Harumi Miyako -- Harumi no Sandogasa（はるみの三度笠）

By Miguel Discart via Wikimedia Commons

Ah, yes...the sandogasa. According to Jisho.org, it's described as a "type of traditional Japanese conical hat", although I can't really see anything conical about the hat itself. However, I have seen this on many a Japanese pate in historical TV shows and movies, and it can be quite the introductory device as a lordless ronin of justice travels the byways of Japan with the sandogasa covering his eyes until it's time ​to reveal the whole face...and usually a whole ton of sword-flashing kickass.

NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌...Songs of Japanese Spirit） was back on for the first time since the Holidays and I got to see someone sing a Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）song that I hadn't heard before (or at least for a very long time). Apparently, lyricist and composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, one of Miyako's main songwriters in her first decade as a singer, was tickled pink about seeing the young enka chanteuse in a sandogasa that he just went and whipped up her 39th single "Harumi no Sandogasa" (Harumi's Sandogasa) for April 1969. 

The whole lyrical premise is that young Harumi wants to go around everywhere wearing that sandogasa so that she's not recognized, although I have to say that even in the latter half of the 20th century, I think she would have still stuck out like a sore thumb wearing that archaic hat. Perhaps if she kept her person in the Asakusa district, she would have a chance...

Well, then again, if she had been able to head back in time to the Edo era via TARDIS and completely submerge herself into a warrior's role, she may just get away with it...of course, while wearing the titular hat. Back in 1969, she got plenty of fame though by scoring a No. 25 ranking for "Harumi no Sandogasa" and even getting her 5th appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen to sing the song at the end of the year. Of course, her high but steely and growly vocals were one of the highlights.

Ayako Fuji -- Ame no Osaka（雨の大阪）

 

Well, another televised sign that the year is nigh along with the announcement of the Kohaku Utagassen lineup (probably in a couple of weeks) and the presentation of the Top 20 Buzzwords and Catchphrases of the Year arrived on screens today. Yup, it was time for another round of "Waga Kokoro no Osaka Melody"（わが心の大阪メロディー...Our Beloved Osaka Melodies） by NHK in their Osaka studios. I would have loved to have written something about the songs there but either I already did or I don't intend to.

So I opted to find an Osaka kayo kyoku on my own through YouTube. It didn't take too long before I came across one by enka veteran Ayako Fuji（藤あや子）. "Ame no Osaka" (Rainy Osaka) is a story of a lady who's just broken up with her paramour in the titular city and while she's trying to be rather nonchalant about it, deep inside, she hurts like crazy. Of course, with the rain in there, I figured that it would be a heartbreak kayo (other signs would be migratory birds and the season of autumn in the title).

I couldn't track down any sign of it as a single on Fuji's J-Wiki page although it was apparently a track on her February 2008 BEST compilation "Enka Shikisai"（艶歌色彩...The Colours of Enka）, so I'm going with that for now (and from what I've seen elsewhere, this could actually be a cover version of a song from several years back). The lyrics were written by Shohei Mouzu（もず唱平）and it was composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）. 

Harumi Miyako -- Bakaccho Defune（馬鹿っちょ出船）

Welcome to the final Monday of August 2025. Although it took me a while to catch up, I've loved the zany Mel Brooks' movies of the 1970s including "Young Frankenstein", and it's poignant to realize that just about all of the main cast have left this mortal coil. There was that one scene where the Monster and Elizabeth had one heck of a romantic night but then the former had to suddenly leave the latter which had poor Liz chastising the Monster as one of those wham-bam-thank-you-ma-am boors who prefers to love 'em and leave 'em.

Harumi Miyako's（都はるみ）June 1965 8th single "Bakaccho Defune" (You Dumb Departing Ships...although I prefer the translation of Darn You, Love 'Em Leave 'Em Sailors) reminds me of that "Young Frankenstein" scene. I heard it last night on NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta" (and yep, it looks like the regular programs are returning from summer hiatus this week) and was delighted that it was a song that I've heard from my childhood but just forgot through the breezy windmills of my mind. 

