Naotaro Moriyama -- Romantique（ロマンティーク）

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I've noticed that Noelle has been working on her special autumn song list and indeed, it's feeling completely like fall has arrived to stick around for many weeks. My image for both sides of the Pacific when it comes to this season is folks huddling together a little closer and partaking in some of the warmer rib-sticking dishes to generate some more heat for the cooling bodies.

Another sign that autumn is here is seeing people taking things a little more calmly when compared to the more active hijinks that signify a typical summer. And this brings me to an NHK anime that ran between Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 called "Ochibi-san"（オチビサン...The Diary of Ochibi-san） which is about as laidback and slice-of-life as one can get. It's based on Moyoco Anno's（安野モヨコ）manga of the same name which ran from 2007 to 2014.

Now, what had eventually brought my attention to "Ochibi-san" was its ending theme song which was performed by its composer, singer-songwriter Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）, on an episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）. "Romantique" was written by singer, actress and essayist Yayako Uchida（内田也哉子）and she even takes part in the singing of the song along with Hanaregumi（ハナレグミ）. Fitting the vibe of the anime, "Romantique" feels very laidback in a jazzy way and the recording technique makes it feel as if it had been created several decades back during the Cool Jazz phase of the 1950s. Maybe it was created for an anime but it also feels at home in some underground jazz club in Paris or New York City.

Nana Mori -- bye-bye myself

 

This week's "Uta Con"（うたコン）was held at NHK Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo for the first time in one year and four months due to renovations, and the show didn't hold back on its declaration: "WE ARE BACK!". It gave a relatively rare extended broadcast of one hour and fifteen minutes, had as full an audience as was possible during COVID, showed off some of that dry ice fog as a special effect, had veteran Takashi Hosokawa（細川たかし）rise up through the floor to do his minyo, and the duo Yuzu（ゆず）got to do a longer set than usual.

Basically speaking, this was a dry run for the 2022 Kohaku Utagassen, so I think that this pretty much confirms it. Early in the year, I had some worries that because of the traditional New Year's special last year hitting its lowest ratings (though still considered high compared to regular programming) and the top two people at NHK more than willing to swing the axe on long-running shows, my feeling had been that maybe the Red-and-White Song Festival was finally going to go the way of the dodo. However, as time passed by into the spring, the chances of that happening seemed to fade away, and certainly watching tonight's "Uta Con", I think the 73rd edition will be getting its due at the end of this year.

Anyways, among all of the familiar faces on stage at NHK Hall, I did see one young lady who looked familiar and not so familiar beside the hosts Shosuke Tanihara（谷原章介）and Nonoka Akaki（赤木野々花）. It turned out that she was actress Nana Mori（森七菜）, and I think that is her main occupation. Perhaps the familiarity is due to the fact that she had appeared on the NHK morning serial "Yell"（エール）a few years back.

Well, the Oita Prefecture-raised Mori has also been releasing her own music in the form of singles since 2020, and her fifth and most recent digital download single is "bye-bye myself" which came out last month. Written and composed by actor and singer-songwriter Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）, it's a cheerful song of getting out of the blues with a sense of renewal and hope. I think that what has gotten me interested in it is that jangly guitar which seems to have me going back in time to the 1980s, although that's just me.

Anyways, welcome back NHK Hall!

Naotaro Moriyama -- Niji（虹）

 

Throughout this time of listening to singer-songwriter/actor Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）, I've come to the conclusion that he can come up with some of the most wholesome and moving songs while possessing a very deadpan sense of humour.

However, it is the former that I've come to highlight here with his song "Niji" (Rainbows). This apparently was never an official single but one that he made in tandem with his songwriting partner Kaito Okachimachi（御徒町凧）as a song for chorus at the 2006 edition of The NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition. School competitions for chorus are a major deal in the lives of students throughout the nation during their time in education, and I was able to attend one such competition on the prefectural level when I was on the JET Programme.

