Taro Hakase -- Etupirka（エトピリカ）

Wikimedia Commons
by Steven and Nadine Pavlov

A week following rocker guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei's（布袋寅泰）big appearance on the Premium Talk segment of NHK's "Asaichi"（あさイチ）, audiences got to see another musician highlight come onto the show. Violinist Taro Hakase（葉加瀬太郎）showed up for a round of talk and musicianship.

As with Hotei, I've known Hakase for a few big hits, two of which have been used as themes for the TBS human interest show "Jounetsu Tairiku" (情熱大陸...Continent of Passion) . I noted the rousing opening theme with the same name as the program, but there is also the ending theme "Etupirka" that I've heard through concert performances and YouTube videos. "Etupirka" actually replaced a first ending theme although I don't know exactly when the transition took place, but seeing that "Jounetsu Tairiku" the Hakase opening theme made its first appearance some 39 weeks following the start of the program in April 1998, I'm going to assume that "Etupirka" also came in at the same time which would put it at around early 1999. As well, I'm also noting the violinist's 2014 BEST compilation with the title "Etupirka".

Of course, on knowing what the title for this recognizable composition was, I had to find out what "Etupirka" meant. Did it actually have a meaning or was it something like Phil Collins' "Sussudio"? Well, I found out that an etupirka was the Ainu term for the tufted puffin which lives all across the northern Pacific Ocean including Hokkaido. I had always felt that the song provided a calming and innocent feeling, and I guess the life of a tufted puffin can be like that...although mating season might be different, I'm not sure.