The Works of Jun Hashimoto (1939-2026)（橋本淳）

From Yahoo Japan

 

Not to say that I'm an X-Man or anyone like that, but earlier today as I was entering my usual digestion-induced nap, I got a little spark in my head about whether there would be an obituary regarding someone in the music industry, and annually, there have been a few. As it turns out, less than an hour ago, I was watching the morning news on NHK and the report came out that veteran lyricist Jun Hashimoto had passed away on May 21st at the age of 86 due to cirrhosis.

Since I began this blog back in 2012, as someone who hadn't been too up on lyricists, arrangers and composers at the time, Hashimoto's name was one that I came across fairly often especially in the early years of KKP. And according to both J-Wiki and NHK, he had written approximately 2000 songs of which a little over 70 have been covered here. He worked with a number of composers during his career which lasted close to 60 years but it was his collaborations with the late Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）that produced a lot of those kayo kyoku hits.

Born on July 8th 1939, Hashimoto was born Junsuke Yoda（与田凖介 ）, the son of famed poet and children's book author Junichi Yoda（与田凖一）, in Tokyo. He started learning about lyric writing on his own while studying at Aoyama Gakuin University, and he eventually came under the wing of composer Koichi Sugiyama（すぎやまこういち）in 1961. Some years later in 1966, his first stint at lyrics which ended up as a record was "Kiiroi Lemon"（黄色いレモン...Yellow Lemon） by another Sugiyama protege, singer Koichi Fuji（藤浩一）who would later become Masato Shimon（子門真人）. It was also Tsutsumi's first stint at composing a record as well under Sugiyama's wing. Thus, the source of all those Hashimoto/Tsutsumi hits can be tracked back here.

Of course, a couple of years later, Hashimoto and Tsutsumi would pen their first evergreen kayo hit, "Blue Light Yokohama"（ブルーライト・ヨコハマ）by Ayumi Ishida（いしだあゆみ）. 

The lights of the city are really beautiful, aren't they?                                                                                  Yokohama, Blue Light Yokohama                                                                                                                The two of us are so happy

As always, those words of love                                                                                                                    Yokohama, Blue Light Yokohama                                                                                                                Give those words to me

A year previously though, Hashimoto with Jackey Yoshikawa and his Blue Comets member and composer Tadao Inoue（井上忠夫）came up with "Blue Chateau"（ブルー・シャトウ）, arguably the Group Sounds band's most famous hit from 1967. In fact, NHK reported that Hashimoto was instrumental to the GS boom of those late 1960s.

Surrounded by the woods and the springs                                                                                                  There quietly sleeps the Blue Chateau                                                                                                      You are waiting for me                                                                                                              The dark and lonely Blue Chateau

Another Group Sounds hit that Hashimoto wrote was "Amairo no Kami no Otome"（亜麻色の髪の少女）by The Village Singers  (ヴィレッジ・シンガーズ) in 1968 with his mentor and composer Sugiyama behind the melody. 

The wind gently folds the long flaxen hair                                                                                              The girl holds the white bouquet to her chest                                                                                               As she comes down the hill as if with wings                                                                                     To her kind boyfriend she goes                                                         Her singing voice cheerful because she's in love

Even with the end of the Group Sounds period in the early 1970s, Hashimoto would continue to pen the hits including the popular duet song "Canada Kara no Tegami" (カナダからの手紙）in 1978 with Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃） , who also composed it, and Yoko Hatanaka（畑中葉子）. Yeah, to think I pummeled the heck out of that one at karaoke, and it was a Hashimoto classic!

Love letter from Canada                                                                                                                              If by chance, we were together                                                                                                                      How much fun we would have on this trip                                                                                                  Love letter from Canada

Hashimoto and Hirao would work together again soon after and this time, it would be for the theme song of one of the most famous anime series ever created, "Ginga Tetsudo 999"（銀河鉄道999）as sung mightily by Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）.

The train comes out of the darkness into the sea of light                                                                     It's the endless universe where dreams scatter                                                                                          Let's cross the bridge of stars                                                                                               People will always search for happiness                                                                               As if they were voyagers

My last entry here involves Hashimoto's dalliance with City Pop, and I'm not sure how far down the rabbit hole he went but he and Tsutsumi worked together here as well to make Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美) "Street Dancer" in 1980. 

As I keep my sunglasses on                                                                                                                          I gaze at the flow of time                                                                                                                            Weekend                                                                                                                   The neon at noon, the glittering streets                                                                                Stuffing my face with a hamburger                                                                                                          Seeking the sprit of youth                                                                                                                          Together

Of course, this article isn't anywhere near as comprehensive as I would like it to be. However, I did want to pay homage to the man in some fashion and hopefully some of you can take a look at the other articles of songs that Hashimoto wrote over his decades in the music business. My condolences to his family, friends, fans and many fellow songwriters in the industry.

Isao Sasaki & Koorogi '73 -- Himitsu Sentai Gorenger（秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー）

 

It was about a decade ago when I posted an article on the first opening theme song for the 1970s tokusatsu hero show "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger"（秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー...Secret Task Force Five Rangers）. Quaint is how I would put it considering I began the article with my assessment of the superhero movies coming out in 2016 at that point. My opinions on those MCEU and DCEU movies haven't changed, and the first "Dr. Strange" flick did turn out to be a solid if not incredible addition to the Marvel franchise. Well since then, let's say that Phase 5 of the master plan behind the MCEU hasn't been all that impressive to me although I'm hoping for great things for the new "Spider-Man" and "Avengers" entries later this year.

