Country Musume -- Yukigeshiki（雪景色）

 

Man, those were quite the hey days for Hello! Project（ハロー!プロジェクト）, the huge Tsunku-created female aidoru umbrella under which resided the mighty Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）. And entering the 21st century from the 1990s, other groups and solo acts germinated such as singer Miki Fujimoto（藤本美貴）and the relatively recent OCHA NORMA.

I also recollect there being a few groups under Hello! Project that also had the name Musume. Except for a relatively few exceptions, I didn't dig too deeply into these other groups, but one group's name has stayed with me, Country Musume（カントリー娘。）. Unfortunately, the one reason for that is due to a tragedy that befell them. Country Musume was to have debuted as a trio: Rinne Toda（戸田鈴音）, Azusa Kobayashi（小林梓）, and Hiromi Yanagihara（柳原尋美）. However, just before the release of their debut single (which had already been recorded) in July 1999, Yanagihara was killed in an auto accident with Kobayashi departing the group after its release. 

Toda stayed on as a solo act representing Country Musume and as such, she released the group's 2nd single "Yukigeshiki" (Snowscape) in November 1999. It stood out for the fact that not only did Tsunku（つんく♂）compose the song but Chisato Moritaka（森高千里）provided the lyrics. Heavy with the country music vibe, the Sapporo-born Toda sings about how frustrated she's been getting with the endless amounts of snow around her but making the best of a seasonally frustrating time by getting together with the boyfriend and hitting the slopes with a snowboard. That's right...take a negative and turn it into a positive!

What I hadn't known about Country Musume is that the group underwent a lot of personnel changes (but then again, Morning Musume was no stranger to that either) including the entry of some Morning Musume members with that Hokkaido lineage, continuing until 2009. Then in 2014, the group returned but experienced a name change going from Country Musume to Country Girls after which they continued for about another five years before calling it a day in 2019.

Kozo Murashita -- Fuyu Monogatari（冬物語）

 

In the post-Snowmageddon days, the one thing that I've had to endure are the rocky and slippery unplowed sidewalks. My leg muscles have gotten quite sore from the workout they've been getting trying to navigate the streets. It may be the only time that I have something in common with professional speed skaters...and hey, we've got the Winter Olympics coming up, don't we?

Anyways, keeping up with the winter theme, let's take a listen to this B-side from the late singer-songwriter Kozo Murashita's（村下孝蔵）August 1983 single "Odoriko"（踊り子）, "Fuyu Monogatari" (Winter Story). In contrast to the fairly jaunty A-side, "Fuyu Monogatari" is a beautifully arranged piano ballad of still pining for a past love. The song sounds as if it had a setting of somewhere in Europe but there is mention of a clock tower at least a couple of times in Murashita's lyrics, so I'm wondering if he'd been walking through Sapporo in Hokkaido instead. 

The protagonist in the song has apparently been without his now-ex-paramour for over a year so he's been through the emotional wringer. I can only ask him to find a stylish cafe somewhere close by and get some cocoa to alleviate his symptoms.

On the J-Wiki article for "Odoriko", I found out that "Fuyu Monogatari" had been covered in 1987 by Hong Kong singer Sandy Lamb. It's known as 「也許當時年紀少」.

The Last Show -- Tomo ni Genki（ともに元気 ）

 

Some years ago, I mentioned a band by the name of The Last Show（ザ・ラストショウ）which was set up to act as backup for folk-rock singer Shigeru Izumiya（泉谷しげる）back in 1974 and then went on their own way from the latter half of that decade. However, following their 1978 album "Last Show 2", nothing more was heard from Koichi Matsuda（松田幸一）and his group.

But then in 2010, almost forty years later, The Last Show got together again and provided a new album in January called "Ieji ~ My Sweet Home"（家路）followed by a live album a few months later titled "The Noise From 80’s". I've already written about the title track and now here's a ballad from the album called "Tomo ni Genki" (Fine Together). 

I dare you not to get all gooshy inside after listening to this one. Written by Kenji Kadoya（門谷憲二）and composed by band guitarist Hirofumi Tokutake（徳武弘文）, it sounds contemporary but there's also a feeling of an anchor to the past via some of those 70s slow love songs in a Boz Scaggs way. I don't know for certain who sings the male part, but it might be Rina from the band indigo blue as the female half of the duet here. You may want to have a tissue nearby.

The Year of the Horse

From Alexandra Sigrit2323
via Wikimedia Commons

Y'know...I should have posted this one up right on New Year's Day almost a month ago, but then again, I was rather busy with family stuff on January 1st. But I digress. This year is once again the Year of the Horse; people who were born in that year are supposedly responsible, confident and agreeable.

As such, I'm not sure whether I can find any kayo kyoku that are responsible, confident and agreeable, but at least I can find some songs that have some sort of relationship to horses.

(1970) Salty Sugar -- Hashire Koutarou（走れコウタロー）

(1980) Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Rydeen (雷電）

(1988) Yuki Saito & Takao Kisugi -- ORACION - Inori （ORACION -祈り-）

(1996) Koji Tamaki -- Den'en （田園）

I realize that this last one may not have anything directly to do with horses, but dang it, the rhythms here just remind me so much of taking a running ride on a steed through the countryside!

Keiko Matsuzaka -- Close Your Eyes

 

Considering yesterday's massive snowstorm, I can imagine commuters who had to take the car or public transit this morning on this Monday were closing their eyes in resigned realization of their immediate working needs. Fortunately, a few of my friends work from home so they have been off the hook.

