Sachiko Kobayashi -- Mayoidori（迷い鳥）

 

Although "Uta Con"（うたコン）did come back from summer hiatus last week, that episode was just a clip show. Last night's episode was the full deal with a lot of singers coming back including enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）. Kobayashi had been persona non grata for a few years following arguments between her husband and NHK, so that tradition of her appearing on the annual Kohaku Utagassen in ever epic and increasingly large costumes which threatened to consume the Shibuya stage came to an abrupt stop.

Mind you, she's been showing up again in the last little while and her appearance last night included a history of her appearances on the Kohaku in those costumes, and sure enough, even though it was just a regular episode, Kobayashi and production team worked on a giant mockup of an Asian tiger with her in it while she performed her hit "Omoide Zake"（おもいで酒）. It may not have been as huge as some of her past costumes, but it was enough so that I am starting to wonder whether her appearance was a prelude to an invitation to return to this year's edition of the New Year's Eve special. Stay tuned!

"Uta Con" also showed some of her earliest appearances on the Kohaku before all of the huge costume stuff came to be including the very first edition that I had seen: the 31st edition back in 1981. Kobayashi came out looking out very stylish to perform her 33rd single from June that year, "Mayoidori" (Stray Bird). Migratory birds tend to show up in kayo kyoku as symbols of people having to go from place to place and therefore their ability to settle down with the love of their lives is severely curtailed. I guess that it's kinda like the analogy of two ships passing in the night.

Written by Kotaro Aso（麻生香太郎）, composed by former rockabilly singer Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃） and arranged by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, "Mayoidori" is a very cheerful and elegant enka talking about having that brief affair before parting for good but leaving residues of regret and longing. Dang, with that supremely beaming smile from Kobayashi, one would have thought that "Mayoidori" was all about a pleasant walk among the sunflowers.