Dark Ducks -- Hotaka yo Saraba（穂高よさらば）

 

August 11th's Mountain Day is the newest national holiday in Japan although it's been around since 2016. I'm not sure whether people have been encouraged to climb their local geological protuberance tomorrow, but there are many Japanese citizens who have never needed prodding to hike up mountains. My old English circle has often scaled the local mountains as a hobby.

To commemorate the occasion then, I thought that a mountain-themed kayo kyoku would do. As such, I've managed to find this one by Dark Ducks（ダークダックス）, a vocal group that seems to be the experts at singing mountain songs according to this article that I wrote back in 2017. Ironically, they would retire in the same year that Mountain Day was first celebrated.

According to "World Folk Song", "Hotaka yo Saraba" (Farewell, Hotaka) is a song that was created back in 1944 by composer Yuuji Koseki（古関裕而）, a beloved songsmith who knew his way around the proud and intrepid melodies such as "Sports Show Koushinkyoku"（スポーツショー行進曲）. The same goes with "Hotaka yo Saraba" which sounds like a theme for the aftermath of a military campaign but the lyrics by Mitsuhiko Yoshino（芳野満彦）talk of a climb up beloved Mt. Hotaka, one of The 100 Famous Mountains of Japan that lies on the border between Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. One interesting point that I discovered was that Yoshino only came up with the first verse; after that, a number of different verses were written by actual mountain climbers so that the song could have different versions based on lyrics. I tried my best but I couldn't find out when Dark Ducks' version was recorded.

Speaking of holidays, the Obon Holidays are upon Japan now but the typhoons have been a problem over the past few weeks, and unfortunately Typhoon No. 7 or Typhoon Ran is now making a beeline straight toward the main island of Honshu. I've already been noticing events and reservations being cancelled, so I can only hope that all of my friends and relatives in Japan will stay safe.