Mizue Takada -- Onna Tomodachi（女ともだち）

 

The Nagoya sumo tournament is now halfway done, and it's usually been the case that the NHK program specializing on the Japanese sport, "O-Zumo Dosukoi Ken"（大相撲どすこい研...Dosukoi! Sumo Salon） gets at least one broadcast during a tournament. That was also the case this time around so last Friday, I got to see host/comedian Koji Imada（今田耕司）and commentator/stablemaster Nishonoseki（二所ノ関）who is former yokozuna Kisenosato（稀勢の里）explain the lifestyle within a typical sumo stable. Model and tarento Airi（アイリ）appeared as well, and she did have some special insights since she was raised in a sumo stable herself, being the daughter of sumo elder Araiso（荒磯）/former ozeki Wakashimazu（若嶋津）and pop singer Mizue Takada（高田みづえ）.

Well, we can segue then into Takada's discography once more. Another reason that I'm starting off this week's round of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" is that after writing about Maki Nomiya's（野宮真貴）1981 debut single, the New Wave "Onna Tomodachi" (Female Friend) the day before yesterday, I realized that there have been at least three songs with that same title. Along with the Nomiya single, Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）recorded her encouraging "Onna Tomodachi" for her 1982 "After Hours" album.

Then, there is the earliest "Onna Tomodachi" by Takada which was released as her 7th single in September 1978. Written by Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, Takada's "Onna Tomodachi" is not about a comical conflict of social classes as is the case in Nomiya's take and it's not about a woman taking care of her buddy after a sad romantic breakup in Takahashi's version. Instead, this fleet-footed aidoru kayo by Takada regards the crisis of a fellow potentially losing his female friend Machiko (for whom he has developed secret feelings) to another guy so that she becomes his girlfriend. The song got as high as No. 19 on Oricon. "Onna Tomodachi" was also a track on Takada's 3rd album "Dream on Dream"（ドリーム・オン・ドリーム）from February 1979.