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.
Showing posts with label Kenji Miyashita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kenji Miyashita. Show all posts
Can't quite remember anymore where I first saw young enka singer Kanta Ichijo（一条貫太）perform his latest single "Tabiji no Saki ni" (End of the Journey). Was it on "Uta Con"（うたコン）or "Songs of Japanese Spirit"? Anyways, released in January 2022, it's one of those enka songs that simultaneously sounds fresh and old-fashioned as this time, the usual lyrical trope within the genre of going on a trip to forget about a lost love is inverted somewhat. Written by Takashi Maki（万城たかし）, if I've read those lyrics correctly, it's about a man who comes back to his love after a journey of soul-searching and realization that his significant other is indeed his significant other. The music was provided by Kenji Miyashita（宮下健治）.
It is a very relaxing enka that is listed as Ichijo's 7th single. Although his voice sounds nothing like the vocals of the legendary Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）, there is something about his bearing and hairstyle in the music video above that reminds me of good ol' Sabu-chan in his much younger days. Sure enough, taking a look at his profile on his website, Ichijo lists Kitajima and Ichiro Toba（鳥羽一郎）as the singers that he admires.
The singer was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1996 and one of the triggers for his entry into the professional world of enka was entering the championship finals on NHK's "Nodo Jiman"（のど自慢）amateur singing contest in 2015. In March 2018, he made his debut with his single "Futari no Shihatsu Eki"（ふたりの始発駅...The Starting Station for the Two of Us）.
I think I can safely say that I do indeed like this song now. I wasn't much of a fan of "Sasurai Bojou" and was merely alright with it when I first heard Kiyoshi Hikawa (氷川きよし) belt it out on the "Kayo Concert" stage before Grandpa enka Sabu-Chan ended the show with "Tairyo Bune" (大漁船). It was a rather satisfying episode, I must say, with the theme featuring Showa era songs (60's to 80's) and of course, Kiyoshi Maekawa (前川清) was there as well in a pretty fashionable suit.
But after hearing it 2 more times via "Nodojiman" and another recent episode of "Kayo Concert", the song grew on me, especially in terms of the music that Kenji Miyashita (宮下健治) composed, which I find pretty cool. It sounds enka when the flute and strings come in, yet the wailing of the electric guitar and the trumpets blaring away makes it seem un-enka-like. I feel like there's some sort of Latin influence there, but I'm not entirely sure. Toshiya Niitani (仁井谷俊也) penned the lyrics for "Sasurai Bojou", and if I'm not mistaken, it's about missing and wanting to return home, which in Hikawa's case is Fukuoka, and there is mention of Nagasaki and Kagoshima too.
"Sasurai Bojou" was released on 4th March 2015 and has been doing fairly well on the Oricon charts, where I had first taken note of the singer's 28th single. On the week where I had first saw it, it was No.1 on the enka-yo charts (not surprising) and No.8 on the regular charts, but it did not stay there for long, often being overtaken by newer singles by other artistes, though it does still come back up to the Top 5 (enka charts) on some weeks.
I managed to find the full MV of "Sasurai Bojou" on Dailymotion, you can check it out here. Just like his other songs, we have Hikawa happily dancing away to the music. Again, the normal teenager in me really appreciated that... although I thought he looked a bit odd doing so in a suit. And I bet that bit at the end when he turns his back to the audience before swinging his head to the side with the cheeky grin is a real crowd pleaser.
Now this is an interesting one. I've heard a couple of songs here and there revolving around the topic of marriage, and they usually come from the prospective bride or groom's point of view, most likely being overjoyed about getting hitched with some kind of upbeat score to add to the mood. So when it came to "Hana Yome Toge", I had assumed it'd most likely be as what I have mentioned above. But after actually watching the MV and going through its lyrics - written by Yoshiaki Sekiguchi (関口義明) - it turned out to be a whole different story.
We have Enka singer Shinichi Sasaki (佐々木新一) singing in the shoes of a parent having to send his beloved daughter off for marriage instead. What I enjoyed most about this song is that Sasaki very well manages to convey the joy and pride of a father seeing his child finally grow up and face one of life's most unforgettable stepping stones, and balances it out with the concealed heartache all parents have of letting go of their precious offspring. Quite sad when you come to think of it.
