I've been a fan of Japanese popular music for 40 years, and have managed to collect a lot of material during that time. So I decided I wanted to talk about Showa Era music with like-minded fans. My particular era is the 70s and 80s (thus the "kayo kyoku"). The plus part includes a number of songs and artists from the last 30 years and also the early kayo. So, let's talk about New Music, aidoru, City Pop and enka.
Credits
I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.
I actually placed this news as an addendum to the article on Reiko Takahashi that I had written back in early February this year regarding "Let me into your place ~Sunset Road~"（サンセット・ロード）. However, I then decided that I just didn't want Takahashi fans to just bump into this fact days, weeks or even months down the line through an article that they had already seen, and I gather that for these same fans, this is a "Stop the presses!" moment. So I've given the news its own article.
A few days ago, a Canadian YouTuber by the name of Goosebumps Radio was able to interview Takahashi (now known as Rayco) for a little over half an hour on her career, the whole City Pop boom and even the mysterious Akiba Tape. So, why not give them a listen if you haven't already done so? It's definitely not too late (inside joke).
Come to think of it, that picture of Kyoko Koizumi（小泉今日子）above does remind me of 90s dance-pop singer Cathy Dennis.
And speaking of Dennis, I remember that Kyon-Kyon had once released a May 1989 album titled "KOIZUMI IN THE HOUSE" which involved her delving into House and Acid House music. In fact, the last article that I did regarding the former 80s aidoru singer was for her "Fade Out" which is also included in the album. Well, this time, it's all about its track mate on the album "Micro Wave" which brings out the dance beats alongside the story of getting a bento nuked at the convenience store. I'd gotten that done so many times at my local 7-11, Lawson's and am/pm for my karaage bento and hanbaagu bento that the cashiers didn't even bother asking me anymore after a while.
Yoshimasa Inoue（井上ヨシマサ）handled lyrics, melody and arrangement for "Micro Wave", quite the trippy little song. I didn't think that I would ever hear something from a dance DJ booth about a microwave oven warming something up for dinner but as both commenter Brian Mitchell and I agree upon, songwriters could and did write about anything and everything.
In the last few days, one of the commenters informed me that Arashi（嵐）was going to have their final concert at Tokyo Dome on May 30th...which they did, and I'm sure it was a whopper with plenty of cheering and weeping fans.
My somewhat befuddled response was: Wait! They were still together?!
OK, my apologies to Arashi fans everywhere, but I'd thought that the group disbanded back in 2021 with a fair bit of pomp and circumstance including a final performance on the Kohaku Utagassen. But as it turns out, I misinterpreted the announcement from Arashi back then. Back then, the guys had actually opted for a hiatus and not a permanent breakup. Well, the permanent breakup was sealed last night. I had a regular Wednesday night student at my final school who was a huge Masaki Aiba fan. I can only imagine the lengths she went to secure a ticket and get all glammed up for the final concert.
When it comes to some of the (former) Johnny's Entertainment groups over the years, I had placed descriptors on them. The Tanokin Trio（たのきんトリオ）of Masahiko Kondo（近藤真彦）, Toshihiko Tahara（田原俊彦）and Yoshio Nomura（野村義男）from the 1980s were the cheeky high schoolers while Hikaru Genji（光GENJI ）was all about the roller skates. SMAP was a group I saw as being the Voltron of the Johnny's mountain (each member with their own distinct personality and characteristics joining together to become this entertainment colossus in Japan)
But Arashi was the group that followed SMAP at the peak, and I saw them as being the quintet of good buddies who loved to hang out together not only at work but also during their precious free time. And that's the vibe I got from their final single "Five" which came out in March. It's an upbeat and satisfying coda to their 59-strong list of singles. It sounds...for the lack of a better term...just all-so-very Arashi and the music video, which seems to have been partly filmed in 1970s Kodak memories colour filters with some Beatles-esque silliness thrown in, shows Ohno and the guys looking rested and ready for the next step forward in their professional and personal lives while riding a bus that looks to have been inspired by the Partridge Family.