If I mention the name Keiko Matsuzaka（松坂慶子）, I believe that a lot of Japanese folks would remember her in her capacity as an actress, TV personality or commercial pitchman. However, she did have that hit back in 1979, the saucy "Ai no Suichuuka"（愛の水中花）. But she had been putting out music for several years in the form of singles and albums starting from the mid-1970s well into the 21st century.

One album was the February 1984 "Hitomi wo Tojite"（瞳をとじて ）and the track which started off the B-side of the original LP was "Close Your Eyes" which is the direct translation for the album title. Written and composed by Ryudo Uzaki（宇崎竜童）, who came up with a lot of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）hits back in the 1970s, "Close Your Eyes" is something quite different. For one thing, it's quite the haunting technopop tune thanks additionally to Matsuzaka's vocals, and it feels like something that came out of France although I can also imagine the band Blondie tackling this one. 

All-Points Bulletin: What is This Chinese cover song?

 

We have the apple pie up there which means that this is another All-Points Bulletin article, the first one for 2026. 

Last September, YouTuber Neff Sang contacted me regarding a few Chinese covers of Japanese songs that he couldn't identify so he asked us for some help. Eventually, most of them were identified. However, he's contacted me in the last couple of days for a song by Cheng Lin（程琳）that was released above in 1983 which can be found at 21:57 of the above video containing the album "Little Conch"（小螺号）. The song title is 「春水湾湾」but he would like to know what the original Japanese song is. 

Neff gave me an additional tidbit in that the original song was created by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）. He's also provided the same song down below albeit under a different arrangement although he's stated that it was also from the same year of 1983. Unfortunately, I couldn't identify the song but if any of you take a listen and can identify it, please let us know.

Fubuki Koshiji -- Yuki ga Furu（雪が降る）

 

Well, that was the entrance to my building this morning after Snowmageddon 2 walloped the Greater Toronto Area all throughout yesterday. I think we may have gotten as much as two feet of snow by the end and though the main streets have been plowed, the sidewalks were still pretty treacherous (and probably will remain that way for the next few days). 

It was an interesting time at the local mall this morning when I was out doing the usual grocery shopping. Just when I was ready to head for the cashier, the alarm began whooping and then we got the announcement ordering us out of the supermarket immediately. So I was out with my basket of groceries waiting for half an hour outside of the now-sealed store. Apparently, on the other end of the mall, the ceiling collapsed just within the entrance and the fire department had to come in and check the structural integrity for all of the ceiling within the mall so since I couldn't wait, I just returned my groceries to the nearest staffer and headed on home. Meanwhile, there was a three-car collision in the mall parking lot. But hey, at least it was sunny.😎

In commemoration of the second major snowstorm to hit Toronto in the last ten days, I've decided to find something suitable to begin this business week's round of KKP articles. I already spoke on storm-related songs several days ago so I was wondering how I was going to pull this off today when I remembered a lady whose first name literally stands for "blizzard": Fubuki Koshiji（越路吹雪）. 

The late chanson singer released a single that would be perfect for yesterday's sturm und drang. "Yuki ga Furu" (Snow Falls) might sound something of an understatement considering the amounts that we received but I can live with that. Released in 1963, this was a cover of Belgian singer Salvatore Adamo's own hit, "Tombe la neige", from earlier in the year. Originally composed and written by Adamo, both the Japanese version which was given lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）and the original reflect a less stormy and more composed if resigned state of dealing with the loss of a lover...and the winter in Japan at least likes to reflect emotional devastation regarding romance. Parting can be so beautiful and horrifyingly sad.

Of course, over here in Toronto currently, it's not just the snow but the ceiling which falls.

Ami Ozaki & Akira Okazawa -- Bad Boy, Bad Girl

 

I have to say that singer-songwriter Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）was about as imaginative as Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）when it came to the design of her album covers. One example is the one for her August 1983 album "Miracle" which hit No. 20 on Oricon. I mean, can anyone psychoanalyze this one?\

"Bad Boy, Bad Girl" is one track on "Miracle" which is surprisingly steamy for a Japanese pop song of the 1980s. I have heard some Mood Kayo tunes at karaoke that can get rather liberal with the sex quotient (along with the soft porn videos to go along with them) but I think this might be one of the only times that I've heard something like this in a regular pop tune, although no one in American R&B or hip-hop will need to drop their jaws in awe here.

Ozaki was responsible for words, music and arrangement with "Bad Boy, Bad Girl" (as she was for all of the other tracks on "Miracle") and she does a duet here with jazz bassist Akira Okazawa（岡沢章）who's got some of Hiro Tsunoda（つのだ☆ひろ）vibes in his vocals. The melody has that somewhat woozy mixture of nocturnal pop and reggae rhythms thrumming throughout as if a lot of alcohol (and perhaps other stuff) were being imbibed in the storyline of the song. I guess whatever happened in this setting probably stayed in this setting.

Yutaka Oe & Hiromi Yamaguchi -- Takoyaki Biyori ~ Fuufu Yatai（たこやき日和～夫婦屋台～）

 

I've had takoyaki, the great Osakan street food, from time to time when I was living in the Tokyo area and have even tried the Toronto variety. Of course, I'm no expert on it but I believe that the ideal takoyaki is piping hot and creamy on the inside while the outside is pleasantly doughy with all of the nori, mayonnaise and thick sauce covering the balls. We've got commenters on this blog who live in Japan, so would like their input on the ideal takoyaki. One other point that I'd like to add is that whenever NHK shows tourism in Osaka, they always put up scenes of the folks navigating their palates through the searing hot snacks.

