Sakura Fujiwara -- Soup

 

I've learned to make my fair share of soups over the years because of my solitary lifestyle in Japan. My repertoire has ranged from tonjiru (Japanese pork soup) to good ol' minestrone and I quickly picked up the point that soups gain better flavour and depth when the ingredients are left alone to get to know each other over a day or so. 

There's a better than even chance that my night tonight will be filled with Kohaku Utagassen on the PVR so I'm getting this final KKP song for 2023 posted on the afternoon of December 31st. Maybe one or two of the other writers will write up something but my contribution ends here until I'm on the side of 2024.

Listening to the good folks at "Weathernews Live", I've managed to find out about another nice song from their "Weather Music" segment, and it's by a singer that has already gotten some acknowledgement on the blog. Last year, I noted about singer-songwriter and actress Sakura Fujiwara's（藤原さくら）"Watashi no Life"（わたしのLife）, her digital download single from March 2022. Well, this song was her debut single from June 2016, "Soup". Like any good soup, it's got a fair mix of interesting ingredients in the form of pop, country and folk, all genres that Fujiwara has dabbled in although in this case, actor-singer Masaharu Fukuyama（福山雅治）provided words and music. Fukuyama and Akira Inoue（井上鑑）worked together to arrange it. Lyrically, it's also about what a couple can add to their increasingly flavourful soup of a relationship over the years and decades. 

The collaboration between Fujiwara and Fukuyama didn't end there. "Soup" was also the theme song for the 2016 Fuji-TV drama "Love Song"（ラヴソング）which starred the two as a spring-fall couple. I don't know how the drama did, but "Soup" itself not only went to No. 4 on Oricon but it also went Gold and Platinum. It would end the year as the 71st-ranked single and become a track on Fujiwara's 2nd album as a major artist, "Play", which peaked at No. 5.

Anyways, thank you "Weathernews Live" for another lovely tip. And I must thank all of you out there, fellow KKP writers, commenters and viewers for checking in and supporting us throughout this year. There have been a lot of things that have happened in Japanese music, sad and good, in 2023, but once again, we've got a fresh new year coming in and hopefully we can continue the kayo kyoku journey together! Happy to say that we got to 1103 articles!

My Fantasy Pub Dinner

 

There was an article on December 12th provided by Noelle Tham titled "Noelle's Favourite Artists 2023" (我が推し達) in which KKP's resident expert on the early Showa era music spoke happily on her favourite artists from that time period. In the comments section below, she even half-jokingly challenged me to come up with something similar.

Well, I did give it the old college try over the past few weeks but the fact is that I believe I had come up with a number of my own favourite lists over the nearly dozen years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in service, so I had to be somewhat unconventional this time around. A few days ago, as I lay in bed, I did come up with one brain wave. There is a thought exercise which involves who one would invite to dinner, dead or alive but famous which could provide some insight to observers on what kind of person the thinker was.

Considering that this article is being typed on the final day of the year, I think I can afford to be a little more whimsical than usual. Initially, I had planned on making this a fairly big dinner in a proper dining room with a total of ten guests, but then I came to the conclusion that was simply not me because I've never been in that situation of a formal dinner outside of wedding receptions. Nope, my thing was simply having a few buddies and me head out to an informal place for brewskis and hearty pub fare. So my venue would be the Madison Avenue Pub right by the University of Toronto. I've been going there with friends since my days at U of T even before my first stint in Japan and although the place has gotten a bit frayed in the furniture department, I still enjoy going there. In fact, I went there back in late November to have lunch with a friend and I had those Chicken Parmigiana sandwiches, fries and gravy that you see at the very top. Yes, the potential cost was my cardiovascular system.

Anyways, I'm also keeping the number of guests small at the Mad, just three people and myself.

from Wikipedia

I'd first have music legend Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）since he looks like a beer-at-a-izakaya guy. Most likely, he would drink me under the table which admittedly wouldn't be too difficult for him to do. But the man since the 1960s has had his finger in just about almost every music genre pie in Japan. Obviously, his time with Yellow Magic Orchestra would especially be interesting but of course there are his experiences with Happy End and Tin Pan Alley in the 1970s and even his partnership with Miharu Koshi（越美晴）in Swing Slow in the 1990s among other projects.

Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）would also be welcome at the table. She's been around for half a century, providing listeners with a myriad of styles of songs, a lot of which have purportedly been inspired by her own listenings to other women on their triumphs and tempests. As with Hosono, I'd also be curious about her own thoughts on how music has changed around her over the past fifty years. Hey, and if she wants to bring her husband Masataka（松任谷正隆）, that would be fine, too. She doesn't have to worry, worry (inside Yuming joke).

Try as I might and I think Noelle will once again never let me live this choice down, but I just gotta have Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）at the table. She also loves her drink although I may have to dissuade her from pulling out a cigarette (as is the case in all restaurants in Canada, The Mad has no smoking). She can certainly give us the lowdown on what the aidoru scene was like in the 1980s and how she felt about making the transition from teenybopper idol to pop superstar. I saw her in some YouTube footage on a show with popular comedic duo Downtown and it looked pretty recent by all accounts. She looked completely fine and talked up a storm. 

But that is my modest little dinner. I may come up with another larger and younger guest list in the future, but let me ask everyone else about what their fantasy dinner would look like. Of course, what I really hope for is actually meeting up with all of my fellow bloggers here on KKP somewhere someday.

