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.
The above video shows a variety of entrance ceremonies for the new recruits at various companies throughout Japan, including All Nippon Airways at 1:55. Yes, it is April and so the corporate entities are throwing out the red carpet and all of the rigamarole to welcome the fresh newbies
I was watching the NHK morning news earlier tonight and there was a feature on the ceremonies, and the reporters did an interesting thing by showing the evolution of the corporate entrance ceremony throughout the decades from the 1960s to the 1990s, and for each decade, they put up a representative pop song. Just out of my sense of whimsy, I'm going to put these up here, too.
(1960s) Yukio Hashi and Sayuri Yoshinaga -- Itsudemo Yume wo（いつでも夢を）
(1970s) Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants -- Seishun Jidai （青春時代）
Now, the above were selected by NHK so they wouldn't come under Author's Picks. That label is for us KKP writers. However, I am throwing in my lone choice for an inspiring song to help encourage the new workers.
(1990s) Daiji Man Brothers Band -- Sore ga Daiji （それが大事）
Commenter Robert B. informed me of a kayo singer that he enjoyed by the name of Masami Urabe（浦部雅美）. He asked if I had heard of her before but I couldn't say I did. However, that family name reminded me of our family's old insurance agent since she had the same last name.
In any case, there's no J-Wiki file on Urabe but we've been able to glean some information about her. For instance, according to Discogs, she was born on Christmas Eve 1959 and hails from Abashiri, Hokkaido. At the very least, she did release seven singles and two albums between 1977 and 1982.
Her debut single from September 1976, "Sukoshi Tōde wo Shitemimasen ka"(How About Taking a Short Trip?) is a friendly country kayo kyoku which seems to follow the rhythmic pattern of John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Road", one of the most well-known non-Japanese pop songs of all time in Japan. Written by Tsuzuru Nakasato（森田公一）and composed/arranged by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, Urabe sings about inviting the boyfriend for a nice little journey somewhere to get some fresh air and perhaps some fresher love. The Hokkaido lass has a pleasantly deeper voice which reminds me a tad of the vocals of Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）.
First off, many congratulations to enka singer Takashi Hosokawa（細川たかし）on his 50th anniversary in show business. I've often seen the man in formal Japanese dress on stage with a battery of traditional musicians supporting him in the back, although not to the degree that the fellow above has.
It was indeed fifty years ago that Hosokawa debuted with his classic April 1975 "Kokoro Nokori"（心のこり） that also works as a pretty bouncy kayo kyoku. Over the past half-century, he's become famous for a number of hits including this one which became a No. 1 hit and his ticket to the Kohaku Utagassen that year.
But let us not ignore the B-side. In this case, it's "Nakiguse" which translates into "Crying Out" on Jisho.org but I can also see it as being "Forever Crying" as if it's become a sad habit. Written by Takashi Taka（たかたかし）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, the intro might have a bluesy sax as would be the case for any Mood Kayo, but the feeling here is heart-on-a-sleeve enka. I couldn't find the lyrics online but it sounds as if a guy is trying to render support to a weeping young lady one cold rainy night (of course, it would be a cold rainy night for this sort of thing to happen). Kouji Ryusaki（竜崎孝路）as the arranger provides a quaint sentimental atmosphere of solace as a shield against all that precipitation, meteorological and emotional.
Welcome to the weekly Reminiscings of Youth! I remember when I saw "Ghostbusters" at the theatre over 40 years ago, there was that one scene with nebbishy accountant Louis Tully (played by "SCTV" cast member Rick Moranis who excelled in playing such characters) holding a party for his clients. Just to show how out of touch he was with most things, The Trammps' "Disco Inferno" was playing all too loudly on his stereo during a time when disco was considered way out-of-date in the new age of New Wave, synthpop and breakdancing music. Plus even the term "Disco Sucks" itself was pretty much a cliché at that point.
But I remember when "Disco Inferno", along with a lot of other similar songs back in those 1970s, was the bee's knees in the record shops, dance clubs and radio. I also heard it a lot on those disco LP compilation commercials on TV. It was released on December 28th 1976 and though it didn't make too much headway up the charts in its initial release, it was given rocket boosters once it had been included onto the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack in its nearly 11-minute version. In the following year of 1978, "Disco Inferno" even scraped the Top 10 by reaching No. 11 in America while in Canada, it actually penetrated the Top 10 on RPM by scoring a No. 6 ranking.