Now with the Holidays over, regular programming has continued to return. "Nodo Jiman"（のど自慢）is another NHK stalwart that has come back onto screens this week and the crew was in Takatsuki this time around. One of the songs that an old couple performed was indeed takoyaki-themed.

Well, you can't get more obvious than the title of "Takoyaki Biyori ~ Fuufu Yatai" (A Good Day For Takoyaki ~ Husband & Wife Stand). This is a duet between enka singers Yutaka Oe（大江裕）and Hiromi Yamaguchi（山口ひろみ）, the latter of whom is getting onto the blog for the first time and for the former, it's about the earliest in his discography that I've come across. Released in December 2015, it's a grand old enka about the ups and downs of a husband and wife making their way through life and finances by cooking up and selling takoyaki. They sing and speak so sugary sweetly at each other in their Kansai dialects that I figure that there must be something behind the heavenly veil, and sure enough at the very end, I get to hear some of Yamaguchi's razor-like tongue.

"Takoyaki Biyori" was written by Miwa Ito（伊藤美和）and composed by Koji Tokuhisa（徳久広司）. As for Yamaguchi, she hails from Osaka and her mother and aunt were a postwar comedic duo named Kamogawa Kamome and Chidori（加茂川かもめ・ちどり）. While in university, Yamaguchi was introduced to the enka legend Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）and shortly after became one of his many apprentices with her debut in 2002. Up to last year, she has released 29 singles and a couple of original albums.

metro trip -- Summer Days

 

Summer days are as far away as they can be right now when the temperatures outside of my home are closer to Absolute Zero and the winds are bearing down on us at about Warp One. It would be really nice for some of that sun and warmth to return but we'll probably have to wait a few more months.

Anyways, another vicarious attempt at the hot season will be granted here via the 2000s pop duo metro trip. "Summer Days" was written and composed by one-half of the pair, musician Taka Aoki（青木多果）, while his partner, vocalist Tomoka Hino（日野友香）, has a fine time singing the melody influenced by bossa nova and samba. And there is no hint of snow or ice in there at all. 😀The song shares track space with my first exposure to metro trip, "BABYBABY" on their debut full album "Tsuki to Drive" （月とドライブ...The Moon and The Drive） from January 2006.

Kids, you might want to recheck your seating in the car there!

Yukari Kato -- Neppu Hankyu（熱風半球）

Vyacheslav Argenberg
via Wikimedia Commons

If you are reading this on your computer terminal surrounded by sand, palm trees and blue sky, then you have my envy. This morning, I woke up to a -20-degree Celsius forecast and mandatory layers of clothing. Spring is still two months away.

Well, at least I can enjoy a tropical vacation vicariously through music. Case in point: Yukari Kato's（かとうゆかり）3rd single "Neppu Hankyu" (Hot Wind Hemisphere) from April 1983 which is a blast of that titular wind through Latin and disco. It was used as a campaign song that year for what would later become Japan Air System, and the melody loudly invites travelers to head on south.

Speaking of that melody, it was composed by Takashi Watanabe*（渡辺敬之）with Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）on lyrics. The Aichi Prefecture-born Kato was a singer and tarento who was active in the mid-1980s and was apparently discovered while singing at a Roppongi live house. Her J-Wiki bio states that she had usually preferred 1960s pop over the contemporary stuff but "Neppu Hankyu" certainly wasn't an example of that. Kato would release five singles up to 1985 and one original album in 1982.

*That first name's kanji has too many readings so I took a stab at it. If anyone can correct or confirm the reading, please let me know.

Uwanosora -- Mujuuryoku no Photographer（無重力のフォトグラファー）

 

That is one mighty happy young photographer flying about in zero gravity on either the ISS or a space shuttle. If it were me, I would most likely be heaving all over the place. 

Anyways, my final article tonight deals with the laidback sounds by Uwanosora（ウワノソラ）. "Mujuuryoku no Photographer" (Photographer in Zero Gravity) initially launches with some fairly happy piano-driven AOR that is reminiscent of the Doobie Bros before the speed ratchets down slightly to something more relaxing The song first appeared on the band's August 2020 2nd maxi-single "Kurage"（くらげ...Jellyfish） but also popped up as the coupling song to "Heart no Tekagami"（ハートの手鏡) from October 2021.

It's also nice that "Mujuuryoku no Photographer" and "Heart no Tekagami" share space on the same disc for comparison. There is the cafe-worthy former paired with the Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう）City Pop of the latter.

Nulbarich -- New Era

 

It was a few years ago that I discovered the band Nulbarich which has been put alongside Suchmos and Yogee New Waves as one of the relatively new breed of Neo-City Pop bands, although perhaps they would rather be called something more on the lines of J-R&B. Anyways, Nulbarich's "Tokyo" from 2021 has that groove with some added synthpop.

Now, I'm going a bit earlier to their debut year of 2016 with "New Era" which was a track on their first album "Guess Who?". From the title, one might guess that the song could be about a better time for Earth and its citizens, but really, it's a whole lot more intimate with a man finally coming out of his shell to share love with that significant other for the first time in a while. There's that appealingly sunny funk and groove accompanying Jeremy "JQ" Quartus' soulful vocals.

Ryohei Yamanashi -- Hidarikiki no Onna（左ききの女）

by Ian Muttoo via Wikimedia Commons

 

I can always count on singer-songwriter Ryohei Yamanashi（山梨鐐平）to come up with something that is urban, urbane and stylish with some jazziness. His fashion sense certainly shows the same thing.

