Sunday, August 27, 2023

Fumie Akino -- Yakan Hiko(夜間飛行)

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I've mentioned in the past on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" that airports and harbours have often been the settings in kayo kyoku for romantic getaways and breakups. Now, I think that there is a subset of that in terms of time. Singers and songwriters have also appreciated the night flight. The expression yakan hiko (night flight) has been a term that I've read as song titles here and there over the years with one prime example being Junko Yagami's(八神純子)ballad of the same name from her 1979 album "Sugao no Watashi"(素顔の私). The technopop trio Perfume came up with the direct English title of "Night Flight". There must be something titillating and mysterious about getting on that plane in the wee hours.

All that above is due to the fact that I discovered this other tune called "Yakan Hiko" by Fumie Akino(秋野史絵). The mystery even goes beyond the concept of taking that night flight. For one thing, I couldn't find a single thing about Akino aside from the fact that her song had come out sometime in 1987. Secondly, I'm not proof positive that her given name has the right pronunciation because its kanji can be read in many ways and I couldn't find any confirmation on that because she doesn't have any presence on J-Wiki or the usual other sources. 

I did find out that "Yakan Hiko" was written by Isao Miyauchi(宮内功)and composed by Takumi Yoneyama(米山たくみ). The song itself, I think, occupies that amorphous zone between Mood Kayo and regular kayo kyoku so maybe it is another example of that New Adult Music that I've read about. The arrangement does weave about from a smoky and enigmatic tango to a medium-tempo pop tune. I realize that "Yakan Hiko" is most likely about that flight from Narita Airport but if I were to set this somewhere in Tokyo, I would select the tony district of Akasaka...at night, of course. As usual, if any readers out there have any data regarding Ms. Akino, please let us know.

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