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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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".
Masaaki Sakai（堺正章）has become quite the entertainment legend on television. He's been the veteran silver fox through his many variety show appearances, drama roles and as a recording artist, first with the Group Sounds band, The Spiders, and then as a soloist. One show that I always remember him for is "Chuubo desu yo!"（チューボーですよ!...Saturday Night Chubaw!）, the late-night cooking variety program on TBS that went on for over 20 years.
But he was once a young and lanky actor and to actually see him on the long-running series "Jikan desu yo"（時間ですよ...It's Time）, the TBS family drama centered around a sento, as a long-haired hippie type is to realize how long Sakai has been around. Sakai was one of the main cast members as he played Ken Miyazaki（宮崎健）, a university ronin who was also working at the Matsu-no-Yu（松の湯）bathhouse. In the second season in 1971, aidoru Mari Amachi（天地真理）came onto the show as young Mari（マリ）who lived next door and was studying at a dressmaking school. Of course, Ken goes cuckoo over her.
One of the many insert songs that was used in "Jikan desu yo" was actually Sakai's third single from September 1971, "Namida kara Ashita e" (From Tears to Tomorrow), a whimsical and folksy kayo with a slight country lilt. Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦）, the novelist who would also pen the lyrics for the aforementioned Amachi's 1972 trademark tune, "Hitori Janaino" (ひとりじゃないの）under the pseudonym Natsu Kotani（小谷夏）, did the same for "Namida kara Ashita e" while Takeo Yamashita（山下毅雄）composed the music. The song is about pressing forward and upward despite any of the usual setbacks that are now part of the past.
"Namida kara Ashita e" is another reminder to me about how strong a singer Sakai actually is; he does pop up from time to time on other variety and music programs to sing one of his old hits.
One of the wonderful things about my hobby is that I've been listening to kayo kyoku for all these decades...and yet I still get surprised at what I discover. Case in point: this album that Momoe Yamaguchi (山口百恵）released back in July1979, a little more than a year before she retired from the business for good. I came across this in my book on "Japanese City Pop" but didn't think there would be any singles from it on YouTube. And it's indeed hard to find the tracks for "Momoe Yamaguchi LA Blue" , but I did manage to find some examples of covers and otherwise.
Just by looking at the cover of "L.A. Blue", it was obvious that Momoe's 18th album would be quite different. From the electric blue neon signage to the image of a Los Angeles dusk, this looked more like something from an American AOR singer's collection. The songs were all written by Japanese artists but recorded in Rosu and arranged by Barry Fasman. The above video is a karaoke cover for the first track, "GET FREE", which was created by the prolific songwriters Takao and Etsuko Kisugi （来生たかお・えつこ）. The song has that drive-across-America feeling much along the lines of Canadian singer Patsy Gallant's"From New York to LA".
Around the late 70s and early 80s, there was a North American pollination of sorts with Japanese artists recording and seeking help from session artists such as TOTO's Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather. And even David Foster has been in a couple of duets with a couple of the big names in aidoru-dom (no, he didn't skip around or dance frenetically).
"Dancin' In The Rain" is the final track on "LA Blue". I can't quite describe it exactly but it seems to come across as a mix of a typical Momoe ballad and a love song from California. Shogo Hamada（浜田省吾） was responsible for the contemplative melody and Kei Yokosuka（横須賀恵） wrote the lyrics. Just to let you know, Kei Yokosuka is just the pen name for Momoe herself.
Here is another ballad from the album, "Cry For Me" which was again written by Kei Yokosuka and composed by Jun Hatano（波多野純）. The YouTube video is a bit rough but it's interesting to see Yamaguchi perform it on "Music Fair".
And this is "Neko ga Miteiru"（猫が見ている...The Cat Is Watching）, a light disco-funk piece which was written by novelist Mitsuhiko Kuze (久世光彦...under his pen name of Natsu Otani) and composed by guitarist-singer Fujimaru "Fujimal" Yoshino（芳野藤丸）. In a way, it sounds like it should belong as part of a score for one of those 70s cops-and-robbers shows.
I'm not sure how rare "LA Blue" is nowadays, but if it is of a reasonable price, I wouldn't mind acquiring it myself. As for its success on the charts, it went as high as No. 2.
If you are curious about the album, it is actually on Amazon.jp.
Since I was a tot, I'd been listening to Japanese music such as enka on the old RCA stereo, but it wasn't until the summer of 1972 that I heard an actual Japanese pop song. And it's the one featured here. A native of Omiya City in Saitama Prefecture,Mari Amachi (天地真理）held court as a national aidoru in the first half of the 1970s. "Hitori Janaino"(You're Not Alone) was the 2nd No. 1 hit for her on the Oricon charts and the biggest hit of her career. In total, she got onto the top of the charts 5 times...not too shabby. But then Seiko Matsuda changed all that in the next decade.
"Hitori Janaino" is classic kayo kyoku....cheerful lilting voice backed by a studio string-and-horns dominated orchestra, and the lyrics have a young couple enjoying a pleasant walk. "Natsukashii" is the one word that hits me whenever I hear it. Novelist/playwright Mitsuhiko Kuze（久世光彦）provided the lyrics under his pen name of Natsu Kotani（小谷夏）while Koichi Morita（森田公一）composed the melody.
I heard it on the taxi taking me, my mother, my baby brother and my grandparents to Ginza from Haneda Airport (when it was the only airport for Tokyo). The cabbie had the radio tuned onto some AM channel when the tune came on. And once I heard it, I gave the only reaction that I could at the time: I THREW UP! Yup, my new white shirt took on some further colors, as did the cabbie. Now, this was not a visceral criticism of the song itself, but a delayed reaction to some airsickness on the flight over from Vancouver....really. I was always a late bloomer. Luckily, though, I don't have any chronic Pavlovian reaction whenever I hear it.
