Unfortunately, I've never been to Yamagata Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan but above, here is a video by YouTuber rivideo3 of the Shonai district by the Sea of Japan. I think once when I was teaching a student, he was telling me a bit about Yamagata and its ramen.
One reason that I'm starting off with a geography lesson here is that when we were watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）earlier this morning, enka singer Kouhei Fukuda（福田こうへい）made his appearance to sing his latest single, his 15th to be exact, "Shonai Shigure Sake" (Early Winter Sake in Shonai), which was released right on New Year's Day 2024. Written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and composed by Koji Tokuhisa（徳久広司）, it's the story of a man from the titular district who has long since moved to the big city but still missing his hometown to which he can never return to, since apparently according to Araki's lyrics, he sold the family homestead. I can imagine the poor lug drinking a cup of sake to the old home.
For an enka of regret, "Shonai Shigure Sake" possesses a lot of brio (especially with that electric guitar wailing away in there) in its melody. Perhaps the hint is that all is not lost and that he can go back home again, although Fukuda sings that though he wants to head back in the worst way, he simply can't do so now.
The Fukuda file might be more of an annual thing when it comes to his singles. About a year ago, I wrote about his 14th single, "Tenkuu no Shiro"（天空の城）.
Although the guy in the song can't go back to the family estate since it no longer belongs to him or his family he can go back to the district that he was from but now as a tourist or visitor since he no longer lives there. Or at least that is my impression.
ReplyDeleteHi, Brian. I think I probably have darker impressions of the situation since when I was listening to it, his sale of his former home and any surrounding consequences may have tainted his relationships with relatives and neighbours, so he's now seen as persona non grata in his hometown. However, let's go with your more positive outlook. Perhaps he can't live there anymore but he can wistfully return once in a while and reminisce.
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