Written by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）and composed/arranged by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, Miyako herself sings in the lyrics that this is a madorosu kayo kyoku or a sailor-based kayo, one of the many sub-genres that would finally be all officially melded into enka, the traditional genre that finally got official standing in the Japanese lexicon in the early 1970s. I gotta ask Noelle whether that Hawaiian twang in Ichikawa's supremely cheerful arrangement was part and parcel of the madorosu kayo kyoku experience. But in any case, the enka legend also growls about how all those sailors quickly come (no pun intended😁) for the romance but then take off just as quickly for the seas, leaving the women bereft of companionship once more. When Miyako growls the title out, I feel that's similar to Elizabeth barking out in frustration, "Oh, you men are all alike!".

Harumi Miyako -- Ara Miteta no ne（アラ見てたのね）

 

My parents have been wondering about where enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）has been over the past few years. Well, through one newspaper and one magazine via J-Wiki, I found out that she's basically been retired from the geinokai over the past decade with her final concert being at the end of 2015. At last report, she was living with just-as-retired actor Shigeru Yazaki（矢崎滋）in a hotel somewhere in the Tohoku region.

Last night, while we were watching NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）, I encountered a song that I had never heard by Miyako (performed by someone else, of course) titled "Ara Miteta no ne" (Ah, You Were Watching Us) which was released as her 12th single in January 1966. Written by Shinichi Sekizawa（関沢新一）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's a coquettish little enka featuring Miyako as this young lady in a small town who has been experiencing a thrilling affair with a guy. Unlike other couples who would want to keep their relationship on the QT, it seems as if young Harumi isn't exactly hiding her glee at being found out. The jauntiness of the melody hints pretty loudly that the revelation is just as thrilling as the affair.

Harumi Miyako -- Horechattan da yo（惚れちゃったんだヨ）

 

Over the past several weeks, I've been watching the latest NHK morning serial drama "Anpan"（あんぱん） starring Mio Imada（今田美桜）. As with many an NHK asadora, "Anpan" starts off in the early Showa era as Imada portrays a countryside girl, Nobu, who eventually marries a quiet and kindhearted guy, Takashi. A fictionalized account of the famous manga author Takashi Yanase（やなせたかし）who creates the popular Japanese hero "Anpanman"（アンパンマン）, the drama thus far seems to focus on both Nobu and Takashi and it looks like from what I saw of the sneak preview for next week, "Anpan" is ready to head into the tumultuous war years. 

As for Nobu, she is also kind, headstrong and optimistic...and is more than willing to punch anyone into the next century on a wave of rage if she sees something that simply isn't right. 

If Nobu had been even more of a tomboy, I would have thought this 40th single by veteran enka singer Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）would have been perfect. "Horechattan da yo" (I've Gosh Darn Fallen in Love) was released in July 1969. Usually my impression of Japanese love songs is that a female singer vocalizes the songwriter's words into something very light and airy. Not this song. When I first heard "Horechattan da yo", my butt flew off the chair by a couple of centimetres when Miyako's bullhorn declaration cleared my ears. This truly felt like words from a farm girl who doesn't mind getting her hands and feet dirty for the family trade but finally experiences those first pangs of love for a guy in her school. Maybe there will be a Cinderella angle here. Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）was the lyricist here while Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）took care of the melody and arrangement which are suitably sweet, languid and enka to fit the rural environment.

Harumi Miyako -- Sayonara Kaikyo（さよなら海峡）

 

The above photo of a reflective Kayo Grace by the strait was actually the runner-up for the photo that I ultimately used in the J-C AI Gallery on June 1st. However, it finally gets its chance to shine here.

