We've got our long weekend right now with tomorrow (Monday) being a Civic Holiday and all. With Toronto going into August, we can look forward to events such as the Caribbean Carnival Grand Parade and the Canadian National Exhibition. Nights ought to be getting a little cooler, too.
Near the end of last month, I mentioned in the article for Momoiro Clover Z's（ももいろクローバーZ）"HOLIDAY" that my friend Scott had his usual "Holly Jolly X'masu" podcast with the theme being "Christmas in July". Now, "HOLIDAY" wasn't featured in the podcast itself but this article's song was, and I believe it was the first tune there.
"Hachi-gatsu no Christmas" (August Christmas) isn't really an Xmas tune per se although it has the romanticism that the Yuletide in Japan possesses in its role as a second Valentine's Day. Additionally, the recording artist here isn't usually a pop singer but an enka singer by the name of Akiko Ozawa（小沢亜貴子）. The singer from Nagano Prefecture released "Hachi-gatsu no Christmas" as a single commemorating her 15th anniversary in show business in April 2007. Written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ） and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）, it's a summery story about a woman reminiscing over the love of her life who has now departed her due to breakup or death. What stuck out to me especially was Sugimoto's arrangement of the song which hit me as something that the late Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）would create: a twangy 60s pop ballad.
I'd be interested in hearing some of Ozawa's enka material, but in the meantime, since it is also listed in her J-Wiki article, I'll mention some of her hobbies. She enjoys the shamisen, Japanese dance and min'yo songs and she is fluent in Mandarin. Her favourite colour is aqua and her favourite dish is tonkatsu.👍
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