"Five" was created by songwriters HIKARI and Tomoki Ishizuka（石塚知生）. It has hit No. 1 on Oricon Streaming. All my good wishes go to Satoshi Ohno（大野智）, Sho Sakurai（櫻井翔）, Masaki Aiba（相葉雅紀）, Kazunari Ninomiya（二宮和也）and Jun Matsumoto（松本潤）, especially to leader Ohno who I hope will be able to catch tons of fish and make those art gallery-fresh paintings now. However, I am wondering whether Arashi can be tempted to make one more trip to the NHK Shibuya stage on New Year's Eve.
Meanwhile, you can get really nostalgic by looking at the article I wrote for Arashi's debut single"A-RA-SHI" back in 2013.
It's been decades since I was on the dance floor on a Saturday night. Barely remembering things from that period, once a great song hit the speakers, it was everyone rushing to the floor all at once to move that body without causing any major collisions. "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order was one of the favourites.
Speaking of which, I just encountered this latest by singer/producer/track maker tofubeats titled "Angels on the Dance Floor" which came out as a digital single only yesterday. The music video looks like an ancient game from the old PlayStation 1 and the plot reminds me of something rather Kafka as developed by either Rod Serling or Alfred Hitchcock. But lest it get too dark, the young lad here is only getting riled up because everyone around him is getting into a great dance groove. He eventually "gets" it and everything is happy again.
Keeping things within this rather nostalgic twilight zone, even the arrangement of "Angels on the Dance Floor" is reminiscent of dance music from a few decades ago. If I'm not mistaken, the song seems to be following some old-fashioned House lines. I'm hoping some of the more dance-oriented commenters on KKP can confirm or deny my statement. By the way, below is the KIRARA mix of the tune. Enjoy it with your Tamagotchi!
Happy weekend! Well, Miki Hyodo（兵藤未来）is a singer-songwriter that I discovered because of this blog and so far, she's gotten my attention because of her unique approach to New Music or City Pop and the like. For example, I covered both sides of her 1977 debut single: "Tonde Kita Yume"（飛んできた夢）and "Maverick"（マーヴェリック）which has her bringing out her Margaritaville game to listeners' ears.
I found another song written, composed and performed by Hyodo called "Soto wa Makkura"(It's Pitch Dark Out) which belongs to her 1977 debut album"One Paradise" (incidentally, the above songs are also included in the album). This time, instead of the tropical, Hyodo brings out a hot, sultry and bluesy proclamation as if she were performing in a honky-tonk dive bar during a torrid August night in Florida. It's dark outside so why not come inside into the light so that they can go into somewhere more enticingly dark...preferably her room, perhaps?😇 Yep, this is some ice-cube-being-dragged-down-the-neck make out invitation music. Love the guitars and electric organ in play here.
I have never really hidden the fact that for a guy who isn't really into art, I've been a fan of Seizo Watase（わたせせいぞう） (as you can see above) and Hiroshi Nagai（永井博）, basically two artists who have been depicting the idealized City Pop lifestyle onto canvas. Up to now, I've been investing in my annual Watase calendars but I really ought to give Nagai a chance as well next time.
Good golly! I swear that the above video is a real-life depiction of the Watase/Nagai lifestyle! And to boot, the video is for a single titled "On The West Coastline" by the collaboration between music producers and performers Dirty Androids & punipunidenki（ぷにぷに電機）which came out in August 2021 (an April 2020 compilation album titled "SPD GAR 003" contained the song, mind you). I can only imagine how people were feeling watching this video during COVID times. Having said that, interspersing those scenes of the good time and beautiful people are excerpts of women looking quite isolated and lonely with only a common Walkman to keep them company. But in the end, the balance between the two looks quite solid so perhaps the message is that life is a coin consisting of those two sides and one's constantly flipping it.
It's a combination of strings (including an emotional cello in the intro), groovy rhythms, haunting synths and punipunidenki's whispery vocals for some of that Neo-City Pop vibe. Maybe the video is showing something darker, but the actual song seems to keep up the happy happy joy joy in modern-day Japan. I only posted something about Dirty Androids at the beginning of this month, and I also noted another collaboration between the two a few years ago.
Around this time three years ago, I mentioned the short-lived group DEBBIE'S ALLY, led by Itsuko "Debbie" Kodama（児玉伊津子）, and her buddies which included a number of high-powered studio musicians. That first song I did was the title track from their sole September 1980 album, the disco breezy "Yoake no Dreaming"（夜明けのドリーミング）.