I was talking about the conventional comic book movies back then when I wrote about "Susume! Gorenger"（進め! ゴレンジャー）. A few years later came the televised adaptation of "The Boys" which has managed to attract, entrance and shock the heck out of the pop culture fandom, and it's coming to a close with this final season that's on right now, and the video above is what I'm thumbnailing this article with. I don't subscribe to Amazon Prime Video but there has already been a ton of video evidence on the first few episodes shown along with reaction videos, and yep, the producers and the cast have managed to continue to pop viewers' eyeballs. 

Let's go back to the 1970s then and Japan in particular when these hero programs had no shades of gray or hidden agendas at least not on the heroic side. Good was good and evil was evil, and so go the team members of the Five Rangers. 

Usually when I saw and heard these tokusatsu programs, the opening theme was peppy, brassy and appropriately courageous while the closing them was more ballad-like and introspective. However, the first ending theme for "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger", the simply titled "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger", just keeps up the upbeat times of being a superhero of punching and sweep-kicking the henchmen (plus the kids must have loved emulating the onomatopoeia!). As was the case with the "Susume! Gorenger", the legendary Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）manned the microphone but this time he was backed up by Koorogi '73（こおろぎ'73）instead of the Columbia Yurikago Kai (コロムビアゆりかご会), I guess, for a bit more gravitas in the delivery. Master tokusatsu composer Chumei Watanabe（渡辺宙明）was behind the music while at least one of the originating Toei Company producers wrote the lyrics under the collective pseudonym of Saburo Yatsude（八手三郎）. "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger" was the B-side to the original "Susume! Gorenger" single released in April 1975.

Uta Con: February 24th 2026 -- Tribute to Yu Aku（阿久悠）

 

First off, thanks go to The history man on YouTube for providing this video on the life and career of kayo kyoku songwriting legend Yu Aku (1937-2007) who apparently remains the 2nd-most prolific lyricist in Japan following Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）. Yesterday, the return of NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）after the Olympic break was a big one for all of the kayo fans since a good chunk of the program was a tribute to the works of Aku who would have been 89 back on February 7th..

This isn't an Author's Picks because I wasn't the one who came up with these songs for performance on the show last night. Of course, it was the NHK producers who did that but I still wanted to acknowledge the Aku songs that had been sung on the Shibuya stage since they have remained part of the bread and butter that make up a lot of this blog. You can also take a look at a Creator article that I wrote up back in 2015 regarding Aku and his constitution on writing those lyrics.

(1974) Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

(1977) Sayuri Ishikawa -- Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki （津軽海峡・冬景色）

(1977) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Shishuuki （思秋期）

(1984) Shinichi Mori -- Kita no Hotaru （北の螢）

(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

(1977) Kenji Sawada -- Katte ni Shiyagare （勝手にしやがれ）

(1973) Finger Five -- Kojin Jugyō（個人授業）

(1974) Finger Five -- Gakuen Tengoku (学園天国）

Galaxy Songs

 

Recently, when I posted my article on a Candies'（キャンディーズ）tune, commenter AL noted that there were a lot of kayo kyoku with "ginga"（銀河...galaxy） in the title. I agreed and wondered whether I should put up an Author's Picks about those galactic songs. Well, I'm no longer wondering. Here are some of them.

(1978) Isao Sasaki with the Suginami Junior Chorus -- Ginga Tetsudo 999（銀河鉄道999）

(1979) Godiego -- The Galaxy Express 999 (銀河鉄道９９９）

(1988) Hikaru Genji -- Paradise Ginga (パラダイス銀河）

(1977) Candies -- Gingakei made Tonde Ike!（銀河系まで飛んで行け!）

(1980) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Ginga Densetsu（銀河伝説）

Isao Sasaki -- G.I. Blues

 

I wasn't around when Elvis Presley had been enjoying his first several years of fame and fortune before he was drafted by Uncle Sam into the army. Can only imagine how many women screamed in despair at their idol becoming a military man, but he didn't do too badly at all. "G.I. Blues" the 1960 movie was one result.

I remember Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）mostly for his grand contributions to anison for epics such as "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, so it was with some surprise years later that when the Tokyo native had first started out, he was all about his rockabilly, and as much as I have dubbed the lyricist to "Yamato", the legendary Yu Aku（阿久悠）, as the Irving Berlin of kayo kyoku, Sasaki was once given the nickname of the Japanese Elvis Presley.

Case in point: one of his earliest singles was his cover of "G.I. Blues" which came out in 1961. He doesn't do too badly and he actually does sound like Elvis if he had been fluent in Japanese. Let's try to imagine Elvis singing "Star Blazers". Unfortunately, I couldn't track down who came up with the Japanese lyrics.

Train Station Melodies （発車メロディ）

 

Seeing back on Tuesday that I put up the congratulatory posting on a couple of Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）songs getting used as train station melodies at Kiyose Station, I've decided to put some more melodies into KKP. I've known for a long time that pop songs have been used among the vast network of stations across Japan but this is the first time that I'm putting up such an article here on the blog. As such, the following are only a few of such melodies.

Puffy -- Nagisa ni Matsuwaru Et Cetera （渚にまつわるエトセトラ）

This is only played at Kinosaki Onsen Station on the San'in Main Line in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture during the winter because the area is known for its haul of tasty crab, and the Puffy trademark tune has the lyric of "Let's go and have some crab!".

Iruka/Kaguyahime -- Nagori Yuki (なごり雪）

The evergreen folk song by both Iruka（イルカ）and the band Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）can be heard at Tsukumi Station on the Nippou Main Line in Tsukumi City, Oita Prefecture. According to an archived article, songwriter Shozo Ise（伊勢正三）had based the song on this particular station itself.

Kyu Sakamoto -- Ue wo Muite Arukou (上を向いて歩こう)

C'mon...there was no way that this song was NOT going to be included as a train station melody somewhere in Japan. In fact, it's used at a number of stations...one being Keikyu Kawasaki Station on the Keikyu Main Line in Kawasaki City west of Tokyo. Kawasaki City is special, though, because Kyu Sakamoto（坂本九）was born in the city.

