Microcosmos II -- Tsuioku no Scat（追憶のスキャット）

 

Ahhh...there's nothing like the pure hard-boiled escapism of a 1970s/1980s Japanese cop show. All those tough detectives firing shots in Tokyo as if an American Western had transplanted itself into Japan's capital city. In real life, if a Japanese cop actually fires a single bullet even in self defense, it becomes the top story on a news broadcast with lots of questions asked and lots of reports made. 

The above video by Suna-chan TV has the three opening and ending credits scenes for the 1976-1979 cop series "Dai Tokai"（大都会...The Big City）, one of the big Ishihara Gundan shows starring Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）and Tetsuya Watari（渡哲也）. Admittedly, the third season has nearly the entire cast going all gun-happy while the first two seasons had opening credits which were far milder. I'll have to ask good friend and KKP contributor JTM about "Dai Tokai" since he's much more knowledgeable on Japanese cop shows than I am, but I'm a little confused since Ishihara seemed to be playing a sage reporter in Season 1 but then changed occupations in the last two seasons to become an intrepid surgeon! I mean, was cross-training education that thorough back then?

Anyways in 1979, the final year for "Dai Tokai", there was an LP for the series' background music called "Dai Tokai Soundtrack Soushuuhen"（大都会 サウンドトラック 総集編...The Big City Soundtrack Compilation）. One track there is the cool and calming "Tsuioku no Scat" (Reminiscing Scat) that is provided by Microcosmos II which I couldn't find anything about. I can only assume that it was just a group of studio musicians with a female vocalist providing all of the mournful scatting. 

I've said cool and calming. I can also add wistful and slightly melancholy. I don't recall watching much of "Dai Tokai" but I can imagine that the scene which would include "Tsuioku no Scat" is one where Ishihara and Watari are commiserating at their favourite bar somewhere in Tokyo after a case gone bad or a cop gone dead. They are nursing their tumblers of Old Parr wondering aloud if the job is worth it anymore. However, by the end of the scene, it's back to work.

The Works of Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）

 

I never expected to see her name up on television but recently I saw that veteran lyricist Fumiko Okada had received some sort of award for her decades of work via an NHK report. From that, I thought that it would be time to post a Creator article regarding her.

But first a bit of background from her J-Wiki file, Okada hails from Hiroshima Prefecture. When she gradated from university, her parents pressed her to get a job at television broadcaster TBS working as a timekeeper for music programs. However, knowing herself as someone who never really enjoyed the rigors of an average job or career, she was pretty miserable. Also, she developed insomnia but one night, she gained the urge to write poetry and found out that the words flowed out of her surprisingly easily. Then one day, after amassing her poems into a collection and having some faint interest in becoming a songwriter, she was noticed by the manager of a famous arranger at work. Noting how unenthused young Okada looked, he asked her what she really wanted to do for which she replied "I want to become a lyricist". A mere few days later, that manager suggested Okada to a record company as a rookie lyricist. At least, one song with her lyrics got into a music festival and that apparently was all she needed to write...literally. She started getting requests for her words, something that has been continuing for her for close to 55 years.

(1972) Young 101 -- Kaiju no Ballad（怪獣のバラード）

In a desert where the blood-red sun set

A great big monster lived there in peace

One morning when he woke up, he heard a bell from a caravan off in the distance

He suddenly screamed out

I wanna see the ocean! I wanna love people! Monsters have hearts, too, you know!

Let's leave the desert behind and head to where love and the ocean reside

Although I didn't note this in the original KKP article for "Kaiju no Ballad", this was apparently Okada's first work as a professional lyricist. 

(1981) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Glass no Yesterday （ガラスのYesterday)

Yesterday

I danced all night with you

Yesterday, although we can never meet again

We said "See you later" and parted

You're the one who embraced me while saying

I can't love you on mere kindness

Whenever Okada's name is mentioned, I will always first remember Fashion Music specialist Ruiko Kurahashi's（倉橋ルイ子）songs since the lyricist provided a number of her works to her. 