"Hidarikiki no Onna" was a 1982 single as well as a track on Yamanashi's debut album from the same year, "Tweed". Apparently, its English subtitle is "Woman in the Rain" from the singer's lyrics but it can also be translated as "The Left-Handed Woman" or even "Woman Who Loves Her Drink"; that latter meaning was something that I hadn't known before. In any case, the potential double meaning in the title merely adds to the sultry mystery that the song provides. I do love those tight horns, the disco strings and the jazzy saxophone. This can only be a nocturnal pop song of the city.

Kazumi Ouchi -- Yokohama Shock（横浜ショック）

Yokohama Gate Tower
by NEO-NEED

 

I have another new face to bring onto the blog. Her name is Kazumi Ouchi（大内和美）and this is another singer whose information is very sparse indeed. In fact, I could only get what I could from Discogs and apparently, she released about 6 singles between 1983 and 1988 with no idea whether she also released any albums. As well, she changed her professional name to Hitomi Mitsui（三井一美）in late 1984.

In June 1983, Ouchi released her second single "Yokohama Shock". Written and composed by Kuniko Fukushima（福島邦子）with added lyrical assistance by Akira Inami（伊南岳）, it's a pleasant City Pop/sophisticated pop concoction with some of that bossa nova flair. Yes, I did give the song that hybridized categorization since I can also feel that there is some of that kayo kyoku in there. I mean, if it had been released a decade later, I could have even said that it was a form of New Adult Music.

Rumiko Matsubara -- Wakare（不実）

 

One of the highlights of my time working as the receptionist at the old International Student Centre at the University of Toronto was when the building was chosen to be one of the filming sites for the 1993 movie "M. Butterfly" starring Jeremy Irons and John Lone regarding forbidden love between the two main characters. Many of our rooms were used as certain areas within the French Embassy located in China. Of course, there was a lot of excitement of an actual Hollywood movie being filmed in my workplace. 

Apparently, the grand staircase was the final factor that got us selected by director David Cronenberg. I actually got to meet the famous director when he came in one day to take a look at the ISC. He was very friendly and a fair bit shorter than I'd thought (basically the same height as me at about 173 cm). I have a few stories about the "M. Butterfly" era but for brevity here, I'll just relay the part where a lot of Chinese students came to the front desk like happy puppies and asked whether Lone would be filming his scenes at the centre. Alas, I had to tell them that he was filming his scenes half way around the world while Irons would be filming within the centre. Didn't quite get the enthusiastic reception there.

I have to say that although I never saw the entire movie, I did marvel at how well Lone was able to play a woman, fooling and bewitching Irons' character. Apparently, something like that happened in real life in Japan in the 1980s. Hokkaido-born former thespian and TV personality Rumiko Matsubara（松原留美子）was a "New Half"（ニューハーフ）...a Japanese term that could describe either a transgender woman or a drag queen (the impression I got from the J-Wiki article on her was that she may have even been the originator of the term). While she was working in Roppongi, Tokyo, she was actually able to convince clients at a hostess club that she was a real woman. She was even selected to be the image girl for the "Roppongi Beauty" campaign without anyone finding out that she was a man. A couple of people involved with a movie saw one of her posters and recruited Matsubara to be the star and were absolutely flabbergasted when Matsubara told them that he was actually a guy.

Fame soon followed and when fame follows anyone in Japan, that means it's time to cut records. And Matsubara did release a couple of singles in 1981 and 1982 with one album coming out in 1981. Plainly titled "New Half", one of the tracks is "Wakare"（Parting） although the actual kanji is read as "Fujitsu" (Insincerity). Written by Yoko Katsura（桂葉子）and composed by Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）, it's quite the languid City Pop number which is performed with a very light touch by the singer. Melodically, it could describe the night life in the buildings filled with hostess clubs in the livelier areas of Tokyo.

Matsubara was gainfully employed in front of the camera for at least half of the 1980s but eventually the phone calls to her dried up and she returned to her work as a hostess. But she faded from view completely by the 1990s.

The ISC

Yukiko (Yuyu) Iwai -- Yozora no Menu（夜空のメニュー）

 

What was once the tallest free-standing structure on Earth, Toronto's own CN Tower, had the world's highest disco called Sparkles. It was also one of the smallest discos but for us in the Japanese-Canadian Students' Association at the University of Toronto, it was one of our go-to places although not to the extent of The Copa, The Diamond or karaoke bar Kuri. Had our fair share of cocktails and snacks at Sparkles, but I have to admit that I never went to the revolving 360 Restaurant. I did hear that it's a bit of a tourist trap but if anyone would like to correct me...🙏 Regardless, Happy 50th Birthday to the ol' CN Tower!

And we come to the song for this article, "Yozora no Menu" (Menu of the Night Sky). Written by Hiroko Tania（谷亜ヒロコ）and composed by Yasuko Kawakami（川上泰子）, this was recorded by aidoru Yukiko (Yuyu) Iwai（岩井由紀子）on her 4th and final album to date, "Kotteru ne!"（こってるネ!...You're So Particular!）, from December 1988. It's quite the high-flying romantic song and it has a smooth and refined arrangement by Ryo Yonemitsu（米光亮）that almost had me thinking City Pop. I just hope that the happy couple don't have any vertigo issues. As for the album, "Kotteru ne!" scored a No. 49 ranking on Oricon.

