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.
Kinda keeping on the summer festival theme that I started from the previous article, I gather that another sign of the summer is fireflies or hotaru as we say in Japanese. In fact, where I taught in the former town of Tsukiyono, Gunma Prefecture, there was a firefly festival each year. The usual food stands and other temporary establishments associated with a matsuri were all set up while next door in the woods, adults and kids alike could see the dozens or perhaps hundreds of glowing fireflies flitting about, providing the evening with its own organic illumination.
This particular May 1990 single by enka singer Nobue Matsubara（松原のぶえ）, "Hotaru"(Fireflies), popped up on one of the NHK music shows recently. Up to now, I only really knew one other firefly-related kayo kyoku and that was "Hotaru no Hikari"（蛍の光）, otherwise known as the Japanese cover of "Auld Lang Syne", also used to signal the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one (and simply to signal closing time at some commercial complex).
Well, "Hotaru" is a much less grandiose song and much more of a grounded and calm enka about finding love among the flying fireflies. And certainly, I did see a few yukata-garbed young couples walking about at the Firefly Festival, so I guess that the hotaru season can also be another symbol for romance. Written by Takashi Taka（たかたかし）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, I'd say that it is indeed a woodsy traditional ballad of love.
I've been to Nagoya a few times and despite all the flak and indifference toward this major city in Japan, I think it's a perfectly nice metropolis to visit. Nagoyans and, on a larger scale, residents of Aichi Prefecture really bring the goods at wedding parties. Plus, the area is famous for all sorts of dishes that have been categorized as B-class. Ten-musu（天むす）in particular is one of my favourites. Just imagine...the combination of shrimp tempura and rice ball. Culinary match made in heaven ranking alongside peanut butter and chocolate to form Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! By the way, thank you Japanese Cooking 101!
As with a lot of other television programming, "Uta Con"（うたコン）is going on Golden Week hiatus but it still gave us one more episode. Since Wednesday is the beginning of the whole mess of national holidays in Japan with the first one being Showa Day, the NHK kayo kyoku show devoted a lot of its time to the Showa Era hits which was great.
Near the end, we got the usual new stuff from the guests. Enka singer and go-touchi song master Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）came up with her latest single last month. "Koi no Owari no Nagoya ni Hitori" (Alone in Nagoya After the Love is Gone) is one song that makes it very nakedly plain that it's the typical number about recovering after heartbreak in the city of ten-musu. Written by Takashi Taka（たかたかし）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, it's quite upbeat and reassuring though and the ever-smiling Mizumori is more than happy to be the happy guide through the city in the music video.
After all these years living in the Great White North with occasional trips back to the old country, my parents have still maintained their love for enka music. So it's not surprising that they do look forward to their episodes of "Uta Con"（うたコン）and "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, especially the latter.
But my mother can be very particular even within the enka genre. So it means something when she openly says that she likes a song. And so she has expressed her affinity for Hiroshi Miyama's（三山ひろし）latest enka tune "Gion Yamizakura"(The Dark Cherry Blossoms of Gion). Released in June this year as his 21st single, the title sounds like something that should be fronting a mystery novel but instead, this delicate traditional ballad talks of a tragic love affair that takes place in Kyoto. Miyama, who I usually think is more for the boisterously sung tunes, sounds almost like the bidanshi enka singer Keisuke Yamauchi（山内惠介）with his own very sensitive and delicate approach to the genre. Written by Shinichi Ishihara（石原信一）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, "Gion Yamizakura" peaked at No. 22 on Oricon. Methinks that this will get him back onto the Kohaku Utagassen in a few months' time.
I'm not sure whether Alcoholics Anonymous would appreciate the sentiments expressed in this particular song, but I heard this one, "Sake Akari" (The Light of the Drink) by enka singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）last night on NHK's"Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）as his 20th single from January 2025.
