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.
Well, the gloom outside has opened up into rain so we're getting plenty of that now. Mind you, it's been a while since we've gotten some precipitation so this should be a blessing.
Anyways, I have "Silent Rain" by singer-songwriter Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子）. This was the coupling song to Sawada's hit single "Aitai"（会いたい）from June 1990. Written by Natsumi Watanabe（渡辺なつみ）and composed by the singer herself with arrangement by Masaki Iwamoto（岩本正樹）, hearing those keyboards gave me some instant nostalgia about how Japanese pop music sounded back a few decades ago. Although the subject matter of heartbreak is a bit of a downer, the music is pretty darn chirpy, especially compared to the far more wistful and melancholy nature of "Aitai".
Not last night but the week before, pop singer-songwriter Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子）appeared for the first time on "Uta Con"（うたコン）. It was an auspicious occasion for me as well because it was additionally the first time that I had ever seen her perform on television without going through YouTube. All these years, I've basically known her for the 1990 hit "Aitai"（会いたい）.
And indeed that is what she performed on "Uta Con". It's too bad that I didn't get to hear her talk with the hosts afterwards though. Japan TV has the unfortunate task of carving out certain sections of the show, especially ones where the singers are doing their tribute to Disney tunes, because of copyrights, so it's possible that any talk by Sawada was excised simply out of bad timing. Well, that's the way the cake crumbles, I suppose.
However, having been around seven years since I last put up a Sawada article, I decided that it was the time once more to include another one of her love songs. "Shiawase ni Narou"(Let's Be Happy) was her July 1993 single, and those keyboards sound so wonderfully nostalgic. Written by Chihiro Sawa（沢ちひろ）and composed by Sawada, I definitely feel that they don't make them like they used to. There's nothing like a late 80s/early 90s power ballad. Incidentally, "Shiawase ni Narou" was used as a commercial tune for Oppen Cosmetics.
Ryoko Sano（佐野量子）was a celebrity that I only saw sporadically through various commercials (as shown in the video below) and I only knew later on that she had also been an actress, a tarento and a singer, with that final part of her career lasting between 1985 and 1992.
I found this song by Sano which was included in her final album, "Wind & Window" from January 1992. Titled "Hoshi ni Negai wo" (Wishing Upon A Star), I had initially thought that this was an 80s aidoru tune, and Sano indeed started out as an aidoru, but when I saw that the composer was pop singer Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子）, my mind started thinking that this may have been a later release. Sano herself provided the lyrics and I think her singing style was an even more whispery version of Hiroko Yakushimaru（薬師丸ひろ子）.
Sano announced her retirement from show business at the end of 1994 and then married famed horse jockey Yutaka Take（武豊）the following year. According to Sano's J-Wikiarticle, she wouldn't make any more TV appearances for about 20 years but then a 2015 article on "Sponichi Annex" revealed that both Take and Sano finally appeared on a variety show. The brief video above has the Takes on a 2016 program.
Well, the American presidential election is under way and as predicted, things are looking like Game 7 of the World Series from last week...nailbiting. Not looking particularly good for Hillary Clinton right now but we should know in another 90 minutes who President No. 45 is.
I've got a bit of a sour stomach so I've swallowed down those three foul-smelling balls of Seirogan and since I don't want to exacerbate my situation by watching CNN right now, I've decided to put up something nice and comforting musically with Chikaco Sawada's（沢田知可子）14th single from March 1994, "Kanojo no Hitomi" (Her Eyes).
It's a harmless twinkly little ballad that was written and composed by Sawada herself. Not sure how it did on the charts but her bright high-toned voice can help further light up a sunny day. And there is something about those synths that takes me back to the good old days. I hope that this brand of musical therapy will get me to relax.
Although I will always associate Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子） with her big hit, the heartwrenching "Aitai"（会いたい）from 1990, I also liked this song by her which I first heard from one of her BEST compilations. It was actually a cover of Julia Fordham's 1988"Happy Ever After", but Sawada's version was the one I heard first. It came out as the singer's 6th single in September 1989, several months before "Aitai". What I've liked about it is Sawada's gentle way of singing it although I could also feel some of the sense of joy and power through the chorus and the African percussion.
Fordham was responsible for the original music and lyrics but Chihiro Sawa（沢ちひろ） provided the Japanese words for Sawada.
Above is the original by Julia Fordham.
And here is another guest cameo by Miku Hatsune! Enjoy!
Chikaco Sawada（沢田知可子）was born in Iwate Prefecture but raised in Saitama Prefecture. She had been working at the local driver's license center when she was scouted at a live house singing while doing a part-time job there. In 1987, she debuted with "Koibito to Yobasete"（恋人と呼ばせて....Let Me Call You Sweetheart). However, her trademark song is "Aitai"(I Want To See You).
Sawada's 8th single (June 1990) was written by Chihiro Sawa（沢ちひろ）and composed by Tulip leader Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）with arrangement by Fujimal Yoshino（芳野藤丸）. Originally, it was meant to be just one of the tracks on her 4th album, "I Miss You", but when it started getting noticed as the ending theme song for the popular late-night interview/variety program "Tonight" on TV Asahi, it got its chance as a single. That was when I heard it, and the arrangement makes this ballad perfect for night listening. And lyrically, Sawa went to the evergreen theme of the prematurely lost love.
Although Sawada herself had nothing to do with the creation of the song, she could channel her emotions into it all too well which helped a lot in its rise in popularity. During her years as a student, Sawada had once confessed her intentions to become a singer to her senpai who was in the basketball club to which that senpai apparently declared, "I'll become your very first fan then". Tragically, several days later, he died in a traffic accident.
"Aitai" would remain in the Top 100 of Oricon for 87 weeks during which time it would peak at No. 6 and become the 11th-ranked single for 1991. It also earned a Grand Prix at the Japan Record Awards, and sold 1.3 million copies, along with Sawada getting that invitation to perform at the 1991 Kohaku Utagassen. Its status as a ballad standard further grew as other singers ranging from Anri（杏里）to enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto（坂本冬美）tackled it.