Shigeru Suzuki -- Kaiyuu（回遊）

 

I know that musician, songwriter and former member of Happy End, Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）, has been continuing to make his way through the music industry to the present day. However, up to now, I'd usually seen him as a fellow making the good stuff in the 1970s such as the song I noted only a few weeks earlier "Brandy Wine".

Only recently have I discovered some of his music following the decade of disco and early City Pop. One such example is his "Kaiyuu" from his 1998 album "Kujira no Umi"（クジラの海〜Living Whales）. "Kaiyuu" can mean "excursion" but it can also be defined as "seasonal migration" for sea life such as fish. Considering the album title, Suzuki could have been referring to the migration of whales themselves. But whatever is moving around out there in the grand blue, Suzuki means it as a very languid and relaxing fusion number that kinda hovers around jazz and pop...maybe it's more accurate to say New Age. Let us lie down in those deck lounge chairs, shall we?

David Bowie -- Ashes to Ashes

By Redeytraveler via Wikimedia Commons

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since music icon David Bowie left this mortal coil. Perhaps it's a mere guess from me, but I think fans and people who are just discovering Bowie are probably going through his discography and perhaps even his filmography right now to view his creations.

As I mentioned in my first ROY article on Bowie, "Ashes to Ashes" was the first time I'd seen him in a music video, following my first ever sighting and listening to him on the Martin Sheen-hosted "Saturday Night Live" episode. Bowie Boy, did he make an impression! Music videos were just at the beginning of their lifetime as a pop culture force and this one for "Ashes to Ashes" was kinda like one of my dreams if I had a little too much spicy food the night before. 

I will leave the interpretation of the song to better people at Genius and Wikipedia, but suffice it to say, it was something that left me somewhat shaken considering that I'd seen it on some video show late at night and it was something that I'd never seen before with all of those special effects and Bowie taking on multiple characters. I also read that "Ashes to Ashes" has been lauded for its distinct structure and I could attest to that with the melodic shifts in direction knocking me around for an absolute loop. Art pop and art rock were the right labels for this one, along with New Wave. At the time, I was ready to use avant-garde.

 "Ashes to Ashes" was released on August 1st 1980. It did OK in Canada by scoring a No. 35 ranking on RPM and in the United States, it actually hit No. 21 on the Billboard Disco chart, but it reached No. 1 in the UK and France. Let's see what was up at the top of the Oricon charts a few days later on August 4th.

1. Monta & Brothers -- Dancing All Night

2. Toshihiko Tahara -- Aishuu Date （哀愁でいと）

I just wanted to leave things off with Jason Shulman's wonderful paean through his video for Bowie's 1972 "Starman". The song wouldn't fit for ROY because I frankly didn't hear it for the first time until much later into my adulthood but this video probably has had fans weeping for joy.

Hiroshi Miyama -- Hana to Samurai（花とサムライ）

 

As I mentioned in the previous article, "Uta Con"（うたコン）was back after several weeks of hiatus due to the Holidays. One of the guests was enka singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）who, back on New Year's Eve, managed to pull off another Guinness world record of sustained kendama catches (there are actually other snakes of people doing this sort of thing?!) on the Kohaku Utagassen.

It seems as if Miyama is taking after another famous enka legend by the name of Hiroshi (Itsuki) and becoming quite the Renaissance man or Swiss Army knife. He not only sings but loves kendama, breeds Rhinoceros beetles and handles the drums with aplomb, and those are the things that I remember; there were a few other hobbies that popped up on the screen but I forgot what they were.

Anyways, Miyama was on the drum set last night as he performed his latest single which was released only a couple of weeks ago and which makes the song the second one to be listed under the 2026 label here on KKP after this particular tune. "Hana to Samurai" (The Flower and the Samurai) is an enka song with a bit of a jazzy/rock n' roll twist so I guess I can also place this under the category of New Adult Music as well. Written by Haku Ide（いではく）and composed by Koji Tokuhisa（徳久広司）, it's all about remembering and engaging in all of those Japanese ideals such as being faithful to duty and family. I gather that it's the added genre panache that kinda softens the doctrinaire in "Hana to Samurai".

One additional thing that I discovered in Miyama's Wikipedia page is that his vocals have been called the Vitamin Voice because fans have claimed that his golden tones have provided a sense of security and vitality. So, he's the tonic that rejuvenates...something that will always be welcome in enka.

Aki Toyosaki, Maaya Uchida, Ayane Sakura, Miku Ito and Momo Asakura -- Akai Sweet Pea (赤いスイートピー）

 

Wow! All this time knowing the song "Akai Sweet Pea" (Red Sweet Pea) by Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）and the above 1910 painting is the first time I get to see a real red sweet pea. This is by Edward H. Mitchell (1867–1932) and it's in the public domain according to Wikimedia Commons.

One other thing that I found out on the first episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）in 2026 last night was that "Akai Sweet Pea" is celebrating its 44th anniversary today since its release in 1982. Well, of course, I wrote up an article on one of Seiko-chan's evergreen hits all the way back in 2012 so I can't really repeat myself. However, I did look up the many cover versions of "Akai Sweet Pea" via J-Wiki and found this one.

It is indeed a very sweet version via the December 2020 album "VOICE ~ Seiyuu-tachi ga Utau Matsuda Seiko Song ~ Female Edition"（VOICE〜声優たちが歌う松田聖子ソング〜 Female Edition...Voice Actresses Sing the Songs of Seiko Matsuda）. As the title says, a whole bunch of the big guns in the anime voice actress industry came together to provide their own versions of Matsuda's music. Their take on "Akai Sweet Pea" is the 12th and final track on the album and it is an appropriately stately but adorable cover sung by all of the seiyuu involved in the project to wrap things up: Aki Toyosaki（豊崎愛生）, Maaya Uchida（内田真礼）, Ayane Sakura（佐倉綾音）, Miku Ito（伊藤美来）and Momo Asakura（麻倉もも）. Probably not a dry eye in the house.

