Mari Sono/Shinichi Mori/Hiroshi Itsuki -- Ryoujou（旅情）

 

Back in September, I posted up that All-Points Bulletin for Neff regarding some Chinese covers of songs that he couldn't quite identify. I believe that he was able to resolve most of the mystery songs thankfully. But I also remember while trying to help him out that I came across a few songs that may have been connected to the mystery ones but ended up nothing of the sort. Of course, I was disappointed but in the process, I was able to find some new kayo kyoku with their common denominator being a common title.

"Ryoujou" on Jisho.org talks about "the mood when traveling". And of course, travel is a big theme in kayo kyoku, notably as the action one takes when there's a need to get away from a problem, usually post-romantic in nature. The protagonists take trains and planes (not sure about automobiles, though) to some faraway place in Japan, away from Tokyo or Osaka (Tsugaru Strait is especially popular) or even overseas to mourn and/or reset those feelings.

Through Google, I even discovered some very specific terminology for that particular mood. Wanderlust was one word that I had already known but here are some of the others:

Wanderlust: A strong desire to travel and explore the world.

Eudaimonia: A state of intense happiness and contentment while traveling, when everything feels right.

Resfeber: The restless, anxious excitement that comes before a journey begins.

Strikhedonia: The joy of being able to say, "to hell with it!" and go on an adventure. 

Fernweh: The opposite of homesickness; an ache or longing for places you have never seen before.

Sehnsucht: A wistful yearning for something far-off and indefinable, or for travels past and future.

Where enka and kayo kyoku are concerned, I think perhaps Fernweh and Sehnsucht might be the traveling moods that match the feelings there, although the words themselves sound like alien crewmembers on the Enterprise on "Star Trek".

Anyways, let's begin with the first "Ryoujou" that was recorded by Mari Sono（園まり）for release as a single in June 1972 to commemorate her 10th anniversary in the music business. Quite the poignant kayo kyoku, this was written by Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）and composed by Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）as the lyrics describe a woman who has either broken up or is on the verge of breaking up with her beau by flying off to Paris. It's the strings and what sounds like a harpsichord that give me the heavy sense of the melancholy here but I also have to note the deep horns that pop up as if the lady is about to take one major leap of faith.

Less than a couple of years later, enka veteran Shinichi Mori（森進一）released an album "Ryoujou" in March 1974. The title track was written by Kohan Kawauchi（川内康範）and composed by Kosho Inomata（猪俣公章）as a song of longing by a fellow who's looking upon a woman he's had feelings for. She hasn't reciprocated them and maybe she isn't even aware of them especially since she's probably just broken it off with another guy. It's a got a bit more brass and heart-on-a-sleeve emotion so I can put it between kayo kyoku and enka.

Then, we come to Hiroshi Itsuki's（五木ひろし）"Ryoujou" which was released much later in 1998. With lyrics by Reiji Mizuki（水木れいじ）, the singer himself came up with the melody. If there were such a thing as Itsuki Song, then his "Ryoujou" would be the class example with the haunting chorus, the seemingly tear-choked vocals and the wistful arrangement.