A few days ago, I received a request via the Contact Form from someone in Brazil asking whether I would be able to find someplace on the Net that had sheet music for a Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）enka ballad titled "Sayonara Kaikyo" (The Goodbye Strait). Despite my best efforts, my attempts failed although I know that Yamano Music in Ginza sells sheet music but its website doesn't seem to be equipped with the function to tell people whether a specific example of sheet music exists. Unfortunately, then, I had to inform the inquirer that I wasn't able to help with my apologies.

But in the attempt, I was able to discover a new song that I hadn't heard from Miyako before. "Sayonara Kaikyo" was released in August 1979 as her 78th single. Created by lyricist Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's sung by the veteran enka artist as if she's on the verge of collapsing in tear-filled despair as she wails about the loss of a beloved partner for some reason. Rather like Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）classic "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡・冬景色）, the long body of water is acting like a massive shoulder to cry upon for the protagonist here. To be honest, it's perhaps a miracle if any freshwater straits in Japan still existed after all that crying into them.

In any case, I'd like to once again apologize to that person for not being able to find the sheet music but would also like to thank them for indirectly leading me to another lovely Miyako enka song. If the person is reading this, I wish you the best of luck in finding what you're looking for.

Midori Hatakeyama -- Shusse Kaidou（出世街道）

 

The above is a photograph of an intersection in Asakusa and I believe that building on the left is the main tourist centre. I never visited the place since I was actually working and not touring in my old stomping grounds. 

Back in 2017, I posted a song called "Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara"（恋は神代の昔から）, originally recorded by enka singer Midori Hatakeyama（畠山みどり）that I'd first discovered on a charity kayo kyoku concert on NHK. Well, just by chance, the other day I managed to discover another Hatakeyama song performed on "Uta Con"（うたコン）that was released a little over six months following the singer's debut of "Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara".

"Shusse Kaidou" (The Road to Success) was the Hokkaido singer's 3rd single from December 1962 and I think it's been seen as her signature song. Created by the same duo behind her debut, lyricist Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composer/arranger Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, Hatakeyama sings this as a bokyo kayo（望郷歌謡）or a song of longing which means it shares a similarity with Hachiro Kasuga's（春日八郎）iconic "Wakare no Ippon Sugi" (別れの一本杉) as it relates the tale of someone who has to go to the big city away from their rural village to be able to make it in the world though it also means sad farewells and long separations. Considering that there had been a government-encouraged mass migration of people as young as junior high school graduates from the towns to the cities from the late 1940s to get the economy up and running fast again, such songs hit the heart hard.

NHK noticed that, too. In fact, Hatakeyama was invited onto the 1963 edition of the Kohaku Utagassen for her first appearance on the New Year's Eve special, her first of three appearances with the last two coming in 1964 and 1966. What has struck me about her singing was that she was all of 23 years old when she recorded "Shusse Kaidou" and yet her vocals sound like those of a much more veteran performer. I'm not an enka expert by any means but that voice is not green but darn oaken to me.

Hatakeyama is now 85 years old and her most recent 78th single came out in 2016. One other piece of trivia that I read on her J-Wiki profile is that she'd been once known as one of the more ravenous stock investors within the enka community during the financially crazed Bubble era in late 1980s Japan. At one point, she'd made 4.7 billion yen but then lost it all when the bubble finally imploded at the turn of the decade. She owed a lot of money but was somehow able to pay it all back over the years, vowing to never play that wild with her funds ever again. Perhaps this could be considered her road to wisdom?

Harumi Miyako/Yu Sakai -- Yosakoi Naruko Odori（よさこい鳴子踊り）

 

For all of you enka fans out there, yes, that is indeed singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）having fun at last year's Yosakoi Festival in Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. According to Kids Web Japan, the annual tradition began in 1954 following the creation of Yosakoi Naruko Odori (Yosakoi Naruko Dance) based on the minyo "Yosakoi Bushi"（よさこい節...Yosakoi Song）. The dancing is accompanied by a couple of clappers known as naruko.

In July 1965, enka singer Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）recorded her version of "Yosakoi Naruko Odori", which was originally written and composed by Eisaku Takemasa（武政英策）and arranged by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）. 

