Akira Kobayashi/Bonny Jacks/Hiroshi Wada and Mahina Stars -- Hokkikou（北帰行）

Wikimedia Commons

I went out for lunch for the second time in as many days, and this time around, we didn't have to combat some very violent weather although the skies remained stubbornly gloomy for most of the day. However, I was grateful not to have my face hit with rain and winds coming in at Mach 1.

Back at home, I got to see the usual "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）and I actually heard an Akira Kobayashi（小林旭）song that I hadn't heard before. Titled "Hokkikou" (The Return North), it struck me as being one of those kayo kyoku dealing with heartbreak and the aftermath of taking that trip elsewhere to recover from the emotional trauma.

This was Kobayashi's 31st single from October 1961, and to me anyways, this was a rather wistful tune for the tough guy actor and singer to tackle, but I think he did a great job with the song. Others apparently agreed since about a year later, "Hokkikou" became the basis for one of his movies.

But there's a bit more of a story behind "Hokkikou" than the fact that it is a bittersweet song about recovering from heartbreak. Written and composed by Hiroshi Uda（宇田博）a couple of decades earlier in 1941, the J-Wiki article on the song weaves a recollection of Uda as a high school kid being a rather aimless and rebellious youth which was quite the thing in a very militaristic Japanese society bent toward war. He'd gotten in trouble with the authorities for taking some romantic liberties with a young girl outside of school and was kicked out. "Hokkikou" was his written farewell for his fellow mates in the dormitory. It became quite the popular song since that point, but once the war was over, "Hokkikou" became a bit of a mystery tune for many years for some reason...Uda's name was somehow forgotten.

In the 1960s, the song became a favourite to be sung at the local cafes whether it be by featured artists or customers (perhaps a prelude to karaoke?). And then, the record companies picked up on it and as would often happen with songs from that time, there was a mad rush of sorts to have various artists record it for sale. For example, the vocal group Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）had released their version of "Hokkikou" back in July 1961, three months before Kobayashi's cover came out.

Sometime during 1961 as well, the Mood Kayo group Hiroshi Wada and Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）also released their own languid cover of "Hokkikou" with their characteristic Hawaiian sound. From looking at the YouTube scroll, it certainly appears that many other singers have covered the tune over the decades.

Sentimental City Romance -- Natalie

Amazon.jp

After reading Rocket Brown's article on Mariya Takeuchi's（竹内まりや）beautifully delivered but cautionary tale of seeking fame and fortune in Hollywood, "Natalie", I discovered that any signs of the original song on YouTube had been excised more thoroughly than Natalie's happiness and hope (but take a look at that article...all is not lost). 😒

However, in my search on YouTube, I did find a cover version of "Natalie" by the veteran band Sentimental City Romance（センチメンタル・シティ・ロマンス）. Now, the cordial relationship between Takeuchi and SCR has been around since Mariya's first album in 1978, "Beginning", when the band contributed to some of the tracks there. And I think there has been an affinity between the two in terms of their choice of music since both she and Sentimental City Romance have enjoyed playing and singing in the country genre. In fact, SCR vocalist Nobutaka Tsugei（告井延隆）arranged the original "Natalie" when it came out in 1981.

So I gather that it was a natural for SCR to cover the song itself many years later through the band's August 2011 album "Yattokame"（やっとかめ）. There hasn't been a dramatic change in arrangement. It's still the most laidback country and pop ballad and Mariya herself is helping out on background vocals. And indeed, it's still a lovely song about a tragic tale.

If there were a Weird Al Yankovic type in Japan, I would recommend him to give his take on "Natalie"...about a good person gone bad. However, I would also re-title it into "Anakin".

Natalie by Mariya Takeuchi (竹内まりや )

Many years ago, when I was a young(er) man, I attended film school in Hollywood. I made a lot of friends there, all with their own dreams and aspirations. One was a talented writer from the Midwest who had escaped a traumatic family situation. Another was an amateur game designer and another wanted to become the next Steven Spielberg.

They all had one thing in common: Hollywood kicked their ass.

It was pretty common to meet people from out of state who moved to California hoping to make it big. But more often than not, they ended up disillusioned by the whole thing—whether for financial, health, or cultural reasons. Sometimes it was a combination of all three.

If there were a name for a person like that, it would probably be Natalie.

Mariya Takeuchi’s 1981 ballad “Natalie” is about a young woman who moves to California to become a big movie star. Unlike my friends, she actually does fulfill her dream, but success changes her into a different person than the one she started as—and not for the better.

This beautiful country ballad is sung from the perspective of someone Natalie knew from her old life in Georgia. This childhood friend, possibly even an old lover, can see past the superficial glamour and ask Natalie one simple question:

Natalie, are you really happy?

https://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x4pqae

(30:47)

While Natalie definitely reminds me of my friends, perhaps most of all, she reminds me of myself.

As someone who once had a foot in the door of Hollywood—and probably screwed it up, lol—I’ve experienced a lot of what the song describes: walking down Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, going to Hollywood clubs, driving out to Malibu, rubbing elbows with superstars. And I let it all go to my head.

And I was just an intern, mind you. I must have been insufferable.

But much like Natalie, I eventually had to ask myself whether I was actually happy. I had to look deep and question why this life of “sex, drugs, and rock & roll” was only bringing me the blues.

“Natalie” is my absolute favorite song about Los Angeles because it acknowledges a hard truth about the city that people like to ignore: it looks great from afar, but it’s far from great. And if you get caught up in the culture, it can change you for the worse.