One other track that I've found is "In The Starlight" which seems to take things midway between the city and the seaside resort. Written by Kodama herself and composed by singer-guitarist Akio Yabe（矢部昭夫）, Debbie is slightly less whispery in the vocals and the arrangement is a bit more AOR relaxed as if the summer drive to Hakone is on. Some of the guitar work sounds somewhat Tatsuro-esque. Order those cocktails! 🍹
Kinda ironic that I just put up my "New York" tunes a week ago, and now I'm posting Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）"Circus Town" onto the blog since this song was not only the lead track and title track for his 1976 debut album but also a representative of the New York side of the album (Side B is the LA side of things). After all these years of posting his music onto KKP and it is today that I'm finally adding "Circus Town", maybe one of his songs that got him beloved among the non-Japanese community of City Pop enthusiasts, onto KKP.
There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I'd assumed that I did put it up in the past but haven't bothered to check since I often get depressed scrolling down his vast file and seeing all of the videos that have been struck down...possibly on the singer-songwriter's command himself. The other reason is another assumption that "Circus Town" is just one of those iconic Tats tunes that other better music bloggers and journalists have given their sage two cents and that I needn't bother to do so.
Well, as it turns out, there's not a whole lot of insight put out for "Circus Town" that I could find (although I'm sure that commenters can point me in the right direction afterwards). Even J-Wiki didn't contribute much to the song itself although its article for the album in general is fairly voluminous.
But what can I say about the song itself? It's wonderful! Breezy and seemingly celebratory about the Big Apple, it was written by Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）and composed/arranged by Yamashita, one of the star songwriting pairings in Japanese pop music (and my most recent article involving Tats was their duo cover of Niteflyte's "If You Want It" from almost a year previously). According to the brief paragraph on the song, "Circus Town" was based on the 16-beat pop that had been commonly played in New York circles. Blue Lou Marini was responsible for the scintillating sax solo and it was a nice touch to add that adorable piccolo rendition of circus music. And as much as Junko Yagami（八神純子）liked to call New York City"Purpletown", I think Yamashita calling what was once known as the World's Most Dangerous City "Circus Town" was very apt. I'm sure that for anybody coming into the metropolis from anywhere else must have been witness to quite the crazy circus-like atmosphere of Manhattan (check out those disco strings flying themselves into a tempests at one point in the song).
I have more hope that the above video of "Circus Town" will be staying up for a good long while since it actually does belong to Yamashita's own YouTube channel. Has the man followed the mantra of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"? Has he mellowed out when it comes to his works? In my case, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Just gonna enjoy my repeated listenings to it.
A few years ago, I posted the late Yutaka Ishio's（石尾豊）B-side to his 1986 single "Non-Stop Freeway", "Onna ni Juku shite Kaettekina"（オンナに熟して帰ってきな）, with its snazzy brand of City Pop night life.
Well, compared to the heavy smoke-filled atmosphere of clinking glasses of Old Parr and nightclub hostesses from "Onna ni Juku shite Kaettekina", Ishio's"Non-Stop Freeway" is a much more refreshing ride in the convertible. Nope, I don't think the A-side is really City Pop...more a mix of pop and rock; however, that underlying synth rhythm does remind me of some of the music that I was hearing on Canadian radio back in those mid-1980s. Lyricist Konosuke Fuji（藤公之介）and composer Kingo Hamada（浜田金吾）, who took care of the B-side, were also responsible for the A-side which is really quite the breezy drive away from Roppongi and Shinjuku.
At the end of February, I posted up an article regarding a not-so-well-known singer called Malja（麻留時夜）with the very involved kanji for her name. She released her one and only album in 1986 titled "Malja" with its own genre mix of tunes which of course included at least a few City Pop takes.
Well, the track I wrote about, "Nice Guy ni Ai wo Komete"（NICE GUYに愛をこめて）, was a pleasant City Pop ballad of the mid-1980s. Now, another track here is a more upbeat song of the genre, "Hadashi de Last Steps"(Last Steps Barefoot). Written and composed by the same guys behind "Nice Guy", lyricist Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）and composer Yuuichiro Oda（小田裕一郎）, just from what I've heard thus far, it's about a woman dancing with abandon all over the floor to the point that she needs to doff off her heels to continue the fun. Yup, seeing some of those stilettos, I couldn't blame her one bit.
