 version with a much more reserved Minami does have its merits too. The first interlude in particular made my skin crawl as he did that creepy villain laugh. 10/10 Haru san. Man, imagine him reading a bedtime story or doing a poetry reading. It'd be fire.

All that said, while I enjoy it, I'd say that I now wouldn't consider "Otone Mujou" within my top favourite Haru san works (2034 Noelle may fight me on this). But it will always have a special place in my heart as the first Minami song I listened to and the first time I was floored by such a riveting performance by a singer. 

To round this off this Haru san appreciation-nostalgia piece, I think a little Mrs. Minami (Yukiko Kitazume (北詰由起子)) appreciation is in order as well. After all, it was the both of them who made our Haruo Minami possible. It's pretty widely known that Mrs. M was the one behind that iconic kimono-wearing image, but as his feisty long-time manager, she also had a strong influence over her husband's work ethic and his performance displays. By that I mean that she often takes the wheel and they'd often butt heads, with Haru san usually being the one giving in. But, to her credit, she was also a talented and accomplished performer who did pretty much anything from shamisen to manzai before she married him, and her direction did garner resounding results. From the books, she seemed like quite a fun, albeit terrifying character, and I'm ever grateful for her efforts.

I forgot where I found this picture, but it's adorable :')

Again, happy 100th, Haru san! :D