Usually when it comes to Miyama's enka tunes, I've gotten his exhortations on the grand nature of the countryside which is a common enka trope. However, this time around, the native of Kochi Prefecture is singing about the healing qualities of a good drink and companionship at the local nomiya. Written by Daizo Saito（さいとう大三）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, the gentle beckoning melody seems to be a reflection (literal and figurative) of the welcoming and glistening light of the just-as-gentle sloshing of the alcohol, most likely sake, made from the purest water. Perhaps even the mesmerizing effects of the sake moving about is enough to bring some ASMR recovery. "Sake Akari" reached No. 14 on Oricon.
I also heard his "Hokkai Minato Bushi"（北海港節）last night which was the last article I did on Miyama back in 2023.
Expo 2025 is due to open this coming Sunday and so we've been getting sneak previews of the exhibition via NHK in the last several days. I hear that the advance tickets aren't particularly selling like pancakes but I'm hoping that everyone involved will be able to get folks to come by. I know that my student will be heading over there in the summer; just hope the heat and humidity don't get to him.
I know that designers for the Expos and Olympics probably have to think their brains out to come up with mascots cute but bold enough to stand out, especially in the last few decades, but I have to admit that I didn't have words to react to Osaka Expo 2025's mascot,Myaku-Myaku; well, actually I did when I first saw it: AAAAAAAAAUGH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! But it's grown on me over the months (although I don't think I should be using those words to describe the process). Still, I can't help but feel that Myaku-Myaku looks like the anime version of Demi Moore's final form in "The Substance".
Anyways, I thought it would be a good time to have another go-touchi（ご当地）song representing Osaka and who better to represent this than by the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs herself, enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）? Her 35th and most recent single,"Osaka Koi Shizuku" (Osaka Love Drops), from last month may sound like some Kansai aphrodisiacs in the title, but it's actually a very calming and welcoming enka song for anyone who might want to drop by the metropolis after taking a gander at Expo 2025. Lots of food, of course, and plenty of chatty folks (from personal family experience).
Tsubasa Kazu（かず翼）was responsible for the lyrics while prolific composer Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）took care of the music. "Osaka Koi Shizuku" reached No. 14 on Oricon.
Garlic and pasta, Laurel and Hardy, cola and ice cubes...matches made in pop culture heaven. May I add one more? Enka and trains...a Japanese combination that generates the feeling of loneliness and longing as a person deals with romantic adversity. Over here, we seem to deal with breakups by meeting with friends or engorging oneself on a tub of ice cream. Over there, song protagonists seem to hop on a train for the north...probably because of the cold and the snow.
Anyways, I have another example of an enka-and-train song. This is "Ban'etsu Sai Sen Hitori"(Alone on the Ban-etsu West Line) by 17-year-old enka phenom Kokoro Umetani（梅谷心愛）. I've referred to her a couple of times on the blog including my recent article on a couple of tourist sites in Asakusa but had yet to actually put up a song by her. However, Umetani has been making an impression with a surprisingly mature voice and a standout look which strikes me as being Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）in her "Desire" appearance and Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）.
But there is nothing rock in her debut single which was released in July 2023. It's very much an enka song with Shinichi Ishihara（石原信一）and Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）providing words and music respectively. Very melancholy fare, it deals with a lady taking a lonely introspective ride on the titular JR line going from Koriyama in Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata City in Niigata Prefecture. My good friend who's been going to the Tohoku region for the last couple of years can probably give me some more insight on how wintry the area gets.
Considering her youth and her very oaken voice, I couldn't help but get some prodigy vibes from Umetani along the lines of a young Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）back in the day. "Ban'etsu Sai Sen Hitori" reached No. 23 on Oricon. She has since released a second single in 2024 along with an album, so it'll be interesting to observe how her career develops in the years to come. Maybe in the near future, she will even show up on the Kohaku Utagassen.
A little over a month ago, I noted that enka veteran Sachiko Kobayashi（小林幸子）is celebrating her 60th anniversary in show business, which is why I posted an Author's Pick regarding her discography. I then discovered that another singer of the genre, Miyako Otsuki（大月みやこ）, is also celebrating the big Six-Oh this year after beginning her career with "Haha Koi Shamisen"（母恋三味線）in 1964.
