Kensaku Morita -- Namida no Ato kara Hohoemi ga（涙のあとから微笑みが）

Kanto Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
via Wikimedia Commons

I'm not totally up on what former Chiba Prefecture governor Kensaku Morita（森田健作）has been up to in the years since his retirement in 2021. I know that he has appeared on "Uta Con"（うたコン）once in the past year or so but that's about it. However at the age of 76, I think he deserves some of that rest and relaxation after a career of politics and then before that, a career in entertainment as an actor and singer.

Let's go back to his early days as the amiable guy-next-door type in the geinokai, shall we? He released his 16th single in January 1974, "Namida no Ato kara Hohoemi ga" (The Smiles Come After the Tears), which was written by Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦）under his pseudonym of Natsu Kotani（小谷夏）and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）. In the song, Morita sings sagely about life being like that plastic horse on a merry-go-round; it has its ups and downs but as long as there are ups, it shouldn't be too difficult. Not only do I like the governor's reassuring voice but also Suzuki's arrangement which includes a bit of funk and rock and a nice & groovy electric piano.

There's unfortunately no sound to this minute-long video which shows stills from the cinematic adaptation of "Namida no Ato kara Hohoemi ga" which got released only a couple of months following the single's first appearance in the record shops. Not surprisingly, Morita was the star. Hopefully, he used the song's message in his future endeavors in entertainment and politics.

Kensaku Morita -- Seishun ni Kui wa Nai ka（青春に悔はないか）

 

It was a bit hard to believe when I saw the news over this weekend but the fact that there was a gubernatorial election in my old residential prefecture of Chiba laid it out plain. Actor/singer Kensaku Morita（森田健作）who had taken the reins as governor of the region in 2009 called it a day for his current job. He is retiring after about 12 years at the helm which means that he became governor when I was still living in Ichikawa City.

Well, definitely some measure of otsukare-sama and arigato is in order for Governor Morita, so I would like to give some tribute to him by featuring one of his old kayo here. I think I found something rather apt via his February 1973 single, "Seishun ni Kui wa Nai ka" (No Regrets For Your Youth?).

Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, both of whom are in the legendary category for their fields, "Seishun ni Kui wa Nai ka" is a pleasant mix of folk and kayo with that relaxing harmonica and some horns leading the way. The song was used as the theme for an NTV drama "Okore! Otoko da"（おこれ!男だ...Get Mad! You're Men） which starred Morita.

The above video is of Morita late last year giving the announcement that he would not be running in the next election. Hopefully, he won't have any major regrets about his time as governor.

Kensaku Morita -- Saraba Namida to Iou （さらば涙と言おう）

I've seen Kensaku Morita（森田健作）pop up on variety shows from time to time as this grinning veteran tarento, and I'd heard he was an actor many years before, but as a Chiba Prefecture resident, I really got to know him when he became Governor back in 2009. My impression of him, besides his ear-to-ear smile, was how loud and fast he was with his speech. I would feel sorry for any of his staff if they had to be chewed out by the boss.

Now, the reason that he's up on the blog starts from the fact that I found a compilation CD of some old kayo kyoku at music163.com and tried it out. For whatever reason, the tracks for this disc didn't have any of the singers' names but I came across this hail-fellow-well-met song by the title of "Saraba Namida to Iou" (Let's Say Tears of Farewell). It had that typical happy melody with the sad-sounding title, and I just wanted to find out whose jaunty voice the song belonged to.

Well, as it turns out, it belonged to Governor Kensaku Morita (whose real name is Eiji Suzuki「鈴木栄治」) when he was just young MoriKen, junior thespian. Morita debuted in 1969 in motion pictures but his first TV role was in 1971's "Ore wa Otoko da!"（おれは男だ！...I'm A Man!) as high school student Koji Kobayashi (although the fellow was already 21), and he sang the theme song for the comedy-drama, "Saraba Namida to Iou". Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）, the song has that good-natured country lilt although the horns also bring it into natsukashii 70s kayo territory. I just want to take that walk among the rice paddies.

Morita has sung a number of singles over the years, a lot of them becoming theme songs for his movies and TV shows. As for his political career, that all started back in 1992 when he was first elected to the House of Councilors, and then he got a seat in the Lower House six years later. He finally got that governorship in 2009 and was re-elected in 2013.

The above is from "Ore wa Otoko da!"

Heading into Urayasu, Chiba