Masafumi Akikawa -- Sen no Kaze ni Natte （千の風になって）

Up at Onuma Koen Station on the Hakodate Main Line in the town of Nanae, Hokkaido, this tear-worthy ballad plays for about ten minutes a shot in various arrangements while folks wait for the train. Apparently, the setting in the song was the town itself.

Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

One of anime's greatest theme songs also resides at Kure Station on the Kure Line in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture. The real-life battleship Yamato was built at the former Kure Naval Arsenal which is one reason for the theme being used at the station. The other reason is that the late creator of "Uchuu Senkan Yamato", Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）, was the Director Emeritus of the Yamato Museum located near the station.

Kami Takada Shonen Gasshodan/Zone -- Theme from Tetsuwan Atomu （鉄腕アトムのテーマ）

Of course, I have to finish off with the one train station melody that I used to hear all the time while I was living in the Tokyo area. I used to hear the "Astro Boy" theme when I was making the transfer from the JR Yamanote Line loop to the Tozai Line at Takadanobaba Station to head on back to Chiba Prefecture. 

So, for any of you who have lived in Japan, are there any train station melodies that were part of your lives?

Saraba, Leiji Matsumoto（さらば、松本零士）

 

I only heard from Twitter friend Mitch in the last few hours but manga legend Leiji Matsumoto has passed away at the age of 85. He actually left this mortal coil on February 13th this year but the news has only started getting around the media.

He was responsible for a long line of manga but for me, the ones that will always stand out are "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）and "Galaxy Express 999"（銀河鉄道９９９）. His way of drawing characters may seem rather poignant now but the anime adaptations of the aforementioned projects left a huge impression on me. A lot of the main male characters had that windswept hair and the eyebrows so thick and angry that Peter Capaldi could only look in admiration. Then the female characters always looked so lithe and slender with eyelashes that could sweep an entire wall with just one batting.

Years later during my life in Japan, when I saw this video by techno duo Daft Punk and caught the animated characters playing in the band, I knew that it was Matsumoto behind them from their iconic appearances. I was stunned and very delighted.

One story (exaggerated or not) that I have about Matsumoto may have some of you getting a little disgusted so I'm giving you a chance to scroll past this paragraph and onto the videos. I found out through an old Fuji-TV trivia quiz show that a fellow manga artist often visited Matsumoto. One time, Matsumoto was kind enough to provide a bowl of ramen as part of his hospitality and it came topped with some mushrooms. What had celebrity jaws dropping onto the floor was that the fungi was bred on Matsumoto's underwear that he had never bothered changing. He simply kept wearing them and turned them inside out each day until one day he just decided to throw them into the closet. I forgot how his friend reacted.😈

Anyways, it's still rather sudden news so other than the above, the best tribute that I can give you is through the famous songs from "Uchuu Senkan Yamato" and "Galaxy Express 999", all done by the famous anison artist, Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）. My condolences go to his family, friends, fans and fellow manga artists.

Uchuu Senkan Yamato （宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

Makka no Scarf (真っ赤のスカーフ）

Ginga Tetsudo 999（銀河鉄道999）

Aoi Chikyuu（青い地球）[Same link for "Ginga Tetsudo 999"]

For All You Cosplayers Out There....

 

Continuing on with today's Halloween theme, I started thinking about all of those cosplayers out there. I mean, I know that cosplaying has never been restricted to October 31st, but it is on that night that cosplayers can really go full out into the city at large instead of just cosplayer functions such as a ComiCon. Incidentally, yes, that is indeed a lady pretending to be Yuki Mori from the Space Cruiser Yamato. I took the photo at the Tokyo Anime Fair at Tokyo Big Sight back in 2009.

So, I thought what if I could give some tribute to those cosplayers and Halloween in general through my own Author's Picks of songs connected with costumes that I have seen such as the yellow-and-black uniform that I see on the aforementioned young lady above? As for me, I've been in costume but just for Halloween, and one costume that I did wear was the gold uniform for Captain Kirk way back when.

Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト） (1974)

All these years, I've only seen folks in the Yuki Mori uniform, but I have yet to witness anyone in the other male crewmembers' uniforms. I have also never seen anyone dressed as good ol' Captain Okita.

Dali -- Moonlight Densetsu (ムーンライト伝説） (1992)

In the few times that I did attend Fan Expo in downtown Toronto last decade, I always saw a Sailor Moon（セーラームーン）and a few of her fellow Sailors traipse about in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. In fact, I'd say that it wouldn't be a Fan Expo without Sailor Moon.

Yoko Takahashi -- Zankoku na Tenshi no Tehze （残酷な天使のテーゼ） (1995)

I can't be absolutely sure that I actually saw anyone dressed up as Rei Ayanami or Asuka Soryu either in Japan or Toronto, but I believe that it's a given that have been cosplayers who were more than happy to dress up in their getups...and there were folks who were happy to see them dress up in their getups. Just ask Kohei.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Crazy Party Night ~ Pumpkin no Gyakushuu（ぱんぷきんの逆襲） (2015)

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu（きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ）did come to the Art Gallery of Ontario to perform a few nights there, but I never got the opportunity to go. I could probably say that she was the first cosplaying singing star that I ever saw.

Masato Shimon -- Let's Go! Rider Kick! (1971)

This last one here is for the fact that my brother wore a Kamen Rider（仮面ライダー）costume for trick or treat when he was a very small kid back when we were living downtown. He may have scared one resident out of her wits, but she may have had a phobia against insects.