Anyways, all hail "Akai Sweet Pea"! All hail Seiko-chan!

Akemi Misawa -- Ashita wa O-Tachi ka?（明日はお立ちか）

 

I see that "Uta Con"（うたコン）is back in the saddle again on NHK after several weeks' Holiday hiatus. I'll have to take a look at that later tonight, but it'll be nice to see and hear some of the ol' kayo kyoku again.

Reading that enka veteran Akemi Misawa（三沢あけみ）is 80 years old, I can't imagine that I would see much of her on television again. However, she can be active on YouTube via her long discography of music. One such song is her November 1964 single "Ashita wa O-Tachi ka?" which literally translates as "Are You Standing Tomorrow?" (OK, let's not giggle too much here, eh?) but I think it's likelier that it means "Are You Leaving Tomorrow?". I did hear some references in Takao Saeki's（佐伯孝雄）lyrics that the young fellow will be departing by sea.

I gather that this would be another parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow type of enka with the melody by Shunichi Sasaki（佐々木俊一）and arrangement by Masanobu Tokuchi（渡久地政信）. However, there is something rather interesting in there with the inclusion of what sounds like a steel pedal guitar for that Hawaiian feeling. Usually, I'd hear that most Polynesian of instruments in Mood Kayo but it's actually included in an enka tune. Maybe the fellow is headed off to the Aloha State for an undetermined period of time.

Miyuki Kosaka -- Season Off

 

I think opinions may vary here, but today's feeling like the coldest day of the year thus far in my city. The wind chill factor took things down to -24 degrees Celsius! Had wanted to get my hair cut at the local barber but when I got to the place, it still hadn't opened and one poor guy was waiting in his car for the salon to open up. Wasn't going to wait and even the walk over to the convenience store to pick up the paper was an arduous odyssey.

At this point, still several weeks away from spring, I wouldn't blame folks for wanting to take the season off and make like bears going into hibernation. Instead, I'll be content to listen to heartwarming tunes like "Season Off" by Miyuki Kosaka（香坂みゆき）. A track from her September 1985 album "Fairway", it feels like a summer breeze with the melody and arrangement by the late singer-songwriter Kazuhito Murata（村田和人）, and it does have that laidback Murata merrily-we-roll-along jauntiness along with, I suspect, his voice as the background chorus and his guitar in the instrumental bridge. Kazuko Kobayashi（小林和子）was responsible for the lyrics. Nice to have a bit of summer back again.

Hiroshi Itsuki -- Akari ga Hoshii（灯りが欲しい）

 

Hard to believe that enka singer Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）will be turning 78 in a couple of months' time. I haven't seen him on the Kohaku in over five years now since he retired from the annual NHK special. 

When I first heard his 28th single from September 1977, "Akari ga Hoshii" (I Want to See the Light), I had assumed that this was one very dramatic enka for a person looking to cadge a light for his cigarette. But looking through Masato Fujita's（藤田まさと）lyrics, I quickly realized that the light this particular protagonist is looking for is the light of hope and recovery because it became evident that the fellow is pretty much at the end of his rope after drinking himself into isolation. 

Drinking and enka have gone together like hamburgers and cola but "Akari ga Hoshii" is different in that Mr. Booze isn't seen as the good ol' buddy or salve for what ails someone but the thing that brings someone down to his knees. Prolific Minoru Endo（遠藤実）was also the composer of the very bittersweet melody including those silky and flourishing strings. There's no one better to tearfully beckon for salvation than Itsuki and the song didn't do too badly by scoring a No. 14 ranking on Oricon and selling around 200,000 records. It also got him his 7th invitation to the 28th edition of the Kohaku Utagassen at the end of 1977.

YONA YONA WEEKENDERS -- Yoyoi no Yoi（予酔いの宵）

 

In recent years through Japanese television, I've become aware of a type of vacationing called glamping which is a portmanteau of "glamorous" and "camping". From what I've seen, it apparently looks like bringing 5-star hotel accommodations out to the woods. I've seen tarento partake in the activity. I've gone camping only once in my lifetime so it's not something for me but there is a part of me that wonders whether glamping kinda takes the meaning out of camping...but I'm not judging. I only know of one person who has gone camping by herself so if I ever meet her again, I'll have to ask her about her feelings on glamping.

I was reminded of this by the music video for YONA YONA WEEKENDERS' September 2025 EP "Yoyoi no Yoi". Now, it translates into "Pre-Drunken Evening" but I have heard it before as a part of a chant during some Japanese party game such as a really intense version of paper, rock and scissors (the strip kind). If I'm mistaken, please correct me here. To extend the definition further, the expression was used to describe the early evening when partygoers are already feeling the effects of alcohol but are still looking forward to the main event of drinking, eating and carousing. For those 80s music fans, I guess it's the stuff before everyone wang chungs that night.

However in this case, vocalist Isono-kun's（磯野くん）lyrics seem a bit more toned down. It's all about having a few friends get together to chill or maybe for a couple to snuggle one night. I've usually categorized YYW's music as Neo-City Pop but this time, I would probably say that it's more really groovy pop. The environment shown in the video helps in my decision although I posit that Isono-kun and his bandmates are taking part in camping rather than glamping.

