Ayako Miyashita/Bonny Jacks/Hibari Misora -- Awate Tokoya（あわて床屋）

 

In all of the years that "Kayo Kyoku Plus" has been around, I've done my fair share of Author's Picks based on certain themes that some of that kayo kyoku has covered such as food and particular regions. But I don't think I have ever encountered an old Japanese pop song that was based on the barbershop experience.

As a bit of an aside, I have to say that one of the many pleasures of living in Japanese society for about a third of my life thus far was going to the barber or hair salon. Was it inexpensive? By no means. My old barber cost me close to 3900 yen a trip and then when my girlfriend at the time introduced me to her friend's salon not far away from my station, that expenditure took things to about 5000 yen. But in both cases, they were worth every yen for me. From the haircut, the shampoo, the shave, the scalp massage and the styling to the seasonal servings of coffee or cold oolong tea, this was simply a regular trip for a haircut in Japan that would probably be considered a top-notch treatment at Truefitt & Hill in downtown Toronto.

By the way, the above video has an Avengers-like meeting between two popular YouTubers. HairCut Harry got to have his experience at the Yamaguchi Barbershop last year.

"Awate Tokoya" (Busy Barbershop) first saw the light of day about a century ago in 1923. Written by Hakushu Kitahara（北原白秋）and composed by Kousaku Yamada（山田耕筰）as a children's song, it was performed by Ayako Miyashita（宮下禮子）*. The lyrics talk of a couple of crabs in the wilderness operating their own barber shop serving customers such as a rabbit, and apparently the business is a thriving one.

Almost forty years later in April 1961, "Awate Tokoya" was brought into the NHK's children song series "Minna no Uta"（みんなのうた）as one of its earliest, if not its earliest, entry with a special brand of animation and the vocal group Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）giving a hearty rendition of the animal-based barbershop. Future electronic music master Isao Tomita（冨田勲）handled the arrangement.

Then in 1966, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）gave her rendition of the song via a snazzy orchestra with a bit of Latin pizzazz and haircut-like percussion. I also picked up on some interesting keyboard work in there, too; not sure whether Tomita was already working with some of those electronics on Misora's version. Of course, others have covered "Awate Tokoya" over the decades.

*According to Jisho.org, there are multiple ways to say the first name. Ayako happens to be the first on the list, so if anyone out there can tell me the proper way to say the singer's name, please let me know.

Bonny Jacks/Hideko Hirai -- Ano Machi Kono Machi（あの町この町）

 

Remembering that I wrote about Akina Nakamori-related article on the 100th anniversary of Kiyose Station in Tokyo yesterday, and then encouraged by Noelle's article on Columbia Rhythm Boys' "Kappore" (かっぽれ) just this morning, I was wondering about what had come out in the record shops in Japan a hundred years ago in 1924, aka Taisho 13（大正13）.

Well, a beloved children's song titled "Ano Machi Kono Machi" (That Town This Town) was first created by the popular songwriting duo consisting of lyricist Ujou Noguchi（野口雨情）and composer Shinpei Nakayama（中山晋平）in that very year. Its first appearance was in the January issue's pages of a magazine known as "Kodomo no Kuni"（コドモノクニ...The Land of Children）. However, the earliest actual recording I could find on YouTube was the one by 10-year-old singer Hideko Hirai（平井英子）in 1928. Noguchi's lyrics and Hirai's voice gently send the message that it's time for the kids to head on home from playing outside before it gets too dark.

In 2007, "Ano Machi Kono Machi" was selected to be included in the "Nihon no Uta Hyakusen"（日本の歌百選...Collection of 100 Japanese Songs）, a collection of a hundred songs and nursery rhymes. On top of that, a stone monument with Noguchi's lyrics was established in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture where the lyricist had once lived. The veteran vocal group Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）also included their rendition of "Ano Machi Kono Machi" in their December 2021 "Bonny Jacks ni yoru Nihon no Jojou Uta Senshuu Nana-juu Kyoku"（ボニージャックスによる 日本の抒情歌選集 70曲...A Selection of 70 Japanese Lyrical Songs by Bonny Jacks）. Their version really amps up the folksiness of the song.

Bonny Jacks/Mariko Miyagi & Victor Jidou Gasshoudan -- Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni（手のひらを太陽に）

 

Well, I've had one representative song from the currently running anime "Tomo-chan wa Onna no Ko!"（トモちゃんは女の子！...Tomo-chan is a Girl!）in the form of Maharajan's "Kurae! Telepathy"（くらえ！テレパシー）. There have already been some highlights from the first few episodes of the show including main character Tomo giving her own special touch to traditional Japanese kids' songs at karaoke. I will definitely have to cover the song that Tomo sings here very soon since it is a classic and because her seiyuu Rie Takahashi（高橋李依）has really shown her range.

But allow me to introduce an old kayo that I hadn't realized was specifically a children's song until I got to listen to it again after many years. I simply assumed that "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni" (The Sun in the Palms of Our Hands) was just another one of those Showa Era songs that everyone loved to do in a singalong. It's jaunty and people can do it in unison so I can imagine that it was a fun tune to do at karaoke, and maybe ol' Tomo can give it a shot the next time she goes...if she does go a next time.

Bonny Jacks（ボニージャックス）is a chorus group that I've always wanted to get onto the blog just because I like the sound of that name of theirs. Formed in 1958 from the Waseda University glee club, they first consisted of Takeomi Kashima（鹿島武臣）, Motoyasu Tamada（玉田元康）, Hisao Nishiwaki（西脇久夫）and Masato Ohmachi（大町正人）. With the deaths of the last two members in 2021 and 2011 respectively, it's currently a trio with Hideyuki Yoshida（吉田秀行）joining in 2003. "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni" is one of Bonny Jacks' trademark tunes that was released as a single in 1965 and it was successful enough that the group made their final of three appearances on the Kohaku Utagassen that year.

Not surprisingly, "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni" has had its covers over the decades, and in fact, Bonny Jacks' tilt at the song was also a cover. The song about friendship and love of life in all its myriad forms (sounds rather Shinto) was first recorded in 1962 for NHK's music program for kids "Minna no Uta"（みんなのうた）with lyrics and music provided by Takashi Yanase（やなせたかし）and Taku Izumi（いずみたく）respectively. Recorded by Mariko Miyagi（宮城まり子）, a singer and actress who would later become an advocate for children with disabilities, and Victor Jidou Gasshoudan（ビクター児童合唱団...The Victor Children's Chorus）, the orchestra has an almost rumba approach to the arrangement. Miyagi herself is downright boisterous in her delivery.