Isao Sasaki & Columbia Yurikago Kai -- Daikū Maryū Gaiking（大空魔竜ガイキング）

 

Another passing that I have to note, unfortunately. I was checking my Mixi account this morning when I came across the news that TV and film composer Shunsuke Kikuchi（菊池俊輔）had passed a few days ago on April 24th at the age of 89. Kikuchi was responsible for the music behind a number of anime, tokusatsu and cop series including the very first tokusatsu series that I'd ever seen "Chojin Barom-1"（超人バロム・1...Superman Barom-1）and the police series "G-MEN★75". He also came up with Meiko Kaji's（梶芽衣子）"Urami Bushi"（怨み節）, a kayo ballad that had also got into Quentin Tarentino's "Kill Bill".

Looking at his Wikipedia biography, a newspaper in his native Aomori Prefecture noted that if Kikuchi ever got onto a project, it would always be a success, and that same newspaper moreover stated that he was responsible for the pattern of having a heroic theme for the opening of an anime and a melancholy ballad at the end.

There are many of a certain age, including myself, who remember the "Force Five" collection of mecha anime which hit North American shores in the late 1970s, just before "Robotech", aka "Macross", did. The second entry in the series was "Danguard Ace" whose theme song had originally been recorded by the legend Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）and composed by Kikuchi.

Well, Sasaki and Kikuchi were also together when they worked on the fifth entry in "Force Five", "Daikū Maryū Gaiking" (Divine Demon-Dragon Gaiking). Now, when it comes to the theme songs, the ones that I remember are the theme for the first "Starvengers", aka "Getter Robo G" in Japan (I'll have to do that one soon) and the one for "Gaiking". 

Simply titled "Daikū Maryū Gaiking", Kikuchi's theme was heroic and slightly disco at the same time, not surprising since the show premiered in April 1976. And it reflected the awesome concept of a gigantic airborne carrier shaped like a dragon which could spit out parts to create the mighty Gaiking. Now that was something worth waking up early for!

The "Force Five" shows didn't have the sung versions of the theme songs during the opening credits so all we got for "Gaiking" was the empty karaoke version and even then it was plenty epic. Yet, there is no one like having the original with the golden tones of veteran anison singer Isao Sasaki and the Columbia Yurikago Kai（コロムビアゆりかご会）at the mike. I'm sure that whenever Gaiking kicked major mecha butt, the theme would come roaring on and kids would be jumping up and down. Kougo Hotomi（保富康午）provided the lyrics with Kikuchi handling music and arrangement.

Isao Sasaki -- Suki da Danguard Ace（すきだッダンガードA）/Sono Na mo Takuma Uchuu Pilot（その名もタクマ宇宙パイロット）

In my neck of the woods, it was first "Gatchaman"（ガッチャマン）under the English title of "Battle of the Planets" and then "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, which was known on this side of the Pacific as "Star Blazers", that basically heralded the arrival of Japanimation (as it was called back then) for my generation in the 1970s. We kids were left panting with excitement (and some tears) as we waited for what was coming next from Japan.

In Toronto, that was "Force Five" going into the 1980s which was produced by Jim Terry and involved the bringing together of five sci-fi/adventure anime: "Starvengers", "Danguard Ace", "Spacketeers", "Grandizer" and "Gaiking". Looking back, I think that most of the shows received a bit of the hatchet job in terms of prepping them for viewing in Canada and the United States but back then, these shows were good enough incentive for us to wake up in the morning before heading off for school.

"Danguard Ace" had been known to me even before "Force Five" came on the air here since the mecha was also one of the trio for Marvel Comics' "Shogun Warriors" line that I did buy for a while. I can only imagine Ace showing up in "Avengers: Endgame". Anyways, according to what I read at J-Wiki and Wikipedia, "Danguard Ace" was the only mecha anime that the legendary Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）ever handled and that was back in 1977 and it was pretty obvious that it was a Matsumoto creation in terms of how similar some of the characters looked when compared to the main characters in "Yamato". I just thought it was the usual gang but not on a massively refit World War II battleship but a transformable robot.

Well, I was listening to the above double-CD album, "Matsumoto Leiji no Sekai"（松本零士の世界...The World of Leiji Matsumoto）which has a lot of the anison involved with the master animator's works such as "Yamato" and "Galaxy Express 999"（銀河鉄道999）, and at the top of CD 2 were the opening and ending themes for the original "Wakusei Robo Danguard A"（惑星ロボ ダンガードA...Planetary Robot Danguard Ace）. Watching the original "Force Five" opening for "Danguard Ace" back then (and the other shows, for that matter), I quickly noted that the themes were left as empty karaoke versions instead of the totally new themes for "Gatchaman" and the just-as-impressive English-language version for the "Yamato" theme. I had wondered what the original themes sounded like.

Well, thanks to the CD and YouTube, none of us have to wonder any more. I mentioned the legendary animator Matsumoto and now here is the legendary anison singer Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）providing the full version of "Suki da Danguard Ace" (We Love You, Danguard Ace), created by lyricist Shunya Ito（伊藤俊也）and composer Shunsuke Kikuchi（菊池俊輔）.

I read one comment saying the theme is pretty cornball (although he cherished the show), and yep, that it is, in a very sentimental way. "Suki da Danguard Ace" is the typical heroic theme song for the kids...it probably had them marching happily over the tatami. Those horns and the groovy beat would have also been just at home at the time for any variety show on Japanese TV. For me, it was a pity that the full version hadn't been provided on "Force Five" (even though admittedly it would have sounded strange for a Japanese song to be played on American morning TV) since Sasaki with help from the chorus group Young Fresh（ヤング・フレッシュ）really put in the brio in the recording booth. Those words were needed.

Could only find the ending credits version of the closing theme "Sono Na mo Takuma Uchuu Pilot" (His Name is Takuma the Space Pilot) which is slightly more urgent in tone but it has the same songwriters and Sasaki taking care of it. Still, Mom probably yelled at the kids to stop pounding the tatami into chaff.