Mieko Hirota -- Kanashiki Heart（悲しきハート）/Yasuo Tanabe -- Kumo ni Kiite Okure yo（雲に聞いておくれよ）

 

First off, for everyone in Japan: 「新年あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします。」🎍

Here in North America, we're still in New Year's Eve and awaiting our own clock to strike midnight in several hours. It's been the usual December 31st with my family...quiet, getting things cleaned up and of course, I woke up this morning a couple of hours into the live broadcast of the 74th edition of the Kohaku Utagassen on NHK. Now, the thumbnail aside, I will give my own thoughts on the Red-and-White Song Festival when I get to see the whole she-bang over the next week or so and I have a feeling that a few more of us on the blog will do the same. However, to begin the final blogging on KKP for 2023, I'd like to go back in the Kohaku's history...60 years back, to be exact.

Yup, to keep within the theme of the New Year's Eve special, I'm heading back to the 14th edition at the end of 1963. It was a very different time and circumstances since the Kohaku that year scored an average rating of over 81%, the very peak of its popularity. In those days, there wasn't quite as much to do and see outside of the home as there is now, and music access wasn't nearly as widespread. 

For the 74th edition, we had this year's media darlings Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）and JO1 leading things off. However, according to the J-Wiki account of the 14th edition, that show's top two batters were teenage sparkplug Mieko Hirota（弘田三枝子）and new Mood Kayo singer Yasuo Tanabe（田辺靖雄）which is why I'm doing the two-in-one today. Hirota, who was coming to the Kohaku for the 2nd time, launched the show off with her rendition of Susan Singer's 1963 "Lock Your Heart Away", titled in Japanese as "Kanashiki Heart" (Sad Heart) and released in July that year as her 13th single with Kazumi Minami（みナみカズみ）handling the Japanese lyrics over John Schroeder's original melody.

As I said, she was quite the sparkplug with that 60s girl pop. She looked like she could rival Wild Child Suzuka of Atarashii Gakko no Leaders in spunk. 

Yasuo Tanabe is someone that I'd mentioned in his first article that has had quite the show business connections, including the fact that he is the son of Masaharu Tanabe（田辺正晴）who actually hosted the first two editions of the national network's Kohaku Utagassen on radio in 1951 and 1952. So I gather that he may have been quite nervous making his debut onto the special in 1963. He sang "Kumo ni Kiite Okure yo" (Go Ask the Clouds), a song written and composed by Seiji Hiraoka（平岡精二）and one of those finger-snapping jazz orchestral standards that were common back in the day. The song has been attributed to him but I haven't been able to find it as a single or even as a B-side in his own J-Wiki discography so perhaps it was on one of this early albums or J-Wiki simply forgot to add it in.

Anyways, I'll be seeing if I can catch the re-broadcast of the 74th edition later tonight.

Do! -- Ore to Omae（オレとおまえ）

From Wikipedia

 

Welcome to the 1100th article for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" in 2023. Not a day too soon either since New Year's Eve is tomorrow and frankly I don't think we'll ever reach this milestone again. However, I'm pretty content with that although I'll be happy with any extra articles that we put up before the year is nigh. Incidentally, according to the website iPublishing, numerology posits that the number 1100 asks that people be more self-aware and take responsibility for one's actions. Perhaps that would align with those New Year's resolutions that we often make and never follow. I for one will try to show more responsibility and not binge so much on Pringle's potato chips. Yeah...right!😜

Anyways, for our 1100th article, I'm going with the pop trio Do!. A few years ago, I first heard singer-songwriter Ryohei Yamanashi（山梨鐐平）on one of those "Light Mellow" CD compilations and then eventually learned that he used to belong to Do! along with Takaaki Fujioka（藤岡孝章）and Hideo Itagaki（板垣秀雄）between 1979 and 1981. During their run, they released 6 singles and 2 albums. You can take a listen to their exotic 1981 "Yoake made Tenshi"（夜明けまで天使）.

The only single that Do! released in 1980 was "Ore to Omae" (You and I), a gallant New Music tune with an arrangement reminiscent of a contemporized 1950s or 1960s style love ballad. It is indeed pretty laidback considering the rougher versions of the pronouns involved in the title but I take it that the folks in Fujioka's lyrics are a very close couple. Fujioka and Yamanashi took care of the melody with Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）arranging everything. 

Hakushi Hasegawa -- Kuchi no Hanabi（口の花火）

 

Wow! I'm not sure if they still make this but it sure brings back memories. Pop rocks were quite the thing when I was in elementary and junior high school. Put a handful of these in your mouth and they would set off those tiny explosions. 

I was reminded of the old candy when I first took notice of Hakushi Hasegawa's（長谷川白紙）"Kuchi no Hanabi" which directly translates into "Mouth Fireworks" but whose official English title is "Mouth Flash". A couple of years ago, I brought the singer-songwriter onto the blog with a couple of his works, the toy-heavy "Doku"（毒）and then the jazzier "Kusaki"（草木）. In both cases, there is a form of freewheeling avant-gardism in his songs and music videos.

Almost a half-year ago, Hasegawa put out "Kuchi no Hanabi" and this time, perhaps there's a bit of Okinawan in the beat or at least something subtropically tribal with some heavy percussion being thrown about. It's all melodic cacophony and I'll leave the website Songtell to provide the analysis of the lyrics. The video is entertaining with some roughly hewn anime characters, a visually creepy family and a dynamic dancer to interpret things.

Kaori Mizumori -- Hyuuga Misaki（日向岬）

 

Well, we're less than 24 hours away from the 74th edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen（紅白歌合戦）. It looks like the schedule has been finally established since the last news from its J-Wiki article was that they just held a dress rehearsal today. But maybe there could be some more surprises in store. Anyways, the show is ready to be PVR'ed on my device.