(1986) Shibugakitai -- Sushi Kui ne! （スシ食いねェ！）

This is the No. 1 sushi restaurant in Japan

Gotta eat sushi! Gotta eat sushi! Gotta eat sushi!

Green tea! Green tea! Green tea! Pickled ginger! Picked ginger! Pickled ginger!

In contrast with the elegance of Kurahashi's signature song, the raucous "Sushi kui ne!" comes under the catchphrase of "Okada wrote this one?!". She must love her sushi.

(1987) Kiyomi Suzuki with Rats & Star -- Lonely Chaplin (ロンリー・チャプリン）

Lonely Chaplin

Time passes...and even if you fade away

I will always wait for you

Smile like the little boy you are

You want to come home

Into my arms, don't you?

As long as your dreams are unfulfilled

Oh, do what you wanna do again

Oh, do what you wanna do again

Man, didn't know that Chaplin was that lucky a guy!

(1979) Asami Kado -- Fascination (ファッシネイション）

I love you. Stop it because you make me feel so helpless

Stop it if you're only going to kiss me once

I love you. I got myself all psyched up

I hate you stalling for time

Nothing like pouty coquettishness to spice up a relationship!

Cheuni -- Wasurenagusa（忘れな草）

 

When it comes to South Korean singer Cheuni（チェウニ）, I've always known her as someone who had gotten her career in the 1990s singing a mix of enka and other genres mixed together...something that I've labeled New Adult Music. It was quite the musical version of blended refined whiskey.

However, after I'd posted my previous Cheuni song, "Glass no Tokyo Tower"（ガラスの東京タワー）, a month ago, one commenter had to give me a correction in that Cheuni's debut had actually happened perhaps as much as a dozen years earlier than expected. For some reason, although J-Wiki had noted her debut as a child singer in the early 1970s at the age of 8 and a Japanese album release at the end of that decade via what is now known as the Taihei Record Company, there is currently no mention at all of a couple of singles in 1979 and 1981.

The anonymous commenter thankfully guided me to the above video on YouTube and it was for her debut single in Japan, "Wasurenagusa" (Forget-Me-Nots), which was released in 1979. She was in her mid-teens at the time so there was of course none of that familiar rasp in her vocals but listening to them now, I can still recognize them as Cheuni's. Considering her age, the single may have indeed been marketed as one belonging to an aidoru and there is something in the arrangement that hints at enka but I think most of the song gives me folk and kayo vibes.

Yoko Yamaguchi（山口洋子）provided the lyrics while the melody was composed by Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）, the veteran songwriter who also had a hand in bringing over another lovely teen ingenue from overseas to Japan: Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）.

Tomoharu Taki -- Toki（時）

 

Well, it's Hump Day so folks can usually get into the doldrums on Wednesday. Luckily, it actually feels refreshingly cool outside with a stiff breeze blowing all about. I would probably advise a lot of Japanese tourists to come over to our neck of the woods to escape all of the heat and humidity plaguing much of the archipelago...especially the residents of Nagoya.

Speaking about refreshing, maybe I can interest you in a glass of singer-songwriter Tomoharu Taki's（滝ともはる）discography. He's been known for some City Pop but I'm wondering if his "Toki" (Time) from his 1979 album "Taki Tomoharu II"（滝ともはるII）really fits the label. Not that there is anything wrong with it; in fact, I did refer to it as being rather refreshing in a sparkling way. It certainly begins in that manner, and we soon get to hear some laidback singing over a gently percolating Latin-esque rhythm that makes me think of a sunny inner city neighbourhood where everyone knows everyone else. And then comes the saxophone solo.😊Enjoy it with any drink you like.

Teresa Noda -- Tropical Love（トロピカル ラブ）

 

For some reason, I'd been under the impression that actress-singer Teresa Noda（テレサ野田）had already been on KKP but apparently not; this is her first appearance on the blog, so I bid her welcome. Maybe it was something about the name or a similarity in album/single covers.