Never had a chance to dance to this, but after seeing John Travolta incinerating the floor at the disco, I wouldn't dare. Anyways, what was at the top of the Oricon charts on December 27th 1976?
I guess if there's a template for the typical Agnes Chan（アグネス・チャン）single, it would contain a moderately bouncy rhythm with a folksy country arrangement while the Hong Kong-born singer sang in her high sing-songy style.
That's certainly the case with her 9th single from March 1975, "Koibito-tachi no Gogo" (Lovers' Afternoon). I can only imagine Agnes with her boyfriend riding on the back of a haycart in the middle of rural Japan simply enjoying each other's company. In Michio Yamagami's（山上路夫）lyrics, the singer trills about wrapping each wonderful memory in the sunshine within her handkerchief and taking them home with her. Mind you, logistically, I think having that Polaroid camera would have been easier.
Koichi Morita（森田公一）came up with the sweet melody while Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）took care of the arrangement. "Koibito-tachi no Gogo" hit No. 7 on Oricon.
Last night, after getting my five articles up on KKP, I went on one of my occasional browsings through the Internet which included the website "Tamaranaku J-AOR Kayo"（たまらなくAOR歌謡）, and somehow I discovered this compilation album titled "Akasaka Soul Funk...10 Masterpieces of Japanese Soul Funk 1969-1977". The psychedelic cover grabbed my eyes but I had to admit that I wasn't quite sure how soul and funk would associate itself with one of Tokyo's toniest districts. When I think of Akasaka, I almost always envision Mood Kayo groups, not R&B guys, but that's just me.
One of the tracks on "Akasaka Soul Funk" is "Happy Day" by Tan Tan. Now, she's one of the personae that the late Taeko Morino（森野多恵子）, one of the members of the Group Sounds band The White Kicks, had taken on in the 1970s and perhaps the early 1980s, had taken on. Afterwards, she became Harumi Ohzora（大空はるみ）, techno jazz diva. As Tan Tan though, I first got to know her for City Pop efforts such as "Bring Me Your Broken Heart" in 1978.
But with "Happy Day", which was originally the final track on her April 1973 debut album"Ai wa Omokage no Naka ni"（愛は面影の中に...Love is in the Shadows） under the name of Tan Tan, this wasn't a City Pop number at all. Instead, as advertised on "Akasaka Soul Funk", it's indeed a rabid soul funk kayo kyoku whose lyrics were provided by Yuko Shimazu（島津ゆうこ）. The interesting thing is that the composer was Koichi Morita（森田公一）and there's something about the intro that reminded me of his famous hit "Seishun Jidai"（青春時代）; for one thing "Seishun Jidai" came out a few years later in August 1976, so perhaps that intro riff made its first appearance in "Happy Day".
First off, I heard about the major quake in southern Japan so I'm hoping that folks there are doing OK.
January 13th 2025 has been set aside as the annual Seijin-no-Hi（成人の日）or Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. It's the time when all young people turning 20 this year get the big ceremonial welcome into adulthood (although there has been some recent movement in taking things a couple of years younger). The guys get all decked out in suits while the ladies are dressed meticulously into their kimono. After the speech at the local town or city hall, the freshly-minted adults can finally take that "first official" sip of booze with family and friends...and perhaps experience the exquisite pain of a hangover.
But give the new generation a decade or fifteen years and they may receive those pangs of nostalgia and longing for their salad days in high school...known as seishun（青春）in Japanese. Nostalgia has been a vital ingredient in kayo kyoku so it's not all that of a shock to know that there are also plenty of songs that have seishun in the titles and/or seishun in the feelings. So allow me to give you a few examples.
Ahhh...those fresh-faced 1970s aidoru tunes with the engine of an upbeat studio orchestra propelling the teenyboppers into stardom! One of them, I believe, was Junko Sakurada's（桜田淳子）"Kimagure Venus" (Capricious Venus), her 19th single from May 1977.
Created by lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, composer Koichi Morita（森田公一）and arranger Motoki Funayama（船山基紀）, it's certainly got plenty of bounce as Sakurada sings about the fact that compared to last year when she was an unripe green tomato, she's now ready for the picking by any suitable young lad, and apparently all of the innuendos that go with that. In the J-Wiki article for "Kimagure Venus", Aku mentioned that he'd had Marilyn Monroe in his mind when writing the words, even including a variation of the breathy "Boop-boop-a-doop" that Monroe sang out in "I Wanna Be Loved by You" for Junko to sing as well.