As such, earlier in March, Otsuki released her 129th and most recent single in the form of "Koibito no You ni..."(Just Like Lovers...) which describes a story of two former flames encountering each other again after a span of many decades and perhaps re-igniting something (hope it isn't the Voltaren). Written by Fumiko Okada（岡田冨美子）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, it's quite the boisterous enka tune with even a bit of soul worked into the arrangement as if to reflect the revived energies in this couple.
Well, we're less than 24 hours away from the 74th edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen（紅白歌合戦）. It looks like the schedule has been finally established since the last news from its J-Wiki article was that they just held a dress rehearsal today. But maybe there could be some more surprises in store. Anyways, the show is ready to be PVR'ed on my device.
I've been taking a look at the lineup for the Red and White teams and yep, there is still some inkling of enka left on the show which I'm grateful for. The only enka song being performed on the Kohaku that I have yet to cover is the subject of this article, Kaori Mizumori's（水森かおり）"Hyuuga Misaki"(Cape Hyuuga) which was her most recent 33rd single from January this year. Now I know that as the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs (local or regional songs), she's maybe two prefectures away from completing her run to sing enka representing every prefecture, but I'm uncertain whether Miyazaki Prefecture, where Cape Hyuuga is located, is one of those two remaining prefectures.
"Hyuuga Misaki" was composed by veteran Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）and written by Tsubasa Kazu（かず翼）who provided her first set of lyrics to Megumi Asaoka（麻丘めぐみ）in the mid-1980s but then it seemed that there was a lengthy break between that song and her work from the 2000s. Not surprisingly, the setting of the 5 kilometre stretch of coastline is there to provide Mizumori to mourn and reminisce about a romance lost.
Mizumori's appearance on the Kohaku tomorrow night will be her 21st. In the last few years, she had been taking over Sachiko Kobayashi's（小林幸子）tradition of appearing in epic costumes taking over the stage, but it appears that for No. 74, her performance will coincide with a domino-toppling challenge, perhaps along the same lines as her fellow enka singer Hiroshi Miyama's（三山ひろし）annual attempt to break/retain his Guinness world record with kendama. This could be quite the feat.
Anyways, enjoy the view of the cape via YouTuber hanagata mituru.
Last night's "Uta Con"（うたコン）had a mix of stuff but one highlight was seeing singer-songwriter Takao Horiuchi（堀内孝雄）perform "Shuushifu"（秋止符）, a hit from his days with Alice（アリス）alongside his personal friend and professional partner Shinji Tanimura（谷村新司）who had passed away some weeks ago. The poignant thing was that the two had been thinking about doing a nationwide tour but that plan has obviously had to stop.
Another guest on the show was enka singer Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）who will be celebrating his 15th anniversary in the singing business next year. Last night, he sung his latest single which was released in July this year, "Hokkai Minato Bushi" (Song of a Northern Sea Port). Written by Haku Ide（いではく）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, I can describe this one in the same way that I did for Miyama's previous tune that I posted earlier this year "Donkozaka"（どんこ坂）: it doesn't get more enka than that.
One of the batteries that powers an enka song is the story of the song's protagonist jumping headfirst into the fray to master his fears and weaknesses against the elements or other things. Not surprisingly then, there have been a number of enka tunes revolving around the nation's fishing industry whose boats often have to deal with stormy seas to get their much-needed catch of seafood. "Kyodai Bune"（兄弟船）by Ichiro Toba（鳥羽一郎）is arguably the most famous.
"Hokkai Minato Bushi" is probably the newest one and as Miyama has noted in interviews, he has to attack the song with brio to properly express the emotions involved within a man in a family line of fishermen providing for his family, despite the risks. The melody by Gen is appropriately intrepid and tough except for a middle part which shows off a calm period...maybe it's clear skies and pristine ocean before the storm rolls in. There doesn't seem to be any particular port being indicated here so the the harbour could be anywhere in Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido or even in the northern Tohoku region of the main island of Honshu. "Hokkai Minato Bushi" managed to reach No. 21 on Oricon.
