In Asakusa, you can throw a rock anywhere and it's more than likely, you'll hit a bar...or something associated with Senso Temple nearby. Probably in some of those bars on any night, there may be someone crying in their beer since life is patently unfair.
Maybe that's what young enka singer Shinichi Mori（森進一）was trying to sing through his "Koi ni Nakitai" (Want to Cry at Love) which happens to be the B-side to his debut single from June 1966, "Onna no Tameiki" (女のためいき). Noelle Tham wrote about the beginning record for Mori over a decade ago, and listening to "Onna no Tameiki" myself, it's quite the melodic tipsy stroll through the bar-lined alleys of Asakusa, Ueno or Kabukicho.
Well, "Koi ni Nakitai" has that same laconic feeling of heartbreak and willingness to drink it all down with heavy quantities of alcohol. Perhaps not surprising since composer Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）was behind the melody of both songs with Ichiro Tone（利根一郎）handling the lyrics for the B-side. There's this nice addition of accordion (and the sax, of course) as 18-year-old Mori was probably wowing listeners already with that famous gravelly voice which elicited tears from many.
I know this is art and so it’s just a performance, but maybe just maybe some Japanese singers/artists need to cheer up and stop crying or sing about crying so much. On the other hand, I also suppose that I may be missing something culturally significant, beautiful, and/ or deeply profound about crying in Japanese culture.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's enka. If they aren't getting all emotional about the lyrics then they aren't enka singers.
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