Maybe the choreography was inspired a bit by Monroe, too...? Well, in any case, "Kimagure Venus" was another Top 10 hit for Sakurada as it peaked at No. 7 and finished 1977 as the 65th-ranked single. She was even able to become the top batter for the Red team on the 1977 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen with "Kimagure Venus", although the first lyric had to be tweaked since apparently her going from green and hard to red and ripe was a little overly suggestive.
As well, another piece of trivia from J-Wiki is that in 1978, young and ambitious Seiko Matsuda (when she was still Noriko Kamachi) had taped her cover of "Kimagure Venus" for an audition and one of the top guys at CBS-Sony heard it, much to his liking. A couple of years later, Matsuda would bound onto the stage of the NTV show "Uta Mane Furi Mane Star ni Chousen!!"（歌まね振りまねスターに挑戦!!...Take the Challenge to Sing and Act Like a Star!!）to actually perform the same song right in front of Sakurada herself.
The above photo is apparently from the SONY website. It's only being used for illustrative purposes.
When I was writing up last week's Reminiscings of Youth entry for Seals and Crofts'"Summer Breeze", I had been tempted to include this song for this article, 70s aidoru Mari Amachi's（天地真理）"Niji wo Watatte" (Crossing the Rainbow), as one of the comparative kayo songs. It was released on September 1st 1972, just a day after the release of "Summer Breeze".
Ah, but then I sheepishly discovered that I had yet to even cover this song, Amachi's 4th single. Oh, goofy me! For the record, "Niji wo Watatte" is the follow-up single to the lass' biggest hit "Hitori Janaino"(ひとりじゃないの）which came out back in May, and with the same composer Koichi Morita（森田公一）and arranger Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）from that song helping out on "Niji wo Watatte", it's not totally surprising that there is a certain similarity between the two in terms of the rhythm and style.
Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）was the lyricist here as Amachi sings about crossing that rainbow to be with that boyfriend. Strangely enough, my family and I had seen a rom-com movie starring the singer at the old Japanese-Canadian Cultural Centre back in the 1970s. I could recognize "Hitori Janaino" right off the bat being performed in the movie but there was another tune that Amachi sang on screen which may have been "Niji wo Watatte". In any case, the song was another big hit for her as it flew around the Oricon Top 10 for almost three months, hitting the top spot twice during that time. It ended up becoming the 13th-ranked single for 1972, selling a little over half a million records.
Well, I've finally relented and put in the new Label of Disco. It's not that I think that disco sucks...it doesn't to me at all since I've stated that I enjoyed acts such as Van McCoy and KC and the Sunshine Band. Frankly, it's only because I realized that I had to re-categorize a lot of those songs which takes a fair amount of time, and I'm lazy. However, I'm already off to a galloping start.
The final straw was also realizing that with all of that disco music up here on KKP in the Reminiscings of Youth articles, I hadn't even written about ABBA's "Dancing Queen". In fact, this is ABBA's first entry in a ROY article. "Dancing Queen" isn't really in the R&B wing of disco and I can't really consider it as simple pop, so in went the disco label.
"Dancing Queen" was released as an August 1976 single and I should give myself yet another Gibbs slap up the head for not having covered it because the song is a perennial favourite in the karaoke booths, sung by both Japanese and non-Japanese alike. I certainly heard it enough times while I was drinking down my Brown Cows and chugging on karaage and chips. I may have even tried singing it myself although I can't (and perhaps shouldn't) remember.
As Wikipedia will tell you, the song was an international behemoth. It hit No. 1 on America'sBillboard, Canada's RPM, Czechoslovakia, Norway and of course, ABBA's native Sweden. In Japan, "Dancing Queen" managed to sell about 500,000 records and has been covered by folks like Kahoru Kohiruimaki（小比類巻かほる）and Little Glee Monster.
So, what was also coming out onto the shelves for the first time in August 1976?
Koichi Morita and The Top Gallants -- Seishun Jidai （青春時代）
Happy Monday! One of the defining characteristics for veteran singer/actor/TV personality Akiko Wada（和田アキ子）has been that really short haircut that she's been having for decades. It's so much the case that any record cover or video footage featuring her in any longer hair is automatically from way back in the early 70s and beyond.