Caoli Cano & Haruo Chikada -- Mechanica（メカニカ）

 

Considering the music and age of this particular album, this might be one of the rarest of the rare. And yet, I would like to explore it further. According to the explanation underneath the YouTube video, this is "Tokyo-teki"（東京的...Tokyo-esque） from March 1993, a compilation of songs under the aegis of Haruo Kubota（窪田晴男）who had been a band member of Haruo Chikada & The Vibratones（近田春夫&ビブラトーンズ）and a music producer.

With each of the nine tracks on the album addressing some aspect of Japan's capital city, the first track is "Mechanica" which was written by singer and sake brewer Caoli Cano（かの香織）and composed by Kubota's old boss Haruo Chikada. Kubota himself was on the keyboards here. It's quite the way to start things off with Cano's light and breathy vocals fronting a half-strutting, half skulking House beat, it seems like, as if some guy or lady in a red convertible is making Shinjuku or Roppongi their territory on a Friday night.  There are also a couple of times when this musical flourish suddenly bursts forth like a fountain going several metres up into the night sky which in a way reminds me of some Pet Shop Boys tunes. This album may be quite the ride in my old stomping grounds.

Chiyono Yoshino -- Icy Doll

 

Chiyono Yoshino（吉野千代乃）may not be the most well-known singer even within the City Pop umbrella that I've often associated her with, but she has had performed her material with sophistication and grace such as has been the case with her "Birthday Eve" from 1994. This came from her album "Crescent Moon" which was her final album until her 2018 "Canary".

Going to her debut album "Rain Ballade" from March 1986 then, it was a bit of a revelation to hear one of the tracks "Icy Doll". It is indeed Yoshino's resonant vocals but the melody and arrangement sound so mid-1980s European synthpop that I'd expected to see a couple of songwriters from halfway around the world responsible for this. Instead, Kyoko Matsumiya（松宮恭子）took care of both words and music. There's something about it that sounded rather Gazebo to me and I'd also expected to hear some French mumbling during the instrumental bridge.

Testpattern -- Souvenir Glacé

 

One of the many amazing things that I learned during my time in Japan was something of a gastronomic nature. I realized that chestnuts could be used for dessert! All this time growing up in Canada, I only knew chestnuts could be roasted and sold in brown paper bags in front of Maple Leaf Gardens here in Toronto to eat as a salty snack. But chestnuts as sweets?! Mon Dieu! 

But the Japanese certainly love their French pastries and so there I learned and enjoyed marron glace (glazed chestnuts) in the higher of the two videos and Mont Blanc in the lower video. It was just like when I discovered the joys of eating my first pumpkin pie.

Well, speaking about marron glace, I've come across "Souvenir Glacé" (Frozen Memories), a track from the 1982 album "Après-Midi" by the technopop duo Testpattern. I first wrote about the musical odyssey that graphic designers Fumio Ichimura（市村文夫）and Masao Hiruma（比留間雅夫）had taken under the tutelage of Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame when I wrote about another track from the album, "Techno Age", back in 2022. However, I have to give my apologies and note that it wasn't just Hosono who helped produce "Après-Midi", but also Hosono's YMO drumming and singing bandmate, the late Yukihiro Takahashi（高橋幸宏）. 

As for "Souvenir Glacé", Hiruma was responsible for the melody while someone named Linsui took care of the all-French lyrics which come across as rather avant-garde. In fact, I'd say that the lyrics could be taken apart into separate parts and used as oral signs and countersigns between two spies during a tradeoff somewhere in Berlin. There's something about mint promises and someone named Billetdoux but things don't get much more legible than that. In any case, Hiruma's melody is haunting and classical in a Kraftwerk crystalline way. It really stands out and away from anything that YMO has done which I believe that Hosono and Takahashi would have been proud about.

Momoe Yamaguchi -- Shikaranai de（叱らないでね）

 

Wow! It's been around 13 years since I first posted the article on Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）1973 debut single "Toshigoro"（としごろ）onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Going back to my earliest memories of the 1970s aidoru when she was already in the latter half of her career in the persona of that seen-it-all and done-it-all world-weary woman, it was rather surprising to hear her all the way back to her first single when she was indeed acting and singing as the high school kid she was.

This is actually the first time though that I've gotten to hear the B-side to "Toshigoro", "Shikaranai de" (Don't Be Mad). When I saw the title, my assumption was that the song would be a rather melancholy ballad about a relationship going sour. Instead, it's arguably even more happy-go-lucky than the A-side. The same folks behind "Toshigoro" also took care of "Shikaranai de": Kazuya Senke（千家和也）on the lyrics and Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）on the melody and arrangement. The tempo is even a slight bit slower as those lyrics describe a young girl getting all gushy with her beau and leaving the big decisions up to him. I don't really know for sure, but my impression is that B-sides don't usually get performed on stage or TV but if it had been performed by Momoe, I would imagine a lot of young couples behind her doing some very cute choreography.

WONK -- Cyberspace Love

 

I haven't posted an article on the experimental soul band WONK in over a year so I was happy to find this one called "Cyberspace Love". But it isn't available on any of the band's singles or albums it seems. Instead, one can find it on an October 2017 compilation album titled "MONK's Playhouse".