I've been taking a look at the lineup for the Red and White teams and yep, there is still some inkling of enka left on the show which I'm grateful for. The only enka song being performed on the Kohaku that I have yet to cover is the subject of this article, Kaori Mizumori's（水森かおり）"Hyuuga Misaki" (Cape Hyuuga) which was her most recent 33rd single from January this year. Now I know that as the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs (local or regional songs), she's maybe two prefectures away from completing her run to sing enka representing every prefecture, but I'm uncertain whether Miyazaki Prefecture, where Cape Hyuuga is located, is one of those two remaining prefectures. 

"Hyuuga Misaki" was composed by veteran Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）and written by Tsubasa Kazu（かず翼）who provided her first set of lyrics to Megumi Asaoka（麻丘めぐみ）in the mid-1980s but then it seemed that there was a lengthy break between that song and her work from the 2000s. Not surprisingly, the setting of the 5 kilometre stretch of coastline is there to provide Mizumori to mourn and reminisce about a romance lost.

Mizumori's appearance on the Kohaku tomorrow night will be her 21st. In the last few years, she had been taking over Sachiko Kobayashi's（小林幸子）tradition of appearing in epic costumes taking over the stage, but it appears that for No. 74, her performance will coincide with a domino-toppling challenge, perhaps along the same lines as her fellow enka singer Hiroshi Miyama's（三山ひろし）annual attempt to break/retain his Guinness world record with kendama. This could be quite the feat.

Anyways, enjoy the view of the cape via YouTuber hanagata mituru.

Mariko Takahashi -- Blues wo Kikasete（ブルースを聞かせて）

 

I've collected my fair share of Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）albums over the years but I don't have her September 1986 "Forest" so it's always nice to hear something new by the veteran singer-songwriter and musician. And seeing that we are now in the penultimate day of the year, it would be wonderful to start off with something mellow before the raucousness of New Year's Eve takes over. 

"Blues wo Kikasete" (Let Me Hear the Blues) is one of its tracks with Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）handling both words and music, and of course, Mariko lovingly delivers those lyrics as usual. The blues though is simply a request from the chanteuse and not the genre for the song which is very much in the pop category, albeit on a more refined level. I think the only thing that irked me was getting a little too much of that particular instrument near the end whether it was a pianica or an especially twee soprano saxophone. 

Still, I was surprised that it's over six minutes long. It certainly didn't feel that way so for the most part, the song was still enjoyable. 

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Kazuhiko Kato -- Just a Symphony（ジャスト・ア・シンフォニー）

 

Number: 038

Lyricist: Kazumi Yasui

Composer: Kazuhiko Kato

Arranger: Nick DeCaro

From Kato's 1991 album "Bolero California"

If I were to put all 100 masterpieces into a CD, I'd prefer to have "Just a Symphony" as the final track. Why I say this is "the ending is the beginning". As I listen to the melody which is like a full-bodied wine that has had the essence of all music melted into it, I feel like taking another new musical journey. It would be an absolutely splendid journey together with this song. I would also like to applaud the master chef, Nick DeCaro.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).

Rie Nakahara -- Revolution

 

Found this song by Rie Nakahara（中原理恵）on her 5th album from July 1980, "Heart of Gold". "Revolution", as the title would suggest, begins with an AOR guitar and percussion that sound very anthemic before a determined drum march comes in as if the singer were going off to war. But the majority of the song straddles the line between AOR and City Pop.

Written by Kaoru Asaki（麻木かおる）and composed by Masahiro Ando（安藤まさひろ）, the first leader of fusion band The Square, I have one observation about "Revolution". At certain points, Nakahara's phrasings remind me of the vocals of Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）, and her debut song, which wouldn't be released for another six years, was titled "My Revolution". Things that make you go hmmmm....😏

Ryusenkei -- San-go Sen（3号線）

 

I gather that Yumi Arai's（荒井由実）classic "Chuo Freeway"（中央フリーウェイ）has had a buddy route in terms of music for the past couple of decades in the form of "San-go Sen" (Route No. 3 Shibuya). By the way, this is a real part of an expressway in Tokyo, so for all of your City Pop driving tour needs, try Route No. 3 as offered by YouTuber wataken777 Part 2.

Continuing on, it's nice to hear from Ryusenkei's（流線形）"City Music" debut album from 2003 again. It's been a while. I recall posting an article about "Tokyo Coaster" from that release back in 2017 and well, I've got another one which is indeed titled "San-go Sen" that was written and composed by the leader Cunimondo Takiguchi（クニモンド瀧口）and has the sweet vocals of Tomomi Sano（サノトモミ） waxing romantically about the drive. And just like "Chuo Freeway", there is that feeling of 70s City Pop or New Music filtering through my brain.

Then in 2022, Ryusenkei decided to release a small album in August 2022 called "Incomplete" with former Kirinji（キリンジ）member Yasuyuki Horigome（堀込泰行）helping out. The band and Horigome worked on a cover version of "San-go Sen" as the first track with the latter taking over for Sano on vocals. The mellow funk of the original has been given a facelift into something jazzier and more refined. It's as if a young couple just driving in their sports car simply for the heck of it are now in a more expensive Toyota Cressida heading to that hard-to-reserve Italian restaurant in Aoyama. But they're still using Route No. 3.