Anyways, Noda hails from Okinawa as the daughter of a second-generation Japanese-American man and a Japanese woman (according to her J-Wiki profile, she had been far better in English than Japanese). She made her debut as an actress in the early 1970s and it would be another several years before she began recording those singles she released with the first one coming out in 1977. Incidentally, she's had a number of different stage names during her career including her real name of Tamaki Saionji（西園寺環）.

Her third and final single under the name of Teresa Noda to date is "Tropical Love" from May 1979 which was created by the golden duo of lyricist Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and composer Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）with Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）behind the arrangement. I'm not sure if it would be considered City Pop, but it does have those disco strings and a strong reggae beat. Noda does have a resonant and attractively creamy voice here.

Miki Hyodo -- Melancolie Jungle

 

I mentioned in my most recent article on singer-songwriter Miki Hyodo（兵藤未来）that I've enjoyed her City Pop/J-AOR stuff because of her approach. Well, this time around, I wouldn't really consider this particular song of hers as an example of either genre, but it's still pretty catchy.

What I'm writing about is the track "Melancolie Jungle" from her 1979 album "Hyodo Miki". From the title of the song, which was written and composed by her, there is that certain Gallic joie de vivre as Hyodo sounds as if she were musically skipping down the Champs-Elysees (I don't think that the Champs-Elysees would have any jungle-like areas but then perhaps some of you who have been to Paris can either confirm or deny this). Nope, neither City Pop nor AOR, I'd probably peg this one as New Music with a hint of jazz.

J-Canuck's "America" Tunes 2

Wikimedia Commons

To any and all American readers of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", Happy Fourth of July and also a Happy Sestercentennial (250th birthday). I recall that three years ago, I also provided a special list of America-related songs on July the 4th and mentioned that we would have to do something about 2026. Well, the day is here.

And so, this is my "America" Tunes 2. Unlike the first one which mostly dealt with songs that had "America" in their titles, I'm being a bit more geographically precise so I'll be listing those numbers referring specifically to states and cities. Without further ado then:

(1948) Haruo Oka -- Akogare no Hawaii Koro (憧れのハワイ航路)

(1983) Mayumi Itsuwa -- California

(1978) Goro Noguchi -- Catalog L.A.（カタログL.A.）

(1984) Himiko Kikuchi -- Hollywood Illusion

(1979) Casiopea -- I Love New York

(1983) Seiko Matsuda -- Miami Gozen Go-ji （マイアミ午前5時）

Azymuth -- Fly Over the Horizon

 

Usually I would have the weekly Reminiscings of Youth song today but I've decided to give that a break just for this time. The reason goes all the way back to a year ago when I posted my "If I Had an All-Night Radio Show..." article, just to show off my fantasy of hosting such a program with a mix of Quiet Storm and calmer City Pop ballads.

Well, in the last few days, I discovered that along with many a radio station everywhere, NHK-FM in Japan had the type of show I would covet. It was called "Crossover Eleven"（クロスオーバーイレブン）and it had its run between November 1978 and March 2001 on most nights between 11 pm and midnight. I've only been able to find a couple of broadcasts but it seems as if "Crossover Eleven" played a lot of non-Japanese fusion and R&B although the programmers were open to what was also trendy over the years such as New Wave. There was a host with that late-night DJ voice doing the introductions and any soothing narration to lull listeners into a restful condition.

For most of its run, "Crossover Eleven" had an opening theme which was quite cool and calming. "Fly Over the Horizon" or as it was known in Brazil, "Vôo Sobre O Horizonte", was recorded by the Brazilian jazz-funk band Azymuth that had first formed in 1973. It's a song that probably put listeners in the proper frame of mind for what was to come. "Fly Over the Horizon" was also a track on Azymuth's 1979 album "Light as a Feather".

If there were a late-night voice I would to emulate, it would be the one belonging to host John Van Driel. And the wonderful thing is that he's Canadian!