Well, just like that segment on "Entertainment Tonight", let's go with some birthday announcements for two singers who are still around and one composer who did leave this mortal coil several years ago.
I'm not a punk rock fan by any means but I do know that it arose from around the mid-1970s and was perhaps one antidote to all that disco (which I just wrote about in my previous article).
This has been hanging around in the backlog for some time, but I'm finally getting to JAGATARA's "Last Tango in Juku". This band that dabbled in a number of genres including punk rock, funk-rock, Afrobeat and post-punk got its start in 1979 touring the live houses beginning with the Kamiuma Gasoline Alley in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo. Led by vocalist Akemi Edo（江戸アケミ）, "Last Tango in Juku" was the band's debut single released in April 1981 (at the time, they were calling themselves Zaidan Houjin Jagatara/財団法人じゃがたら [Judicial Foundation Jagatara]), and though it sounds like a mix of rock and Eastern European tango music, I can pick up the punk attitude f rom Edo's singing and his lyrics of getting into the muck of some dark corner in the urban neighbourhood for some dancing and fine dining (sucking up a piece of hamburger that his dance partner dropped onto the ground). Not sure whether the "Juku" in the title refers to Shinjuku or Harajuku, although I'm leaning toward the former.
According to the J-Wiki article on the band, JAGATARA did a Kansai tour to promote "Last Tango in Juku". However, despite the goodly amount of fans showing up, Edo still felt the music was being unappreciated so once the tour was done, he decided to just focus on the music rather than concerts.
Five singles and six albums would be released by JAGATARA up to 2020 and a lot of members would come and go (along with some variations on the name of the band). Edo himself took a respite between 1983 and 1985 due to a deteriorating mental situation but did come back. Unfortunately, he would pass away in early 1990 due to an accident in the bathtub after which JAGATARA would break up.
The disco/R&B band A Taste of Honey has had residency on KKP since the blog was three weeks old. I was tackling one of the great kayo classics in "Ue wo Muite Arukou"(上を向いて歩こう）, aka "Sukiyaki", when I also mentioned that A Taste of Honey provided their own cover on the song in the early 1980s...which proved to be their second and final hit in their career thus far.
However, as commendable as their elegant cover of the iconic Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）song was, their first big hit has been the one that has been usually recognized when it comes to A Taste of Honey. The strange thing is that when I first heard their 1978 debut single"Boogie Oogie Oogie", it was through a TV performance of this song by then-teen sibling stars Kristy and Jimmy McNichol on some sort of nighttime special. With the whole mainstream disco craze, the McNichols' popularity at the time, and the novelty song-esque nature of that title, I actually did assume that this was the McNichols' tune, front and centre.
And yes, the above has Kristy and Jimmy, but no, it isn't for "Boogie Oogie Oogie".
So, it was actually many years later that I found out the truth that "Boogie Oogie Oogie" was by A Taste of Honey, and yeah as performed by Janice-Marie Johnson (and Hazel Payne) while slapping that bass hard and wearing those heels, maybe even the folks who were thinking that disco started to suck would have been willing to give a reprieve to this one. Heck, if I had been born a decade earlier, I probably would have been rarin' to run to my nearest disco and hit the dance floor. My dancing would have sucked for sure but I would have had oodles of fun doing so.
"Boogie Oogie Oogie" was not only a hit on the dance floor but also a hit outside of it as well. It hit No. 1 on Billboard's pop, disco and soul charts in September 1978, and according to the Wikipedia article for the song, it also became the first certified Platinum single in the history of Capitol Records by selling over 2 million records. I would probably posit that the chairman's office became a disco dance floor in celebration.
So, we've got one of the primo disco songs coming out in 1978. What else was winning at the Japan Record Awards that year?
Geez...looking at the Toshihiko Tahara（田原俊彦）file, the lad's been showing up on a lot of ROY articles over the past year or so but his last bona fide article was back in February 2025 for his "Shower na Kibun"（シャワーな気分）.
