Ichimaru -- Shamisen Boogie-Woogie (三味線ブギウギ)

 

Lately, I've developed a greater appreciation for female singers from the early Showa era, which is quite something considering I quite exclusively only listened to male singers for the past... more than 20 years of my life. To give credit to where it's due, I wouldn't have done so without the help of prof. Yoshinori Osakabe (刑部芳則) and rakugo artist Takehei Hayashiya (林家たけ平) and their Showa-shoki no kayo maniac program, "Osakabe-Takehei Showa no Utagoe" (部たけ平昭和の歌声). Now if I were to watch natsumelo programs, I'd be just as happy to see Ohama-san (Hamako Watanabe... 渡辺はま子) or Shizuko-san (Shizuko Kasagi... 笠置シヅ子) as I'd be to see Mr. Fujiyama (Ichiro Fujiyama... 藤山一郎) or Minoru Obata (小畑実). It makes for a much more exciting viewing and listening experience since I can now look forward to many more artists. But we can consider Ohama-san and Shizuko-san towards the Western side of ryukoka, especially the latter with her jazz bops and groovy boogie-woogies. What about the Japanese side? That's where geisha singers, or uguisu geisha come in. 

So, what is an uguisu geisha? They were originally geisha but moved to the record industry as popular singers. According to prof. Osakabe in the first video, this became a thing around the late 1920s and early 1930s when music producers, on jaunts to the geisha quarters, felt that the geishas' training in hogaku (traditional Japanese music) like kiyomoto, kouta and nagauta would make them perfect for hogaku-inspired record songs, like shin-minyo (new minyo/folk songs). They were recognised for their fine, silk-like voice, which combined with their overall high-tone, made them sound like the uguisu (Japanese bush warbler), especially when they go, "Ha-----" in some of their signature tunes, aptly referred to as "Ha-Kouta" (Ha Songs). Yusuke Wajima (輪島裕介) in "Tsukurareta Nihon no Kokoro Shinwa" (2010) added that they keep their mouths open as little as possible so as to not show their teeth, harkening back to their former profession's demand for feminine refinement (as defined at the time). This combination apparently made them particularly attractive and even erotic to the audience. My impression of geisha singers more or less fell on these lines, but it was far from my taste - *ahemmysixfellas*. However, because of their prominence in enka-kayo history, I naturally became more curious about them. "Showa no Utagoe" with their selection gave me the opportunity to really listen to what these demure performers had to offer, something I was more reluctant to do when just reading about them in books. 

From my understanding of "Showa no Utagoe" and the other books I've read, the uguisu geisha singer boom came with the appearance Katsutaro Kouta (小唄勝太郎) and Ichimaru (市丸). Together, they dominated the early 30s ryukoka scene with their "Ha-Kouta" and this period was even known as the "Katsu-Ichi Jidai" or "Ichi-Katsu Jidai" (Katsu-Ichi/Ichi-Katsu Era) depending on the situation. They were huge rivals and were particular over semantics like that on programs they were on. Today, I shall put the spotlight on the younger of the two, Ichimaru nee-san (姐さん) - apparently, nee-san is how one can address a geisha.

Yup, I can certainly see why she's kirei kei.

Ichimaru, hailing from Nagano prefecture was a geisha in Asakusa, and so she used to be called Asakusa Ichimaru. When she signed on to Victor Records in 1931, she simply went by Ichimaru. She had multiple hits under her obi like "Chakkiri Bushi" (ちゃっきり節) and "Tenryu Kudareba" (天龍下れば) during the prewar period, but what about after the war? Many prewar singers did face much uncertainties in such an unstable time. Well, that's where Ryoichi Hattori (服部良一), the man known for Japanese jazz and blues, came in. With jazz and Western music becoming allowed again under the Allied Occupation, Hattori was free again to do what he did best. Together with Shizuko-san, Boogie-Woogie fever hit, what with "Tokyo Boogie-Woogie" and all. But the bombastic Shizuko-san had been known for jazz, so it was only natural for her to shine in her element. But what if Ichimaru nee-san did her own boogie-woogie? Hattori did combine rokyoku and Edo kappore with jazz via Mr. (Tadaharu) Nakano (中野忠晴) and his Rhythm Boys and Sisters, so making something for an uguisu geisha should be a walk in the park. And thus, "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie" was born. 

Ain't no way she's in her 60s here.

As the kids nowadays would say, this song goes hard. Together with a fresh boogie-woogie rhythm, Hattori was sure to add in a healthy dose of rattling shamisen to keep with the title. Giving "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie" a slight Bon dance flair and an even more celebratory atmosphere was the addition of some raucous percussions. Hearing this, you can't tell if you stepped into a Bon odori circle or a jazz dance hall, but the vibe is so chaotically fun you wouldn't mind it either way. It's a song that makes one forget that it came out not long after the war in 1949 when the country was still trying to piece itself together. But it's a song like this that I'm sure made it easier for the many struggling to get by during that period.

