Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Saturday, June 22, 2024

Harumi Miyako -- Sayonara Kaikyo(さよなら海峡)

 

The above photo of a reflective Kayo Grace by the strait was actually the runner-up for the photo that I ultimately used in the J-C AI Gallery on June 1st. However, it finally gets its chance to shine here.

A few days ago, I received a request via the Contact Form from someone in Brazil asking whether I would be able to find someplace on the Net that had sheet music for a Harumi Miyako(都はるみ)enka ballad titled "Sayonara Kaikyo" (The Goodbye Strait). Despite my best efforts, my attempts failed although I know that Yamano Music in Ginza sells sheet music but its website doesn't seem to be equipped with the function to tell people whether a specific example of sheet music exists. Unfortunately, then, I had to inform the inquirer that I wasn't able to help with my apologies.

But in the attempt, I was able to discover a new song that I hadn't heard from Miyako before. "Sayonara Kaikyo" was released in August 1979 as her 78th single. Created by lyricist Osamu Yoshioka(吉岡治)and composer Shosuke Ichikawa(市川昭介), it's sung by the veteran enka artist as if she's on the verge of collapsing in tear-filled despair as she wails about the loss of a beloved partner for some reason. Rather like Sayuri Ishikawa's(石川さゆり)classic "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"(津軽海峡・冬景色), the long body of water is acting like a massive shoulder to cry upon for the protagonist here. To be honest, it's perhaps a miracle if any freshwater straits in Japan still existed after all that crying into them.

In any case, I'd like to once again apologize to that person for not being able to find the sheet music but would also like to thank them for indirectly leading me to another lovely Miyako enka song. If the person is reading this, I wish you the best of luck in finding what you're looking for.

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