The Works of Koji Tamaki（玉置浩二）

 

Once again, we've reached Hump Day or the doldrums of a weekly Wednesday, so as such, I wanted to something a little different. I haven't done a Creator article since "The Works of Ayumi Date"（伊達歩）back last November, so I decided to go with that today. And today's Creator contribution will be on the works of singer-songwriter Koji Tamaki. 

Of course, everyone has known him for decades as the vocalist of successful pop-rock group Anzen Chitai（安全地帯） and as a wonderful solo singer who has the ability to make granite weep. However, he has also provided many songs for other singers over the years as well. His band had developed a certain recognizable sound in their music in the early days but I've found that Tamaki the composer was more wide-ranging in the melodies that he has concocted for others.

(1983) Mariko Takahashi -- Gokai（誤解）

The second track from Mariko Takahashi's（高橋真梨子）"Garland" album, "Gokai" (Misunderstandings) wasn't a song that was a hit with me initially. I was still in my early phases of appreciating music from all over, and this mix of playfully sultry pop strut and light reggae was perhaps a little much for me at the time, but fortunately, time and experience have proven fruitful. I could easily imagine Tamaki handling this solo but he can still be heard backing Takahashi.

(1984) Akina Nakamori -- Southern Wind （サザンウインド）

To be honest, if you had told me in the old days that Tamaki had been responsible in creating the melody for one of Akina's（中森明菜）biggest early hits, I would have just scoffed. Perhaps it was due to the arrangement and of course the singer's then-high vocals, but it sounded like a typically dramatic aidoru tune and nothing related at all to Anzen Chitai. However, I've learned that being able to go beyond the sound that a singer has been recognized for and provide something that fits the other singer's style is an asset.

(1986) Yuki Saito -- Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa （悲しみよこんにちは）

I would have said the same thing that I did for the above Akina tune for one of Yuki Saito's（斉藤由貴）most famous songs, "Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa", and it also happens to be one of the most famous anison for one of the more beloved anime "Maison Ikkoku"（めぞん一刻）. Mind you, the first few measures of the song has reminded me a bit of the old Anzen Chitai sound but the rest of it is pure breezy melodic optimism.

(1985) Seri Ishikawa -- Ai no Bunryo（愛の分量）

The technopop aside, there is something rather Tamaki-esque in the melody for Seri Ishikawa's（石川セリ）"Ai no Bunryo" (Amount of Love). In some of those Anzen Chitai songs and Tamaki's own solo discography, there have been signs of secrecy or sneakiness, and in fact, Tamaki's own countenance has had those certain saturnine qualities. I think "Ai no Bunryo" has a dollop of that as well as some of that racing guitar which reminds me of him, too. 

(1993) Kaori Kozai -- Mugonzaka（無言坂）

Now, the whole impetus behind me putting up a Creator article for Tamaki is this song right here. When I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）yesterday, the show devoted some of its minutes on the Japanese utahime who included enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）. Ironically, although the Kozai file on KKP is quite healthy, I realized that I had yet to include what is arguably one of her greatest hits, so here it is.

"Mugonzaka" (The Silent Hills) was indeed composed by Tamaki, so he can provide music for enka as well. And the melody is sweeping and earthy (perfect for a go-touchi song) as it envelops the lyrics of Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦） (although he went by the pen name of Mutsuki Ichikawa「市川睦月」 for "Mugonzaka") who came up with them based on the hills within his hometown of Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture. Kuze's lyrics talk of a local romance that has gone so far off the rails that one can no longer go home again in all meanings of the phrase.

Released as Kozai's 6th single in March 1993, "Mugonzaka" won the Grand Prize at the Japan Record Awards that year as it hit No. 10 on Oricon. It would end up being performed five times at the Kohaku Utagassen between 1993 and 2007, and as the biggest tribute, "Mugonzaka" has been covered by a number of artists including Tamaki himself in his 2012 "Offer Music Box".

Kaori Kozai -- Koimachi Shigure（恋街しぐれ）

 

After doing a series of pop and/or Xmas tunes over the last few days, I could do with a little tangent, so it's time for a bit of enka. The traditional always makes for a nice breather.

Kaori Kozai's（香西かおり）"Koimachi Shigure" (Late Autumn Rain on the Streets of Love) is her 50th single released earlier this year in March. Written by the late Ryuichi Satomura（里村龍一）and composed by Yuu Hijirikawa（聖川湧）, the enka ballad is one of reflection and regret on the one that got away when opportunities were perceived to be there to hold onto that significant other. The setting is a bar where the regretful protagonist is drowning their sorrows in drink. Yup, it's indeed an enka.