The Works of Ken Sato（佐藤健）

Last week, when I did that L'Arc-en-Ciel article for the theme song of the 2012 live-action version of "Rurouni Kenshin"（るろうに剣心）, I noticed that the actor Takeru Sato and the veteran kayo composer Ken Sato shared the same kanji 「佐藤健」for their names. However, punching in the name into the search engine brought up mostly information on the young actor.

There is in fact not all that much information on Ken Sato. His J-Wiki profile only gave the description of him being a composer, an arranger, a keyboardist and the husband of singer Junko Ohashi（大橋純子）. Not even a date of birth or a place of birth or how he grew up to be enticed into the music business is given there, and looking beyond online only garnered the same information. J-Wiki did say that Sato had first met Ohashi at a Yamaha studio under the supervision of arranger Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）.

Sato may not have as high a profile as Tetsuji Hayashi（林哲司）or Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）, but his works have popped up many a time on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" over the years. And just going through the list of works he's provided other singers on J-Wiki and the list of songs under his name on this blog, he has come up with songs ranging through a number of genres including aidoru and City Pop, kinda along the same lines as Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）. So why not Sato?

The earliest example that I'd had of his compositions on KKP was the proud "Crystal City" sung by Ohashi back in 1977. But to start off this Creator feature on Sato, I've gone further back in the Sato-Ohashi association with this track "Itsumo"（いつも...Always）that had been wholly made by the songwriter for Ohashi's debut album "Feeling Now", released in June 1974.

"Feeling Now" is an album that I would acquire simply for that dazzling cover of Ohashi with her hair flying all over the place. However, from hearing some of the tracks, there is also a lot of gold in the album with a mix of covers of tunes by Charles Aznavour and Bill Withers and original material. "Itsumo" is some splendid sunny Sunday soul that warms my heart and it's obvious to me and, I assume, to Sato and the others that Ohashi had some major talent in her vocal cords.

Sato had already provided songs for a number of aidoru singers, but I did find this one, "Amaryllis"（アマリリス）that he composed for the future hit-makers Wink as their 2nd single in September 1988. Although the synthesizers were in there, I think the Wink sound had still been getting defined with this early work which feels more like a country-pop song. With lyrics by Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）, "Amaryllis" peaked at No. 30.

Lyricist Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）and Sato worked together to create Satoshi Ikeda's（池田聡）debut single "Monochrome Venus"（モノクローム・ヴィーナス）for release in August 1986. The above video has the 12-inch version so there are the usual dance remix bells and whistles. It's also the first time to have Ikeda on KKP so I bid him welcome. It's a pretty nice City Pop tune and I get a bit of Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）when I hear his voice. "Monochrome Venus" did well by Ikeda since it broke the Top 10 at No. 9.

"Hometown Express"（ホームタウン急行）was the B-side to vocal group Circus'（サーカス）"American Feeling" single that has become a staple of any high school chorus performance. A very jaunty country tune with visions of Carpenters, this was the theme song for the TV Asahi drama "Tetsudo Kouankan"（鉄道公安官...Railway Police）. I love the harmonies here and although the show was categorized as an action-suspense program, I can't help but feel that "Hometown Express" could also be a theme song for any sort of train-based travel series. Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）wrote the lyrics with Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一）arranging everything.

Well, speaking about trains, I geeked out a bit when I came across this video. Being an old Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）fan from way back with "Uchuusenkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）and "Galaxy Express 999"（銀河鉄道999）, I had no idea about this 2003 show "Ginga Tetsudo Monogatari"（銀河鉄道物語...The Galaxy Railways） that had been broadcast on Fuji-TV. So, that wily old fox Matsumoto launched an anime in the "Galaxy Express 999" universe, eh?

And the show even brought back the veteran anime singer Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）to do the themes including the opening "Ginga Tetsudo wa Haruka nari"（銀河鉄道は遥かなり...The Galaxy Railways Head Off Into the Distance）. Just like the theme for "Yamato", this tune begs me to salute it each time it's played. Along with its epic nature, there's even something of the old-fashioned disco as well. Sato worked with lyricist Shiho Aiyoshi（相吉志保）.

To wrap up, let's get back to the beginning while still retaining the theme of trains, so I'm finishing up the works of Ken Sato with Junko Ohashi and Minowa Central Station（美乃家セントラル・ステイション）. Sato was the one who helped set up his wife's backup band in 1976 with guitarist Masami Tsuchiya（土屋昌巳）, later of Ippu-Do（一風堂）fame, joining. Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）provided the lyrics for Sato's spacey funk fest, "Star-light Train" which was Ohashi's 9th single from 1978. Young John Travolta can strut down that New York avenue proudly to this one.

Isao Sasaki & Mitsuko Horie with Columbia Yurikago Kai -- Susume! Gorenger （進め! ゴレンジャー）

Today I spent the day with some friends for lunch and a movie, the latter being "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" starring Tom Cruise. I had seen most of the first Jack Reacher movie on TV and wasn't particularly thrown over the moon with it, so it was nice that I actually enjoyed "Never Go Back" a bit more. However, I still thought the movie was rather paint-by-the-numbers. It could have been any of the episodes of "NCIS" with Jethro Gibbs played by Cruise instead of Mark Harmon.