My anime buddy is currently in East Asia right now, and he will be visiting the Matsushima（松島）area up in Miyagi Prefecture（宮城県）during his return to Japan. I'm expecting that he'll be taking hundreds of photographs of what is one of the three big Japanese landscapes. The above video is from Planetyze.
The Queen ofGo-Touchi Songs（ご当地ソング...geographically-based kayo）, Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）, appeared on an "Uta Con"（うたコン）a few weeks ago where she said that she only has two more prefectures to sing about before completing her epic journey of providing enka tunes for all 47 territories ofJapan. And then she went on the stage to sing about one of her earlier go-touchi songs.
"Matsushima Kikou" (Matsushima Travelogue) is her 18th single from April 2010, giving tribute to the titular region. Written by Takashi Taka（たかたかし）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, Mizumori gives one of her gallant and gentle renditions of the area as she relates the story of a lady running away to forget the death of a romance but try as she might, she can't keep the dark cloud away from the sky above her head.
The song hit No. 2 on Oricon and became the 57th-ranked single of 2010, earning Mizumori her 8th invitation to NHK's Kohaku Utagassen at the end of that year.
As I mentioned in the Morning Musume '22 article earlier today, last night's "Uta Con"（うたコン）only really had the one enka performance. Enka singer Aya Shimazu（島津亜矢）showed up at the beginning of the show but she actually sang an old chanson instead of the traditional stuff. It was actually left up to young Hiroshi Miyama（三山ひろし）to provide the genre representative during what was basically a pop episode.
(shortened version)
Miyama was still happily savoring his victory at the Kohaku Utagassen on New Year's Eve since he and his kendama tribe managed to set another Guinness world record. He was also on the show to perform his 17th and most recent single which was released only a couple of weeks ago on the 11th, "Donkozaka"(Donko Hill). Now, I've translated the title as if it were a straight name since looking up the word "donko" on Jisho.org, I found out that the word refers to either a species of goby or a type of shiitake mushroom. I would go with the latter but I didn't see any references to fungi in Daizo Saito's（さいとう大三）lyrics so I'll be happy to assume that it's just the name of a hill. However, if anyone knows better, please let me know.
After hearing a lot of the pop stuff over the past few weeks, it's nice to get some of that enka as a palate cleanser, so to speak. Tetsuya Gen's（弦哲也）melody is filled with plenty of proud enka brio through the timpani, the electric guitar, the strings, the acoustic guitar and the shakuhachi. Then, Miyama gives some reassuring vocals to the love of his life that they will be fine as long as they are together to surmount any hills/obstacles in their way. It doesn't get more enka than that.
Although the shore by my grandfather's village in Wakayama Prefecture was too small to have any of the large fishing vessels moored there, as a kid visiting the place in 1972, I do remember witnessing my grandfather and his fellow villagers bringing in the nets filled with fish. The name that I heard mentioned for that fish was kamasu（かます）, and I recollect that it was delicious grilled, although it was still years before I finally appreciated sushi and sashimi. The thing is though when I looked up kamasu in the J-E dictionary, the translation came out as barracuda! My impression had been that one was more likely to be bitten by a barracuda than vice versa.
In any case, to start off this week of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" tunes, I'm going with Sayuri Ishikawa's（石川さゆり）105th single, "Hamauta" (Ballad of the Shore) which was released in March 2012. With the guitar-powered brio of contemporary enka but lyrics that seem to be more evocative of older enka regarding sending fishing fleets out to sea for their daily bountiful catch, it has Ishikawa once again putting her all into her vocals. Folks like Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）would probably nod in respect.
Rei Nakanishi（なかにし礼）came up with the lyrics while Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）composed "Hamauta". Looking through the lyrics, I thought it would be some sort of go-touchi song like the ones that I have been writing about every Saturday, but there is no mention of any specific place in the lyrics so the song can apply to anywhere around the Japanese archipelago.