Now, the reason that I'm writing about this minyo in the first place is that I just watched the first "Uta Con"（うたコン）this year with real live guests with one of them being pop and R&B singer-songwriter Yu Sakai（さかいゆう）. He managed to perform a very stylized and stylish rearrangement of "Yosakoi Naruko Odori" with hefty dollops of soul and jazz and electric guitar and a brass section hopping onboard. In fact, the above video had comments stating that they came over from watching the "Uta Con" broadcast to catch it once more.

Sakai's version is on his double-CD BEST album "Sakai Yu no Playlist ~ Shiro to Kuro"（さかいゆうのプレイリスト［白と黒］...Yu Sakai's Playlist: Black & White） from December 2023 to commemorate his 15th anniversary in the music industry. Another reason that I'm writing about this is that not too long ago, I'd also made note of another new twist on an old minyo "Kaigara Bushi"（貝殻節）by Minyo Crusaders.

Harumi Miyako -- Tanabata Odori（七夕おどり）

 

I missed out on commemorating the traditionally observed Tanabata（七夕）holiday back on July 7th, but I'm making amends here regarding the celebration of the star-crossed lovers.

Tanabata is also one of the earliest festivals of the summer festival season in Japan and you can get more of a feeling of what it's all about by watching the above video by Japanagos. One of the traditions is to write a wish down onto a coloured strip of paper known as tanzaku（短冊）and tie it to a bamboo tree. If I'd had access to tanzaku, I would have written that I wished to visit Japan once more....or win the local Lotto Max.

I did have my days of tanzaku-writing when I was living in Japan but I never saw Tanabata as being a particularly solemn affair. In fact, I think it's quite the lively one with lots of summer colours being bandied about. Double in fact, enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）released a single in June 1970 titled "Tanabata Odori" (Tanabata Dance); I found the release date at Discogs rather than at J-Wiki where for some odd reason, the single has been omitted from her long discography. 

Regardless, "Tanabata Odori", written by Miyuki Ishimoto（石本美由起）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, is an enka tune done up as a particularly festive minyo number. Miyako is exhorting everyone to get off their duffs and dance; Tanabata isn't something to be merely seen or heard but to be experienced. I would say that any summer festival in Japan is something to be experienced with all of the gaiety generated from not only dancers and other active participants but also the attendees in their seasonal yukata and the yatai selling everything from yakisoba to candy apples. Just be aware of the heat and humidity, though.

If you like, you can take a look at this instructional video on how to perform a dance to Miyako's "Tanabata Odori" provided the Hiratsuka City Tourist Association.

Sayuri Ishikawa -- Watashi de Yokereba（私でよければ）

 

I'm not sure what the remaining schedule for NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）will be like for December. As I recall, the series wraps up in early December and basically goes on hiatus until sometime in January. So it's possible that "Uta Con" may have already said its goodbyes to 2022 for a couple of reasons: 1) I don't see any other episode coming up on the lineup at its website, and 2) last night's episode was a very special one in that it was a documentary focusing on one veteran singer.

Indeed, I am talking about Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）who is celebrating her 50th anniversary in show business. Many congratulations to her. The special last night not only showed off her hits in enka but also her prowess in tackling other genres such as jazz and rap (not saying that Drake has anything to worry from her, but she still has gumption). It also went over her life including her beginnings in music as a teenage aidoru.

However this song (which was featured last night), her 10th single from October 1975 "Watashi de Yokoreba" (If I Can Be the One), certainly sounds as if she's gone headfirst into the enka genre from the teenybopper one. At the time, she had yet to don the kimono that has become her signature form of dress in performances, but the arrangement and the voice are such that I wouldn't really call this an aidoru tune. Written by Kazuya Senke（千家和也）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's a jaunty tune about a young girl asking her love to accept her.

From callow aidoru to current grande dame of enka, it's been a good 50 years for Ishikawa. Hope there are still many more years for her to entertain us.