To go along with Sasaki's somewhat nasally warble is the gentle, happy yet forlorn music composed by Kenji Miyashita (宮下健治). Hey, it's the same guy who composed Kiyoshi Hikawa's (氷川きよし) hit "Choitto Kimagure Wataridori" (ちょいときまぐれ渡り鳥), which is definitely at the opposite end of the spectrum of emotion when compared to "Hana Yome Toge".
I've never heard of Sasaki at all before the song, so I kinda thought that he may be like Teruo Ikeda (池田輝郎), an aged Enka singer who began his career in music professionally/commercially rather late. Just going off on a slight tangent here, Ikeda's "Neon Bune" (ネオン舟) is amazing and if I get a penny for every time I listened to it, I'd get a dollar! And gotta love his Min'yo voice. Hmm, now I feel like listening to it again. Actually, Sasaki does sound a little like Ikeda, or vice versa... whoever came first.
Okay, getting back on track. Sasaki, born in Aomori in 1946, and if I read right from the J-Wiki, he was discovered in 1963 by renowned composer Seiichi Sakurada (桜田誠一) while still in his second year of high school. He debuted in 1965 under the label King Records and his nickname back then was "New one". From there, Sasaki consistently produced singles, with his 4th single from 1966 "Anoko Tazunete" (あの娘たずねて) being a million seller. But that was until 1971 where everything just stopped for some unknown reason. He did still release some singles on occasion, some even released a decade apart from the other! No wonder I had never heard of him! Though it seems that they've been coming out regularly in the recent years, with "Hana Yome Toge" being his newest, released on October 6th 2014. The song did pretty well on the regular charts, peaking at 60th place. From the MV, it most likely peaked at 11th on the Enka-yo charts.
www.billboard-japan.com
I don't know... the last line where our protagonist wishes his daughter to take care and have a blessed marriage just tugs on the heartstrings. Dang it, Sasaki! Or should I say Sekiguchi?
So far, I've heard of and seen 3 different Kiyoshi-s (きよし/清) in the world of Enka/Kayokyoku. We've got Maekawa (前川), aka the one who mostly receives my undivided attention out of the 3. Uh... the other one... um what's his name? Ah yes, Nakajo (中条), the one I'm least familiar with let alone heard his voice. AndHikawa (氷川), the one everyone seems to like - I don't blame them, he's got a really good and powerful voice for the genre. It is however a little too loud for me. I prefer Jero (ジェロ) with his softer, smoother and lower vocal delivery when it comes to the younger Enka singers.
As you can see from the title Hikawa will be the Kiyoshi I'll be talking about today, or more appropriately his latest single 'Choito Kimagure Wataridori' (released 17th September 2014). I've only just been formally introduced to this fellow here not too long ago via his rendition of the 'Zundoko Bushi' (ズンドコ節), which is aptly named 'Kiyoshi no Zundoko Bushi' (きよしのズンドコ節) and this is the second song I've heard from him. All I can say is that he's got an annoying hairdo (it had been worse) that doesn't match that ikemen face of his - I think it's the reason why the young fan-girls love him. But I must say, the normal teenager in me can't help but think that he does look really cute!
... ... Wait, WHAT?!
Ahem! Moving on, Hikawa's got a pretty dynamic stage presence; he usually puts on a bright smile on his face whenever he performs and unlike the senior Enka singers I know and love, this guy moves... A LOT, especially when singing this song, or does he do that all the time? Although yes, there are times where I would utter, "He moves so much!" or grumble a, "Stop moving!!", watching his performances can be a palate cleanser.
Oh my, the fan-girls...
Anyway, like most of Hikawa's singles, 'Choito Kimagure Wataridori' did really well on the regular Oricon charts, peaking at 3rd place. And on the Enka/Kayokyoku charts, it stood at no. 1 for at least 2 weeks, only being pushed down to 5th or 6th recently with other new Enka tunes. The song has the usual jaunty and tradition score to it, brought to you by Kenji Miyashita (宮下健治) and dang, is it catchy enough for me to listen to the whole thing instead of zoning out! Lyrics were written by Toshiya Niitani (仁井谷俊也).
Just an update here (8/12/14): Niitani won the 2014 Japan Lyricist Award for writing this song.
From the looks of it and if he keeps up the shtick, Hikawa may turn out to be the next Hiroshi Itsuki (五木ひろし) or Takashi Hosokawa (細川たかし).