In a strange way, it’s reassuring to know that this was just as true in 1981 as it is today.

On a lighter note, J-Canuck once mentioned that this song would fit right into the country-themed variety show Hee Haw. After sitting through a few episodes myself, I’m inclined to agree.

On my quest to find the song on YouTube (its probably been copywrited) I found out there's a Cantonese(?) cover of the song by Priscilla Chan (陳慧嫻) which is pretty good.

Kokoro Umetani -- Hoshizora no Ruby（星空のルビー）

By W.carter via Wikimedia Commons

 

It's close to the end of May so in Toronto that means that it's time for the annual Doors Open festival. This is where various establishments ranging from companies to private buildings with some style and history open up for a couple of days for the public to explore. The last time I was at Doors Open was a few years ago and since then, various things happened so that I couldn't attend, and so I was rather determined to go to the 2026 edition despite the warning of heavy rain and high winds. 

Well, my friend and I made it to one Heritage building which had also been converted into a food hall filled with various restaurants so I was able to take photos and have a nice hamburger lunch. However, after waiting over an hour to get into The Toronto Star newspaper company while the elements whipped the surprisingly long line silly, we gave up (it was still another hour to go before people could take the elevator to go up) and grabbed a coffee before heading back home. Ugh!

Anyways, the inclement weather is continuing tonight so we may be unlucky enough to get hit with a power outage in the middle of me writing so I apologize in advance. We've actually got quite a lot of outages happening throughout Toronto tonight so I shouldn't be surprised if my neighbourhood does get hit with one.

All the more to bring out enka singer Kokoro Umetani's（梅谷心愛）latest single from March 2026, "Hoshizora no Ruby" (Night Sky of Rubies). It has quite the pedigree of songwriters helping out here with lyricist Masao Urino（売野雅勇）, composer Kohei Miyuki（幸耕平）and arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）, and there is something about this song which feels rather nostalgic in a 70s or 80s kayo way. Perhaps there is a mixture of enka and kayo in here so the New Adult Music tag may apply. And in fact, it almost feels like an Aming（あみん）or Takako Okamura（岡村孝子）tune. "Hoshizora no Ruby" reached No. 21 on Oricon.

"Los Angeles" Tunes

 Since J-Canuck did a list of New York themed songs, its only fair I do one for Los Angeles. Being an LA native I have a pretty good ear for what captures the essence of LA (the good and the bad lol).

L.A. Night by Yasuko Agawa (佐藤康子)

This is what we like to call a "certified hood classic". Recorded in 1984 for jazz singer Yasuko Agawa's album Gravy, this was written and produced by Augie Johnson, who also wrote Light of the World's 'London Town'.  If it wasn't for a few key differences, their practically the same song. but L.A. Night is definitely better out of the two, with stronger bass & drums and a catchier hook. LA Night captures the laidback G-funk energy perfectly all while taking a snapshot of an LA that no longer exists, she even gives a shout out to the Raiders! 

Streets Are Hot by Miho Fujiwara (藤原美穂)

The very appropriate theme from the obscure OVA movie California Crisis. Super funky, upbeat with some soulful singing from Fujiwara, this a great song for riding your bike down Manhattan Beach. 

Hollywood Illusion  by Himiko Kikuchi (菊池 ひみこ)

As someone who used to work in Hollywood as an intern for a few big studios, I cant definitely say that Hollywood is in fact an illusion.  But this song captures the idea of Hollywood perfectly. Kikuchi manages to capture the glamourous veil of tinsel town perfectly, to the point where this would be the perfect intro to an 80s sitcom filmed in  front of a live studio audience. If Hollywood had a theme song... well to be fair I think it already has a few. But I think this song should be it.

Painted Woman by Eric Tagg & Masaki Matsubara (松原正樹)

This one was another tough choice, but I think Painted Woman the euphoniums album is another great choice for a Hollywood anthem. on top of that it's also a peak specimen of West Coast AOR sound. 

The final song in my list deserves its own article. In the meantime, enjoy my Los Angeles themed City-Pop mix.

Young Gun Silver Fox -- Moonshine

By Jane023 via Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to moonshine, my image is always that of jugs of homemade alcohol with the "XXX" as the label. They are no less than 200 proof and could potentially conk out even the Incredible Hulk (HULK!!!....crash😵). So, when I encountered this song by Neo-AOR duo Young Gun Silver Fox called "Moonshine", I was rather intrigued.

But then again, whenever Young Gun Silver Fox comes up here, I am always intrigued and delighted. They have often come up in the fifth and final position during Urban Contemporary Fridays on KKP as something to clean up the list of smooth and groovy.

However, what makes this particular song even more special is that not only did YGSF create it, the late great Rod Temperton had a hand in it. And as with a handful of Japanese and non-Japanese songwriters, if I see that a song was made by Temperton, then I automatically investigate. After listening to his creations handled by folks like Michael Jackson and the Manhattan Transfer, it's almost Pavlovian how I react to a Temperton tune. Please read the story of how Andy Platts who would become one-half of Young Gun Silver Fox met Temperton and collaborated with the songwriting legend over twenty years ago (Temperton passed away in 2016) to create "Moonshine".