Yuko Imai -- Day-Up Heart

 

I've seen my fair share of soap commercials on Japanese television although the one above seems to be back from the 1970s and perhaps inspired by the anime "Heidi" (was almost expecting Clara to suddenly jump out at the screen). That one is for Gyuunyuu Sekken（牛乳石鹸）which translates directly to Milk Soap which personally sounds better than the official English name of the company, Cow Brand Soap (potential slogan: Go ahead! Smell like a cow! Cow Brand!). 

Unfortunately I couldn't find the ad for which Yuko Imai's（今井優子）"Day-Up Heart" was used as a campaign song, and I only found out about the association through the YouTube commenters. But it's quite the snazzy jingle. A track from Imai's October 1993 album "Fun Fun Fun", it was written by Mayumi Hara（原真弓）and composed/arranged by Masahiro Ikumi（幾見雅博）, and it's interesting for the fact that it seems to have incorporated some of that 90s City Pop and a bit of 80s Eurobeat sound.

However, I should correct myself. According to the ad (which doesn't contain "Day-Up Heart") below, Cow Brand came up with a shampoo called Day-Up. The jingle still wins for bringing in that fresh up-and-at-'em sound to get ladies feeling the same way after washing their hair.

Hiroshi Murai -- Natsu no Kakurega ~ Weekend Resort（夏の隠れ家）

 

Entering the final weekend of the year, it's cold and dreary here in Toronto and I've heard that good chunks of Japan are buried under several centimetres of snow already. Well, if I can start the final Urban Contemporary Friday on KKP for 2023, perhaps I can provide a much better weekend respite, at least vicariously.

I first came across singer-songwriter Hiroshi Murai（村井博）back in September when I heard his scintillating "Hikigane"（鉄爪）from his June 1990 album "Natural". Have yet to listen to the entire album but what I got so far sounded as if City Pop was alive and kicking in his world, although the partial economic setting for the uber-genre was on the verge of collapse in that year or the next. And with this fellow track from "Natural", "Natsu no Kakurega ~ Weekend Resort" (Summer Hideaway), the good times imbued within City Pop just keep on rolling here, too.

Been a while since I referenced kaz-shin from "Music Avenue" and he actually reviewed "Natural" all the way back in 2009. He gave a very nice report on "Weekend Resort" by describing the melody from Hitoshi Haba（羽場仁志）and the arrangement by Greg Mathieson as exquisite while also loving the vocals by Murai himself. I can certainly agree with kaz-shin that it's become a quick favourite of mine and what is also pleasant is Hiromi Mori's（森浩美）work on the lyrics weaving a scene of utter contentedness at that titular resort wherever it may be; my guess it's somewhere in the Caribbean. She even pays a shoutout to the wonderful aroma of coffee brewing in the kitchen. Kaz-shin also compliments Abraham Laboriel's bass playing but I also want to give my love to the mellow horn section.

Well, perhaps the snowbirds from up here in the Great White North are actually enjoying some warm time down in Florida.

Akina Nakamori -- Nukumori（温り）

 

Happy to say that for what's probably the third year in a row, "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been able to reach 100 articles for one month, and thank heavens, it was for the final month of the year. Wasn't sure if we would be able to reach it but here we are. 

I was thinking about who and what I would post as the 100th article for December, and well, although Noelle will probably never let me live it down, I just have to go with good ol' Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）😆. I've been going more for her early B-sides in the last few years, since I've basically covered pretty much all of her A-side hits, and this choice is no exception. 

Nakamori's 4th single was "Ni-bun no Ichi no Shinwa"（1/2の神話）from February 1983 which was representative of what the lass was releasing in her early days with that tsuppari rock n' roll vibe. So, it was with some surprise listening to the B-side, "Nukumori" (Warmth) which is a very different song. Written and composed by Azusa Inoue（井上あづさ）and arranged by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）, it begins with a gliding string section hinting at some jazzy variety show-friendly ballad but then that familiar guitar of bossa nova comes in. We then get some slice of exotic kayo describing a woman's gradual acceptance that her former boyfriend has moved on in his life with a new love as well as accepting her own decision to move on while grateful for the past relationship. The nostalgia certainly rolls in like waves on the beach as I hear Akina-chan's original higher voice for balladry.

Anyways, onwards and upwards as we make out way to 1100 for the year. 

Swingout Sister -- Fooled by a Smile

From Good Free Photos

 

Going into the last few days of 2023, we are indeed going to be talking about the "last" of a number of things here, including the final Reminiscings of Youth article for this year.

I've opted for the sophisticated pop of Swingout Sister once more. Earlier this year, I tackled the band's "Twilight World" which went for a more mysterious 60s spy movie feel, but this time around, I'm returning to sunnier climes where they're concerned via their June 1987 single "Fooled by a Smile". Back to that vibe of breezy 60s romantic comedy, "Fooled by a Smile" is another one of my favourites by Corinne Drewery, Andy Connell and Martin Jackson. As I've frequently said, I'm always going to be a sucker for a battery of jazzy horns and Drewery's splendid vocals.

"Fooled by a Smile" only scored on the UK Singles chart at No. 43 and as I recall, I didn't hear much from Swingout Sister after "Twilight World" when I was still at university...which is a pity. I'm hoping that folks afterwards have been able to discover some of the wonders from their later singles and albums.

For this final ROY of 2023, what was also coming out in Japan as singles in June 1987?