Natsuko Godai -- Shinobu Ame（忍ぶ雨）

 

Well, after a hiatus of about three weeks, NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン）will be coming back to television, and for me, it's the prime source of any enka that I can get on TV Japan.

Enka singer Natsuko Godai（伍代夏子）won't be on this episode according to the NHK schedule, but I think it would be nice to have her come back here at least. It's been a while. Here is her 3rd single "Shinobu Ame" (Enduring Rain) from May 1990. A story of enjoying some sake while the precipitation is coming down hard outside. I'm unsure whether "Shinobu Ame" had been used in a sake commercial, but perhaps it should have been. It certainly feels as comforting as sipping from an ochoko of the stuff. Eiji Takino（たきのえいじ）was the man behind the lyrics while the reassuring melody was provided by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）.

"Shinobu Ame" hit No. 12 on Oricon and spent a whole year on the Top 100, selling over 420,000 copies. It became Godai's biggest hit which had her invited to the 1990 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen for the first time, and then Godai returned once more in 2009 to perform the song once more. In total, she has come onto the network's New Year Eve special a total of 22 times with her 2015 appearance being her last one to date. For the yearly Oricon rankings, the song came in at No. 68 and then in 1991, it even went up several ranks to No. 56.

Judy Ongg -- Sayonara Juu-nana Sai（さようなら17才）

 

Yeah, we're breaking heat records today! Most likely, a 78-year-old one is going to fall by the wayside by sunset since we'll probably go higher than 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The fan is most definitely on in my room and I've got a bottle of water at my side.

Anyways, I found this 1968 single by a teenage Judy Ongg（ジュディ・オング）titled "Sayonara Juu-nana Sai" (Goodbye 17). Her tenth single to be exact from September that year, it was written by Tokiko Iwatani（岩谷時子）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, and it's quite the maudlin ballad about what I'm assuming is a girl's first heartbreak. The arrangement is pretty interesting in that it starts off with some haunting echoes from an American 60s love ballad which then takes on a folksy tilt thanks to that European stringed instrument. However, along the way, it also combines some French jazziness and a fairly rocking drum. Intriguingly enough, the main melody even reminds me of a more downbeat version of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein", popularized by the Andrews Sisters. I gather that "Sayonara Juu-nana Sai" could be set either in Tokyo or Paris.

Fortunately for me, my 17th year on Earth was filled with my burgeoning interest in kayo kyoku and Western music in general so I was taping the heck out of the radio stations including CHIN-FM which had "Sounds of Japan".

Yukari Ito -- Sasurai（さすらい）

 

Personally speaking, I can't say that I am a particularly good traveler. I never developed the wanderlust or the smarts or the financial supply to head on out to a different country to explore, so I do have the admiration for those (and they include some of my friends) who have taken that jet, ship or car to take the risk to go around that unknown country, meet new people and learn new things.

Kayo kyoku has plenty of examples where such folks have gone onto new pastures within and outside of Japan, but usually not on a mission of learning but one of forgetting, namely that romance that has dried up like autumn leaves in late November. The one example that comes immediately to mind is enka veteran Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）trademark "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki" （津軽海峡・冬景色）.

I found another example, and this time, it's a sad straight kayo titled "Sasurai" elegantly sung by Yukari Ito（伊東ゆかり）. According to Jisho.org, the term means "wandering alone in a strange country", and the lyrics by Ou Yoshida（吉田旺）clearly illustrates this as the protagonist walks around in a new town with no people she knows as she searches for someone to unload her story to. Perhaps that town might be located way out on the other side of Japan, but the melancholy melody by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）under his pseudonym of Akira Nishi（西あきら）indicates that the man or woman may have gone as far afield as France or Spain (mind you, the last minute of the song gets overlaid with some boppy 70s kayo percussion). 

"Sasurai" was released as Ito's 21st single in October 1970...perfect timing in kayo terms since that is when the romance falls as much as those autumn leaves. In a way, although I think that Ito delivers this wonderfully, this is also a song that could fit the discographies of either Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）or Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）in her diva period.