And no, "Moonshine" wasn't written to celebrate drinking the rough stuff out in the forest. It's about that special lady who can knock a man out like the "XXX". And unlike the real moonshine, the song is one real smooth ditty (Bailey's Irish Cream smooth)...what else from Andy Platts and Shawn Lee? The song finally came out in its final form as a single in March 2023. In fact, the way that Platts and Temperton designed "Moonshine", I swear that I could imagine MJ covering the song himself.

"New York" Tunes

 

Last Friday, when I put up Iruka's（イルカ）"NYC wa Toosugite"（NYCは遠すぎて）, I realized that there have been a number of New York-themed tunes posted up here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the years. And since we have those "America" tunes that I posted as an Author's Picks back in 2023, why not become even more localized and go straight to the Big Apple? A couple of them on that list ("Kennedy Airport" and "Purpletown") could comfortably belong on this list but since they're already up there, it wasn't too difficult to find two more. But without further ado, here are my five New York tunes.

(1978) Akiko Wada -- Park Avenue 7 PM

(1978) Jun Fukamachi -- Letter to New York

(1978) Cools Rockabilly Club -- Sentimental New York（センチメンタル・ニューヨーク）

(1983) Yasuhiro Abe -- Manhattan

(1985) Naoko Kawai – Manhattan Joke 

FINAL SPANK HAPPY -- Smooth Escalator

By Kakidai via Wikimedia Commons

During my years in the Tokyo area, I've managed to enter and traipse through all of the major department stores in the megalopolis such as Mitsukoshi and Matsuya. I've also visited Isetan in Shinjuku. These days, I'm not sure about the future of department stores, generally speaking. Perhaps as has been the fate of the department store here in Toronto, the Tokyo ones may also be facing extinction like the dinosaur but knowing Japan and their penchant for holding onto the oldest things, the depaato that I've mentioned may stick around for a few more decades like a stubborn Time Lord I know.

Well, Shinjuku Isetan was the setting for this rather fascinating music video for the song "Smooth Escalator" by the eclectic group SPANK HAPPY (or officially FINAL SPANK HAPPY in this case) which got its appearance in December 2020. The month itself is fascinating since this was smack dab in the pandemic years. How did they get permission to film inside the commercial emporium? Was the video a visual gift for those stuck at home? And for that matter, what was up with the additional "FINAL"? Were they about to break up?

Regardless, this is about as recent as I've gotten with SPANK HAPPY in the blog since most of the entries have covered their early material in the 1990s and then into their technopop 2000s, although I did cover their "Natsu no Tensai"（夏の天才）from 2018. By the late 2010s, the group consisted of founder Naruyoshi Kikuchi（菊地成孔）and singer-songwriter Tomomi Oda（小田朋美）, and I'm assuming that Kikuchi and Oda are indeed the ones tripping the light fantastic within the deserted department store with the former looking like a hip-hop member from m-flo and the latter looking like a New Wave gamine from "Breakfast at Tiffany's". According to the story for the video, the two of them sought refuge in Isetan from zombies.

"Smooth Escalator" has a mix of sophisticated piano pop of Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）sentiments and a commonly-heard synth that I will have to ask YMOfan04 about sometime wrapped around some gentle, almost whispery, singing-like-talking...not quite rap. As someone who hadn't been able to enter a store aside from the local supermarket for several months at the time "Smooth Escalator" came out, watching the video would have been rather swooning for me as well.

Masami Urabe -- Tomadoi（とまどい）

 

Back in early April, I introduced a singer by the name of Masami Urabe（浦部雅美 or うらべまさみ）who I'd never heard before until commenter Robert B. informed me. The song that I covered was "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"（少し遠出をしてみませんか）, her debut single from September 1976. It's quite the amiable country song including a happily plucky banjo.

Well, her sixth and penultimate single from 1982 is "Tomadoi" which can be translated as "Wonderment" or "Confusion". Written and composed by the singer herself, I'm hoping that she meant the former meaning. Urabe's voice had become richer and mellower by this point, and "Tomadoi" is one of those tunes that is delectably difficult to categorize outright. First off, it's got a folksy waltz rhythm but with an intro and chorus that hints at City Pop especially with the breezy and minty background vocals. At the same time, there's something also some rather old-fashioned kayo kyoku meshing with the City Pop of the chorus. 

Suchmos -- Miree

 

Cooler temperatures out there but at least the sun is also out so no complaints from me. Welcome to another Friday Urban Contemporary session on KKP.

The last time I wrote about the cool-as-heck band Suchmos, it was for their comeback single "Eye to Eye" from July 2025, and it did attract a lot of attention from appreciative fans.

Well, I've decided to look back at their career and arrived at their debut single from June 2015, "Miree/Pacific". That first song "Miree" had also been included in Suchmos' 1st EP, "Essence" which had been released in April that year. Written and composed by the band's late bassist Hayata "HSU" Kosugi（小杉隼太）, according to this Musixmatch page, the song goes into how love is the reassuring constant navigating throughout the vagaries and superficialities of life; sounds like a more hopeful version of a certain City Pop song I and millions of other people know. 

HSU's melody is a pleasant smooth drive with the top down on the Shuto Expressway. A differently arranged version of "Miree" (below) was provided on the band's first full album "The Bay" which came out in July 2015. This one has more of a beefier bass and seems a bit more measured in overall delivery, and I think I prefer the single.

Art of Noise -- Beat Box

 

I've already posted a number of Art of Noise articles in the past ten years as parts of the Reminiscings of Youth file here on KKP, and indeed, the avant-garde synthpop group consisting of Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn and all of the rest made up some of the most incredible collages of sounds to form music to add pleasure to my time in the 1980s. By the time that they came up with their version of "Dragnet" for the movie starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks in 1987, they were very much a welcome part and parcel of the decade's pop panoply.