Yoko Oginome -- Sayonara no Kajitsutachi （さよならの果実たち）

Teresa Teng -- Wakare no Yokan （別れの予感）

Shonentai -- Kimi Dake ni （君だけに）

Soft Ballet -- YOU

 

I was going through my issues of "Eye-Ai" magazine recently when I saw this article for the band Soft Ballet, and I remembered them simply for this photograph. They look rather theatrical and punk at the same time, don't they? Kinda/sorta approaching Nina Hagen or Klaus Nomi. Well, consisting of keyboardist/guitarist Maki Fujii（藤井麻輝）, keyboardist Ken Morioka（森岡賢）, and vocalist Ryoichi Endo（遠藤遼一）, they've been categorized on Wikipedia as synthpop, New Wave, electro-industrial, EBM and alternative dance.

Also according to Wikipedia, they were seen as underground pioneers of electronic music in Japan during the 1990s (their first run lasted between 1987 and 1995 with a second brief go from 2002 to 2003). However, I'm starting their file on KKP with "YOU", a single that was released in 1995 and a song that has the rock-techno ratio at about 8:2. Written by Endo and composed by Morioka, the song is about some really intense undying love for that special someone and there is something about "YOU" that has me thinking of bands BOØWY and Complex.

I like the underlying rhythm of "YOU" which was also a track on Soft Ballet's final album before the first breakup, "FORM", from April 1995. Next time, I'd like to explore something with a more even mix of that rock and techno.

The Love Unlimited Orchestra -- Rhapsody in White

 

In this current age of the Wild West of social media where folks can give out all sorts of rumours about the famous (whether they are true or not) through platforms like Facebook and YouTube, the following show of yesteryear may not mean much. However, back in the 1970s, it was apparently something quite intriguing.

What I'm writing about is the popular show "Terebi Sanmen Kiji Weekender"（テレビ三面記事 ウィークエンダー...TV's Page 3 Articles Weekender） which had a nearly 10-year run on NTV between 1975 and 1984. And as the title suggests, this Saturday night program was all about spotlighting issues such as some lurid crime stories that didn't make it to the front page but got on some of the back pages. 

The opening theme for "Weekender" was by The Love Unlimited Orchestra led by Barry White, "Rhapsody in White". I'd never expected that they would be up on KKP again after I featured them through a ROY article back on Halloween 2020 because of their famous "Love's Theme" from 1973. "Rhapsody in White" was released as a single in 1974 and like "Love's Theme" from the previous year, it's another epic disco anthem that doesn't bring back memories of the glitter ball and the sweaty dance emporia of the late 1970s. As one commenter so gloriously put it under the "Love's Theme" YouTube video (one of them anyways), TLUO has put forth something that deserves a classy late afternoon repast on board a cruise ship. Not sure how the producers ever came up with the idea to put this particular tune as a theme song for a sensationalistic news show but as it turned out, it probably helped lure viewers in.

Suiyoubi no Campanella -- Edison（エジソン）

 

To explain the above photo, (and nope, this time KKP AI representative Kayo Grace Kyoku isn't in there) I had meant to create a modern-day Thomas Alva Edison in a 21st-century dance club setting. However, the AI creator stopped me cold since I was breaking a rule, presumably one about involving a historical figure. Lesson learned. 

Now, the whole reason behind my attempt and hubris is that last night, I saw one of Japanese TV's signals that the current year is nigh. Namely, I watched the "Akashiya Kohaku", the NHK end-of-year special starring veteran comedian and TV personality Sanma Akashiya（明石家さんま）who brings in the latest popular singers and bands for 90 minutes of humourous talk (although at times, I wondered if it was more for Sanma to allow the musicians to bask in his glory).

It was good to see the show though because I was able to find out about singers and bands that I had never heard about such as rapper Awich and the rock band Super Beaver. Neither of them have been invited onto the actual Kohaku Utagassen which will be broadcast next Sunday night. But I got to see Suiyoubi no Campanella（水曜日のカンパネラ...Wednesday Campanella） in the form of singer Utaha（詩羽）for the first time in an interview setting and though she will also not be showing up on the Kohaku, I'm hoping that she will make it onto NHK's Shibuya stage next year or the one after. 

Her contribution to the show was "Edison" which was the coupling song to her February 2022 single "Maneki-neko"（招き猫）. It's another Suiyoubi no Campanella song of synthy dance catchiness and yep, the lyrics by Hidefumi Kenmochi（ケンモチヒデフミ）are about a modern-day Edison dancing and inventing things up in the 21st century. Considering his notorious anti-social behaviour in history, one would hope that modern-day Alva is a lot more well-adjusted and happier.

The other thing that I enjoyed about the song was the music video especially when Utaha demonstrates some crazy-legs dancing at her desk. For a few seconds anyways, I was wondering whether that was actually her doing it but the ending credits throw open the curtains to reveal that it was really pro dancer Miyu.

Maybe one of the greatest compliments that has been paid to Wednesday Campanella as it is now is from a commenter for the music video on YouTube. They indicated that when original vocalist komuai（コムアイ）had left, they assumed that was it for the group in terms of quality synthpop but Utaha has kept the good times rolling. To be honest, when I first saw and heard Utaha, I'd just assumed that komuai simply opted to change her looks.

MAISONdes feat. EMA and Tanaka -- Dance Dance Dada（ダンス・ダンス・ダダ）

 

Back in the spring and summer, I posted a couple of articles featuring the pop collective MAISONdes that fashions itself as an apartment building whose residents consists of assisting singers and musicians and their songs. The two articles focused on the theme songs that the apartment tenants made for the new anime version of "Urusei Yatsura"（うる星やつら）in 2022 and 2023.

