Nobuko Sendou -- Hiromi: Kiken na Yokan（Hiromi -危険な予感-）

 

Just for fun, I punched into the Bing Image Creator, "A dangerous premonition in the style of Picasso". The above is what I got and well, ugh! Maybe it's a good thing that this not be seen past midnight in a dark room. But feel free to psychoanalyze it all you want.

Fortunately, the song that has that very title "Hiromi: Kiken na Yokan" (Hiromi: A Dangerous Premonition) sounds a lot more benign...almost to an aidoru level. This was recorded by actress-singer Nobuko Sendou（仙道敦子）as her 2nd single in October 1984, and though I haven't bothered to dig deep into Yuko Murakami's（村上悠子）lyrics, the melody composed and arranged by Ken Sato（佐藤健）is brisk and pleasant if somewhat urgent. I don't know who this Hiromi is, but she might need some help from the Equalizer.

The first time I posted a Nobuko Sendou article, it was back in late 2024 for her 1987 "Umi no Mieru Mado"（海の見える窓） and I compared her singing style to Miki Imai's（今井美樹）vocals. Imai herself was also coming up the ranks as an actress and singer, so to speak, at around the same time. Even with this early sophomore single, I can still make the comparison between Sendou and Imai since I think "Kiken na Yokan" could have also been sung by the latter lady early in her own career.

Nobuko Sendou -- Umi no Mieru Mado（海の見える窓）

From Freepik

 

It's always nice to have that splendid view of the ocean from one's window. Certainly, my envy goes out to anyone who has that ability in their house. Life seems better and the coffee must taste and smell heavenly. Then again, if there is one of those typhoons...😟

I have seen the name Nobuko Sendou（仙道敦子）in the past but as it turns out, this is the first time that she has popped up on "Kayo Kyoku Plus". She's a Nagoya-born singer and actress who's been active since 1980, and through marriage, has a connection with a famous thespian family. Her husband is actor Naoto Ogata（緒形直人）, who's currently on the NHK morning serial drama "Omusubi"（おむすび）as a very hostile and embittered character, her late father-in-law was actor Ken Ogata（緒形拳）and one of her sons is actor Atsushi Ogata（緒形敦）.

Skimming through her J-Wiki biography, Sendou had been acting for about four years when she got behind the recording microphone to launch her singing career in 1984. I'd assumed from seeing the cover of her second album "La Fillette" which was released in December 1987 that she was one of the many aidoru going through the revolving door of the Japanese music industry but she was never categorized as such. And actually from listening to the final track "Umi no Mieru Mado" (Window with an Ocean View), she has a very nice and light vocal style in a Miki Imai（今井美樹）way. Written by Yumi Yoshimoto（吉本由美）and composed by Masayuki Kishi（岸正之）, "Umi no Mieru Mado" sounds as relaxing as it must feel to enjoy that actual view with the addition of a sea breeze.

The video below features Sendou in a commercial.