Well, Toshi-chan's back on board today. Here he is with his January 1982 8th single "Kimi ni Barabara...to Iu Kanji" which is another one of those punny titles which can mean "It's Like...a Ton of Roses for You" or "I'm Falling to Pieces Over You". Yep, it's pretty far-reaching.
As soon as I heard this one, I felt like this was kinda special in the arrangement, and sure enough, it was arranged by Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）with Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）responsible for the original melody. In fact, this was Tsutsumi's first Toshi-chan assignment, and the master composer came up with this strut-worthy and snazzy tune for walking on the concrete as Toshi thinks about what to do with this girl he's gone gaga over. "Kimi ni Barabara...to Iu Kanji" reached No. 3 on Oricon and finished the year as the 27th-ranked single. Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）was the lyricist here.
I remember when I first heard "Omoide ga Ippai" (Full of Memories) by the folk-pop duo H2O on an episode of "Sounds of Japan" on CHIN-FM decades ago. Not having known about its status as the first ending theme for the 1983 anime "Miyuki"（みゆき）, I found it a splendid wistful ballad. Years later, the 3rd-year homeroom teachers of the school that I had taught during my time on the JET Programme sang the song for the soon-to-be graduates. Not a dry eye in the room. And I've learned that "Omoide ga Ippai" has been a stalwart song for Japanese graduations.
Well, commenter Brian Mitchell asked me earlier about some of the cover versions and not surprisingly, considering how beloved and sentimental "Omoide ga Ippai" has become since the early 1980s, the list of singers who have given their own versions of the ballad reads like a Santa Claus list. At Brian's request, I went over three of those covers.
The first one here is by actress and singer Mikuni Shimokawa（下川みくに）, and although she's only had one role as an anime seiyuu, she often sings her fair share of anison. But in this case, she did cover "Omoide ga Ippai" via her December 2003"Review ~ Shimokawa Mikuni Seishun Anison Cover Album"（Review 〜下川みくに青春アニソンカバーアルバム〜）. Her take is an even breezier and languid take on the anison classic.
MINMI is a singer that I have mentioned on KKP before when she collaborated with m-flo for the dance hall-friendly "Lotta Love". However, she's regularly a reggae singer and that's the genre which is powering her cover of "Omoide ga Ippai" which is a track on her August 2011 album "The Heart Song Collection" which is filled with tunes that she enjoyed as a teenager.
Nao Toyama（東山奈央）is a seiyuu and singer who's shown up on the blog a number of times in the past and she sings "Omoide ga Ippai" for the second in the series of anime character albums for the anime "Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai"（神のみぞ知るセカイ...The World God Only Knows） which was released in 2014. Under her character of Kanon Nakagawa（中川かのん）, she sings the song under a shoegaze and pop arrangement.
I only heard about jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins' (1930-2026) passing early this morning when the scroll on the local news channel reported it. His classic 1956 "St. Thomas" is a song that I heard a number of times when I was a child but never knew the title or who it was played by.
But then when I started getting into jazz during my time in Japan, I was picking up various compilations of the genre at the music stores such as Tower Records. When I put one CD into the stereo, I finally got my identification on "St. Thomas". 😁Not only do I think it's one of those pieces that can celebrate the summer months, Rollins' magnum opus can also bring light and warmth into any season (especially love the opening percussion), and as such, it has been one song that I like to put on heavy rotation when it's time for some jazz in the home. My condolences to Rollins' family, friends and many fans around the world.
It's been almost a decade since I mentioned through my article on Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）album "Crimson" that Jaws, my tape recorder, made a meal out of my audiotape of the album. It died rather gruesomely, kinda like Ben Gardner in "Jaws". Well, around this time yesterday, I realized that my home printer Sam breathed its last. It was 14 years old and from what I've read of life expectancies of such devices, ol' Sam lived an unusually long life so I'm not mourning too badly and I've got a new one on the way.
However, I have to state that another beloved thing from my memories is now in its last months. That would be the very first branch of the iconic Japanese DIY and hobbyist store Tokyu Hands (now known as Hands) in Shibuya. The doors will close at the end of this November and unfortunately, I will not be there to say goodbye. As usual for the fate of such emporia, the cause is the whole online thing and declining of foot traffic which is hard for me to imagine because the last time I was there was many years ago when the store was packed with customers.