Sayuri Ishikawa -- Chiisana Himitsu（ちいさな秘密）

 

I've mentioned this a few times before but although veteran singer Sayuri Ishikawa（石川さゆり）had been first known in her teens as an aidoru in the early 1970s, I frankly think that she pretty much began her career in enka mode just from listening to her debut single "Kakurenbo" (かくれんぼ) from 1973. Otherwise, she sang the most shibui of teenybopper kayo that I've ever heard.

Her 7th single, "Chiisana Himitsu" (A Little Secret) from March 1975 also has that familiar enka tang. Written by Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, there is that certain arrangement that sparks of kayo of years back as Ishikawa, who was only 17 years of age when "Chiisana Himitsu" came out, sings plaintively of that special someone whose name she is resolute in never divulging.

The song has that melody of industriousness that I've heard before in the early enka as if while Ishikawa is singing this, there is that hustle and bustle all around her. Perhaps it is the reflection of what Japan was doing at the time to get back up in the world. In any case, the video below is rather precious in that it has the teenage Ishikawa performing in the modern threads of that time with a young Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）introducing her. It looks like even before she hit it really big with "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki"（津軽海峡・冬景色）a few years later, she had her faithful cadre of fans.

Harumi Miyako -- Sayonara Kaikyo（さよなら海峡）

My memory's a bit foggy about on which program I first saw the performance of "Sayonara Kaikyo" (Goodbye Strait) by current enka singer Yukino Ichikawa（市川由紀乃）. It was either "Uta Con"（うたコン）or "Songs of Japanese Spirit", both on NHK.

The original was sung by enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）as her 80th single, released in August 1979. Depending on the arrangement, "Sayonara Kaikyo", about a woman who's heading up north to reluctantly flee a now-dead romance, can sound like the most shibui of enka songs or, as it sounds above, it can come across as somewhat Mood Kayo. In any event, wringing one's hands at heartbreak is a common Mood Kayo trope, and as Miyako sings it, she's also doing her fair share of self-flagellation.

Miyako performed "Sayonara Kaikyo" at her 15th appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen in 1979.

I'm uncertain as to whether "Sayonara Kaikyo" ever came out as an official single for Ichikawa, but it seems as if she's adopted it as one of her own. Lyrics were provided by Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and music was by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）. And indeed, singer Ichikawa, whose birth name is Mari Matsumura（松村真利）, was given her stage name by her teacher and mentor, composer Ichikawa.

Hiroshi Itsuki -- Sasameyuki（細雪）

Get this: yesterday morning, the temperature outside was a supremely balmy +18 degrees Celsius. This morning, it was actually -8 degrees C. Go figure on Toronto's weather, eh? Plus, we may have some snow early next week. Meteorologically speaking, it's never a boring time in my city.

For this Saturday night, I have some tenderhearted enka for you, and who else to sing it but Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）himself. "Sasameyuki" (Light Snowfall) was the veteran singer's 58th single from September 1983. Written by Osamu Yoshioka（吉岡治）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, the titular snow from the title provides the atmospheric background outside of a small town bar where the protagonist may be crying in her sake over a lost love before she heads on out into the cold....which may not be a great thing, health-wise.

Couldn't get more shibui than this, and listening to the graceful "Sasameyuki", I almost feel like heading straight to Japan again to head to some small watering hole out in the mountains to order a steaming tokkuri and o-choko. There's something about a snowy landscape that gets the romanticists in Japan waxing plaintively whether it be in some rustic drinking establishment or a rotenburo (outdoor hot spring).

"Sasameyuki" managed to hit No. 9 on Oricon and after becoming the 62nd-ranked single for 1983, it would climb up the Oricon rankings even further by finishing as the 47th-ranked single for 1984. The song also earned Itsuki a Special Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards in 1983 plus another invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen to sing it.

