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| Wikimedia Commons Stefan Kuhn |
Milk and I have been together for a very long time. Even with the situation that a lot of Asians tend to not be able to drink the stuff due to lactose intolerance, I've never had that problem. Although the variety I drink here has been 1%, the milk that I used to drink back in Japan was a fair bit creamier...at least over 4%. I can only imagine the Japanese drinking 1% here and thinking that it was white water.
Now, Noelle Tham has been the go-to person on KKP for the last several years when it comes to Showa Era singer Tadaharu Nakano（中野忠晴）, although I got the ball rolling with his rendition of "Rokko Oroshi" （六甲おろし）, the fight song for the Hanshin Tigers. And it was just a few days ago that Noelle posted her article on the duet between Nakano and Mamechiyo (豆千代), "Koya wo Yuku" (曠野を行く).
Well, just out of curiosity, I threw in Nakano's name into YouTube and found this jaunty little number. Tadaharu Nakano and Rhythm Boys had sung "Yama no Ninkimono" (The Favourite on the Mountain) back in 1934 as this happy-go-lucky yodeling tune about a beloved dairy farm or a milk maid. That's quite the higher profile for the drink considering that outside of Hokkaido back in the day, I didn't think milk was all that big a deal.
"Yama no Ninkimono" was a cover of British singer-songwriter Leslie Sarony's 1930 "The Alpine Milkman". It's the first time I've heard yodeling being used for innuendo in those original lyrics.
Hi, J-Canuck. Happy Chinese New Year, and Happy 13th to KKP!
ReplyDeleteThis is the real Nakano-in-lederhosen song!
If I may add, I believe "Yama no Ninkimono" was Nakano's first formal foray into the world of jazz chorus groups, and the song that began the (jazz) chorus group trend in 1930s Japan. If I recall correctly from some footnotes in Hiroyuki Kondo's thesis on Mr. Nakano, the singer stated that he tried recording this tune at Columbia's minor sister company, Regal Records, on top of doing a test run at Columbia just in case the powers that be in Columbia weren't keen on this new fangled jazz chorus thing. Luckily for him, Columbia green lit "Yama no Ninkimono" and the rest was history.
As for lactose intolerance, I am so glad that I don't have it either. I'm not one for milk on its own, but I cannot do without cheese or ice cream. This is making me feel like going to Hokkaido just for those dairy products.
Hi, Noelle. Happy Chinese New Year and a Happy 13th to KKP and your work on it as well. :)
DeleteYeah, I think this might be the first time that I've gotten to write a Nakano song with him in yodeling mode. Glad that wiser heads prevailed and he got to record it. Thank you for the additional information on the song, by the way.
I drink milk for lunch everyday and so far, so good. One of my other friends (he's half-Japanese) made it as far as his thirties before his intestines opted to tie themselves into a knot whenever lactose got into his system unfortunately. I'm not a huge cheese fan (so no cheese plates in my home), but I eat a small wedge of it for breakfast on alternating days and I do appreciate a good cheese burger or cheese dog.
Hi, J-Canuck. I know I say this every time, but it's wild to think that KKP is already (13). Having to look back at what I wrote some 10 years ago for some of my current articles has me cringing like I ate a whole lemon :')
DeleteI actually discovered "Yama no Ninkimono" right around the time I got mesmerised by Katsuhiko Haida's yodeling in the similarly alpine-themed "Alps no Makiba", so I actually expected Nakano to be yodeling like Hai-Katsu. Was I slightly disappointed? Yes. But then again, I don't think anyone in the kayo world could beat Hai-Katsu in yodeling.
Having lactose intolerance strike late in life is a sad fate and I feel for your friend. I've tried that substitute vegan cheese before and it just doesn't feel right (I think the one I tried was cashew-based). I'm all for a good cheese platter or gratin.
Morning, Noelle. Now, now...we learn by doing and I know that some of my early articles were woefully brief and somewhat inaccurate in facts (some fans made that perfectly clear to me), but the important thing is that we're still writing away in the 2020s. :)
DeleteI'm gathering that yodeling was something to be envied among the Japanese music industry and listening public since it was such a new giddy concept to them. The theme song for the anime "Heidi" is still very much remembered for its yodeling.
I do love me a piping hot gratin and pizza as well. Not sure about vegan cheese proper, but I once had a cheesecake that was made from yuba layers. I had to look very closely to see that it was indeed vegan cheesecake; it was quite delicious.