Sachiko Nishida -- Osaka no Yoru（大阪の夜）

 

Because of the new Jme regime, our weekday viewings of "Asaichi"（あさイチ...Morning Market） on NHK have become more "Yoruichi"（よるイチ...Night Market） since we're getting the program live in the midst of a current 13-hour time difference. Thursday mornings are usually set aside for features on specific areas of Japan under a certain theme, and as it turns out, the area du jour for "Asaichi" was Osaka and its famous dishes such as the famous okonomiyaki. Couldn't ask for anything better.

So, figuring my viewing for tonight, perhaps it's time to put up another Osaka-themed kayo kyoku. We've got plenty of those up on KKP such as Masaki Ueda's（上田正樹）"Osaka Bay Blues" and Senri and Mari Unabara's（海原千里・万里）"Osaka Rhapsody" （大阪ラプソディー）. For this article, it's Sachiko Nishida's（西田佐知子）"Osaka no Yoru" (A Night in Osaka).

By lyricist Takashi Umemoto（梅本たかし）and composer Fujio Mizutoki（水時富士夫）, this was the B-side to Nishida's 59th single from February or December 1964 (depending on which J-Wiki article associated with Nishida you look at), "Meriken Blues"（メリケン・ブルース...American Blues）. I can hear the cocktail shaker going at warp speed by the bartender as this cha-cha-infused Mood Kayo is playing. Nishida is wistfully singing about walking on the streets and alleys of downtown Osaka lined with lots of drinking establishments while remembering lost loves. She probably has a very good idea of the geography since she herself is from the area.