As for my thoughts on the annual rash of superhero blockbusters, it was also as hit-and-miss as "Never Go Back". "Captain America: Civil War" was fine although the story became increasingly sadder, while the earlier "Superman v. Batman" was disappointingly dire. "X-Men: Apocalypse" was also another missed opportunity and I didn't even bother with "Suicide Squad" due to the unhappy reviews despite all of the hoopla of last year's filming of a pivotal chase scene down on Toronto's Yonge Street. I'm hoping that "Doctor Strange" will end this year on a high note and from what I've heard from the early reviews is that it will be good if not spectacular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCBjB44jdwM

In a year when the thought of a superhero team on the Hollywood screen was probably a mere dot of out-there-in-left-field fantasy, I had heard that Japan concocted a live-action show of a group of five human superheroes in contrast with the lone warrior of Kamen Rider（仮面ライダー）and the gigantic Ultraman (ウルトラマン) along with the anime Gatchaman (ガッチャマン). The 1975 show was "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger"（秘密戦隊ゴレンジャー...Secret Task Force Five Rangers）, produced by Toei Company and televised on TV Asahi as the first of the long-running Super Sentai series. One of its descendants ended up getting over to America in the early 1990s and transformed into the "Power Rangers" series.

But going back to "Gorenger", I first saw this team on those thick children's readers that were sold in the front of the Furuya Japanese food shop in Chinatown, and boy, did I want to know about these guys. I was amazed by the costumes and the weapons that were miraculously stored in their masks such as the whip in leader Red Ranger's mask and the bow-and-arrow setup in Blue Ranger's mask. However, the 1970s were the pre-Internet, pre-VCR prehistoric age so the best I could do was read one manga involving the team when they were going up against a villainous skeleton with a long cape. Fairly disappointed was I.

Things are obviously quite different now, but when I finally got over to Japan again in 1981, there wasn't any mention of any Super Sentai series and my interest had already waned down to a nub by that point. Still, I could find that little bit of the Gorenger in action above.

Also, there is the theme song, "Susume! Gorenger" (Go! Five Rangers) as sung by Isao Sasaki (ささきいさお) and Mitsuko Horie（堀江美都子）with the chorus group Columbia Yurikago Kai (コロムビアゆりかご会). Of course with Sasaki, I've always seen him as the king of the songs used in the "Uchuu Senkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）franchise, and Horie has also contributed one or two songs to the adventures of the Yamato. But I think this is the first time I've heard them sing a good ol' tokusatsu tune.

And what a heroic tune it is. There is the urgent first part before the melody gives way to something hopeful with the combination of horns and plucky electric guitar. I've heard "Susume! Gorenger" used in parodies of the Super Sentai format by various comedians over the years but never knew that it had been the theme song for the pioneer show. Shotaro Ishinomori（石森章太郎）wrote the lyrics while Chumei Watanabe（渡辺宙明）took care of the music.

Missed opportunity, to be sure. But at least, I get to see some of what made the show so popular with the kiddies and my parents were able to save a ton of dough and frustration toward me for demanding that I get one of the team costumes.

Also, have a look at JTM's playlist for tokusatsu theme songs since he also mentions about the ending theme for "Gorenger" among some of his other favourite tunes from the genre.

The Works of Masaaki Hirao （平尾昌晃）

Last week, 78-year-old singer-composer Masaaki Hirao appeared on "Kayo Concert". Unlike some of his contemporaries, he has popped up fairly often on a number of programs including the weekly Tuesday night NHK music show including as the current conductor of the NHK Orchestra who leads everyone in the customary round of "Hotaru no Hikari"（蛍の光）at the end of every Kohaku Utagassen on December 31st.

When the host of "Kayo Concert", Tetsuya Takayama（高山哲哉）, remarked that Hirao has composed over 1,600 songs throughout his career of over half a century, I figured that it was time to highlight at least a small fraction of his output.

The one big song that I have associated Hirao with is "Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）from 1971 which was the breakthrough hit for Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）. Itsuki was also a guest performer on last week's "Kayo Concert" and I can echo and paraphrase the veteran singer's sentiments about Hirao: "No him, no me". As for me, although I've been hearing enka and Mood Kayo since I was a toddler, this was the one song that finally hooked me into those two genres.

Another song that I've always equated with Hirao is "Canada kara no Tegami"（カナダからの手紙）from 1978. His duet with Yoko Hatanaka（畑中葉子）has become a karaoke staple since my Kuri days.

But let's go way back. Masaaki Hirao was born Yu Hirao（平尾勇）in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo in 1937 but grew up in Chigasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He attended jazz classes as a boy and then after dropping out of high school, he joined a country & western band, The Chuck Wagon Boys. In 1957, he was scouted by Watanabe Productions at a jazz cafe where he was performing and released his first solo single the next year which was a Japanese-language cover version of "Little Darlin'" by the Diamonds. Soon after, the media dubbed Hirao, and fellow singers Mickey Curtis（ミッキー・カーチス） and Keijiro Yamashita（山下敬二郎）as the Rockabilly Three for which they all gained superstar status. 

Hirao continued singing into the 1960s even with the end of the rockabilly boom but seemed to have caught the bug for songwriting later in the decade. With him creating songs for young up-and-comers Hiroshi Itsuki, Rumiko Koyanagi（小柳ルミ子）and Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）, a professional partnership with lyricist Yoko Yamaguchi（山口洋子）created a good amount of success which earned them the moniker The Golden Combo. Hirao was the one who introduced Chan to Japan with hits such as "Sougen no Kagayaki"（草原の輝き）. The above video is for another Hirao/Chan collaboration "Hoshi ni Negai wo"（星に願いを...Wish Upon A Star）, her 5th single from February 1974 which was another Top 10 hit for her with Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）behind the lyrics.

With all those hundreds and hundreds of songs under his belt, it didn't surprise me that Hirao dabbled through all of the Great Japanese Songbook, and that included anison. For instance, he composed the theme songs for the "Ginga Tetsudo 999"（銀河鉄道999）TV series, both sung by the legendary Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）.

With his breadth of songwriting, it would be impossible to pin down a specific genre or style to Hirao. Let's just say that he is the master of all things kayo. In December 1972, he and Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）created a sprightly tune for aidoru Mari Amachi（天地真理）titled "Futari no Nichiyoubi"（ふたりの日曜日...Sunday For Two）which hit No. 3 on Oricon and became the 13th-ranked song for 1973.