Masako Mori/Nobue Matsubara -- Namida no Sanbashi（なみだの桟橋）

Masako Mori（森昌子）retiring? Now, where did I hear that before? Actually, the veteran singer did retire once before in 1986 after entertaining people for about 14 years when she got married to enka singer Shinichi Mori（森進一）. I remember the 1986 Kohaku Utagassen when Masako crumpled into tears at the end of the program while a bombastic chorus heralded the supposed end of a career.

What I hadn't realized was that the former aidoru-turned-enka singer stayed away from the microphone for 20 years while she raised a family but when she got divorced from Shinichi in 2006, she made her return to show business. Now, this morning, I got the news that she will be retiring once more at the end of this year.

Allow me then to pay appropriate tribute to Mori with her 23rd single from August 1977, "Namida no Sanbashi" (Wharf of Tears). From the title, it's pretty obvious that the lyrics by Norihiko Sugi（杉紀彦）will not be the happiest as the singer relates the loss of romance through the typical kayo setting of a pier. Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）provides the dramatic and nostalgic music of strings, guitar and light crystal keyboard. This sounds like the perfect karaoke song.

In performed versions, that wailing guitar seems to have been replaced by a trumpet in fanfare mode. "Namida no Sanbashi" got as high as No. 28 on Oricon, and earned her an invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen that year for her 5th appearance in as many years.

Around the time that Mori was retiring the first time in the mid-1980s, enka chanteuse Nobue Matsubara（松原のぶえ）practically begged the singer to allow her to cover "Namida no Sanbashi", and both Mori and composer Ichikawa were more than happy to give their approval. Matsubara's version was released in May 1987 and has a more elegant and regal arrangement. There is no mention about how it did on Oricon, but Matsubara did get her own 3rd invitation to the Kohaku to sing this very song.

Harumi Miyako -- Namida no Renrakusen（涙の連絡船）

On last week's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, enka singer Yukino Ichikawa（市川由紀乃）sang a tune in tribute of the late composer Shosuke Ichikawa (no relation, I believe) who had passed away some 12 years ago. And it was one of those songs that I hadn't known the title or the original singer but knew by one particular part in Ichikawa's melody. I think, like a lot of other people, there are certain hooks in songs that activate those memory engrams. Certainly for me, there are plenty of those melodies whether it be the rousing intro for Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）"Aoi Sangoshou"（青い珊瑚礁）or the bass twang and horns that start off the classic Mood Kayo by Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）"Yokohama Tasogare"（よこはま・たそがれ）.

The song that Yukino Ichikawa had sung last week was Harumi Miyako's（都はるみ）"Namida no Renrakusen" (Ferry of Tears), and I recognized it when I heard the repeated phrasing of "Kon'ya mo kiteki ga, kiteki ga, kiteki ga..."（今夜も汽笛が、汽笛が、汽笛が...The steam whistle, steam whistle, steam whistle tonight as well...）with that blast of horns going higher in pitch each time.

What I hadn't known was that "Namida no Renrakusen" was Miyako's 11th single from October 1965. As I mentioned, this was created by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）with lyrics by Shinichi Sekizawa（関沢新一）, and it became her 2nd million-seller hit after "Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana"（アンコ椿は恋の花）in 1964. Another thing that I was surprised about when it came to "Namida no Renrakusen" was that the gradual blast of horns whenever the mention of steam whistles was sung had not initially been part and parcel of the song's experience, and even listening to some of the other videos with Miyako singing it, sometimes that hook wasn't even there.

Miyako's first appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen in 1965 was for this very song, and in fact, she would also sing it on the 1973 and 1982 broadcasts of the New Year's Eve special. The single would sell about 1.5 million records.

Saburo Kitajima -- Ginza no Shousuke-san （銀座の庄助さん）

I may have learned how to drink in Japan but that didn't mean I ever became a great lover of imbibing. Therefore, it's a bit of a wonder that I managed to survive the social circuit in my adopted nation all those years, but I'd like to put it to down to a very understanding group of colleagues and friends along with a palate that simply preferred sweets far over alcohol.