Not surprisingly, even after the 2006 NHK competition, "Niji", which can really hit listeners in the heart, has been used at chorus competitions at the junior high school level among other events, according to the J-Wiki article on the song. I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used at the high school or even college levels as well. "Niji" has been included as a bonus track on limited editions of Moriyama's November 2006 album, "Kazemachi Kousaten"（風待ち交差点...The Intersection Waiting for a Favourable Wind）, which peaked at No. 19 on Oricon.

Naotaro Moriyama -- Hibi（日々）

Some weeks ago, when NHK's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）was merely broadcasting a combination of past clips and a couple of artists performing from home, one of the guests was Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）. He's one of the relatively few singers who can put forth a fine falsetto such as in his famous tune "Sakura"（さくら）, and Moriyama that night put out an unplugged version of a 2013 single "Hibi" (Days). The actual footage was up on YouTube but it looks like it has been taken down.

I found "Hibi" to be a nice song to hear especially during these times of social distancing and staying-at-home because the lyrics relate on how to keep on going through the tough times, just by taking things day-by-day. Day-by-day is the one way that I've been enduring staying only within the neighbourhood for the past few months, and I figure that the status quo will remain so for another few weeks at least.

Moriyama and poet/lyricist Kaito Okachimachi（御徒町凧）worked together on both words and music to create "Hibi", the singer's 19th single which peaked at No. 46 on Oricon. I read an article somewhere years ago in which it said that during tough times, soothing ballads tend to come out to the fore. If so, I think "Hibi" would be one of the ideal ones.

Naotaro Moriyama -- Sakura（さくら）

This is the first full day of spring, and yet, the temperatures aren't quite there yet. The chief meteorologist has asked us all to keep our patience and endure some of the unseasonable weather for another two weeks. No problems with me here...snow is largely gone and it's not like it's minus 30 degrees out there. Plus, Toronto is far better than places like Washington DC and New York City which has been getting socked with nor'easter after nor'easter this winter, and even Tokyo got a surprise by getting snowed under just a few days after someone officially declared the annual Cherry Blossom season in full swing. I wonder if there is an official word for "snow cherry blossoms" in Japanese. Yukizakura（雪桜）, perhaps?

Yesterday was another "Uta Kon"（うたコン）episode with the appropriate theme of spring songs although the weather didn't seem to cooperate in the Kanto (mind you, it looked nice in Osaka where the show was broadcasting from that night). Of course, with that theme in mind, there were the usual tunes of optimism and graduation songs.

Ironically enough, I already have a couple of Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）tunes on the blog but neither of them is arguably his most famous ballad. "Sakura" (Cherry Blossoms) has probably now become a standard for this time of year in Japan as Moriyama sings about friends departing on their own paths and then meeting up again in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if "Sakura" were being used as an actual graduation song to be sung at the annual ceremonies.

"Sakura" was released as Moriyama's 3rd single, his 2nd as a major artist, in March 2003. According to the J-Wiki write-up, the singer-songwriter had initially created the song along with poet-lyricist Kaito Okachimachi（御徒町凧）as a tribute to a friend who was getting married but somehow the song was given a soft first release of 1200 copies which debuted at No. 80 on the charts. Then, the sky was the limit as the song gradually hit No. 1 on Oricon and stayed there for 3 straight weeks, becoming the 4th-ranked single for the year, followed by a No. 32 ranking in 2004. As of 2006, it managed to sell about 1000% of that original pressing. And before I forget, the Kohaku Utagassen did come knocking for him to perform on the 2003 show.

Hopefully, things will be warmer and more pleasant for the ohanami parties under the trees this weekend. I will have to check with my English student this weekend to see if the weather has become more seasonal.

Naotaro Moriyama -- Natsu no Owari （夏の終わり）

The weather folks out there were predicting higher-than-average temperatures for September in my area, but it sure seems a lot more reasonable and seasonable today. It was actually pleasantly cool, bordering on chilly, this morning as I took my walk. If it keeps up like this, then I know that summer is definitely making its way out.