Considering that I've been well under way with my Go-Touchi Songs（ご当地ソング）series, I've been remiss that I have yet to include the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs herself, enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）, and I missed the opportunity to include her in yesterday's Kanto entry because the song of note here is set in Chiba Prefecture. But no worries, I will include her in next week's entry. Incidentally, my last article on Mizumori dealt with her contribution to Okinawa, "Churashima Meguri"（美ら島めぐり）, and when she showed up on NHK's "Uta Con"（うたコン） recently, it was illustrated that out of Japan's 47 prefectures and territories, she only had three more prefectures to provide songs before she completed her mission to sing about the entire nation.
Now, just as a geographical aside, allow me to tell you about Kujukuri Hama or Kujukuri Beach via YouTuber Full Score 8K's video on the area located in Chiba Prefecture. It's a very long sandy beach (66 km or 37 miles) that has been a favourite destination for swimmers and surfers, according to Wikipedia. I'm not sure if the area has been used in many Japanese songs but one song that comes readily to mind is the Neo-Group Sounds music of "Omoide no Kujukuri Hama"（思い出の九十九里浜）by the trio Mi-Ke from 1991.
Well, the Queen of Go-Touchi Songs has definitely covered Chiba Prefecture with her most recent single "Kujukuri Hama" which came out in February this year. Most definitely an enka tune, Mizumori gives her usual heart-on-her-sleeve delivery for a story of romance and loneliness set along the titular beach. Koyomi Asa（麻こよみ）, who has provided lyrics for many of her songs, does the same here while Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）has provided the dramatic melody. "Kujukuri Hama" managed to hit No. 8 on the Oricon chart.
As crazy as it sounds, my home province of Ontario actually has something approximating a desert and it's located in Sandbanks Provincial Park in the eastern part of the province right by Lake Ontario. Looking at its Wikipedia entry, the park boasts "... the largest bay-mouth barrier dune formation in the world". I've never had the opportunity to visit the area although as a (not-so) tiny kid, me and my family had visited the Thousand Islands area not too far away (and yep, the famous Thousand Island salad dressing apparently originated there although the nitty-gritty of it is still up for debate).
Well, several years ago, I found out through my translation work that there was also a desert of sorts in Tottori Prefecture. Known as Tottori Sakyuu (Tottori Sand Dunes), it's located within San'in Kaigan Geopark, one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.
I was also reminded of Tottori Sakyuu recently while watching Episode 10 of the popular anime "Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!"（宇崎ちゃんは遊びたい！）when the main characters won a trip to Tottori Prefecture. They actually did visit the dunes.
Last night on "Uta Con"（うたコン）, enka singer Kaori Mizumori（水森かおり）appeared on the program where she and the hosts did their "post-game analysis" as it were of her performance on the Kohaku Utagassen a few weeks ago. She sang a cover of the Momoe Yamaguchi（山口百恵）classic "Ii Hi Tabidachi" (いい日旅立ち) which had video shown of her traveling all over the nation admiring the various scenic sites as would be the case for someone who has been called The Queen of Regional Songs.
However, as for her number on "Uta Con", she reprised one of her earlier singles, her 11th to be exact, "Tottori Sakyuu" from April 2003. With lyrics by Ryutaro Kinoshita（木下龍太郎）and music by prolific Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, the song roars in like the proverbial dragon with a thunder of strings and timpani before they are joined by a tenderhearted guitar. It's quite the dramatic song for a sandy area but the titular setting is meant as both post-breakup destination and metaphor for the fragility of love.
Considering that this is the first of her singles to get its own article on J-Wiki, I'm gathering that "Tottori Sakyuu" was also her first big hit. It reached No. 16 on Oricon and was a long-lasting success that earned Mizumori her first of nineteen appearances on the Kohaku Utagassen beginning from the end of 2003. By New Year's Eve, it was the 77th-ranked single and a year later, it even went up to No. 75.