Case in point: her 12th single from June 1972, "Natsu no Yoru no Samba"(Summer Night Samba). Seeing her in that hairdo on the cover is absolutely precious. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, the same duo behind her previous single and far more recognized song "Ano Kane wo Narasu no wa Anata"（あの鐘を鳴らすのはあなた）, "Natsu no Yoru no Samba" is still a snazzy number although aside from some of the samba effects in the intro and outro and here and there, it's still more of a nocturnal downtown kayo kyoku.
Hey, summer is just a few days away. I'm sure in Japan, things are already starting to bake and the workers are hitting the rooftop beer gardens. It can't be that comfy in the heat and humidity but the beer must help.🍺🍻
On a recent episode of the information variety show "Don't Sleep Through Life" with the CG Chiko-chan（チコチャン）on NHK, there was a segment which involved the city of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture. During their annual summertime O-Bon festival, the locals have been dancing to the go-touchi song "Kyoto no Onna no Ko" (Kyoto Girl) for decades although Kyoto is obviously located outside of Aichi Prefecture. As for the reason, one resident simply replied that it just sounded good to dance to. End of story.
"Kyoto no Onna no Ko" was recorded by veteran singer-actress Naoko Ken（研ナオコ）as her 4th single in July 1972, and it's been seen as a nostalgic throwback to the Group Sounds days of the late 1960s. Indeed, the intro especially reminded me of Pinky and Killers'"Koi no Kisetsu" (恋の季節）of 1968. Written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, it's a 60s jangly cool tune about falling for that cool beauty of Kyoto. The interesting thing is that I've heard of the reputation (true or not) of Kyoto women being outwardly polite and hospitable but concealing some haughtiness and a razor-sharp tongue as a verbal shiv.
The single reached No. 52 on Oricon. As far as I know, those Toyotans will continue to be dancing to Ken-san later on this summer.
I took my share of photographs of everyday things and food with my old Casio digital camera when I was living in Ichikawa. Unfortunately, one shot that I didn't get was of a package of incense that I'd bought at Tokyu Hands. Over here, we've got all of those Febreeze sprays and plug-ins, and Japan is selling those, too. However, there is the somewhat more traditional method of incense or senkou（線香）.
Unlike the one shown above by YouTuber Kodo The Way of Fragrances, the incense in my old apartment wasn't in the form of joss sticks but in these tiny cones of compacted powder. All I had to do was light the tip of the cone in a small plate and then a second later, wave off the flame, and let the slow combustion do the rest in sending that intoxicating fragrance into the air. Well, it worked very well in my small 2K apartment. Let's say when I regained consciousness a few minutes later, I had to open the windows to lessen the olfactory impact.
The brand that I bought wasn't the most famous one. That label would probably go to Seiun（青雲...Blue Sky）, an incense brand that has been manufactured by Nippon Kodo（日本香堂）since 1965. One reason that I put up the YouTuber's video a couple of paragraphs back was that just showing the commercial here for Seiun wouldn't have revealed what the product was. A lot of Japanese commercials love to be enigmatic that way.
In any case, "Seiun no Uta" (The Blue Sky Song) has probably insinuated itself into everyone's brain in Japan. Originally created by lyricist Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）and composer Koichi Morita（森田公一）, the latter himself sang the folksy 30-second jingle as something that could hint at old-fashioned Japanese houses in the countryside with that fragrant smell emanating from the ancient wood. I was actually surprised that "Seiun no Uta" had actually been recorded in 1981; it sounds like something from at least a decade further back.
(I'm sorry but the video was taken down.)
Not sure what the relationship between kites and incense is, but I'll just let it go. Anyways in 1991, the resonant and comfortable vocals of the late Kiyohiko Ozaki（尾崎紀世彦）took over for Morita in the singing of the famous "Seiun no Uta".
I used to hear the jingle and watch the commercial all those years without really knowing initially what the product was all about. However, what got me to write up this article was on witnessing rakugo storyteller Taihei Hayashiya（林家たい平）, someone that I usually see weekly on NTV's "Shoten"（笑点）, do his version of "Seiun no Uta" on the show himself. His fellow rakugo-ka good-naturedly chided him to not make fun of the sponsor. And I don't think he was because he actually got to perform his 30 seconds with the accompaniment of a whole orchestra for Nippon Kodo itself.