Back on Tuesday, I caught NHK's "Uta Kon" (うたコン) for the first time in its entirety since the Olympics wrapped up. Happy to say, there were a lot of the old kayo songs out on display but I did also hear a nice little something by Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）.

Moriyama, who is the son of veteran folk singer Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）, has been around in show business since 2001, mostly as a singer but I've seen him pop up in the occasional appearance on variety shows and even dramas. He's got a goofy deadpan sense of humour which I've liked and perhaps has also endeared him to his fans.

However, it is his music which has gotten him his fame, along with that amazing falsetto. I have yet to write about his big breakthrough hit, "Sakura"（さくら）, but on Tuesday, I did hear him sing his follow-up 3rd single, "Natsu no Owari"(The End of Summer) and was duly impressed. Originally released in August 2003, Moriyama created the ballad with the help of Kaito Okachimachi（御徒町凧）on lyrics, and I think he hit the mark in bringing about that feeling of the cooling summer paired with that love song.

The single managed to hit as high as No. 6 on Oricon and is also a track on his 3rd mini-album, "Ikutsumono Kawa wo Koete Umareta Kotoba-tachi"（いくつもの川を越えて生まれた言葉たち...Words Born Beyond The Rivers） which was released a couple of months before "Natsu no Owari". It peaked at No. 3 on the charts and ended up as the 38th-ranked album of the year.

The Broadside Four/Naotaro Moriyama -- Wakamono Tachi （若者たち）

I was talking with a commenter the other day about a video he/she showed me about a gathering of a bunch of kayo singers from the 70s singing some of those nostalgic tunes. The second one happened to be the topic of this article tonight, "Wakamono Tachi" (Young People) originally sung by the folk group, The Broadside Four（ザ・ブロードサイド・フォー）which had a brief career between 1964 and 1966.

Seeing the name The Broadside Four, I thought this would be some sort of Group Sounds band because the late 1960s were the time for the genre. However, and what is most likely their most famous song makes clear, this was a folk group which initially started out as The Broadside Three with Hisao Kurosawa（黒澤久雄）, Toshihiko Tsuruhara（鶴原俊彦）, and Minoru Yokota（横田実）before Toshitaka Yamaguchi（山口敏孝）joined the band in 1965. The Broadside Four also has a certain pedigree in the form of lead vocal Kurosawa since he happens to be the son of one of the legends of world cinema, the late director Akira Kurosawa（黒澤明）.

Listening to the original single which came out in August 1966, just a few months before The Broadside Four broke up, I really enjoy the harmonies by Kurosawa and his bandmates. As someone who used to listen to old American standards as a kid, I think "Wakamono Tachi" is a wistful tune that could easily have been covered by vocal groups like The Ames Brothers if it had been translated into English. Masaru Sato（佐藤勝）came up with the melody while Toshio Fujita（藤田敏雄）provided the lyrics about the young generation leaving their relatively carefree lives in school to take those first steps into employment and adulthood. That commenter from above wondered if this would be a tune for a school reunion....I'd give that question a pretty strong assent. The song was originally created as the theme song for a Fuji-TV drama of the same name and then it was also adopted for the cinematic version along with its two sequels. And it was even placed into the music textbooks and songbooks in elementary and junior high schools from the 1970s.

(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)

Fuji-TV made a 2014 version of the original TV program with the same theme song, this time sung by Naotaro Moriyama（森山直太朗）who is famous for singing the hit "Sakura" (which I will have to cover sometime soon). Moriyama is also a son of a celebrity...folk singer Ryoko Moriyama（森山良子）, but along with "Sakura", I've seen him occasionally on variety shows where he has amused viewers with his brand of deadpan loopy humour. However, just from those high resonant vocals of his, I think his fans are quite happy enough with him as a singer.