Well, this time I'm going back a bit further in MAISONdes' history and unlike the synthpop of the "Urusei Yatsura" themes, I found myself in tiny dance club Unit 103 right on the ground floor where vocalist EMA (one half of the pop duo Dustcell) and male rapper Tanaka（たなか）"resided" to put out "Dance Dance Dada" in June 2021. Tanaka's lyrics are a bit out there (as part of the title "dada" would suggest) and I gather that it's an existential dance club we may be talking about here, but the melody, also by Tanaka, is pure R&B bliss. Kinda brings back the old days from the early 2000s when it comes to J-R&B. 

Enjoy the visit to Unit 103 and don't forget to bring something like cookies. One should never go to a house empty-handed.

Pink Sapphire -- Go-banme no Kisetsu（5番目の季節）

 

I was only informed about this just some minutes ago, but one of the commenters let me know in my previous article that the guitarist for the band Pink Sapphire, Takako Suzuki（鈴木孝子）, had passed away on December 12th 2023 at the age of 56 from cancer. The commenter left me a Facebook link but I also have a link to "Sports Hochi" which posted the obituary on December 22nd. 

Over ten years ago, I posted the first Pink Sapphire article on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" to talk about this female rock band that I had first noticed through their music video for the zooming "P.S. I Love You" from over thirty years ago. The song and the band provided me with one of my tentpoles of music during my time on the JET Programme in Gunma Prefecture.

I'd like to then post this coupling song to "P.S. I Love You", "Go-banme no Kisetsu" (The Fifth Season) which was composed by Pink Sapphire bassist Miki Ishida（石田美紀）and written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）under her pen name of Airin（亜伊林）. It's a song of trying to cure oneself of a heartache by finally coming through with those feelings. I'm not 100% on my interpretation of Miura's lyrics but I think the couple involved here had been going through some inevitable sturm und drang before the emotional floodgates finally burst.

My condolences go to Suzuki's family and friends as well as the fans of Pink Sapphire.

Gawr Gura -- Magic Ways

 

It was in the middle of last month that I brought in a couple of VTubers, Houshou Marine（宝鐘マリン）& Gawr Gura（がうる・ぐら）, and their original Neo-City Pop song "SHINKIRO". I've never gotten into the whole virtual YouTuber phenomenon, but hey, I have to admit that the City Pop was the hook for me. Plus the article led indirectly to the introduction of KKP AI representative Kayo Grace Kyoku.

So I guess due to the number of times that I've seen and listened to "SHINKIRO" in recent weeks, I've also been getting my fair share of recommended YouTube videos for these VTubers doing their own karaoke. Therefore, just to add to the Gawr Gura file at least, I've done a follow-up on Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）fun and footloose and fancy-free "Magic Ways" from 1984 with Gura herself taking the vocal reins. Not sure whether VTubers' favourite shark has officially given a recording of "Magic Ways" onto CD or digital, but she does a great job with the song, even injecting a bit more soul into the proceedings. The year by the way is just when the YouTube video was posted.

Minyo Crusaders -- Kaigara Bushi（貝殻節）

 

Over the dozen years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been in existence, we've been able to amass quite a few examples of minyo or the traditional folk songs of Japan. However, I have to admit that probably among the genres represented in Labels, minyo is probably one of the smallest in number of articles. Usually known for their usage at the many annual festivals across the country, there are minyo associations which have been trying to keep those songs alive and I know that there is a monthly show on NHK, hosted by former TOKIO leader Shigeru Joshima（城島茂）, which showcases minyo through many bands.

One such folk song that I've learned about recently is "Kaigara Bushi" (The Shell Song). As is often the case, when the minyo originated has been lost to antiquity but according to Wikipedia, it did come from Tottori Prefecture and was the work song for fishermen in the area as you can hear above.

Another way that people have been trying to spread the appeal of minyo further is through putting in other music elements into the genre. Maybe it would be like adding that spritz of vodka into orange juice to make a screwdriver. In this case, our bartender here is the group Minyo Crusaders（民謡クルセイダーズ）who have shaken jazz and Latin into minyo to create this new take on "Kaigara Bushi", and although I can imagine there may be people who feel that this reworking invalidates minyo, I feel that vocalist Freddie Tsukamoto（フレディ塚本）and his band have made a pretty refreshing cocktail here. In a way, it sounds like Orquesta de la Luz jumped into a summer festival's musical offerings. Perhaps hearing this version could have the new converts looking back at the originals.

Minyo Crusaders first formed in 2012 with their debut album, "Echoes of Japan" coming out in 2017. Their version of "Kaigara Bushi" can be found in their latest release, the album "Tour of Japan" which hit the shelves last month. 

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Chigiri Akiyoshi -- Unmei no Tobira（運命の扉）

 

Happy Boxing Day! I don't personally take part in the mad dash for sales at the shopping malls but hopefully some of you have found some good products for those low, low prices, and at the same time, given some lunch time business to restaurants. For me, I'm just tuckered out from seeing, reading and hearing about all the consumer craziness, and there's nothing that I've really wanted to buy during Boxing Day.

Anyways, to begin this final week of the year between Christmas and New Year's, commenter Robert informed me some days ago about a singer-songwriter by the name of Chigiri Akiyoshi（秋吉契里）. I'd never heard of her before but Robert felt that her short discography was worth exploring. One suggestion he had was the above song titled "Unmei no Tobira" (Destiny's Door) which was the final track of her debut album "Sonzai"（存在...Existence） from December 1997.

Written and composed by Akiyoshi, this is a ballad with that touch of country blues as she heartfully sings about not losing hope and gaining reassurance from friends. That titular door can appear and open to new possibilities. Akiyoshi's vocals reminds me a bit of ZARD's singing back in the day.