I could only imagine what it was like during the Bubble Era in Japan during the mid to late 1980s. Mind you, I did get a taste of what the nation was like during that Toronto Japanese Language School graduation trip in the summer of 1981 but certainly at my age at that time, I wasn't getting into any nightclubs, discos or hostess establishments. Perhaps even before the Bubble, the yen was flowing like champagne.🍸
The Bubble Era is what I hear from Hideyo Morimoto's（森本英世）B-side, "Uwaki nara Ii wa"(I'm Up for an Affair, Darling), for his 1985 single"Hotel"（ホテル）. Seeing those two titles on opposite sides of the 45", I can definitely envisage some heavy romancing and liberal spending of cash here. It's some of that Latin-tinged Mood Kayo with the contemporary addition of a whining electric guitar. The prolific Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）was the lyricist while veteran Koichi Morita（森田公一）composed the melody, with Koji Ryuzaki（竜崎孝路）providing the snappy arrangement.
Morimoto was born Hiroshi Izutani（泉谷廣）in Sakai City, Metropolitan Osaka in January 1949, and it appears that he went on the Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）route of stage names after his debut in show business from 1965. He was first known as Hiroshi Nitta（新田洋）and then went with Ryuji Dai（大竜二）for a time before settling on Hideyo Morimoto in 1971. In 1973, he joined the Mood Kayo group Toshi Ito and Happy & Blue（敏いとうとハッピー＆ブルー）where he enjoyed success with their hits for about a decade, before he decided to go solo again in 1983. Since then, he's been releasing singles up to 2017.
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.
The first couple of articles that I've written on aidoru Kumiko Aimoto（相本久美子）regarded tracks from her 1981 second album"Yume Nanoni I Love You"（夢☆なのにI LOVE YOU）: the synthpop "Mayonaka no Heroine"（真夜中のヒロイン）and the City Pop"Itsutsu no Douka"（5つの銅貨）. And in "Mayonaka no Heroine", I mentioned that Aimoto started her aidoru life in 1974 under the name Kumiko Kondo（近藤久美子）.
Well, here is that debut single by Kondo, "Chiisana Teikou" (A Little Resistance) released in September 1974. Written by Kazuya Senke（千家和也）and composed by Koichi Morita（森田公一）, I'd say that it is the conventionally cute aidoru tune of the 1970s with the sunny strings and a bass harmonica that mysteriously reminds me of some of the soundtrack from that old American sitcom "Green Acres". Despite the adorable delivery of the lass, the lyrics make the heroine of the number into a slightly impish and naughty girl who has quite the reputation in the school.
Unfortunately, from what I've read in the J-Wiki article for the aidoru, Kondo/Aimoto never landed that Top 10 single. In fact, the highest that she scored on the Oricon charts was a No. 59 for her 4th release,"Shoka Keshiki"（初夏景色...Early Summer Scene）. Still, her acting career has been plenty long with roles being performed right into the 2010s. In addition, Aimoto got her time in the sun during her long co-hosting stint on the NTV Sunday afternoon variety show "TV Jockey"（TVジョッキー）.
There are a number of tropes when it comes to the old American sitcom. I think one would be the sidekick with the glib tongue who just can't seem to catch a break in romance. That was probably the case for Larry on "Three's Company" and maybe even Reuben Kincaid on "The Partridge Family". Another example is the joke-filled Ralph Malph on "Happy Days" (Potsie Weber, too, but I'll stick with Ralph).
I couldn't help but think of those guys when I heard "Semete O-Namae wo" (At Least, Give Me Your Name) by Mood Kayo group Akira Kurosawa & Los Primos（黒沢明とロス・プリモス）. This was their 28th single from February 1974, and the lyrics by Akira Ito（伊藤アキラ）relate the tale of a forlorn suitor who's hopelessly fallen for a seemingly unattainable lass.
The music by Koichi Morita（森田公一）is pure Mood Kayo with lots of solitary trumpet, strings, the chorus and the yearning vocals of the late Shoji Mori（森聖二）. I can imagine Ralph, Larry or Reuben searching the streets and bars and alleys for that mystery woman of allure but never quite tracking her down as I listen to this one, although I'm well aware that it might be a stretch for a lot of you folks to fathom a traditional Japanese ballad while seeing American sitcom characters failing in love. Ah. Anyways, speaking of "The Partridge Family", would you get a load of those costumes at 1:52 of the video? The band must have put out an APB!
It was more the concrete sidewalks of youth rather than the hills of youth when I was a teen going to school, but I think that the hills have a more romantic tone, I guess.
