Cheuni -- Narita Hatsu（NARITA発）/Park Junyoung -- Haneda Hatsu（羽田発）

 

For Japanese music listeners, especially those who like their Mood Kayo, enka and general kayo kyoku, you probably are well aware that airports have been the go-to settings for romantic endings and reminiscings, a place where songwriters have loved to establish their songs. I guess some broken hearts just need to go to their local terminals as much as they need to head out to the countryside resorts to drown their sorrows. Mind you, some of those airports have top-notch restaurants.

Strangely enough, in the past several weeks, I've been able to find a couple of songs with similar titles that are forms of airport kayo with the only difference being the airport in question. And the two airports are right in the Tokyo area.

One is "Narita Hatsu" (Departing from Narita) which describes one woman's wistful need to visit the international airport out in Chiba Prefecture (and it used to be the airport of choice whenever I returned to Canada on vacation) to remember the last time she saw her now ex-paramour. Sung by South Korean singer Cheuni（チェウニ）, this was her 13th single from January 2008 and it was written by Ichizo Fukuda（福田一三）and composed by Kazuya Amikura（網倉一也）. It's quite the classy and dignified example of New Adult Music or Mood Kayo; with those strings in there, I was almost convinced to even throw in the Fashion Music label. There was even something quite Teresa Teng（テレサテン）about the song.

Now, the whole reason that I decided to do this double take on airport kayo with two different South Korean singers was that I saw Park Junyoung（パク・ジュニョン）on an episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）several weeks ago as he sang his 6th single from August 2016, "Haneda Hatsu" (Departing from Haneda). Haneda Airport, right in the middle of Tokyo, has been my airport during my visits to Japan in the 2010s, and yep, they've got some pretty fancy and delicious fare in those restaurants.

But getting back on track, Park's song, which hit No. 21 on Oricon, has the protagonist taking a somewhat more disdainful and embittered view as she is the one who's getting on the plane and taking off forever. Her old boyfriend hasn't even shown up to say goodbye so she's giving him the kiss off in absentia. The music by veteran Keisuke Hama（浜圭介）is pretty folksy and whimsical considering Shinichi Ishihara's（石原信一）lyrics, and listening to that mandolin-esque instrument playing throughout the song, I was rather wondering about it being a modern-day Exotic Kayo. 

Cheuni/Masato Sugimoto -- Ichijikan dake no Christmas Eve（一時間だけのクリスマス・イヴ）

 

Well, I've got most of the cards out and I've got some that have come in. One card that I received yesterday was from my old English circle that I taught on Tuesday mornings. It had been several years since hearing from them, so I'm glad that they're all well. They're still learning the language, too. Hopefully, I'll get a card off to them tomorrow and maybe it'll get there by Xmas.

I found this slightly unusual song by Cheuni（チェウニ）in that it's not only a Christmas song but one that isn't in her usual wheelhouse of contemporary Mood Kayo. Titled "Ichijikan dake no Christmas Eve" (Christmas Eve for Just One Hour), this was the coupling song for her 21st single "Minato no Serenade"（港のセレナーデ...Harbour Serenade） from November 2012.

Written by Kyoko Asahina（朝比奈京子）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）who has often created the melodies in Cheuni's discography, the lyrics give off the impression that the December 24th date here involves a couple of a certain older age: possibly less than a romantic couple but certainly more than friends. Anyways, since they can't afford to catch a cold, the apartment block mates are probably going to briefly share some coffee at the nearby café in the neighbourhood. The other interesting thing is that the melody is more reminiscent of American 50s or 60s pop or even doo-wop; that intro especially reminded me of The Cascades' "Rhythm of the Rain" from 1962. Even the background chorus had me thinking of a certain 70s love song for which I can't quite remember the title.

The thing is that Cheuni's song is a cover of Sugimoto's own creation that he recorded for his 6th album "Heartful & Soulful" back in September 2008. 

Cheuni/Masato Sugimoto -- Hoshizora no Tokyo（星空のトーキョー）

 

Indeed, it is Golden Week in Japan, and so as such, regular TV programming is non-existent; it's been replaced by a bunch of special programs and reruns. Therefore, we get no "Uta Con"（うたコン）this week and I won't be able to have the opportunity to discover any possible new Mood Kayo tunes, at least through this route.