Hijirikawa's melody with Shigenobu Ishikura's（石倉重信）arrangement makes the song sound so elegant, though. There's none of that down-on-one's-luck feeling that I can sense in other enka or Mood Kayo tunes. It's much more of a wistful "Well, tomorrow's another day". One just reflects, sighs and moves on with life, and then asks for another drink from the bartender.

Kaori Kozai -- Yume ni Yowasete（夢に酔わせて）

 

The kayo trope of drowning one's sorrows in drink has continued up to the present day. Obviously, it's not a good thing to chronically pickle your liver but some reason, hitting the bar to cry in your beer has made for a popular mise en scene in all of those Japanese songs.

(shortened version)

I think that the trope has popped up in all genres of Japanese music although the traditional genres of enka and Mood Kayo are usually seen as the areas for being a barfly. And sure enough, I have this September 2021 single by enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）"Yume ni Yowasete" (Drunk on Dreams), but the song has been done more in a pop ballad style rather than enka.

Written by Safari Natsukawa（夏川サファリ）and composed by Hitoshi Harukawa（春川仁志）, Kozai sings about trying to recover from a personal crisis such as a romantic breakup by drowning oneself through dreams (and perhaps the bottle, too). Although the lyrics might seem a tad grim, the singer's vocals and the arrangement by Harukawa reflect some hope and reassurance in the recovery process as if the person in question will eventually sort themselves around. It does have that style that I think singers such as Misia would love to tackle with that grand piano and languid guitar.

Kaori Kozai -- Stage Light（ステージライト）

 

I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）last night as would usually be the case on a Tuesday, and the theme was requests so I saw performances of the kayo classic "Izakaya"（居酒屋）and the Shonentai（少年隊） ballad "Kimi Dake ni"（君だけに）.

But there were also some of the newer tunes by the guests, and I heard this one, "Stage Light", by enka singer Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）. Released last month on CD, the song was written by Kozai herself and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本真人）, but this time around, instead of it being a traditional enka number, "Stage Light" is more of a classy pop song. In fact, I was getting some Fashion Music vibes as I was listening to it which meant that I was being reminded of 80s singers including Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）.

Kozai's vocals have that balance of enka softness and steel against a background of shimmering strings and stately rhythms, and perhaps it's indeed that reminder of a certain segment of late Showa Era balladry.

(shortened version)

Kaori Kozai -- Kuchibeni Moyou（口紅模様）

I gather that perhaps both the Tokyo and Osaka halls for NHK were occupied with something else this past week to explain the latest episode of "Uta Kon"（うたコン）just involving the two hosts showing off past clips and footage of interviewing frequent guest singers on what their favourite lunch is. It was a combination effort of the music show and the show that appears right after, "Sara Meshi"（サラメシ）which is all about people and their noontime repasts.

(short version)

So, going back to the episode of "Uta Kon" from the previous week, I have to say that I was charmed by Kaori Kozai's（香西かおり）latest single from June this year, "Kuchibeni Moyou" (Lipstick Patterns). The story of a probably middle-aged woman who's going through her history and wondering about the path not traveled with someone who may have become the love of her life, I can't be sure whether this could really be classified as an enka or a Mood Kayo, despite the facts that Kozai is wearing her trademark kimono in the video above and the overall theme is that of regret over a lost romance. Plus, there is that now-familiar enka electric guitar.

I would be more than happy to say then that this is a modern-day pop song in the kayo style. There is something both old and new in the arrangement. Koyomi Asa（麻こよみ）was the lyricist here with "Kuchibeni Moyou" while Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）provided the dramatic yet wistful music.

Kaori Kozai -- Wasurebana （わすれ花）

I've usually found my favourite enka tunes way back in the past but from time to time, I find some nice examples of the genre being developed in the last few years.

Of course, NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）is my prime source for the new enka, and tonight was no different. Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）brought her latest single from this year (April 2017) onto the stage, and I have to admit that I fell in love with that French accordion which gives the song a feeling of a nice waltz. "Wasurebana" is Kozai singing about remembering a romance that has now ended so of course, the tender and wistful memories come flowing forth.

Written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, I had initially assumed that wasurebana referred to "forget-me-nots" but according to my usual online dictionaries, those flowers have different names in Japanese. Therefore I guess I will translate the title as Flowers To Forget. However, I don't think Kozai's heroine particularly wants to forget the good times just yet. And certainly with that lovely accordion in there, I really don't want to forget this little gem, either. Incidentally, the single has been released to commemorate the singer's 30th anniversary in the music industry.