For the longest time, I'd always wondered about this lady who called herself Aurora Teruko（オーロラ輝子）since often when she appeared on television, there was a name in brackets next to it, Michiko Kawai（河合美智子）. Now I've known that singers in the past have taken on stage names but they've never advertised their real names next to them in the graphics on screen. So, what was up with Aurora Teruko/Michiko Kawai?
Well, it turns out the actress Michiko Kawai, whose name is a stage name in itself for Kanagawa Prefecture-born Kazue Suzuki（鈴木一栄）, took on a role in the 1996-1997 NHK morning serial drama "Futarikko"（ふたりっ子...The Twins） as enka singer Aurora Teruko, known as the Diva of Tsutenkaku in Osaka. Apparently, she was so impressive as the character and for the song that she sang that Aurora broke down the 4th wall in a way and released "Meoto Michi"(The Path of a Married Couple) in-character as one-half of a debut single in November 1996 with the other song being "Magokoro no Hashi"（まごころの橋...True Heart Bridge）.
Written by Hikaru Tsushiro（津城ひかる）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, everything is rather grand about "Meoto Michi", and even the introduction by the host in the above video asks the audience to get their hankies out. There is a certain tongue-in-cheek element since Aurora seems to want that spinning Tsutenkaku hat on her head as she's singing away about a wife who may be losing her grip on her wayward husband, a bit of a lyrical twist since usually with a title of "Meoto Michi", the usual impression is that it's about the proud journey of a rock-solid couple. I will probably have to ask Noelle Tham's opinion on this one since she's our resident enka expert on the blog, but I think that even the arrangement seems a bit more enka than usual for such a song. In any case, Kawai as Aurora really plays it up a notch. According to J-Wiki, the actress based her character on enka singer Reiko Kano（叶麗子）.
I don't know how "Magokoro no Hashi/Meoto Michi" did on Oricon but it must have been fairly successful because Kawai did get her invitation onto the Kohaku Utagassen in 1997 to perform "Meoto Michi" and there was another single under her alter ego that was released earlier that year in July. Kawai has a long filmography but since the beginning of her career in the early 1980s, she was also putting out singles as a pop singer. I will have to cover at least one of those songs soon.
Hopefully, the subject matter of this enka ballad wasn't reflective of Takeshi Kitayama's（北山たけし）real life since the lyrics deal with a man grappling over the loss of his significant other due to possible neglect and taking her for granted.
Especially when Kitayama's father-in-law just happens to be enka legend Saburo Kitajima（北島三郎）himself, I can only gather that marital bliss is paramount. Anyways, his "Ame no Uramachi"(Rainy Back Alleys) is a single that was released back in September 2012, and the protagonist in this song is spending his rainy days and nights probably in the older section of town filled with guilt and self-flagellation and perhaps even an excess of alcohol. Indeed, as the title hints, when it rain it pours.⛆⛆☂ The music is appropriately melancholy with what sounds like a forlorn clarinet and a synthesized version of an accordion.
I've already written a fair bit about Kitayama over the years and often was the case when Kitajima, under his pen name of Joji Hara（原譲二）, would create singles such as "Tsugaru Otoko Bushi"（津軽おとこ節）and "Byakuya no Ohkami"（白夜の狼）for his son-in-law. However in the case of "Ame no Uramachi", it was lyricist Toshiya Niitani（仁井谷俊也）and composer Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）who created the song which peaked at No. 16 on Oricon.
The video below has a shortened version of "Ame no Uramachi" with Kitayama himself in the video.
It's been a few years since I've touched upon enka singer Kaori Mizumori's（水森かおり）songs and seeing her on both last year's Kohaku Utagassen and last night's return of "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, I thought it would nice to talk about this lady who has been known as The Queen of Local Songs for her rendition of enka whose settings are specific and rather idyllic areas of Japan. Moreover, last night, I was asked by a couple of podcasters on all things Japanese if I would be interested in joining up for an interview at the end of February regarding Showa Era music. I figure that one possible question is why I also appreciate the genre of enka, and so why not start by listening to the songs of Mizumori?