However, several years earlier, I was honestly taken aback and maybe even somewhat intimidated by the Art of Noise when I heard their December 1983 debut single "Beatbox". It was nothing that I had ever heard before; they made this beloved song in the breakdancing world out of various sounds which emanated like and not like human voices screeching out a march alongside some pounding percussion and perhaps my first exposure to orchestral hits.

I've read and heard that there have been various takes (or diversions) on "Beatbox" on record and in music video. If so, then the music video below is the one that I've seen because I remember seeing that image of the London police officer getting duplicated and stretched out. It was quite the tourist video for London as well.

Among all of the diversions (I've seen No. 10), I think the one that I heard the most on radio was Diversion 1 which lasts more than eight minutes and finishes with a classy classical piano take on the core song. It's almost as if AON was trying to let us know that no matter all of the technology and sampling, music still comes down to a basic beautiful melody played out on an old-fashioned instrument.

So, as I said, "Beat Box" was released in December 1983. What else was being released in Japan in that month?

Yutaka Ozaki -- Juu-go no Yoru（15の夜）

Yoshie Kashiwabara -- Camouflage （カム・フラージュ）

Tatsuro Yamashita -- Christmas Eve

Ritsuko Kazami -- Karui Kankei（軽い関係）

 

The last time I wrote about Ritsuko Kazami（風見律子）, it was for the mysterious and panther-y "Yoru no Subete"（夜のすべて）from her 1985 debut album "Kiss of Fire". It has quite the bass synthesizer thrumming throughout the song which seems to have some of that City Pop and some of that throwback exotic kayo.

Well, another track from "Kiss of Fire" is "Karui Kankei" (Slight Connection) which takes things a little more into the blippity-bloppity technopop while filtering some chugging train-like jazz rhythm. Not surprisingly, words and music were provided by Haruo Chikada（近田春夫）who knows something about the eclectic stuff. Some nice harmonizing between Kazami and who I think is Chikada himself on background vocals.

Seiji Tanaka -- O Marijana（オー・マリヤーナ）

By Pudelek (Marcin Szala) via Wikimedia Commons

The above is a photo of Šarengrad, Syrmia, Croatia. If I'm not mistaken, I believe my English circle of well-to-do ladies took a trip to Croatia some years ago for about a week and found it wonderful. 

But that wasn't the only reason for me to post this particular photo from Wikimedia Commons. The other explanation is that I'd wanted to write about this folk song which was originally created and recorded by Croatian (formerly a part of Yugoslavia) singer-songwriter Vlaho Paljetak (1893 – 1944).

Now, to be honest, when I first came across "O Marijana", I had half-jokingly thought that we had a "Kusuri wo Takusan"（くすりをたくさん）situation here. But no...this has nothing to do with a love of a certain notorious weed but ardor for a beautiful lass by the name of Marijana. Covered by Nara-born singer Seiji Tanaka（田中星児）as his 6th single from 1976, the singer himself provided the Japanese lyrics. In a way, Tanaka's rendition reminds me of some of the music from Bobby Vinton who was popular in the same decade. The song was used as the theme for a TBS morning information program of the time called "Hachi-ji no Sora"（8時の空...The Sky at 8 O'Clock）.

Georgia On My Mind - George Yanagi & Ray Charles

Some songs are so perfect they feel timeless, “Georgia on My Mind” is one of those songs.

Originally composed by Hoagy Carmichael, the song became truly definitive through Ray Charles’ legendary rendition. There’s absolutely no way to improve on it. That hasn’t stopped countless artists from trying their hand at their own renditions, although one that stood out to me was the cover by George Yanagi (柳ジョージ).

George Yanagi was a Yokohama-born rock artist whose music clearly drew inspiration from old-school rhythm and blues, so it makes sense that he would eventually take on a classic like “Georgia on My Mind.” His version appeared on his 1989 album Good Times 3. It’s a decent cover, but its also very clearly modeled after Michael Bolton’s version from that same year.

What really caught me off guard, though, was discovering that seven years earlier, George had already performed the song live at his 1982 concert at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo—alongside Ray Charles himself.

Now that's much better.

And I’m not just saying that because Ray is there. I genuinely enjoy George’s raspy vocals, and I think he gives a stronger performance in this live duet than he does on the later studio recording. Plus I prefer the more orchestral arrangement here over the more pop sounding one. What’s funny is that, in the comments of the video, people who had the privilege to actually attended the concert mentioned that George seemed visibly nervous onstage.

I mean… yeah. He was standing next to Ray Charles, singing one of the greatest songs of all time. I’d be nervous too.

But honestly, I think he pulled it off. And from the sound of it, Ray seemed to enjoy singing with him as well. 

Let me know which version you prefer, and in the mean time check out George Yanagi's original music as well. If you're a fan of Blues Rock and Heartland music, his 1991 album, Raw,  is pretty good for that. And if you need something from his 70s output, You cant go wrong with his Rainy Wood classic, Weeping in the Rain

Tomoko Koyano -- Shiawase（しあわせ）

 

It was exactly two months ago that I posted singer-songwriter Tomoko Koyano's（古谷野とも子）most recent article and that was for her 1978 number "Shiawase Modoki"（幸わせもどき）which translates into "Fake Happiness". For me, it sounded a little bit ahead of its time and had quite some cool groove.