I've seen the name Nana Okada（岡田奈々）before but never heard any of her music. Most likely, any lingering knowledge of her must have been through TV retrospectives of the day. Okada was born Hiroko Yai（矢井弘子）in 1959 in Gifu Prefecture. Becoming the second champion on the talent show "Anata wo Star ni!"（あなたをスターに!...You're A Star!）as a mid-teen in the mid-1970s, she made her debut as an aidoru in May 1975 with "Hitorigoto"（ひとりごと...Monologue）.
However, her biggest hit came with her March 1976 4th single"Seishun no Sakamichi" (Hills of Youth) whose genesis came about from a contest via Myojo magazine in which people were invited to send in any lyrics for a potential song. Aiko Nakaji（中司愛子）was the winner apparently and professional lyricist Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）shaped them into the official words for "Seishun no Sakamichi", a jaunty tune created by Koichi Morita（森田公一）and arranged by Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）.
The song was also used in an episode of an NTV drama that had Okada in the cast, "Ore-tachi no Tabi"（俺たちの旅...Our Travels）. "Seishun no Sakamichi" became the singer/actress' signature song (according to the Wikipedia article on Okada) as it peaked at No. 23, and it became a part of her 3rd album "Akushu Shiyouyo"（握手しようよ...Let's Shake Hands）which was released in August 1976.
While Okada's singing career tapered off in the mid-1980s, she has continued acting right to the present day.
A couple of nights ago on "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, there was a special guest in the form of Ran Ito（伊藤蘭）, formerly of the 1970s aidoru trio Candies（キャンディーズ）. Indeed, it was special because her appearance to sing at NHK Hall signified her first time behind the recording mike in 41 years, right after the disbanding of the group back in 1978! Since that time, Ito and fellow Candy, the late Yoshiko Tanaka（田中好子）, went on the path of the thespian while Miki Fujimura（藤村美樹）took a brief stab at a solo career before retiring for good. I'm not sure whether Candies ever got together for a comeback appearance or tour between 1978 and the time of Tanaka's untimely passing.
Of course, Ito performed a couple of the old hits including the evergreen "Haru Ichiban"（春一番）but since I've already covered that and the other song, I decided to go into the J-Wiki vaults to see what else was in there. So I found Candies' 3rd single from January 1974, "Soyokaze no Kuchizuke" (Breezy Kiss).
As cute and fluffy as a kitten, "Soyokaze no Kuchizuke" is the quintessential 70s aidoru tune with the quirky and perky arrangement and the high-tone vocals by Tanaka. Because it was an early single, Tanaka was the lead vocal in the centre position before Ito took over the spot for good from "Toshishita no Otokonoko" (年下の男の子）onwards in 1975. Lyrics were provided by Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）and music was by Koichi Morita（森田公一）with the song hitting No. 39 on Oricon. "Soyokaze no Kuchizuke" was also a track on Candies' 2nd album"Abunai Doyoubi ~ Candies no Sekai"（危い土曜日〜キャンディーズの世界〜...Dangerous Saturday: The World of Candies）.
This is something that was actually mentioned in the J-Wiki article for "Soyokaze no Kuchizuke", but the Candies' song resembles a 1959 tune by American vocal group The Drifters, "(If You Cry) True Love, True Love". I know that Jerry from Come Along Radio has made YouTube videos highlighting similarities between Japanese and Western pop songs, so this may be one of the oldest that he will discover.
December 25 2020: This Creator article was written by me back in June 2019 and unfortunately, this morning, I saw on NHK News that Rei Nakanishi passed away on December 23rd from a heart attack. He was 82 years old. Despite the sadness in the music world for not only him but a number of famed Japanese songwriters leaving this mortal coil this year, they have left a wonderful legacy of music for us to peruse over and over again.
A few weeks ago, I caught the tail-end of an NHK documentary on veteran lyricist and novelist Rei Nakanishi. That small part that I did catch related the fact that Nakanishi had recently beat back cancer and was happily active once more. Considering that fact and the other point that he's had a good presence on this blog as well has inspired me to devote a Creator article for him.
Nakanishi has provided songs in just about every genre in Japanese popular music with some of them becoming landmark hits for his singing clientele. The very first Nakanishi-written song that I put up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", for instance, was "Kita Sakaba"（北酒場）, the rousing and friendly kayo performed to success by Takashi Hosokawa（細川たかし）, and the appropriately speedy and uptempo "AMBITIOUS JAPAN" by Johnny's band TOKIO.