The chill modern club vibe is there in "Cyberspace Love" although the feeling is almost as if the song was really meant to be played while listeners were actually on their computers or smartphones finding their ideal match via the Internet. Personally, I would just like to enjoy a martini in such a club while listening to this one. The music video is also kinda Kafkaesque as four friends separately see a well-dressed man pop up in all sorts of bizarre environments including one of the guys' coffee cup; I'm not sure but I am wondering if the mystery man is supposed to be the legendary jazz musician Thelonious Monk. As it turns out, the four friends are actually the members of WONK themselves. I never would have thought that I would actually be Neo-City Pop grooving to an animated version of "The Twilight Zone".

Noriyuki Makihara feat. Taeko Ohnuki -- Tokai（都会）

 

Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. "Tokai" (The City) is one of the famous tracks from Taeko Ohnuki's（大貫妙子）1977 album "Sunshower" that has always given me the melodic image of being in the city and enjoying its benefits while at the same time, Ohnuki's lyrics relay the message that it's time to leave the metropolis. Considering the massive breakdown of the Yamanote Line in Tokyo yesterday, I can understand the feeling of commuters there perhaps wanting to flee, but still, I'll go with the hopeful and lighthearted and funky melody.

I'm not sure how many covers of "Tokai" have been done over the years but I do know of the one that the funkster Yasuyuki Okamura（岡村靖幸）and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）did on the 2013 album "Tribute to Taeko Ohnuki"（大貫妙子トリビュート・アルバム）which amps up the funk even further. And just a few days ago, I became aware of a new version by singer-songwriter Noriyuki Makihara（槇原敬之）joined by Ms. Ohnuki herself in the final verse. It's been released as the 5th single in a series of cover songs commemorating the 55th anniversary of the Panam record label. Compared to the original and the 2013 cover, this 2026 version feels a little more 80s AOR (funk is still there) with an electric sitar joining in. Yoshiyuki Sahashi（佐橋佳幸）arranged the song. 

To think that "Tokai" is approaching its 49th birthday...quite the timeless tune, and one that I'm happy to incorporate as the first 2026 entry on KKP!

Kei Ishiguro -- Camel no Nioi（キャメルの匂い）

Museum Rotterdam via Wikimedia Commons

 

OK, I have to admit that I was glad that I hadn't been imbibing anything when I first came across this song since I probably would have done a major spit take all over my computer screen. Please imagine: "Camel no Nioi" (The Smell of Camels); from what I heard about camels, they don't really smell too good. And I was a bit worried that singer Kei Ishiguro（石黒ケイ）may have been confessing to some sort of weird fetish.

So, I was somewhat relieved to find out that the title was actually referring to the distinct aroma of Camel Cigarettes...not that I can remember what those smelled like. Back in my childhood when cigarettes were still socially acceptable on a wide basis, there was that general smell of burning tobacco but I guess that Camels must have had something special since they included something Turkish. Still, there is the danger of secondhand smoke and all that.

Anyways, "Camel no Nioi" is a track from Ishiguro's 1984 album "You Remember Me", and it's one of those songs that are delectably difficult to categorize one way or another. There is the City Pop and the AOR, but I could also pick up a bit of New Wave in the first few measures. Yoichi Takizawa（滝沢洋一）was behind the introspective melody with Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）weaving the story of a woman's memory of a one-night stand and the lingering smoke of a Camel. After all, people have got to deal with the afterglow.🚬

Dance for philosophy -- It's My Turn（イッツ・マイ・ターン）

 

Hello, Dance for philosophy? Jamiroquai would like to speak with you.

Gotta admit that there's a fair bit of Dance for philosophy's "It's My Turn", the aidoru group's August 2018 8th single, which reminds me of Jamiroquai's "Canned Heat", but that's not a bad thing. I enjoy both songs for their combination of funk and groove and in the case of "It's My Turn", perhaps Jay Kay should actually phone up composer and arranger Gento Miyano（宮野弦士）. Judging from some of his other arrangements for folks like Galali（がらり）and CHiLi GiRL, this guy really likes the nu-disco. The lyrics were provided by Sho Yamamoto（ヤマモトショウ）.

The original single reached No. 7 on Oricon. A remix version called "T-Groove Remix" was created on Dance for philosophy's "Sapiosexual", their 2020 album of remixes. If anything, this version of "It's My Turn" sounds as if it had gotten even more of that 1970s disco groove and a slightly more laidback approach and a great guitar solo. As is shown in the original music video above, this could be a great tune to play "Dance Dance Revolution" to.

Yoshiaki Miyanoue -- Shiny Scandal（シャイニー・スキャンダル）

 

The first time I heard Yoshiaki Miyanoue's（宮之上貴昭）"Shiny Scandal", I thought it could have made for a bright accompanying BGM for a J-Drama of that time or even an anime. Back then, productions really liked to use their orchestras, especially the string sections.

However, "Shiny Scandal" is actually from Miyanoue's 2nd album "Mellow Around" from 1980, and Miyanoue himself is a Tokyo-born jazz guitarist who started out performing for a number of years in front of the troops at Yokota Air Base back in the 1970s. He then went to the United States to hone his skills for a few years before coming back and releasing his albums which now number up to about 24 up to 2022. Miyanoue was inspired and follows the way of his hero, the late jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. He even uses Montgomery's distinct technique of relying on the side of his thumb instead of a guitar pick to play.

"Shiny Scandal" is indeed a shiny and non-scandalous piece which comes across as being quite refined and relaxing as if Miyanoue were playing in some seashore bar with the view of that ocean and schooner seen on the cover of "Mellow Around". Of course, Miyanoue won't allow the strings to take centre stage and his playing comes to the fore. The song itself was composed and arranged by pianist Chikara Ueda（上田力）, no stranger to fusion himself.