Well, her second single from April 1975 was "Shiawase"...just plain "Happiness", so I gather that the cynicism hadn't quite landed yet. Written and composed by Koyano with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）providing the arrangement, "Shiawase" comes across as a languid and sunny pop song of the 1970s which brings to mind something that the Carpenters would tackle...that oboe in there always sparks off Karen Carpenter in my engrams. Plus, being early in her career, the singer sounds a little flightier and more uncertain in her vocals. Not sure whether "Shiawase Modoki" was meant to be her own response song to "Shiawase".

Special Favorite Music -- Hashire, Romance Ichi-go（走れ、ロマンス1号）

Wikimedia Commons

For the longest time, I'd wondered why these special Odakyu trains coming and leaving Shinjuku Station were called Romance Cars. I figured that they were popular with the young couples taking trips to the countryside, and as it turns out, I wasn't far off the mark. The Romance Cars contain what are basically love seats with no hand rest dividing the pair. Well, isn't that special? 

I think that's what the band Special Favorite Music was referring to as well with their March 2025 single "Hashire, Romance Ichi-go" (Run, Romance No. 1). In my last article on the band which I wrote up a couple of months ago, it was for their 2015 single "Gold", and in there, I'd thought about what the band would sound like now after about a decade and with all of the lineup changes they went through,

Well, as it turns out, listening to "Hashire, Romance Ichi-go", there doesn't seem to be too much change and that's not a bad thing. This particular song is quite the breezy pop number with the SFM strings coming in as usual. Plus with the marimba-sounding synth (or maybe that's a real marimba being played here) and the strings, there is a certain feeling of posh life. In fact, I don't know whether they'd intended to or not, but there's something with "Hashire, Romance Ichi-go" that feels like 1970s New Music.

Jenny My Love by Yōsui Inoue

Little Tokyo in Los Angeles has a rich history, and last year, one of its oldest businesses, Mitsuru Sushi & Grill, closed permanently following the retirement of its owner.

I had gotten to know the owner and his family pretty well over the years. Mitsuru may not have been the fanciest or trendiest eatery in Little Tokyo, but to me, it was the most peaceful — and perhaps the most authentic. The walls were decorated with old monochrome photographs of the neighborhood, Japanese movie posters, and vintage Asahi and Suntory beer advertisements. It felt like a place where time had slowed down.

Back in its heyday, Mitsuru operated as both a sit-down diner and a convenience store. In its later years, it had been reduced mostly to the restaurant side, though it still had a sushi bar. During its final weeks of business, I decided to pay it one last visit during one of my usual trips to the record store.

As a goodbye gift, I thanked the owner personally and gave him one of my own records: Sneaker Dancer by Yosui Inoue (井上陽水). He was so grateful for the gift that I ended up taking home ten bottles of sake and two shot glass collections in return. I guess he was a big Inoue fan — or maybe he was just touched by the gesture.

At that point, I had only just begun digging deep into Inoue’s discography, but Sneaker Dancer immediately stood out to me. Part of that was because half of the songs were arranged by legendary guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka, which was already enough to catch my attention. But the song that truly sold me on the album was “Jenny My Love” 「ジェニー My Love」.

Maybe it’s because I’m a hopeless romantic, but I’m a sucker for some good old-fashioned brokenhearted blues. There’s something funny, and strangely moving, about hearing the phrase “singing in the rain” delivered not with the cheerful, happy-go-lucky spirit of Gene Kelly, but as a loud, dramatic cry for help. With Inoue crying in the rain over a sad, one-sided love for Jenny, whoever Jenny may be.

For me is Takanaka’s emotional guitar solo is the glue that holds this song together, cutting right through the track and pairs beautifully with Inoue’s bluesy wailing, giving the song a sense of longing that feels deeply personal. 

In my personal opinion this song sounds best when performed live. My favorite being the version sung at NHK Hall on March 7, 1982. This version features singer-songwriter Kōji Tamaki (玉置浩二) , who would become well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai.

Teruhiko Aoi/Miyoko Yoshimoto -- Sentimental Carnival（センチメンタル・カーニバル）

 

Another blistering day out there. As such, this has been the earliest that our family has pulled out the air conditioner and activated it. Mind you, from tomorrow, the high temperatures will plummet like rocks for the rest of the week, but that's OK. We'll be happy to have the AC on standby for the eventual summer that does arrive.

A couple of days ago, I was watching "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本のうた）and encountered a new song that I hadn't heard before titled "Sentimental Carnival" by Teruhiko Aoi（あおい輝彦）. Listening to it on the show and then hearing it on YouTube, I had assumed that it was a Group Sounds/pop creation from the 1960s, only to realize that Aoi had released it as his 14th single in June 1977. Yes, the very first "Star Wars" movie is older than this song. 

But as written and composed by Toshiro Abe（阿部敏郎）, it's still quite the jangly and twist-happy tune. Yesterday, I wrote about The Tube's "Midnight Beach" and how the seashore at night can make for a romantic setting. Well, I gather that the same can be had for the annual carnival although folks will be a lot busier on the rides or just strolling hand-in-hand through the various games and concession stands. With the snappy arrangement by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）, "Sentimental Carnival" was Aoi's final Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 8 and eventually becoming the 53rd-ranked single of 1977.

