Rikōran/Hamako Watanabe/Akira Matsudaira — Hōrī Jun Zairai/Heri Jun Zailai (何日君再来)

Disclaimer: Because this is an extremely well-known song internationally with many covers in various languages, I have chosen to only feature the versions from the Showa teens by Japanese* ryukoka singers to narrow the article’s scope. Also, I'll use the Chinese and Japanese titles relatively interchangeably, but will mainly refer to it in Japanese, unless I'm talking about the Mandarin version.

Oh, boy, “Heri Jun Zailai”, or “Hōrī Jun Zairai” (its Japanese pronunciation). It takes me way back to my formative years. I was always told about how its title was a seed of controversy during the 2nd Sino-Japanese War because of how the character 君, meaning something like “young gentleman” sounds the same as 军/軍, meaning “soldier”. Put 日 and 军 together and you get “Japanese Soldier”. The rest of the title translates to “When will ___ return?” You see why it was/is a spicy subject? Yet, from what I’ve briefly read recently, it was a sentimental love song originally written by Chinese songwriters (Bei Lin and Yen Lu) for a Chinese audience in Shanghai without this twisted meaning.

Anyways, as an empty-brained child far-removed from the terrors of history, the title controversy was just a tidbit of song trivia from Mom. In hindsight, I wonder if that trivia did unwittingly stain the song in my mind unconsciously. Still, I also never really thought to listen to “Heri Jun Zailai” even though I had an inkling about its vast popularity. I, however, have this very, very vague memory that I may have checked out Aska from Chage and Aska’s version. My impression was that it was a slow ballad and I wasn’t too into it. And so this impression stuck for over a decade. I only reconnected with the tune just last year when reading "Songs of the Empire: Continental Asia in Japanese Wartime Popular Music" (2003), a dissertation by Edgar Pope on Tairiku songs/Tairiku mono (大陸もの)/China Melody, and Chinese exoticism in Japanese pop music during the early 20th century. For context, Tairiku mono was a term used for kayo featuring mainly the theme of China from around the late 1930s to the early 1940s. Pope mentioned that it eventually came to include other parts of Southeast Asia when Imperial Japan moved down into the region. However, I think it’s generally understood that Tairiku mono equals China-themed kayo. 

Same, Akira-san
From "松平晃、ミス・コロムビアらが参加した、
コロムビア芸術団の慰問風景を収めた貴重映像！"

I have a strange affinity for Tairiku mono, hence my excitement in reading a full-blown dissertation on the topic. My grandfather, however, would probably give me the stink eye because, as Pope very clearly showed in some songs, many of them were pieces of exoticism that were produced as a result of Imperial Japan's further encroachment into the Chinese continent. Some of them were meant to enchant/convince Japanese listeners about the potentials of the new lands and contained a truckload of (racist) stereotypes. That’s not to say that there weren’t songwriters who wrote Tairiku mono because they were truly impressed by the culture and hoped to actually bridge the gap between China and Japan via music, though. Many were made to fit current events and were a likely way to ensure safe passage through the censors. I think many of these Tairiku mono are wonderful songs as they are, so it is regrettable that they have a dark history attached to them.

But, tangent aside, when you talk about popular “Chinese” songs in Japan at the time, one can’t do without “Hōrī Jun Zairai”. What I most vividly remember reading in Pope's was him describing the melody as having a tango flavour. Another thing about me is that I really enjoy kayo/ryukoka that are tango-inspired (tango-cho). Its snappy rhythm often giving a more dramatic flair and romantic atmosphere to the song. Combined that with a Tairiku mono? *Cue Takehei Hayashiya (林家たけへい)* Tamaranai. I mean, one of my favourite songs is literally called “China Tango”. So, learning that prewar “Hōrī Jun Zairai” was of tango-cho piqued my interest greatly and shattered the impression of it being a slow ballad. 

Ohama-san's version

Since I was reading about Tairiku mono, I figured I go with the Japanese version for Japanese audiences. The version I first picked to (re)listen to “Hōrī Jun Zairai” was the version from none other than the Queen of China Melody, Hamako Watanabe (渡辺はま子). In the Japanese version, the song's words were mostly translated into Japanese save for the titular, "Heri Jun Zailai" at the end of each stanza. This translation was done by Tsuneo Nagata (長田恒雄). Ohama-san's delicate soprano expresses our protagonist's bittersweet memories of the lover with whom (she) parted with, and hoping that (he) would soon return. The beautiful and languid accordion-filled tango-inspired melody makes (her) longing even more palpable. Minus the historical context, this perhaps feels like your typical long-distance relationship angsts fit for any time period. With the historical context, I reckon it could be read as a soldier leaving his loved one after being sent off to war. I have a darker interpretation to fit the period's situation, but I do not want to mar this song any more than it already has been, so I will leave it at that.

