Fuyumi Sakamoto -- Noto wa Irankai ne（能登はいらんかいね）

 

"Uta Con"（うたコン）is once again going on a bit of a hiatus until April 1st but its final episode earlier tonight had some solemnity and poignancy since today is the 14th anniversary of the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. In fact, much of the program was filled with songs in tribute and in support of the various areas that had been hit by natural disasters such as Fukushima and the Noto Peninsula which had suffered a major quake on New Year's Day 2024. Of course, Yoko Kanno's（菅野よう子）"Hana wa Saku"（花は咲く）was sung in full force.

Enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）is a pretty frequent guest on shows such as "Uta Con", and up until last year, her go-to song seems to have been "Yozakura Oshichi" (夜桜お七), her hit single from 1994. However, with the Noto Peninsula earthquake last year, Sakamoto has been singing "Noto wa Irankai ne" (Don't We Need Noto?) in support of the victims of the quake for much of the past year. Written by Katsuki Kishimoto（岸元克己）and composed by Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）, it's a very gentle go-touchi song that flows as smoothly as the many rivers that run through the area, although there is a little diversion of taiko drums in a festival atmosphere.

"Noto wa Irankai ne" was Sakamoto's 7th single from May 1990. It reached No. 13 on Oricon and ended up as the 83rd-ranked single for that year. However, I think it has received a second wind of popularity in the last several months and she sang the song on last year's edition of the Kohaku Utagassen for the second time.