Eleven years later, "Sentimental Carnival" was covered by aidoru Miyoko Yoshimoto（芳本美代子）as her own 14th single in June 1988. As arranged by Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）, it was given some snazzy contemporizing with synths, syn-drums and sharp horns, and it earned the snaggle-toothed lass a No. 20 ranking on Oricon. Maybe it's just me, but I think Yoshimoto's voice seems a fair bit more mature here.

Maki Ohguro -- Shiroi Gradation（白いGradation）

 

A few days ago, commenter and contributor Fireminer was asking about a particular Maki Ohguro（大黒摩季）song, and to be honest, it's been a few years since she's been up on the blog, so why not give this one a whirl?

It's nice to hear the ol' Ohguro arrangements of the 1990s (crashing synths and booming sax) again and her 7th single from January 1994, "Shiroi Gradation" was released between a couple of other singles that have been posted here: "Anata dake Mitsumeteru"（あなただけ見つめてる）and "Natsu ga Kuru"（夏が来る）. Takeshi Hayama（葉山たけし）was responsible for arranging all three songs.

Indeed, it's a very upbeat song written and composed by Ohguro, providing a surprisingly dark scenario (to me, anyways) of an erstwhile couple who've apparently drifted apart to the point of no return, although one of the duo still maintains a love for the other. As for the meaning of the title which I prefer to translate into "Shades of White" rather than "Gradations of White" (the latter sounds a little technical), the J-Wiki article simply says that the title really refers to the gradations of the heart...which doesn't really solidify things for me...and that gradations of white don't exist. What? What about pure white, creamy white, off-white for example?

But in the end, the title probably came into being because perhaps Ohguro had been asked to come up with a song for a Victoria Sporting Goods commercial, and with the January 1994 release, I can only think of skiing being the thing. The colour white in the title helped a lot, too. 

Does she look like a bear to you?

Anyways, "Shiroi Gradation" peaked at No. 5 on Oricon and went Double Platinum. It ended the year as the 48th-ranked single. It is also a part of Ohguro's 4th album from November 1994, "Eien no Yume ni Mukatte"（永遠の夢に向かって...Towards the Eternal Dream） which hit No. 1 and became a million-seller.

One last piece of bitterly sweet humour regarding the single was given in the J-Wiki article. Apparently, the photographer and the director were biting their nails about the photos taken of Ohguro for the single jacket. She was referred to as looking like a bear or an old hag. On the surface, she laughed it off but she used a marker to draw some very vivid anime anger hash marks on her manager's palm. I'm surprised that she didn't use something sharper to carve something similar into the director's head.

Stanley Clarke and George Duke -- Sweet Baby

It is a national holiday today so as per KKP custom, we have a special holiday version of Reminiscings of Youth. I'd say this story goes back almost thirty years but when I was teaching a class in Tokyo, I recall asking the students regarding their favourite ice cream flavour (my classes were often quite whimsical). One of the students was a half-French/half-Japanese lass named Francoise who was quite popular in the group and had quite the outgoing personality. As usual, she went beyond the parameters of the question and gave us her own choice of an invented ice cream flavour. When I then asked her what she would name this new taste, she enthusiastically chirped "SWEET BABY".

Not too long after, I was at Yamano Music in Ginza doing my usual browsing of anything interesting in the CD department. I ended up purchasing the two discs making up the BRIO AOR collection, one of which had a song by a couple of musicians that I had never heard before: the late American keyboardist George Duke and American bassist Stanley Clarke, and the two of them had apparently collaborated back in 1981 through an album titled "The Clarke/Duke Project". The song from that album was the song chosen for the BRIO collection and it was called surprisingly enough, "Sweet Baby".

Yes, I will always remember Francoise and her ice cream flavour through Clarke and Duke's "Sweet Baby". For one thing, the song is probably one of the smoothest and most enjoyable AOR songs that my ears have had the honour to absorb and digest, and for another, it came out in the year that I was finally awakened to the wonders of not only Japan but also music in general. My only regret is that I hadn't discovered it back then and that I would have to wait until the end of the century to finally know about it. And who would have thought that an AOR tune would invite an electric sitar into the mix? To finally reach full circle, I would love to encounter an ice cream at a parlor somewhere that was actually called Sweet Baby.

"The Clarke/Duke Project" came out in April 1981, so let's find out what else came out that month in Japan. 

Toshiyuki Nishida -- Moshimo Piano ga Hiketanara（もしもピアノが弾けたなら）

Hitomi Ishikawa -- Machibuse（まちぶせ）

Saki Kubota -- Orange Airmail Special

Mebae Miyahara -- Tasogare Metro（黄昏メトロ）

 

The KKP file for singer-songwriter Mebae Miyahara（宮原芽映）isn't very large but from the relatively few songs that I've heard, she's dabbled into both pop and City Pop. Furthermore, her style strikes me as being rather light and eclectic.

Case in point: the B-side to her 2nd single "10 Years" which was released in July 1981. "Tasogare Metro" (Sunset Metro) fulfills both adjectives that I used in the previous paragraph, and as written/composed by Miyahara, there is something that feels like French pop and 1950s pop at the same time. At the same time, Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）was also utilizing some of that Gallic flavour in her music but I wouldn't say that Miyahara's style is similar to that of Ohnuki...at least, not from what I'm hearing in this particular song. 

"Tasogare Metro" can also be found in Miyahara's debut album "Cat" which came out earlier in May of that year. Have a gander at "Milky Cat" which is also on the LP.

