As I may have intimated before, enka and Mood Kayo have been traditional genres that I've only accepted into my music sphere in the last decade or so. However with age, nostalgia and the writing of this blog, I have come to appreciate them and the singers associated with them. One prime example is veteran Hiroshi Itsuki who has a variety of talents: he can sing enka and Mood Kayo, play multiple instruments, be suave and down-to-earth depending on the situation and has loads of charisma. Well as such, I do have a few of my favourites by him.
(1971) Yokohama Tasogare（よこはま・たそがれ）
(1982) Aishitsuzukeru Bolero （愛しつづけるボレロ）
(1982) Izakaya （居酒屋）with Nana Kinomi（木の実ナナ）
(1973) Furusato （ふるさと）
(1985) Soshite....Meguri Ai （そして。。。めぐり逢い）
And he's a really good impressionist. Just as Masako Mori was the best female impressionist of that era, so Hiroshi Itsuki was the best male impressionist, both being vocal chameleons.
ReplyDeleteHello, Jim. By chance, would you know anything on YouTube showing this ability by Hiroshi?
DeleteI can't find the video now, but there was one (hosted by Croquette) where there were clips of 70s singers doing impressions, the first half dominated by Hiroshi Itsuki, with the second half being entirely Masako. Itsuki was particularly enthusiastic about dressing up as well as doing vocal parodies.
DeleteWell, first and foremost, Itsuki and Mori are entertainers. I'm sure they loved doing the impressions. I saw Itsuki once stuff puppies down his pants for a laugh on a variety show.
DeleteHello, I love your blog!
ReplyDeleteWhile looking at the release dates of Japanese songs from the 70s and 80s, I noticed some days of the month being vastly more popular, such as the 5th, the 21st, and the 25th.
For instance according to the Japanese Wikipedia, of the 60 singles by Hiroshi Itsuki between 1971 and 1989, 18 were released on the 25th, 16 on the 1st, 12 on the 5th, and 14 on all the other days combined.
Have you noticed this, and do you have any idea as to why such a trend would exist?
The only part I can understand is the 25th, which I believe corresponds to the usual Japanese payday, and the 1st - the very beginning of the month, which could be somehow advantageous.
Hello, Mr. Ofu and thanks for your kind comments. To be honest, I never noticed the pattern in the release dates during Itsuki's career. I can only assume that they may have something to do with the tradition of lucky/unlucky days on the Japanese calendar. On a rotating basis, there are days that will be seen as very lucky and very unlucky and everything in between. The following site explains this in more detail:
Deletehttps://www.seiyaku.com/customs/rokuyo.php
I actually considered rokuyō already, and it doesn't seem like there's a connection.
DeleteLooking at the 60 Itsuki singles again, 6 were released on senshō, 9 on tomobiki, 13 on senbu, 10 on butsumetsu , 11 on taian, and 11 on shakkō, so the lucky days weren't more common.
Looks like this post was pretty popular!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mean Itsuki is a living legend and all, but even I was surprised by the number of comments.
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