MANNA -- Horohoro Zoushi（ほろほろ草紙）

 

It's a nice day for a World Cup opener in my hometown. It's sunny, a bit breezy and a whole lot drier and cooler than it was yesterday when we were swimming in atmosphere and being threatened by thunder and lightning. Hope Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina play a good one in a couple of hours.

Anyways, I hadn't been sure if this track from MANNA's 1979 album "Chabako Trick" was considered to be a City Pop song but after listening to it a couple of times, "Horohoro Zoushi" (Crumbly Ol' Notebook), the arrangement and instruments in use here made me see the light. Plus the title didn't exactly make me think of tall skyscrapers, beautiful people and speeding convertibles. But in the end, the groovy bounciness and the instruments turned me around.

Written by Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）and composed by Yu Imai（今井裕）, I'm not sure what the song is about. Perhaps it's all about some fellow's or lady's notebook from high school with all sorts of doodled phrases, pictures and other silliness...and many years later, the adults are taking another look. Embarrassment ensues, possibly. Anyways, "Horohoro Zoushi" shares track space with "Yellow Magic Carnival" which I believe is one of the first of MANNA's songs to be covered on the blog.

"City" Songs

 

I heard a rather interesting piece of news last Friday via NHK. Today, June 1st (and indeed, welcome to June 2026!), is the 900th anniversary of the founding of Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture. 1126...what a year! Chiba Station right in the heart of Chiba City was a regular stop for me on Monday afternoons since I had a regular class at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries; I was picked up by the regular company bus at one corner and spent a 20-minute ride to the factories in the suburbs. 

I didn't explore too much of the city outside of the immediate station area, but I do recall having a couple of dinners there and having a quick bite to eat at the station hamburger shop (and no, it wasn't a McDonalds) along with buying a few CDs at the music shop...also in the station. Of course, the monorail was always zipping by above me.

Anyways, in commemoration of Chiba's 900th birthday, I'm bringing in some "city" songs: songs that have the word "city" or "tokai" in them. I would have included Anri's（杏里）"Surf City" here but it had already gotten a shoutout in last week's "HANDS Down!" article. So, without further ado:

(2020) Ai Furihata -- CITY

(1989) TUBE -- Summer City

(1977) Taeko Ohnuki -- Tokai（都会）

(1979) Crystal King -- Dai Tokai (大都会）

(1987) Yoshitaka Minami -- Video City

Jenny My Love by Yōsui Inoue

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wikimedia Commons

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

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

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

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

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

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

Love Wings -- Fly Like a Bird（フライ・ライク・ア・バード）

 

I used to hear this a fair bit in English classes and anime: "I wish I were a bird". Probably one of the great things to introduce students to the Second Conditional.

This song reminded me of that. I had no idea about this aidoru group Love Wings（ラブ・ウイングス）which has been referred to as the Kansai version of famed trio Candies（キャンディーズ）. I haven't been able to find out when this group, which incidentally started out as Love Winks before the slight tweak in one of its final morphemes, started up, but "Fly Like a Bird", the song of note here, was the B-side to Love Wings' fifth single "Happy Jumping Roller"（ハッピー・ジャンピング・ローラー）from November 1979. So, perhaps they'd been around since 1978 at least.

Looking at the cover of the single, I wonder whether Love Wings performed in front of the TV cameras and audiences on roller skates as Hikaru Genji（光GENJI）would several years afterwards. But getting back to "Fly Like a Bird", the ladies whose names I have yet to discover sound just like Candies and the song is a very congenial tune written by Toyohisa Araki（荒木とよひさ）and composed by Tatsushi Umegaki（梅垣達志）, so that I could imagine Ran, Su and Miki tackling this one, although by the time this particular single came out, the Candies had already broken up. 

Tinseltown-ish Tunes

 

By chance, did anyone check out the Oscars last night? To be honest, and I have most likely mentioned this in past articles, I had once been a regular watcher of the Academy Awards when I was a kid because of the glitz and the fact that it was Hollywood celebrating Hollywood. But living in Japan all those years gradually weaned me off due to the fact that the live presentation was happening while I was at work.