The Tube -- Midnight Beach

 

Welcome to the Victoria Day 2026 edition of "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Yes, we actually do have national holidays here although in Canada, they may seem rare when compared to the bushelful of holidays that Japan has. And since it is Victoria Day, it's also known as the unofficial beginning to summer and perfect timing, too, because we surprisingly have our first heat advisory of the year with Humidex readings threatening 36 degrees C! No worries, though...in a couple of days, our high will only reach 14.

Of course, if summer has arrived, then it's time for the usual TUBE article. If I'm not mistaken, Nobuteru Maeda（前田亘輝）and his guys are celebrating 41 years in the music business. And from their very first album released in July 1985, "Heart of Summer", here is "Midnight Beach", a languid nighttime ballad that brings to mind cool nights, crackling beachside campfires and most importantly, a lot of snuggling by the fire. Composed by Masao Nakajima（中島正雄）and written/arranged by Daiko Nagato（長戸大幸）, it's a pleasant way to finish off Side A of the album. 

We may be a little early for this scene this year but I hear in Japan, they are more than ready for beachside activity. According to some of the citizenry though, the heat wave has come in a little too hot and early.

Fire Treasure(炎のたからもの) by Yuji Ohno & Toshie Kihara

Hello, J-Canuck here. I'd like to welcome Rocket Brown to "Kayo Kyoku Plus" as a new contributor to the blog. For those among the City Pop fandom, Rocket's been known for years for providing his thoughts on the music via his "Come Along Radio" broadcasts,  some of which I've been honoured to be invited to over the past number of years. He's been a good friend and fellow City Pop fan, so right after the rocket photo below, he'll take over with his first article.

Wikimedia Commons

Sometime in high school, I became disillusioned with modern movies. They just weren’t capturing my attention in a way that sparked my imagination anymore. One day, after spending my entire Japanese language class discussing Studio Ghibli films, I decided to look into Hayao Miyazaki’s filmography and discovered that he had directed a Lupin III movie called The Castle of Cagliostro.

After sitting down and watching the movie, I was hooked. The comedy, the action, the fun and witty dialogue — always watch the Manga dub if you can — all pulled me in. But what captivated me the most was the music, especially the main theme song, Fire Treasure (炎のたからもの). 

It’s no secret that legendary jazz composer Yuji Ohno (大野雄二) practically defined the musical identity of Lupin III. But what makes this particular theme so special is that it isn’t bombastic like the big band sound of “Lupin ’89,” nor does it have the exploitation-style funk of the 1979 theme. Instead, it’s a nostalgic ballad sung by Toshie Kihara (木原敏恵), with lyrics by Jun Hashimoto.

Much like the movie itself, “Fire Treasure” embodies a feeling of longing for adventure and romance. I can’t think of another song in the Lupin III canon that captures the same whimsical sense of mystery this song evokes. Ohno would try to recapture that feeling in the 2019 film Lupin III: The First — Lupin’s first 3D CGI movie — with the song “GIFT ” featuring Lyn Inaizumi (稲泉りん). It’s a beautiful song in its own right, but it just doesn’t hit the same way. 

“Fire Treasure” is truly lightning in a bottle and a showcase of Yuji Ohno’s genius. Most people only know him for his Lupin III music, but he did so much more. As J-Cannuck once put it, Ohno was essentially the Japanese Henry Mancini, composing iconic themes and soundtracks for various television and film productions such as Proof of the Man and Dai Gekitō Mad Police ’80.

Yuji Ohno would pass away in his sleep on May 4, 2026, but he left behind an incredible legacy of music for the world to enjoy. And much like Lupin himself, he stole our hearts.

Seri Ishikawa -- Desire

 

It's been a while since Seri Ishikawa（石川セリ）has been up here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", so I've got some of her "Desire" for a Sunday. And no, it has nothing to do with Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）signature song that would come out in 1986.

Ishikawa's "Desire" actually was a track on her September 1985 album, "Rakuen"（楽園...Paradise）. Written and composed by Moonriders' drummer Tetsuro Kashibuchi（かしぶち哲郎）, it's got that 80s combination of thrumming bass synth and boppy bass so I think I can hear this on many an American cop show from that decade as background music. Yeah, it's an upbeat pop song of the times. I also wrote about another track on "Rakuen", "Ai no Bunryo"（愛の分量）back in 2020, so give that a gander as well.

Nagisa Cosmetic -- Life Balance

 

I remember when Sanae Takaichi（高市早苗）first took the reins as Japan's first female prime minister and she exhorted she couldn't care less about work-life balance as it pertained to her. She said that she would be a machine and keep on working. For me, it's more about life balance since I'm basically semi-retired now. And for today, it's all about heat dissipation because for the first time this year, I'm baking again in my own juices since we've got a summery day out there.

Anyways, we've got cutesy-voiced Nagisa Cosmetic, aka former model-singer and current creative consultant Nagisa Ichikawa（市川渚）. When I was going through that eclectic compilation album "Contemode V.A. 2" and found acts such as spaghetti vabune! and Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, I also saw Nagisa Cosmetic in there, too, and I remember posting her first article almost a year ago.

Well, within "Contemode V.A. 2", she's contributed "Life Balance" which was also originally placed as a track on her lone 2004 album "NAGISA COSMETIC". Yasutaka Nakata（中田ヤスタカ）was once again behind words and music for the techno-Shibuya-kei-esque "Life Balance" and there's much about it that reminds me of Nakata's other project, capsule, when the duo was more into Shibuya-kei in their early days.