Speaking of aidoru, Hirao even composed a song for Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）in 1980 called "Eighteen" with lyrics by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）as one-half of a double-A-side single with "Kaze wa Aki Iro"（風は秋色）. The song is definitely very aidoru-ish but there is some of that rockabilly feel in the arrangement, thanks to Hirao no doubt.

As with any of the Creators articles that I've put up over the past few years, there is no way that I would be able to put up a comprehensive account of Hirao's works without making this a full-time job. So I will end the article with one of his more recent compositions. The Golden Combo was back with him and Yamaguchi penning "America Bashi"（アメリカ橋...America Bridge）for enka crooner Yutaka Yamaguchi（山川豊）in February 1998. It's quite the classy melody that Hirao created here, sounding like a Mood Kayo waltz about the Ebisu Minami Bridge located between Meguro and Ebisu Stations on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo. Nicknamed America Bashi since it was modeled after a similar bridge built for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, in terms of the song, the bridge was the setting for a reunion between two past lovers.

Allow me to finish then with Hirao singing another old chestnut, "Diana" which was originally sung by good ol' Canadian Paul Anka. Another Canadian connection for the veteran.

Isao Sasaki with the Suginami Junior Chorus -- Ginga Tetsudo 999（銀河鉄道999）/Aoi Chikyuu（青い地球）

The very first anison article I did for "Kayo Kyoku Plus" back in early 2012 was the epic theme for "Space Cruiser Yamato" by Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）. The second article was for another Matsumoto sci-fi franchise, "Galaxy Express 999" via a lovely ballad that was featured in the first motion picture treatment for the most famous train in anime, "Yasashiku Shinaide"（やさしくしないで）by Kumiko Kaori（かおりくみこ）. Since then, I've done a couple of more articles for the main themes for the movie by Godiego（ゴダイゴ）.

Well, it's time to talk about the theme songs for the original TV series which ran from 1978-1981 on Fuji-TV. The opening theme, "Ginga Tetsudo 999" still manages to raise the hair on the back of my neck even though the melody by Masaaki Hirao（平尾昌晃）comes across as milder when compared to the Yamato theme but I think that's the wonder of the professor emeritus of anison Isao Sasaki（ささきいさお）with the Suginami Junior Chorus（杉並児童合唱団）. He could make "Happy Birthday" sound like the finest battle anthem!

And not to put down the melody...it may be milder in comparison but in its quieter but no less epic way, Hirao and lyricist Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）have been able to convey the incredible adventures that the Three-Nine has experienced. I also enjoy how the song just fades in after the train starts chugging down the tracks. Furthermore, I'm not sure whether Hirao had been aiming for this combination, but I could pick up hints of Mood Kayo and City Pop through the arrangement such as the percolating bass. "Ginga Tetsudo 999" is the musical passport for your voyage through the stars.

I still get rather verklempt whenever I listen to the ending theme, "Aoi Chikyuu" after all these years, again thanks to the triumvirate of Sasaki, Hirao and Hashimoto. The title might mean The Blue Earth, but it strikes me as being a lullaby between mother and son or Maetel and Tetsuro. As soon as the whistle and the strings begin before Sasaki's voice enters, I sometimes have to set the Kleenex box near the computer. I guess in a way, it would make for a fine Mother's Day kayo.

"Aoi Chikyuu" was actually the first song that I had heard which was connected with "Ginga Tetsudo 999" via the instrumental version in the trailer for the first movie in 1979. The single, and I'm assuming that the two songs occupied the same 45", became the No. 1 song on Oricon in the Anime/Children's Songs category for that same year.

I borrowed the videotape of the original first movie only having seen certain pictures of the mysterious Maetel and the train along with catching some scenes here and there from the TV show. So I didn't know too much about what "Ginga Tetsudo 999" was all about and since my copy of the movie had no subtitles, I couldn't understand everything about the plot. However in compensation, the animation and soundtrack were just gorgeous so by the end of the movie, I really wanted to live in the far future. The above video shows the movie, and at the 2-minute mark, the orchestra ramps it all up with what I think is a short but magnificent tribute to "Aoi Chikyuu". Fans couldn't have asked for a finer musical introduction.

J-Canuck's 70s Playlist

Well, it's been a little over 6 months since I wrote up my 80s Playlist. That whole thing went up on New Year's Eve 2013, just a week after one of the worst ice storms in Toronto's history literally brought a good chunk of my hometown to a halt for several days. I put up a picture of my wintry neighbourhood on that playlist, so I decided to put up something considerably greener and warmer for this one, my 70s Playlist.

Now, my criterion here for my choices between 1970 and 1979 inclusive is exactly the same as was the case for the 80s Playlist. These are songs that I've always liked to listen to and they happened to be the ones that always popped up in my head the most when it came to that decade. Once again, it was one of those things where I feverishly jotted singers and titles down on a piece of paper and then I had to start cutting here and there. And so, simply for the sake of time, space and that other dimension which we humans all share, laziness, the list will have 11 entries. Yes....11. There was that one song and singer that I had to include, partially out of guilt since I ended up not putting in any of her work in the 80s Playlist.

Therefore, let's all dive in...

1. Hiroshi Itsuki -- Yokohama Tasogare (1971): I have to make some recompense here since I didn't really give this song its due in terms of information when I wrote quite briefly about it a couple of years ago. Itsuki's first big hit was written by Yoko Yamaguchi （山口洋子）and Masaaki Hirao （平尾昌晃）for release in March 1971. The singer's career had been on a precipice when Itsuki took a chance on this one after 6 years of no hits and, like all fairy tales, the happy ending (and beginning) came true. It hit No. 1 and was the 6th-ranked single of the year, getting a prize at the Japan Record Awards and an invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen.
  For me, "Yokohama Tasogare" was the first enka song that I had actually listened to (instead of merely hearing it) after getting fully interested in kayo kyoku in 1981. In fact, I used to listen to just the karaoke music and enjoyed it. It's one of those songs that straddles the line nicely between enka and Mood Kayo.