Thus, the bars of Ginza barely saw me darken their thresholds. In fact, I barely remember one place in the neighbourhood that I went to, and that was because some of our corporate students had wanted to take a few of us teachers for drinks after successfully completing a course. One of the peppier lads was interested in trying out a Western-style cocktail for the first time, and so one of us suggested a Grasshopper...basically a liquid chocolate mint. He ordered one, gulped it down and the drink basically took him for a spin for the next few hours. Luckily, he wasn't too heavy to carry.

If I'm not in error, this article is the 2nd Ginza-based writing in as many days. But today, I was watching NHK's "Nodo Jiman"（のど自慢）on which one fellow sang one of Saburo Kitajima's（北島三郎）earlier songs from 1963, "Ginza no Shousuke-san" (Shousuke-san of Ginza).

I thought it rather interesting since my whole impression of Sabu-chan was that he was the enka king of all music out in the rough wilderness or ocean. He was the earthy blue-collar guy throwing out nets or hewing wood in the forest. Never thought that the Hokkaido native would sing an enka about the tony district of Ginza, which I had always assumed would be the environment for all things Mood Kayo.

Still, to adapt an old phrase, you can take the guy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the guy. And Kitajima's "Ginza no Shousuke-san" might take place in a very ritzy spot in Tokyo but it sounds like this Shousuke-san still has this country bumpkin air as this interloper from the regions who has made it a habit to barhop all over the area. Not sure through the song how Shousuke has been treated: is he this hail-fellow-well-met or this barely tolerated barfly who spreads out the cash through his visits? But perhaps it is this uncertainty that is the point; it's about Shousuke and his oblivious fun and no one else as long as the flow of booze lasts.

I couldn't find any videos with Kitajima himself singing the song so perhaps the fans may not consider "Ginza no Shousuke-san" as one of his major legacies to enka but I did find the two videos here done by other folks through karaoke or cover versions. Tatsumi Miyake（三宅立美）wrote the lyrics while Shousuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）came up with the happy-go-lucky melody under the pseudonym of Yutaka Izumi（いづみゆたか）. I'm not sure whether Ichikawa went with the fake name just to avoid folks having to wonder whether the Shousuke in the song was Shousuke the composer, although the kanji are completely different.

Midori Hatakeyama -- Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara （恋は神代の昔から）

Last night, instead of the usual episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）, there was the annual charity kayo concert in Fukushima Prefecture on NHK in which a variety of singers appeared to sing everything from enka to pop. One of the highlights for me was seeing singer-seiyuu Nana Mizuki（水樹奈々）perform an enka tune during a tribute to the late composer Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）who passed away over a decade ago. As I have mentioned before, she may be more famous and popular for her rock-out material and voice work on anime but the lass did get her training in enka, so I wasn't surprised to hear her belt out an oldie with aplomb.

That song was "Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara" (Love is from the Ancient Times) as originally performed by Midori Hatakeyama（畠山みどり）. Composed by Ichikawa and written by Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）as Hatakeyama's debut single in 1962, the title might hint at an age-old ballad but it's actually a very jaunty piece about a very aggressive woman not holding back her confessions of love for that man of hers.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm13120627

It's a grand-sounding song helped out by Hatakeyama's brassy but slightly coquettish delivery. This is one lady who will not take NO for an answer. The song was an auspicious beginning for the singer who had actually come south to Tokyo from her home prefecture of Hokkaido after graduating from high school to become a designer (a designer of what I don't know) but had always harboured a desire to become a singer. She would have more hits later on and appeared on the Kohaku Utagassen three times in the 1960s but none of them featured "Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara". Perhaps the song may have been a little too brash for the times.

I tried to look for any video of Mizuki's performance but considering that it had only been broadcast within the last couple of days, it will probably be a few more days at least before someone decides to upload it. However, "Koi wa Kamiyo no Mukashi kara" has been covered a lot according to what I've seen on YouTube and that includes one version by Aiko Moriyama（森山愛子）.