However, I've had this song in the backlog for a while so I'm more than happy to finally bring it to the fore. This is "Hoshizora no Tokyo" (Starry Night of Tokyo), Cheuni's（チェウニ）3rd single from June 2001 and the third in her series of Tokyo-themed Mood Kayo following her 1999 debut of "Tokyo Twilight"（トーキョー・トワイライト）and her sophomore outing, "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu"（Tokyoに雪が降る）from 2000.

Written by Yuko Natsumi（夏海裕子）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本真人）as was the case with her first single "Tokyo Twilight", "Hoshizora no Tokyo" takes Cheuni back into the pleasant mix of Mood Kayo and urban contemporary. Once again, I also say that Teresa Teng（テレサテン）could have also taken this on with aplomb. It's perfect listening while looking out over the nocturnal megalopolis from a swanky if quiet hotel-top bar.

In the article for "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu", I mentioned that composer Sugimoto had done his own version of that song via his October 2014 album "Nijuu Seiki ni Kanpai!"（20世紀に乾杯！...Here's to the 20th Century!）. Well, he also covered "Hoshizora no Tokyo" via an earlier album, the September 2006 "Bar Starlight", and this version has more of a moody rock arrangement.

Cheuni/Masato Sugimoto -- Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu（Tokyoに雪が降る）

Good heavens! It's been almost 6 years since I wrote up an article on South Korean singer Cheuni（チェウニ）and her blend of Mood Kayo and City Pop in her September 1999 debut single "Tokyo Twilight" （トーキョー・トワイライト）. It was quite fascinating hearing this kayo that seemed to combine the sounds and arrangement of two styles of Japanese music that reflected the city from two different eras. 

As I mentioned for "Tokyo Twilight", this began a series of Tokyo-based songs which leads to her sophomore outing from December 2000, "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu" (Snow Falls in Tokyo). However, despite the release date, I don't think that this sad ballad has anything to do with Xmas or the weather in the megalopolis so much.

Written by kayo singer Katsuhiko Miki（美樹克彦）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）, who had also come up with "Tokyo Twilight", the precipitation here has as much to do with the snow in one woman's heart. You see, Miki's lyrics relate the melancholy tale in which the lass simply can't open up herself to the one that she loves (and vice versa) because she can't stand the thought of ending up rejected once again. Damned if you do, damned if you don't...that sort of thing.

Unlike that debut single though, I think "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu" is more along the usual Mood Kayo line although it comes out quite dramatically. It could even make for an ideal ending theme for one of those mystery dramas that is broadcast weekly on Japanese TV. 

Up to now, composer Sugimoto has had his works for other singers shown here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", but on J-Wiki, he is known as a singer-songwriter. Therefore, I'm happy to also present his own cover of "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu" which was recorded on his October 2014 album "Nijuu Seiki ni Kanpai!"（20世紀に乾杯！...Here's to the 20th Century!）. It's no less dramatic.

Cheuni -- Tokyo Twilight （トーキョー・トワイライト）

I believe I've seen Korean-born singer Cheuni（チェウニ）at least a couple of times on NHK's "Kayo Concert" since the name rang a bell. According to J-Wiki, she made her debut in 1972 at the age of 8 before releasing a Japanese album in the late 1970s, although it was in her native South Korea where she had her first hits into the 1980s.

However in 1998, Cheuni took another stab at fame in Japan and (re-)debuted with "Tokyo Twilight" in September 1999. Written by Yuko Natsumi（夏海裕子）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本真人）, the song sounded like the 2nd coming of Teresa Teng（テレサテン）although I realize that Cheuni sounds a fair bit different from the late Teng. But there is something about the arrangement of "Tokyo Twilight" that made me think that this would have been a tune that Teng would have tackled. And that same arrangement has a somewhat natsukashii flavour since it feels like something that I would have heard almost a decade before. I would describe it as an urban and wistful melody that could be heard as a turn-of-the-century type of City Pop.

Cheuni won a Newcomers Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 2000 for "Tokyo  Twilight". Her debut would start off a series of Tokyo-based songs which included her next two singles, "Tokyo ni Yuki ga Furu"（Tokyoに雪が降る...Snow Falls in Tokyo） and "Hoshizora no Tokyo"（星空のトーキョー...Starry Night of Tokyo）.