During my years in Tokyo, next to Tower Records a few blocks over, Tokyu Hands was my regular go-to place in Shibuya. It was always the case of walking on one particular street from Tower and then eventually coming down the hill to see good ol' Hands to my left. I used to visit this ivory tower filled with mezzanines to purchase calendars and other examples of stationery along with other sundry items that I can't remember. I do remember the incense area on one floor where I picked up a lost-lasting box of incense cones. I lit up a cone with a match and quickly waved out the flame after which the smoke basically coated my living room in very heavy herbal scents for several days at a time. Basically, if there was something I wanted to buy for the home or make in the home, Tokyu Hands was the place. Now, Hands will go on throughout its other branches but Branch No. 1 has been given its terminal diagnosis and I will miss it.
Now, I couldn't find any sort of music or singer that was attached to Tokyu Hands so I was at a quandary about how to pay tribute to the store. But then, I figured that I'll just provide a list of songs whose titles' first words begin with the letters in HANDS. So, here's my Author's Picks on the shop.
I haven't seen "Uta Con"（うたコン）today but according to what I heard last week and seen on their schedule, this week's episode will be the annual tribute to the Queen of Kayo Kyoku, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, who would have been 89 years old on May 29th. Just looking at the lineup, it appears that I've already covered the songs to be performed such as the triumphant "Yawara"（柔）, so I've opted to find one of my own from her vast discography to pay a KKP tribute.
This time, I'm going way back into her career. In fact, I'll be focusing on her 8th single from September 1950, "Uramachi Paradise"(Back Street Paradise). Written by Toshio Nomura（野村俊夫）and composed/arranged by Hideo Hirakawa（平川英夫）, it's a pretty jaunty kayo kyoku about meeting that significant other and realizing that everything...even the dark and ominous streets of the city...can be filled with light and hope as a result. It's a stroll-worthy tune and let's remember that Misora was all of thirteen years of age when she recorded this.
I've been covering individual tracks from Junko Yagami's（八神純子）February 1982 album"Yume Miru Koro wo Sugite mo"（Even If The Time to Dream Passes） for a number of years now including "I'm a Woman" and "Secret Love"（シークレット・ラブ）. It's no surprise that these songs have had more than enough urban oomph to get them onto the blog on Fridays when I cover that sort of thing.
But the album begins with the title track itself and I'd say that the title track is more of a conventional pop ballad, although I'd been wondering whether I should have placed it during Urban Contemporary Fridays. Ultimately though, I opted to post it during a regular day. Obviously, there's nothing wrong with "Yume Miru Koro wo Sugite mo"; it's one of those Yagami ballads that features her alternating soaring and purring voice, beautiful contemplative piano by her, and those shimmering strings as part of the entire package. In a way, I think the ballad hearkens back to her very early days as a teen balladeer of the 1970s. Yagami and Ryuichi Kawamura（川村龍一）co-wrote the lyrics (under the pen name of Hisashi Kawamura) with the former handling the melody. Masataka Matsutoya（松任谷正隆）provided the arrangement.
I love my various sandwiches but one of my favourites is Chicken Salad Sandwich. All I need is chunks of chicken and generous dollops of Kewpie Mayonnaise along with a few more ingredients and it's time to stuff it between two slices of bread. I will be a happy camper.😋And of course, that's what I had for lunch today.
Several years ago, I introduced a 1990s pop duo with the name of Tokyo Q Channel（東京Qチャンネル）and the song "Ni-juu-kyuu-sai"（29歳）from their 1995 debut album"Switch On!". It was quite the luscious classy song about a woman celebrating the end of her 20s.
Well, from their second and final album"SandWich" from September 1996, I give you the penultimate track "Genshoku no Kuni ~ Where Shall We Go?"(Land of Primary Colours) which is mostly a simple pop love song before it goes into power ballad mode near the end. It's not quite as epic as "Ni-juu-kyuu-sai" but it still fulfills its purpose as a contemplative cool-down song near the end of the album. It was written and composed by one-half of the duo, Yasuhiko Warita（割田康彦）, with Mayumi Sudo（須藤まゆみ）on vocals.
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.
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".
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