Mizumori's 28th single is "Setonai Shodoshima" (Shodo Island in the Seto Inland Sea) which was originally released in February 2020 and was her Kohaku contribution last year. Her performance was notable in that it involved her singing in this literally oceanic dress (designed by former 90s aidoruTomoe Shinohara/篠原ともえ) in size and colour on the Shibuya stage.
For some quick background, the Seto Inland Sea is a body of water located among the main islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, and Shodo Island is one of the land bodies in that area. The video right at the top is a short travelogue of the island, and I was surprised to find out that Shodo Island was also the setting for the anime "Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san"（からかい上手の高木さん...Skilled Teaser Takagi-san）.
As for "Setonai Shodoshima", it's another one of those grand contemporary enka with electric guitar, dramatic strings and pounding timpani depicting a woman's melancholy recalling of a past romance while walking around in the titular area. Written by Eiji Takino（たきのえいじ）and composed by Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）, the protagonist may actually live on the island or, in the case of many an enka protagonist, she may have made the effort to travel there, far away from the area of romance. The song peaked at No. 4 on Oricon, so another feather in Mizumori's cap.
It was good to see "Uta Kon" again after about 6 weeks away because of the Holidays, but it was a bit of a pity that the show had to revert back to a totally audience-less hall with a more detached presentation of guests. Mizumori was indeed present for the first show of 2021 last night.
And well, her song is the first official 2021 release that's getting onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Single No. 29 for her is "Naruko-kyo" (Naruko Gorge) located in northwestern Miyagi Prefecture up in the northern part of Honshu. I recall even doing a translation of an article describing the place years ago when I used to handle some requests for tourism in Japan.
The above is a lovely karaoke version by Saori Maki. Also composed by Gen but with lyrics this time by Tsubasa Kazu（かず翼）. Now, along with the setting of a scenic area in Japan, there is also plenty of sadness in "Naruko-kyo" but with the added hint of a love affair gone due to the untimely passing of the partner although the spirit is encouraging the lady to keep up the good fight regardless. One thing that I've learned about Mizumori is that she can do plaintive beckonings very well. Interestingly enough, "Naruko-kyo" was only released officially yesterday, so no idea about how well this will do quite yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if the singer is invited once again to the Kohaku to perform this particular song.
Now, as to the original question about why I've been appreciating enka more and more especially in the last decade or so, my answer will not be complete. However, from listening to songs like the above two, I can imagine that there is a certain comfortable hominess and nostalgia about the enka sound for me, especially these geographically-based ones even though I've never visited either Shodo Island or Naruko Gorge. Perhaps, I've subtly channeled some of the rural areas that I've been to such as my grandfather's home in Wakayama, my old town of Tsukiyono on the JET Programme in Gunma or even that ryokan that I stayed at in Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Still, this is a work in progress.
When I was scoping out the information for this song a while ago, I figured right off the bat that the title was referring to some sort of flower or plant according to that final kanji「草」. It took me a bit but I realized that nirinsou is the Japanese name for a certain type of wind flower called anemone flaccida, which could be the flower being referred to above.
Getting to the nitty-gritty, though, I heard "Nirinsou" on a previous episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）, and since I haven't put down any Miyuki Kawanaka（川中美幸）article since her first one, "Futari Zake"（ふたり酒）, all the way back in 2013, I thought it was time to amend that oversight (although Noelle was able to put "Shucho Monogatari"（出張物語）up for the veteran enka singer in 2015).
With all of the pop music coming onto "Uta Con" nowadays, it's always pleasant for me to hear some of the traditional kayo again. And for some reason, there is something especially sweet and homey about hearing her 45th single"Nirinsou" which was originally released on New Year's Day in 1998. Perhaps it's the strong and delicate arrangement of the tune along with Kawanaka's delivery of the story about the enduring life of any married couple. I'd been wondering what the connection was between Kaoru Mizuki's（水木かおる）lyrics and anemone flaccida...it turns out that the wind flower has its blossoms paired up. Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）was responsible for the melody.