Joleen Benoit -- Tokyo Girl/Tokyo Woman

Hello, J-Canuck here. We have another article by occasional contributor Fireminer. Following the video, he'll take over the narrative.

I sometimes peruse YouTube for retro Japanese commercials, which was how I came across this Xerox advert. The song being featured is “Tokyo Girl” by the American single Joleen Benoit. It is the first track on her 1988 Japan-exclusive album “Joleen”.

This is a crowd-pleaser. On top of a catchy AOR tune guided by the clapping, you put a gratuitous amount of saxophone for that 50s flair. It goes well with the sunny lyrics, which depict a boy pinning for a manic pixie-type of girl with so much allure. Furthermore, “Tokyo Girl” and the rest of the album were performed by experienced artists who were pretty well-known in the easy listening world like Andrea Robinson (backing vocal), Joey Carbone (keyboardist) and Michael Thompson (guitarist). It is not a surprise that the song jumped to first place on the Oricon Western music chart in September 1988. Having the young actress Yuki Matsushita (松下 由樹) danced to your song in the Xerox commercial helped too.

As for the singer, Joleen Benoit was from the city of Farmington, Minnesota. She became Miss Minnesota in 1973 and toured with the United Service Organizations (USO) for a period of time. Her first single, 1986 “Forgotten Man”, was even about servicemen returning home. Joleen was also one of the people responsible for creating the Minnesotan supergroup “Women Who Cook”. The band was put together for the PBS Nighttimes Variety Show which Joleen was the host of. They even performed in the Soviet Union on a peace tour! You can read about the band here.

Joleen eventually released a follow-up single called “Tokyo Woman” (1990). I can not find anything about that single as well as the subsequent releases, but her last single was in 1999. Joleen then worked as a CBS Host for several years. I found her Facebook and YouTube page, but the former has been set to private while the latter has been inactive for years.

Anri -- Memorial Story

 

Remembering back to 2017, I posted an article on Anri's（杏里）November 1982 album "Heaven Beach". I recollect that I didn't do a total job on it but it was still fairly thorough so for all the intervening years, I didn't revisit it.

Well, there are still a few tracks that had yet to be covered and one was "Memorial Story". Written and composed by the singer, it's a very amiable and palm tree-friendly song that kinda brings in the California AOR sound, and it sounds perfect for "Heaven Beach". Without needing to rely on songwriters such as Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）, it's evident that Anri had that feeling for the genre as well.

Ryuichi Sakamoto -- Daiei（ダイエー）

 

I know that Daiei is one of the major supermarket chains in Japan. There was one branch of it near my apartment...a mere ten-minute walk away. The actual supermarket was in the basement but it was huge, fairly comparable to some of the No Frills supermarkets we have here in Toronto, and my Daiei also had a couple of floors above the supermarket for clothes and the usual department store stuff.

Let it be known that it would be grand folly to describe the amazing things that the late legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）did musically in one mere paragraph. He was a pioneer in technopop, helped give a new exciting sound to Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）in the early 1980s, provided some of the catchiest and quirkiest melodies to other singers such as Miki Nakatani（中谷美紀）, arranged one of the cutest kid-friendly songs for an aidoru trio, created some fine and comfortable New Age music, and was even responsible for a blippity-bloppity theme for NHK News back in the day.

And yep, he even gave his all for commercials including one for my beloved Daiei where I often got my bento. And I mean, he gave his all.

(Mock conversation between The Professor and Daiei)

Daiei, nervously: So, can you...uh...provide a nice jingle for our supermarket?

Sakamoto, haughtily: I, Ryuichi Sakamoto, do NOT compose tiny insignificant baubles of eighth notes for anything! I compose full breathing songs, sir!

Daiei: Well...uh...how catchy and long can you make this song for our humble company?

Sakamoto: YES!

And thus, "Daiei" was born in 1983. And here I thought his "GT" was cool and upbeat. "Daiei" may be his most foot-stomping and toe-tapping work yet. It's got his 80s synth beats, celebratory Christmas bells, bounce-off-the-wall saxophone, cool background chorus and bang-and-crash percussion. Good golly...how big was that sale for fruits and vegetables? You will never simply walk over to your local grocery ever again.

Anyways, "Daiei" is available on his November 2002 compilation album "Works I - CM".

Hikaru Utada -- PAPPAPARADISE

        

Although I never saw either of them during their original airtime, I had heard of James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" and the game show "Cash Cab". 

In either case, it's quite the elevation in being driven home. Sing your favourite songs or win some good hard money although I believe the former situation only invites celebrities. 

That's the image I got on watching the music video for Hikaru Utada's（宇多田ヒカル）latest single, "PAPPAPARADISE". They have got to be the most cheerful taxi driver on Earth and I'm not sure which area is being represented here: Tokyo or her native New York City. I only see Hikaru taking care of Japanese fares and yet the singer-songwriter is wearing street clothes behind the wheel which is verboten in Japan's taxis. But that's not the point. The amazing thing is that Hikaru is greatly enjoying life and entertaining the customers through their song which was released on May 6th. It's an upbeat tune with a bit of 1950s music, doo-wop and even some Steely Dan horns in there. 

And it was after viewing the music video that I found out that "PAPPARADISE" is being used as the latest ending theme for the long-running anime "Chibi Maruko-chan"（ちびまる子ちゃん）. So, Utada joins folks such as B.B. Queens, Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）and Kahimi Karie（カヒミカリィ） on that august list.