Then when I returned to Toronto for good in the early 2010s, I realized that I had lost interest in the glitz and the celebration of celebrity. Plus, my track record of seeing those Oscar movies is frankly abysmal. The last Oscar-nominated movie I caught was "Oppenheimer" back in 2024. I don't really consider myself a cinephile and yet, I still cherish some of the older stuff such as "Casablanca" and "Roman Holiday" (as for newer stuff, there is "Inception" and a few of the MCEU movies). And to be frank, when I occasionally catch a movie, the purpose is to get away from reality for a couple of hours and be entertained...not necessarily to be educated or moved.

OK, I'll just jump off my rapidly sinking soapbox and give you my latest Author's Picks. Over the years, I have discovered that from time to time, certain songs pop up which have at least a titular connection with Hollywood or movies, so here's a short but varied list.

(1977) Ikue Sakakibara -- Al Pacino Tasu Alain Delon Yori Anata (アル・パシーノ＋アラン・ドロン＜あなた)

(1978) Hiromi Go -- Hollywood Scandal （ハリウッド・スキャンダル）

(1979) Kenji Sawada -- Casablanca Dandy （カサブランカ・ダンディ）

(1981) Ruiko Kurahashi -- Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete （ラストシーンに愛をこめて）

(1985) Picasso -- Cinema （シ・ネ・マ）

Kengo Kurozumi -- Tsumibukai Yoru（罪深い夜）

 

Y'know...I think this is the earliest in singer-songwriter Kengo Kurozumi's（黒住憲五）discography that I've ever reached. Usually, I've been going through his 1980s City Pop material but today, I'm taking a tangent here and bringing over his second single from May 1979, "Tsumibukai Yoru" (A Sinful Night). Written by Ray Nakanishi and composed by the singer himself, the title might refer to something rather salacious but Kurozumi's melody comes across as being rather chipper and light-hearted; more a breezy walk in the park rather than a roll in the hay.

On J-Wiki, he's been categorized as a J-AOR singer instead of a City Pop performer and "Tsumibukai Yoru" has that Margaritaville feeling to add to that argument. The song came out some three years following his 1976 debut single and in 1979, he was on a nationwide tour with the band Godiego（ゴダイゴ）when he released his sophomore effort.

Junko Ohashi & Minoya Central Station -- Feel So Fine

 

I've technically done my three for Thursday. However, I'm being drawn away from duty tomorrow so I'm getting a start on my usual Friday Urban Contemporary stuff today. The NHL Trade Deadline Day has a way of distracting me...even from my beloved City Pop (you can take me away from Canada, but you can't take away Canada from me).🏒

So, why not go with one of the best? I have a number of Junko Ohashi's（大橋純子）albums with Minoya Central Station（美乃家セントラル・ステイション）, but I don't think "Full House" from June 1979 is one of them...perhaps. Anyways, there is a real banger from Side A, "Feel So Fine" that's struck my fancy.

All I can say is that bass addicts will be slurping this one up repeatedly as we get to hear the late great Ms. Ohashi in her most wonderful disco glory. It really does feel so fine. Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by Kenjiro Oda（小田健二郎）, the song practically bewitches the listener to vicariously hit the ground running in Roppongi or Shinjuku in search of any dance club of the time such as the Lexington Queen (although it wouldn't open until 1980). By the way, the remix version below is by YouTuber Sukebe (heh heh heh).😁

Shiro Sagisu with Somethin' Special feat. Keiko Sugai -- Ai no Message（愛のメッセージ）

 

It's the final day of February and since we're not in a leap year, the final day will naturally be the 28th so certainly it'll be a lower output than usual for KKP.

Now, usually, I keep a lot of the City Pop on hand for Urban Contemporary Fridays, but seeing that this is February 28th, I might as well provide something pretty exciting, especially this is also a Saturday. A few years back, I noted that "Evangelion" soundtrack maestro Shiro Sagisu（鷺巣詩郎）had also been quite the disco City Pop king in the late 1970s. He put out an album with his Somethin' Special band called "Eyes" in 1979.