2. Mari Amachi -- Hitori Janaino (1972): I already made mention of this song and an unfortunate incident in a taxi riding away from Haneda Airport in the original article, so you can take a look there. But let it be said that compared to the later glamourous aidoru of Momoe Yamaguchi and Pink Lady, Amachi will always be the girl-next-door to me....although she would later appear in some racy V-Cinema type videos about a decade later. And "Hitori Janaino" will always be the quintessential early 70s aidoru song reminding me of my very first time in Japan.

3. Isao Sasaki -- Uchusenkan Yamato (1974): Dang nab it! I listen to this song 40 years later and I still get goosebumps and a lump in my throat. And so, that's why it just had to be on the list. The mighty theme for the mighty Yamato alone had a bunch of us kids running home from school at 3:10 just so that we could watch it at 3:30 under its Americanized title of "Star Blazers". It had and still has the same effect that any episode with the firing of the Wave Motion Gun! Yeah, I'm geeking out here....sorry....

4. Hiromi Ohta -- Momen no Handkerchief (1975): This was another song that immediately came to mind when I thought about doing the 70s Playlist. "Momen no Handkerchief" proudly declares sunny summer weather (although it was released around Xmas). No need to worry about work or study...just get out and enjoy the day with friends. But considering the brutal heat and humidity of Tokyo, that cotton handkerchief will be a must.

 5. Hiromi Iwasaki -- Romance (1975): Although I've put down "Romance" as the No. 5 entry here, the early Iwasaki hit was my 11th choice. Reviewing the 10 that I had put down as my 80s Playlist, I realized far too late that Iwasaki wasn't represented at all there, so feeling like a downright heel, I just had to include her on the 70s Playlist. And why not? She may have been an aidoru performing it, but that amazing voice had already been there.

6. Yumi Arai -- Sazanami (1976): I also had a need to put down this song by The Queen of New Music. There have been many earlier examples of the Yuming-dubbed genre, but "Sazanami" possesses that refreshing breeze of bombing down the highway in a convertible from the big city down to the beach. And the tune fulfills the one City Pop condition of sounding like a journey outside of Japan to places unknown and exciting.

7. Pink Lady -- UFO (1977): I can still head back to Japan, mention this Pink Lady hit to anyone from junior high school age and up, and be guaranteed that a handful of those folks will respond by doing the first few moves from Mie and Kei's choreography. And then I can probably entice them to do a few more moves from some of their other songs. However, "UFO" is the one song that arguably represents the ladies at their absolute peak. With those outfits and the crazed dancing, Pink Lady added a goodly amount of dynamism into the aidoru genre. Perhaps Morning Musume and AKB 48 may still be obliged to send Christmas and New Year's cards to the duo every year.

8. Off-Course -- Aki no Kehai (1977): One of the earliest songs that I discovered on "Sounds of Japan" that I really fell in love with. As I mentioned in the article for "Aki no Kehai", this is the equivalent of sitting down on a park bench in late September and simply enjoy the surroundings. Kazumasa Oda （小田和正）did do a cover version many years later as a solo artist, but nothing beats the Off-Course original with the lead vocals and the strings. Because of the beauty of this classic, I had wondered about why Oda had chosen the odd name of Off-Course for the band.

9. Junko Yagami -- Mizuiro no Ame (1978): This was another "Sounds of Japan" hit in my book. The Latin beat in "Mizuiro no Ame" and Yagami's soaring vocals were two of the many reasons that I continued to stick with her and Japanese popular music in general. There was nothing like this in Western music when I also started getting into the US/UK pop scene at around the same time, and it illustrated to me over time that Japanese singers were more than willing to dabble in a number of genres like bossa nova, jazz and AOR. To finish up, there has been a Pavlovian response imprinted in me from this contribution by Junko. When I was listening to the recording of "Mizuiro no Ame", I was simultaneously watching tennis players go at it at Wimbledon. So, now whenever the annual tournament gets mentioned or broadcast on the telly, guess which song pops in my head?

10. Momoe Yamaguchi -- Ii Hi Tabidachi (1978): This still stands as one of my favourite Momoe songs, and it's ironic since by the late 70s, the singer had already been singing in a tougher, more cynical style. But "Ii Hi Tabidachi" had Yamaguchi in a more vulnerable state as she sang about taking that lonely trip after a relationship going sour. That trumpet at the intro and in between verses was one of the wonderful things about it. If the singer ever decided to return to the limelight, even for a one-off performance, I hope it will be to sing this ballad.

11. Yellow Magic Orchestra -- Technopolis (1979): Well, I made one screw-up when I stated in the 80s Playlist that I couldn't put up any of my favourite YMO songs because they were all in the late 70s. There was "Rydeen" which was a 1980 single, so yes, I will be more than happy to take that Moog III-C upside my head, Professor. In any case, I'm happy to say that another one of my favourites, "Technopolis" was released as the technopop band's debut single in October 1979 and managed to get as high as No. 9 on Oricon. The YMO hit has been such an earworm for so many years that whenever I see some sort of futuristic building in Tokyo, out it comes into my head. I wouldn't put it past any broadcaster that it will play the song on a future documentary about Japan's capital as the 2020 Olympics draw near.

Well, there you have it....from enka to technopop. Quite the list. As usual, there were so many others that I had wanted to put up but that's the way it goes. Maybe by New Year's Eve this year, I'll get started on the 90s Playlist. In the meantime, perhaps you readers can let me know some of your favourites here or at any of the other lists in the "Author's Picks" category on the side.