Akiyoshi began her career in early 1997 and released a total of two albums and seven singles up to 1999. Sadly, she would lose a battle with cancer in September 2004. Although her birth date was never revealed, it's assumed that she passed in her mid-30s.

Talk Talk -- It's My Life

 

So, how is that post-Xmas dinner digestion doing by you? Sleepy from all the turkey? We had ours tonight but thanks to a cup of strong coffee and a really good Strawberry Dream Cake, I'm still doing quite well. Not feeling really sleepy but I figure that within an hour, all that sugar and caffeine are going to wear off and I'll simply collapse like an old lung.

Anyways, I had assumed that the article on the final Xmas article for KKP's Christmas season 2023, EPO's "Twinkle Christmas" would be the last one for today. However, I realized that I had to complete my other tradition of putting up a Reminiscings of Youth article on a national holiday, and after all, since I'm filled with beans (or what used to be beans) at the moment, I might as well do something danceable because I'm vicariously needing to dance it up as we enter the final week of the year.

I am talking about Talk Talk's big hit "It's My Life" from January 1984. Yup, we're fast approaching the 40th anniversary of its release and I remember it first of all for its strange video featuring the late vocalist Mark Hollis at the zoo as it looked like a nature documentary was going all New Wave and dance remix on me. I always loved Hollis' haunting delivery and the combination of synths/percussion banging away, and in fact, I was looking for its remix version on the dance remix radio shows of my youth. 

"It's My Life" hit No. 31 on Billboard Stateside although it hit the top spot on the dance charts down below. Meanwhile in Canada, it peaked at No. 30 and in the band's native Great Britain, it did a modest No. 46, although I read on its Wikipedia article that it did get a third lease on life and reached No. 13 when it was reissued in 1990.

Dance your dinner away please! Anyways, I'll give you Nos. 8, 9 and 10 from the January 1984 Oricon weekly chart.

8. Seiko Matsuda -- Hitomi wa Diamond （瞳はダイアモンド）

9. Rumiko Koyanagi -- Ohisashiburi ne (お久しぶりね）

10. Tomio Umezawa -- Yume Shibai （夢芝居）

EPO -- Twinkle Christmas

 

It was exactly a month ago that we launched the 2023 Xmas season at "Kayo Kyoku Plus" and the first official song was EPO's "Shiroi Machi Aoi Kage"（白い街 青い影）, so I think it would be appropriate if we ended the season with another EPO Xmas song.

First off, let me give some quick background information such as the above video by Karafuto Channel（樺太チャンネル）on YouTube. It shows the department store Le Trois（ル・トロワ）which is a local establishment in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

Well, Le Trois used to be the MALSA Department Store back in the 1980s and as a commercial jingle of the season for it, EPO wrote and composed a special song, "Twinkle Christmas". I found out about it for the first time on Scott's "Holly Jolly X'masu" podcast for the MIDI album compilation "Winter Tales 2" from 1992. On the podcast, it begins at 27:49 and Scott gives an interesting story about "Twinkle Christmas" since it was never officially a part of EPO's discography, and in fact, until "Winter Tales 2" was released, the only way that any EPO fan could get a copy of it was through somehow tracking down a promotional copy of the song that had never been meant for release in the stores.

With EPO handling the songwriting duties, the arrangement was left to Sapporo native Yasuharu Konishi（小西康陽）who had just begun Pizzicato Five, a group that was still some years away from becoming the Shibuya-kei darlings of the world. "Twinkle Christmas" has got quite the bouncy beat that had me thinking of ol' show-timey performances on television. The melody is upbeat but Scott mentions that the lyrics aren't all that happy since a woman is waiting for a Prince Charming with all of the Xmas frills in her apartment but in reality, everything is all in vain. So, basically skip happily to the traditional supermarket floor of MALSA and then end up picking up a Cup O' Noodle for one over there.

In any case, let's not all fret about that. Personally, I've got a turkey breast roasting in the oven right now with family coming over in a couple of hours. And I'm certainly hoping that all of you will continue to enjoy your Christmas as well. We'll see what happens next Xmas season with a potential new batch of J-Xmas tunes.

Ah, as a PS, this is the 1080th article for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" this year so we've just broken another record set last year with the largest number of articles in any one year. Perhaps we can go for the big 1100 by the end of 2023!

Shoko Inoue -- Merry X'mas wo Agetai （Merry X'masをあげたい）

 

Singer-songwriter Shoko Inoue（井上昌己）is someone that I have written about in the past. This was specifically in September 2016, when I provided the article on her 5th single "Kamisama no Mystique"（神様のミステイク）from May 1990. 

Well, jump ahead several years here on KKP and several months ahead in her own discography. This is her 9th single from November 1991, "Merry X'mas wo Agetai" (I Want to Give You a Merry Christmas), and as written by Katsuya Koga（古賀勝哉）and composed by Inoue herself, the underlying rhythm kinda hearkens back to another more famous J-Xmas tune. However, unlike that tune and for that matter, "Kamisama no Mystique", it's all love and positivity here as a couple enjoy their first Xmas together starting with that fancy dinner.

The way it's all structured, I think "Merry X'mas wo Agetai" would have made for a wonderful campaign song in a TV commercial. Maybe it actually was. However, I know that there was a music video for it as shown below.

Hiroko Yakushimaru -- Christmas Avenue（クリスマス・アベニュー）

 

Ahhh...yes, the equivalent of "Teen Beat" in Japan, "Myojo"（明星）also has their Xmas issues. Kinda wonder what the magazine looks like now.