"Nirinsou" didn't crack the Top 10 but it made it up a respectable No. 16 on Oricon and ended up as the 92nd-ranked single of 1998 and even hung around for another year to finish at No. 133! It went Platinum (becoming a million-seller) and won for Best Song and Best Arrangement at the Japan Record Awards in 1998. Kawanaka even sang it a total of five times at the 1998, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2011 broadcasts of the Kohaku Utagassen.
Ahhh...yes, that familiar scene of a salaryman filled with drink and food slumped into slumber at a small watering hole in Japan. Apparently, it's always nice to have the motherly master of the establishment nudge you gently awake to let you know that it's closing time. I've had a few such folks as students inform me that they've ended up sleeping it off on the subway of the evening and completely overshoot their home station to end up somewhere deep in the boonies. The spouses were of course far from pleased.
In any case, before I end up overshooting the premise of this article myself, allow me to present Midori Oka's（丘みどり）most recent single, her 10th, "Kami no Tsuru"(Paper Crane) from February 2019. With plenty of violins, plucky guitar, and accordion (?) to fill an enka-loving soul with grateful nostalgia, Oka sings about an unrequited love for someone (perhaps an old customer) who has since gone away. In the video (which has unfortunately been taken down and replaced) she seems to have acquired a certain amount of contentedness as if she's happily resigned that the fellow has most likely found his own love of his life while she continues to pour drinks in her nomiya.
Daizo Saito（さいとう大三）was behind the bittersweet lyrics while Tetsuya Gen（弦哲也）provided the gentle melody. I found out about the song while watching an episode of "Uta Con"（うたコン）a while back.
Speaking of "Uta Con", I had heard over various episodes that Oka used to be known as an enka aidoru, and during her early days, she was famous for performing while wearing a tight midriff-bearing get-up.
Well, what I hadn't known is that in the early 2000s, Oka was once the third-generation member of a Kansai-based aidoru group known as HOP (Horipro Osaka Paradise) CLUB until she graduated in September 2003 after a year there and started to walk the path of enka. At that time, she had used her real name of Misato Oka（岡美里）. Not sure if she's actually in the video above. HOP CLUB had their time between 2001 and 2012.
I was watching NHK's "Gogo Uta"（ごごウタ）afternoon music show and saw that Japanese-Brazilian singer Lisa Ono（小野リサ）was one of the guests. She performed this lovely song titled "Otaru Unga" (Otaru Canal) in this light jazz style that caught my interest. My mother then informed me that this was actually a cover of an original number. She'd forgotten who the original singer was. Cue my investigative side for the blog.
It just so happens that "Otaru Unga" was originally performed by enka legend Harumi Miyako（都はるみ）as her 98th single in June 1990. The song has been categorized as an enka tune on J-Wiki but I really wouldn't treat this number as traditional enka. In fact, I think the songwriters Osamu Yoshioka and Tetsuya Gen（吉岡治・弦哲也）created "Otaru Unga" as a contemporary callback to the jazzier side of Mood Kayo of the 1950s and 1960s. Furthermore, I think if it had been created decades earlier, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）would have been the one to have sung this.
I realize that it was just her fashion choice for that particular performance but to see Miyako sing "Otaru Unga" in a Western outfit (unfortunately that video has been taken down) instead of the traditional Japanese wardrobe that I'm accustomed to seeing her in when she sings on TV also speaks to the style of the song. I really do like those boozy trombones in there. They rather weave a scene of walking along the famous Otaru Canal in Hokkaido at night with that special someone...after a couple of rounds at the bar.
Miyako's single peaked at No. 13 on Oricon. As for Ono's take, I found an excerpt of it from her March 2018 album"Tabi, Soshite Furusato"（旅 そして ふるさと...Travel, Then Home）.
I wouldn't mind going to Otaru someday. I hear the fish there is truly top-notch!