Well, he and the band also put out a single in that same year called "Ai no Message" (Message of Love), and as was the case on "Eyes", Keiko Sugai（須貝恵子）provided her dynamic vocals and the lyrics on this particular song. It's got a little bit of everything as in Long Island Iced Tea bit of everything. I can hear a boogie rhythm, disco flair and some propulsive funk...just the cocktail to heave Tokyoites to the dance floor in the discos around town.

Miki Matsubara -- Soushite Watashi ga（そうして私が）

Amazon.jp

When it comes to those B-sides, they are often decent enough songs by the artists but of course, when the A-side is a huge hit, those songs on the other side disappear within a huge shadow. Can you imagine Miki Matsubara's（松原みき）monster single "Mayonaka no Door ~ Stay With Me"（真夜中のドアー）when it first got out in November 1979? I can wonder why another song would be placed on the flip side.

But then again, that B-side isn't too bad at all, and it feels as if the songwriters were paying a bit of tribute to the intro of Peaches & Herb's "Reunited" which had been released several months earlier that year. "Soushite Watashi ga" (And Then I) is a musical musing regarding a lady pining over a guy who hasn't quite noticed her yet. The lass wishes she could be a bird or a flower so that she can surreptitiously look over the fellow and hope that he can do the same.

Written by the same duo behind the more famous A-side, lyricist Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composer/arranger Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）have created a creamy and soulful City Pop ballad to contrast with the perky "Stay With Me", complete with those silky strings, keyboards and horns. Listeners can decide which of the two songs are the more poignant.

Rumiko Tanaka -- Furui Miyako no Onna no You ni（古い都の女のように）

 

When it comes to anyone named Rumiko on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", we have a few of them but usually my mind goes straight to singer/actress Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）.

But then some months ago, I discovered this song by singer-songwriter Rumiko Tanaka（田中ルミ子）and I just went "Why have I not ever heard of this lady before?!". She's got one of those ethereal clear-as-a-bell beauty voices and the song here has one of my favourite instrumental combinations of strings and piano. "Furui Miyako no Onna no You ni" (Like a Woman from the Old City) is a track on her 1979 album "Up and Fly" and it's got a wonderfully lush intro that leads into a song that makes one want to stop and smell the flowers. Plus, it's got a brief electric guitar solo that reminds me why I got into Japanese pop music in the first place. The melody was provided by her while the lyrics were written by Masatoshi Hayashi（林まさとし）. 

I was able to find some information on Tanaka on her website. She was born in Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture and first showed her musical prowess publicly by providing a song for a 1977 NHK  documentary. Her official debut came in 1979 so I assume that "Up and Fly" was her first album. Since then, she has been teaching vocals and composition at a music school.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Love Arabesque（ラブ・アラベスク）

 

It's been sunny the last few days which we are all grateful for but it's also been bitterly cold after Snowmageddon on Sunday. And apparently we're in for a really cold night tonight with the wind chill factor going into the -30s Celsius. I might leave the taps slightly ajar tonight.

Anyways, I should bring something with some summery warmth to the proceedings here. I only discovered this song by chanteuse Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）several weeks ago. "Love Arabesque" is the B-side to Iwasaki's May 1979 17th single "Natsu ni Dakarete"（夏に抱かれて）which I posted all the way back in August 2013. 

I mentioned in the article for that A-side that "Natsu ni Dakarete" is the first Hiromi song that didn't involve lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）or composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. Well, Tsutsumi is back for this one while Yoko Aki（阿木燿子）, the songwriter behind a lot of Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵） hits in the latter half of her career, provided lyrics. Unlike the tropical and breezy City Pop feeling of "Natsu ni Dakarete", "Love Arabesque" has more of the adventuresome exotic kayo (supposedly Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia vibes) which was a type of kayo kyoku that was also making itself felt to a smaller degree at the time. It does have those disco strings and bass in there, though.