As with any town or city in many parts of the world, there is plenty of Christmas illumination and other decorations adorning the streets. One place that I've enjoyed viewing is actually a little north of us here. It's called Unionville and during the Holidays, it gussies itself up into basically the ideal Christmas town as you can see from the video by Intuitive Imprints. Heck, watching this, I wouldn't mind pulling up stakes and moving over to the community myself although I think realistically one would need a car to get around.

Coincidentally, singer-actress Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）was singing about the same thing basically when she recorded "Christmas Avenue". It is a track on her August 1985 2nd album "Yume Juuwa"（夢十話...10 Dreams） and I've already written about the album that I have on audiotape but at the time, "Christmas Avenue" wasn't up on YouTube apparently. Well, it's up here now and this time around, this whimsical J-Xmas number has nothing to do with partying or romantic wonders/breakups, it's just about Hiroko enjoying that pleasant walk down the (Unionville) street around the Holidays. Can't be beat.

Written by Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, composed by Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）and arranged by Kazuo Shiina（椎名和夫）, "Christmas Avenue" is a pop song that has that hint of old-style variety show jazz standard within it. I could imagine if Hiroko had ever performed this on TV or stage, she would have been accompanied by a bunch of dancing folks in candy cane or penguin suits.

Nanatsuboshi -- Juu-ni-gatsu no Tokubetsu na Yoru（12月の特別な夜）

 

Merry Christmas to everyone out there. Hopefully, folks are waking up to happy family, friends, good food and a joyous occasion...the occasional turkey leg and hot chocolate are welcome too. Perhaps many Japanese families have enjoyed their Kentucky Fried Chicken and Fujiya shortcake in the last several hours. 

Being December 25th and all, this is the final day for the J-Xmas season on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" so I would like to bring out the remaining seasonal songs beginning with Nanatsuboshi's（ななつ星）"Juu-ni-gatsu no Tokubetsu na Yoru" (A Special Night in December). Now, back on December 1st, I mentioned about this mystery merging of aidoru trio Lip's, another aidoru trio called Rakutenshi（楽天使...Happy Angels） and aidoru Rumi Shishido（宍戸留美）to form this unit Nanatsuboshi（ななつ星...Seven Stars） which not only eschewed any media exposure but even a few members of this septet admitted that they hadn't even come together for recording. In fact, the article where I mentioned Nanatsuboshi doesn't even have Nanatsuboshi on the byline; it's actually just Lip's who provided an Xmas tune, "Splendid Love (in December)" for the December 1990 Nanatsuboshi album "Seiya Nanatsuboshi"（聖夜七つ星...Holy Night Seven Stars）.

OK, deep breath here. 😤 A month before the album's release, there was a one-and-only single by Nanatsuboshi titled "Ribbon Musubi no Waku Waku"（リボン結びのWAKU WAKU...Ribbon-Tying Excitement） that actually had all seven aidoru participating if not at the same time and place. The coupling song is what I wanted to start off the Christmas Day edition of KKP, "Juu-ni-gatsu no Tokubetsu na Yoru". Written by Chiroru Yaho（谷穂ちろる）, composed by Tsukasa and arranged by Nobuyuki Shimizu（清水信之）, the song is a lightly soulful and mellow number tenderly delivered by all involved. As the title would suggest, it emphasizes the second Valentine's Day aspect of a Christmas in Japan with much love a-plenty. I figure this couple is probably aiming for something higher than the usual KFC and Fujiya.

Kiyohiko Ozaki -- White Christmas

 

Let's imagine that the live-action Kayo Grace Kyoku is spending some Christmas time in a bar which is obviously well stocked. I don't drink a whole heck of a lot but one of the things that I've always wanted to do is spend a pleasant evening in a classy bar during the Holidays while a jazz trio is performing for the customers.

For the last article of Xmas Eve 2023, I'd like to offer the late great Kiyohiko Ozaki（尾崎紀世彦）as he gives his jazzy and soothing rendition of the classic "White Christmas". I don't know when this footage was originally filmed and I'm not even sure whether Ozaki had even recorded his version of the song on any of his albums in the past, so I'm just placing it as a 2023 number. This would be the "White Christmas" I'd like to hear in that bar.

I'm surprised that I hadn't done it earlier but here is Bing Crosby's original "White Christmas" as he sang it in the 1942 "Holiday Inn". Anyways, wherever you and whatever you are doing, I hope that all of you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas.🎄

Merry Christmas from Kayo, too!

Masamichi Sugi -- Christmas no Wedding（クリスマスのウェディング）

 

Last month in November, I covered Masamichi Sugi's（杉真理）"Saigo no Merry Christmas"（最後のメリー・クリスマス）which turned out to be the unofficial first Xmas song that we covered on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" this year about a week early, after which we let Yutaka Kimura give his two cents on the matter. We both agreed that the fellow mentioned in the lyrics was going to have his worst Christmas.

Happily, Sugi must have learned that not all Xmas tunes have to be about breaking up which is really hard to do. Instead, he went all the way to the other end of the spectrum with his "Christmas no Wedding" (A Christmas Wedding) which has a couple enjoy the most significant day in their lives with Christmas Eve nuptials. Once again, Sugi was behind words and music which is appropriately twinkly, chaste and reassuring. "Christmas no Wedding" is a track on his 10th album "Ladies and Gentlemen" from October 1989.

There was a period while I was living in Japan when weddings involving friends and family were occurring almost once a year. I can't say that I was able to attend an Xmas wedding but I was lucky enough to go to a wedding held in Nagoya, and Nagoyans really have huge reception parties. Bring an empty stomach if you've been fortunate to be invited to one.