But going back to the beginning, Nakanishi was born Reizo Nakanishi（中西禮三）in 1938 in the city of Mudanjiang in what was once the puppet state of Manchukuo under Japanese rule and what is now Heilongjiang Province in the People's Republic of China. He later grew up for part of his life in Otaru, Hokkaido.
Graduating from Rikkyo University with a degree in French literature, Nakanishi first became a translator of chanson music after he had gotten a request from chanson singer and former Takarazuka Revue member Natsuyo Fukamidori（深緑夏代）. However in or around 1963, when he was at a hotel bar in Shizuoka Prefecture, he ran into singer/actor Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）who was in the middle of filming a movie. Ishihara suggested to Nakanishi about trying his hand at writing kayo songs.
Apparently taking the Tough Guy's advice to heart, according to Nakanishi's website's index of songs, he may have started as early as 1965. However, one song that I've keyed in upon immediately is his early lyrical contribution to kayo, "Dare mo Dare mo Shiranai"（誰も誰も知らない...I Know Nobody, Nobody）from 1966 which was composed by Yasutoshi Nakajima（中島安敏）. It's a sad and elegant Mood Kayo sung by Tokiko Kato（加藤登紀子）about someone who is utterly alone in the big bad city.
Although the first version of this song had been recorded by a combination of Naoki Matsudaira（松平直樹）, Miyoko Tashiro（田代美代子）and Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars（和田弘とマヒナスターズ）also in 1966, I was able to find this cover version of "Namida to Ame ni Nurete"（涙と雨にぬれて...Wet From Tears and Rain）by Eiji Miyoshi（三善英史）. Nakanishi also provided the music along with his lyrics to this lovely ballad.
Just from what I've heard so far from his early material, Nakanishi seemed to enjoy going for the pathos in people's lot. Yu Kimura's（木村勇）music for "Otoko no Arashi"（男の嵐...A Man's Storm）from 1967 is more of a bluesier and deeper-in-Kabukicho Mood Kayo as Nakanishi's lyrics relate the tough life of a yakuza as performed by Ishihara himself, the same fellow who recommended Nakanishi to follow the kayo lyricist's path.
As I hinted up above, it wasn't all about Mood Kayo for Nakanishi. He also handled the lyrics for a lot of aidoru and aidoru groups including 70s darlings, Candies（キャンデーズ）. In fact, he wrote their 12th single"Aishuu no Symphony"（哀愁のシンフォニー...Symphony of Sorrow）which was released in November 1976 with Takashi Miki's（三木たかし）fleet-footed music. Once again, Nakanishi provides the story of love being so painful that it hurts like the Dickens. In a bit of symmetry, that 12th single peaked at No. 12 on Oricon, although it finished the year as the 61st-ranked single.
In 1985, he provided the words to the sweeping opening theme for the anime "Shoukoujo Sara"（小公女セーラ...Princess Sara） with Koichi Morita（森田公一）as the composer and Satoko Shimonari（下成佐登子）as the performer. "Hana no Sasayaki"（花のささやき...Whisper of a Flower） is sung from Sara's point of view as she goes through a bundle of tragedies and hardships and often refers to the little flower in her heart to reassure her.
(karaoke version)
Nakanishi provided another Johnny's Entertainment group, NEWS, with lyrics for their 6th single "Hoshi wo Mezashite"（星をめざして...Aim for the Stars）, released in March 2007. Composed by Peter Bjorklund, Johan Sahlen, and Claes Andreasson, there is more of a hopeful feeling as the guys from NEWS exhort listeners to not let any of the problems of life continue to weigh them down. "Hoshi wo Mezashite" was a No. 1 hit for the group and ended up as the No. 13 single of the year.
The last song for this article is Goro Noguchi's（野口五郎）"Ai no Shoumei"（愛の証明...Proof of Love）, his 33rd single from February 1980. Noguchi played a bit with City Pop at the time, and I think that was the case with Nakanishi as well. This particular song straddles a bit back and forth between the dynamic aidoru kayo that he and his other "brothers", Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）and the late Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）, espoused and some of the more downtown Tokyo style of City Pop (kinda like Akira Terao). Hiroshi Sato（佐藤寛）came up with the music although this isn't the same musician behind "Awakening" since the kanji for his first name is different.
As for what Nakanishi is doing currently, according to his J-Wiki file, it looks like he has been providing his own columns and commentary to media. I can only hope that I am as active as he looks to be when I reach his age.