Anyway, Ichimaru nee-san was known for her demure charm. While Katsutaro was known as the "cute one" (kawaii kei), Ichimaru was the "pretty one" (kirei kei) and she was said to have exuded an aura of refined elegance and intelligence. Despite the rowdy score, she maintained this cool, elegant charm through her delicate vocals as she always had while handling her hogaku-inspired hits. Certainly no Ichimaru fan at the time would have imagined this same voice going, "Hello, baby!" IN ENGLISH. It would've shocked the tabi off the most traditional Japanese listener, for sure! I would like to personally thank Takao Saeki (佐伯孝夫) sensei for putting that in the lyrics... Actually, for all we know it could've been Hattori's idea, considering the smiley composer's penchant for silly phrases in his songs. Man, this song is great. Her other fusion tunes, some by Hattori too, are just as fun to listen to, and it's made me warm up to Ichimaru nee-san considerably. 

As you would've seen in the news, Japan hasn't had the best start to the year. The enka world has also experienced some great losses. In a time like this, sometimes it's good to have a cheerful song like "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie" to bring some colour back into life.

Odorya yokunaru masu masu yokunaru (It'll get better if you dance, way, way better)

Nasu mo kabocha mo keiki mo yokunaru (The eggplant, the pumpkin, even the atmosphere will get better)

P.S. One of the more amusing little articles I've read in old, digitalized entertainment magazines regarding Ichimaru nee-san was a piece by Katsuhiko Haida (灰田勝彦). There he talked about some of his good friends in show business and sports, one of them being Ichimaru. In his anecdote, he wrote that he once asked her out to watch a baseball game (of course) and she agreed despite having zero knowledge of the sport (I can probably guess why). This became apparent when she actually asked Hai-Katsu, "Are we supposed to clap now?" when a team scored. Oh, Ichimaru nee-san. Don't worry, I would've done the same thing.

Ichimaru -- Tenryu Kudareba （天竜下れば）

Referring to the most recent episode of "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, the theme for last night was water, and I think the old kayo liked to pay tribute to Japan's fair share of waterways ranging from rivers to oceans.

The name Ichimaru（市丸）popped up again last night on the NHK program. Some months ago, I wrote an article about this interesting synthesis of shamisen and swing music called "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie"（三味線ブギウギ）that had originally been sung by the geisha-singer when she was entranced by American jazz in the postwar era.

Well, the song that was performed last night was one of her earlier hits, "Tenryu Kudareba" (Going Down The Tenryu River). Released in 1933, this song is pure enka in which Ichimaru pays tribute to this flowing waterway that passes through Nagano, Aichi and Shizuoka Prefectures. It may have had some special meaning to the singer since she was born in Nagano.

One of the other reasons that I decided to put this song up was that I recently spoke with my old university buddy who, along with her daughter, has been practicing Japanese dance for many years. She informed me that some of her friends in dancing have actually been taking a look at this blog, presumably for some of the enka songs that could be performed through odori. And I think "Tenryu Kudareba" may fit into that category. So if any of you see this, thank you for your patronage and please give Laura a shoutout. I'll be seeing her in a couple of weeks anyways to catch "Wonder Woman" with her family.

"Tenryu Kudareba" was written by Mikihiko Nagata（長田幹彦）and composed by Shinpei Nakayama（中山晋平）.

Ichimaru -- Shamisen Boogie-Woogie （三味線ブギウギ）

First off, I did catch that tsunami alert on NHK which went on 4 hours earlier today. The earthquake which had preceded it was moderate but nothing like the 2011 temblor at a Shindo 5 minus, but that tsunami warning immediately had everyone on edge. When I saw that large red-and-white banner on the screen literally screaming 「にげて」(flee!), that definitely held my attention and concern for a good long while. I am hoping that the only damage to the Pacific coast was just to everyone's wits.

Continuing on, last week during the Kyoto-themed episode of "Uta Con" (うたコン), I heard a rather unusual song on the show called "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie". In recent years, there have been some attempts at melding genres such as rock with traditional Japanese music. Little did I know that the mixing and matching had been occurring as far back as the immediate postwar era.

So it was in 1949, when this song combined some nice old enka with something jazzy and had it performed by Ichimaru（市丸）, a singer as well as a professional geisha. Born in 1906 as Matsue Goto（後藤まつゑ）in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, she left home in her mid-teens to work at a geisha house and gradually went up through the ranks to become a geisha but also did extra training to improve her singing skills. In 1931, the Victor Recording Company took notice and signed her up so that she could record 3 songs to start her career that year.

Following World War II, Ichimaru, who already had recorded numerous songs to her credit, took an interest in American culture and especially one of America's greatest exports to the world, jazz. From this admiration was born the hit "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie", this rather eclectic mix of shamisen and swing. Written by Takao Saeki（佐伯孝夫）and composed by Ryoichi Hattori（服部良一）, I think "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie" could have the progenitor for a number of Hibari Misora's（美空ひばり）uptempo songs (she was just a kid when this song was released) and maybe even the whole dodonpa music fad a number of years later.

And here I was thinking that New Music and City Pop were the original Japanese music genres to meld Western melodies with Japanese lyrics. Well, perhaps I'm being a bit overly generous with that assessment. "Shamisen Boogie-Woogie" still sounds mostly like a tune that I would hear at a summer festival in Japan but still, it does have that melodic feeling of a glass of shochu spiked with a few hits of scotch.

Strangely enough, Ichimaru hasn't been the only geisha-singer that I have written about in the last few weeks.