Hidemi Ishikawa -- Kanashimi no Blizzard（哀しみのブリザード）

 

Well, along with the bear incursions, the weather was becoming rather belligerent throughout Japan last week with some very intense rainstorms and hail coming down like meteorites in a sci-fi flick. Some of the footage looked as if a blizzard had suddenly blanketed entire regions.

And with that segue, I give you "Kanashimi no Blizzard" (Blizzard of Sorrow) which was the third single by 80s aidoru Hidemi Ishikawa（石川秀美）from October 1982. The setting is actually a hot summer seaside but young Hidemi's heart is filled with a raging snowstorm after suffering a major breakup with a guy. You can thank Kaoru Asagi（麻木かおる）for the lyrics.

I learned something interesting regarding Ishikawa's beginnings as an aidoru and perhaps this might have been true for many aidoru. Composer Yuuichiro Oda（小田裕一郎）was responsible for Ishikawa's first four singles including the No. 29-ranking "Kanashimi no Blizzard", and apparently, he got the first three done even before the lass made her debut in early 1982. In fact, there were discussions on which of the three would become Single No. 1: a song with a refreshing melody, one with a sentimental atmosphere and one more with a so-called London sound. 

Well, the refreshing one "Yousei Jidai"（妖精時代...Fairy Age） became the debut single (I'll have to cover that one soon enough), the sentimental one "Yu-re-te Shonan"（ゆ・れ・て湘南）was the follow-up, and then that London sound ended up as "Kanashimi no Blizzard" (although Oda had preferred Single No. 3 as Single No. 1). I guess that London sound was represented by the (possibly synth) horns although first listening to the song, I would never have guessed it being influenced by swinging London. Overall though "Kanashimi no Blizzard" is quite the peppy and distinct tune with some quick key changes and though Ishikawa's delivery is very "aidoru", it's still quite the fun thing to listen to. In fact, I think it has a kissing cousin in the form of Ginji Ito's（伊藤銀次）"Cherry Night" even though that song wouldn't come out until 1986. By the way, Makoto Yano（矢野誠）provided the arrangement.