Kumi Showji -- Ano Koro no Youni（あの頃のように）

Moving from an old abode to a new one can be frankly distressing. You've been comfortable in your old place for years and years but then it's time to move onto a new home in a completely different neighbourhood or city. There's that feeling of sadness mixed in with that feeling of anticipation of moving into the new apartment or house and how you can shape it into something that is your own.

That was certainly the case for my family when we moved from the inner city where I'd spent the first 11 years of my life to where we've been out in the 'burbs for the past few decades. Since then, I've been through that a few times with my moves to Japan and then coming back home from Japan for good at the end of 2011. Also, I have a friend of mine in Tokyo who recently moved into a new home not too far away by car from his old place so I'm paying tribute to him and his family through this article tonight.

The reason that I'm waxing philosophical about moving is that the topic of this KKP article was the theme song for a 1991 TBS drama titled "Sore demo Ie wo Kaimashita"（それでも家を買いました...I Still Bought The House） which dealt with a young married couple suddenly having to make the move from Kobe to Kanagawa Prefecture due to work demands. I didn't read the entire synopsis at J-Wiki, but I did see the phrase "Bubble Era" so I can imagine that the show may have gone into how many folks were plunking down their down payments for those lovely houses and condos only for things to go topsy-turvy with the collapse of the high-flying bubble.

Singer-songwriter Kumi Showji（障子久美）was responsible for words and music and performance of the theme song "Ano Koro no Youni" (Just Like The Old Days). So far, I've highlighted her R&B/City Pop stuff, but with her 2nd single here released in May 1991, "Ano Koro no Youni" is mostly straight pop with the arrangement portraying a mix of melancholy and hope...just like how a move probably feels like. There's a bit of soulful piano/synth played away near the end, though.

Kumi Showji -- Because It's Love

A little over a year ago, I wrote about Kumi Showji's（障子久美）sparkling "city plot" from her 4th album "Because It's Love". Well, after putting the article onto the blog, I told myself that I ought to buy the album myself. Indeed, that's what I did, and "Because It's Love" is now in my hands.

Released in 1992, the singer-songwriter from Shiga Prefecture took care of words and music for all of the tracks, including "city plot", and it's a wonder that she didn't get a higher profile on the charts and other media.

But before I get into venting mode, I will just deftly go into the album itself starting with the first track "Ame no Machi kara"（雨の街から...From The Rainy Streets）, a rich and smooth R&B ballad that sounds like it came more from the 1980s (the sax helps). From listening to this opening track, I felt that I did make a good purchase.

"my only angel" is another love ballad that strikes me in the nostalgia nerves. It was used as the theme song for the TBS documentary program "Sekai no Kekkon Shiki"（世界の結婚式...The World's Wedding Ceremonies）that seems to have been kicked around through multiple networks under different titles between 1968 and 2002.

"you were my love" is a standout for me since it reminds me so much of the Quiet Storm sector of 80s R&B. The nighttime jazziness and soul in here would probably have Anita Baker nodding in approval. My kudos to George Duke for his piano solo.

There are a few uptempo tracks on "Because It's Love", but I have to say that Showji's mid-tempo and slow songs are my favourites here and that includes the final track "Saigo no Onegai"（最後のお願い...A Final Request）. The age of Misia and bird wouldn't be around for another several years, but there were already some mighty fine R&B songstresses out there including Minako Yoshida（吉田美奈子）, and I would place Showji among them.

Kumi Showji -- city plot（シティ・プロット）

The above video is another one of those compilations of City Pop/J-AOR tunes that have been popping up like rabbits in recent months, and I'm glad that the first song on this particular collection is a really good one.

I'm definitely gonna have to delve more deeply into the works of singer-songwriter Kumi Showji（障子久美）since she's been providing some great soul music. Kinda knocking myself upside the head for not getting those used CDs of hers when I had the chance at those secondhand places in Tokyo. Case in point here is the song "city plot" from her 4th album "Because It's Love" from 1992. Some nice horns and some wonderful groove which means a fine car stereo song while driving down the highway.

Here's hoping that the video doesn't get taken down anytime soon since "city plot" only has its presence known here. But there are some other Showji songs on YouTube so not a bad situation.

Kumi Showji - Truth (トゥルース)

My good friend, Hiro, sent me this lovely postcard when he was on a business trip last month, and I figured that this would make a nice little thumbnail photo if I ever put up another City Pop tune or a song that has a nice bit of soul in there. Plus, he's been very generous in giving me "likes" on most of the articles that I've put up on the blog via Facebook.

Speaking about those songs with that soul in there, I found one on that video (above) of a compilation of various City Pop tunes. I think it is the only track that has been identified since one of the YouTube commenters asked who the singer was at 12:00. After hearing the tune, I wanted to ask as well. And the fellow who created the video was kind enough to identify her as Kumi Showji（障子久美）and the song as "Truth".

Showji wrote and composed this fun uptempo song for her second album "Motion & Moment" in 1990. I took an instant liking to it since it has that combination of the City Pop sung by female singers such as Keiko Kimura（木村恵子）and Kaoru Sudo（須藤薫）in the late 1980s (I always refer to those bright champagne synths) and perhaps some of that R&B that would arrive almost a decade later so perhaps Showji was showing some prescience there.

 I realized that I had a number of opportunities to get "Motion & Moment" back in Japan since that memorable cover did come up in the used racks at the Shibuya branch of RecoFan. But I let the chances slide so I will have to see if I can pick one up somehow online. I've already written one article about the singer-songwriter for "Neverending Love" but unfortunately the original song was taken down by the powers-that-be. However, I was able to replace it with a cover version.

Kumi Showji with Chikuzen Sato -- Neverfading Love

Kumi Showji（障子久美）is a singer-songwriter from Shiga Prefecture whose name and visage I've seen in the pages of "Nihon no Josei Singer-Songwriter"（日本の女性シンガー・ソングライター...Japan's Female Singer-Songwriters）a few times but I never bothered to find out any of her material. But then, I came across this soulful little ballad with her and Sing Like Talking's Chikuzen Sato（佐藤竹善）called "Neverfading Love".

A track on her 5th album, "Scope of Soul" from 1993, I realized that I will always be a sucker for that urban contemporary/jazz arrangement, and when you have such nice vocals by Showji and Sato...well, perhaps it's time to give some of her YouTube videos more of a look-see. From what I've seen of her J-Wiki profile, Showji, who also wrote and composed "Neverfading Love", was mostly active in the 1990s, releasing 8 original albums and 7 singles.