(karaoke version)

Kaori Kozai -- Tomarigi Yume Akari （とまり木夢灯り）

This week's "Kayo Concert" on NHK had the theme of bars and drinking. If the producers had decided to do a full tribute, the show would have ended up as long as the current form of the Kohaku Utagassen, but instead it was kept to its usual 45 minutes.

As Noelle mentioned on her article "Ashita no Meoto Zake"（明日の夫婦酒）featuring Kaori Kozai（香西かおり）and Ikuzo Yoshi（吉幾三）, I also don't know all that much about Osaka-born enka singer Kozai aside from the fact that she has appeared a lot on shows like "Kayo Concert" and the Kohaku. However on that edition of the Tuesday-night show, she came on to perform a song that had me thinking of some of the old chestnut enka or Mood Kayo of yesteryear. It certainly sounded like something that could have come from the 60s or 70s, and truth be told, I was also reminded of the classic karaoke tune, "Roppongi Lullaby"（六本木ララバイ）that came out in 1984.

However, "Tomarigi Yume Akari" (Barstool Dream Light) was just released last month in April 2015 so it hasn't even been put in Kozai's J-Wiki discography yet. Written and composed by singer-songwriter Raymond Matsuya (レーモンド松屋...interesting that "Roppongi Lullaby" was also taken care of by a fellow who used an English first name, Ed Yamaguchi), there is that country music swinging lilt and the boozy saxophone that has me thinking Tokyo bar. The lyrics are about a woman pining away at a drinking establishment alone as she thinks about a past love and what could have been...the usual recipe for a Mood Kayo.

From what I've been able to find out about Matsuya is that he was born in Ehime Prefecture in 1951, and that he was in a high school band and attended a music academy in Tokyo. He went into a different line of work after graduation although he still maintained his musical activities as he went into the indies route. However, it wasn't until 2010 at the age of 59 that he made his major debut as a singer-songwriter. In 2012, he got his first big break when he earned the Best Composer prize at the Japan Record Awards for the song "Yoake no Blues"（夜明けのブルース...Daybreak Blues）for Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）.

This is the karaoke video for "Tomarigi Yume Akari" so you can see what Matsuya was trying to say.

Ikuzo Yoshi & Kaori Kozai -- Ashita no Meoto Zake （明日の夫婦酒）

When I first started "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I never figured that I would ever put up an enka song from the 2010s. My impression was that any of my enka articles would be of those ballads from way back in the Showa era. Well, little did I know. Enka may not be as widespread in Japanese pop culture as it used to be, but it still occupies a good niche in music in the country.

Case in point, I saw enka singers Ikuzo Yoshi and Kaori Kozai （吉幾三・香西かおり）on a recent episode of NHK's "Kayo Concert" performing "Ashita no Meoto Zake" (Our Drink Tomorrow). Written and composed by Yoshi as Kozai's 38th and latest single from March 2014, the song sounds as if it had been created decades ago. The music, words and delivery by the pair seem to evoke an especially rich feeling of old-school married life as Yoshi and Kozai sing to each other their appreciation and apologies over the course of their lives together. One of the idyllic (and perhaps idealized) images of Japanese matrimony I've seen on TV is that commercial or drama scene of a couple at the dining room table sharing that contented drink of sake or shochu after the kids have gone to bed. Perhaps not all that easy to see considering the usual work hours of the Japanese businessman or businesswoman. And not many couples wear yukata anymore at home.

Ikuzo Yoshi is someone I've become very well acquainted with since my go-to karaoke song had always been his hit number from the 80s, "Yukiguni"（雪國）. Kaori Kozai is another singer I've seen often on shows like "Kayo Concert" but unfortunately I don't know very much of her discography. A native of Osaka, Kozai had released a couple of singles in the early 80s under her original kanji name（香西香）, but her "official" debut as an enka singer was in 1988 with "Ame Sakaba"（雨酒場...Rainy Bar）which earned her a Best Newcomer's Prize at the Japan Record Awards. And then in 1993, her song "Mugonzaka" (無言坂...Wordless Slope -- composed by Anzen Chitai's Koji Tamaki) cracked the Top 10 for the first time and earned her a Grand Prize at the same awards ceremony. An invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen that year was a foregone conclusion. She would perform on the New Year's Eve special four more times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJCO6F3fC4M