Uta Con: February 24th 2026 -- Tribute to Yu Aku（阿久悠）

 

First off, thanks go to The history man on YouTube for providing this video on the life and career of kayo kyoku songwriting legend Yu Aku (1937-2007) who apparently remains the 2nd-most prolific lyricist in Japan following Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）. Yesterday, the return of NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）after the Olympic break was a big one for all of the kayo fans since a good chunk of the program was a tribute to the works of Aku who would have been 89 back on February 7th..

This isn't an Author's Picks because I wasn't the one who came up with these songs for performance on the show last night. Of course, it was the NHK producers who did that but I still wanted to acknowledge the Aku songs that had been sung on the Shibuya stage since they have remained part of the bread and butter that make up a lot of this blog. You can also take a look at a Creator article that I wrote up back in 2015 regarding Aku and his constitution on writing those lyrics.

(1974) Isao Sasaki -- The Theme from Space Cruiser Yamato (宇宙戦艦ヤマト）

(1977) Sayuri Ishikawa -- Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki （津軽海峡・冬景色）

(1977) Hiromi Iwasaki -- Shishuuki （思秋期）

(1984) Shinichi Mori -- Kita no Hotaru （北の螢）

(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

(1977) Kenji Sawada -- Katte ni Shiyagare （勝手にしやがれ）

(1973) Finger Five -- Kojin Jugyō（個人授業）

(1974) Finger Five -- Gakuen Tengoku (学園天国）

J-Canuck's Favourite Duets

 

I figure that with the Holidays now in full swing in Japan, folks may be having their share of parties including those that occur at the karaoke boxes and bars of the nation. Maybe franchises such as Big Echo are doing volume business this week which may be quite long for people...perhaps as long as a week (yeah, I'm being a little sarcastic there). Of course, depending on the size and the average age of the group along with the type of songs that they tend to sing, there will be the duets to tackle. 

Perhaps for the younger generation, that doesn't happen so often, since a lot of those duets occur in the enka and Mood Kayo genres. Plus, there is the matter of harmonizing which isn't all that easy. Not being a particularly great singer in my karaoke days in Japan, I don't think I ever dared ask any lady for a duet. However, listening to those duets on the stereo and now on YouTube is more my speed. Here are some of my favourites.

(1959) Frank Nagai and Kazuko Matsuo -- Tokyo Nightclub （東京ナイトクラブ）

(1982) Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

(1982) Takao Kisugi and Kaori Momoi -- Nejireta Heart de (ねじれたハートで）

(1984) Sachiko Kobayashi & Katsuhiko Miki -- Moshikashite Part 2 （もしかして・パート２）

(1994) Masayuki Suzuki & Momoko Kikuchi -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）

Nana Kinomi -- Makka na Boots（真赤なブーツ）

 

Last week, "Uta Con"（うたコン）had its tribute to the Queen of Kayo Kyoku, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）. So, I posted a song by her in my own tribute on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" later that day. Well, earlier today, legendary composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）, who would have been 84 last week (he had passed away back in 2020), got his own themed segment for a good part of the "Uta Con" episode and therefore I will post a song by him. 

With the usual 13-hour time difference and getting the show live, I was actually having breakfast away from the television so I could only hear the montage of his hit compositions so I'll probably be watching the NHK program again during its rerun later tonight. Yep, Tsutsumi is indeed a favourite of mine and in fact, the first Creator article on KKP was on him.

As I've mentioned on the blog over the years, Tsutsumi had long earned the label of being the "He created THAT?!" composer. So many songs of different styles over so many decades. Today, I decided to go way back when he was nearly 27 and he composed his second single alongside lyricist Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）, a frequent songwriting partner of his back in the day. That was "Makka na Boots" (Deep Red Boots) for singer-actress Nana Kinomi（木の実ナナ）when she was all of 20. 

Listening to this, people (including myself) can marvel that he was creating and arranging the go-go dance type material of those 1960s. According to the J-Wiki article for "Makka na Boots", which I don't think was featured in the "Uta Con" montage, it was put together as a solo singer Group Sounds effort but apparently, there were folks who also likened it to an Italian pop song of the day. However it's interpreted I can imagine young Kinomi dancing away in those long scarlet boots on some stand on a music-variety show while singing it.

Of course, I've known Kinomi for a karaoke favourite from much later in her career.

Nana Kinomi -- Ice Cream Joe（アイスクリーム・ジョー）

Despite Nana Kinomi's（木の実ナナ）long career as an actress, I've known her basically for two things: 1) her part in the classic Mood Kayo duet with Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）, "Izakaya"（居酒屋）and 2) her role as a cop in the 1980s police comedy-drama "Abunai Deka"（あぶない刑事）. It's from the latter that I got to know her famous look with the big brown hair and the bright-as-the-sun smile. There was always something very Carol Channing about her face.

I did find out from her J-Wiki profile that she was born in Sumida Ward and made her first foray into show business in the early 1960s when she accompanied her friend to a Shinjuku jazz kissaten who was there for an audition. When the friend got way too nervous to perform, the exasperated host of the audition then pointed to Kinomi and demanded that she sing. Just like in a Hollywood script, Kinomi won.

She made her debut in movies and records in 1962, and I found this particular song on YouTube, "Ice Cream Joe" which was the B-side to her 1964 single "Teenage Cleopatra"（ティーンエイジ・クレオパトラ）. Now, the A-side was a cover for a tune that had been created by Beverly Ross for singer Tracey Dey in 1963. I couldn't find out whether "Ice Cream Joe" was a cover unfortunately, although the song has that same sort of 1960s novelty pop bounce. But I gotta say that Kinomi had quite the expressive vocals, so I'm sure that the host in Shinjuku must have been quite proud of his sudden choice.

Ah, I did forget. Kinomi has also been a well-known face in commercials.

Hiroshi Itsuki and Nana Kinomi -- Izakaya （居酒屋）

Was watching an NHK broadcast music special called "Omoide Melody"(思い出メロディー.....Melody of Memories) tonight and came across this old chestnut by enka singer Hiroshi Itsuki(五木ひろし） and actress/singer Nana Kinomi（木の実ナナ）. It was written by Yu Aku（阿久悠） and composed by Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）, who had written a number of Kenji Sawada's（沢田研二） songs.

I was surprised by the relatively recent date on this song since the melody and the lyrical give-and-take between Itsuki and Kinomi harken back to a much older duet, "Tokyo Nightclub" by Frank Nagai（永井フランク） and Kazuko Matsuo（松尾和子） in 1959 (profiled as well). "Izakaya"(Pub) is a popular shibui karaoke song....or at least, it was back in the 80s. But the one thing that intrigues me about this tune is the title since the sound of it reminds me more of an exclusive top-level bar rather than a neighbourhood Tokyo watering hole. And certainly the above video of the pair's appearance in a fancy Western-style bar on "Enka no Hanamichi"（演歌の花道） (also profiled under Media) emphasizes that feeling.

But if you're interested in tackling an enka tune at a nearby karaoke box with someone, I would recommend this one.

Enkobo, an izakaya in Higashi-Nakano