Excerpt from "Byakuran no Uta"

Anyways, Ohama-san's version actually came a little later as Japanese-Chinese film and music star Rikōran (李香蘭), a.k.a. Yoshiko Yamaguchi (山口淑子), had recorded it in Mandarin first for a Japanese audience. Even earlier, it was originally recorded by Chinese songstress Zhou Xuan (周璇), but for the domestic Chinese market. According to Pope, Ri's rendition was released in Japan in April 1939 and seemed to be quite the sensation. From the video above, even popped up in the Japan-Chinese "friendship" *ahempropaganda* film (Kokusaku eiga) "Byakuran no Uta" (白蘭の歌) which starred Ri and Kazuo Hasegawa (長谷川一夫) from November 1939, the former playing a Chinese woman who fell in love with a Japanese railway engineer played by the latter.  

Ri's original recording

Ri, known for her fluency in both Japanese and Mandarin, was the poster girl for Japan-China relations back in the day (at least), so it was not surprising that she was made to sing "Heri Jun Zailai". The video here features her fully Mandarin version from 1939. As Pope also noted, the original lyrics by Bei Lin differed slightly from Nagata's Japanese translation, wherein the couple in the song have yet to part and are having one last night together. It includes Ri's spoken dialogue which is actually the protagonist's lover happily telling her to not be upset and offers her drinks/a toast over dinner. However, the singer's soft delivery going, "When will you return?" just shows that the jolly toasts are simply a façade. Comparing the versions I've talked about so far, putting aside the language difference, Ohama-san's version somehow gives off a more angsty edge, as compared to Ri's, whose gives off a slightly more melancholic vibe. Perhaps its the even slower tempo and a simpler arrangement similar to the very first recording by Zhou.

Ri's latter day (?) recording

I also came across this version here that I reckon could be a postwar recording since Ri's silk-like voice sounded more mature. But, correct me if I'm wrong. I especially like this version because Ri sang it in both Mandarin and Japanese. It really feels like she continued that Japan-China ambassador role, but without a fascist government's puppetry. Also, the arrangement feels somewhat similar to Ohama-san's take.

Akira-san's recording

Now, you must be wondering why I bracketed "she" and "he" in my earlier descriptions of "Hōrī Jun Zairai". Well, that's because we also have a male Japanese version from the prewar era, from Akira Matsudaira (松平晃) at that. So, I assume that the roles in the lyrics in his version are reversed, wherein it's the man who is pining for his beloved.

Now, Pope had also mentioned Akira-san's involvement in bringing "Hōrī Jun Zairai" to Japan. Soon after Ri's version was released domestically in Japan, Matsudaira had returned from an imon katsudo (Consolatory activities) trip to China arranged by Columbia Records. One thing he brought back was the sheet music to "Hōrī Jun Zairai" and wanted to record it since it was popular in China. And so, Columbia agreed, preparing two Japanese versions: a female version by Ohama-san of "Shina no Yoru" (支那の夜) fame, and a male version by Matsudaira himself. Unfortunately, the powers that be in Columbia thought the song fit a female voice better and thus released Ohama-san's version in August 1939. Nevertheless, since Akira-san's rendition is available in CD albums now, it must've been released at some time in later days, or the original recording was dug out of the archives and digitalized. (Noelle from 11/3/24: According to the J-Wiki, Akira-san's version was dug out in 1970 and released in the LP album "Matsudaira Akira wo Shinonde" (松平晃を偲んで... Remembering Akira Matsudaira) as part of Columbia Records' 60th anniversary.)

Honestly, Akira-san's take genuinely surprised me because I was not expecting him to have also sung "Hōrī Jun Zairai". I uncovered it on my Akira-san appreciation drive a few days back when looking at the song list for one of his Best albums available on Spotify. Without hesitation, I gave it a listen. As suggested above, this take has the exact same arrangement as Ohama-san's, and he similarly employed the vocal gymnastics that are meant to be reminiscent of Chinese singers at the time. Contrary to Columbia's decision and probably a hot take, I thought "Hōrī Jun Zairai" fitted a man's voice quite well. And Akira-san, whom I usually thought to be quite stiff in his vocal delivery, was able to bring forth much emotion to appropriately carry the song... I liked it way more than I expected... Oh, could this actually be my favourite version? Oh. ( ´艸｀*) Nah, Akira-san will, at best, be around Mr. Fujiyama's level and no higher. I'm quite certain of that.

Ohama-san and Akira-san's "duet"

To wrap up this article, here is something I think is amazing. Someone on YouTube (channel 古今東西昔昔今今) did us the greatest service by meshing both Ohama-san's and Akira-san's versions together to create a duet. It personally feels like a play on the idea present in Zhou's original, where both halves of the couple are expressing their love and pining for each other to each other. Ah, the wonders of technology. This is the version we don't need but deserve. 

Akira-san and Ohama-san 
From "松平晃、ミス・コロムビアらが参加した、
コロムビア芸術団の慰問風景を収めた貴重映像！"

I believe my grandfather enjoyed Zhou Xuan's songs. If he were still around, I would make him listen to all these versions of "Heri Jun Zailai"/"Hōrī Jun Zairai". Just because... Although, I wouldn't put it past him to go, "This is a Chinese song. Why are you listening to a Japanese man (I won't say the term he would've used) sing this in Japanese?"