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.
If I were still in my English-teaching suit and tie and Tulip（チューリップ）leader Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）were my student, I may have rapped his knuckles a bit for dropping out that key indefinite article when he sings out the title "Give Me a Chance". But hey, I'm basically retired now.
Anyways, the Zaitsu-penned "Give Me a Chance" is a track from Tulip's 10th studio album from July 1979, "Someday Somewhere". According to the J-Wiki writeup on the album itself, Tulip, which had been influenced by the Beatles and a lot of British rock, decided to use this project to bring in some synthesizers and sound effects for the first time. I think we can hear some of that (in a New Wave-y way) in "Give Me a Chance" although the wailing electric guitar still makes its presence definitively known.
Ahhh...it seems like Zaitsu has discovered the joys of the indefinite article at last. 😁 Did a pre-NOVA English teacher ambush him in a Café Renoir?
First off, I heard about the major quake in southern Japan so I'm hoping that folks there are doing OK.
January 13th 2025 has been set aside as the annual Seijin-no-Hi（成人の日）or Coming-of-Age Day in Japan. It's the time when all young people turning 20 this year get the big ceremonial welcome into adulthood (although there has been some recent movement in taking things a couple of years younger). The guys get all decked out in suits while the ladies are dressed meticulously into their kimono. After the speech at the local town or city hall, the freshly-minted adults can finally take that "first official" sip of booze with family and friends...and perhaps experience the exquisite pain of a hangover.
But give the new generation a decade or fifteen years and they may receive those pangs of nostalgia and longing for their salad days in high school...known as seishun（青春）in Japanese. Nostalgia has been a vital ingredient in kayo kyoku so it's not all that of a shock to know that there are also plenty of songs that have seishun in the titles and/or seishun in the feelings. So allow me to give you a few examples.
Well, baseball season got officially under way earlier this afternoon for our local Toronto Blue Jays. Happily, their first game against the Tampa Bay Rays was a successful one with the Jays defeating the Rays 8-2, so I guess then that at least for today, Torontonians and the Jays are on....top of the world!
OK, let us all get our coughs out of the way after that last statement. It's very healthy to clear our phlegm. 😖Anyhow, for this week's regular Reminiscings of Youth article, I've returned to Carpenters and their hit single "Top of the World". Released on September 17th 1973, this may have very well been the first Carpenters' song that I had ever heard about since it just seemed to be getting onto the radio all the time when I was a kid. I didn't know what a steel pedal guitar was at the time but it's the chief instrument that has always gotten into my head whenever I heard this feel-good tune.
And though "Top of the World" has been categorized as a soft rock song on Wikipedia. it's because of that steel pedal guitar and the chorus work that has made me consider it as more of a country pop tune. As I said, too, it was a very successful one since it hit No. 1 on both the American and Canadian charts as well as in Australia. Even in Japan, it made it up to No. 21 on the regular Oricon charts.
"Top of the World" has gotten its fair share of covers over the decades, and my first reference to the song was through Shonen Knife's cover which I posted about back in 2017. Of course, because Carpenters are absolute legends in Japan, the original song has been used for commercials and even television dramas. As well, personally, my friends and I have performed this one all the time at karaoke. But obviously, none of us hold a candle to Karen Carpenter.
September 17th 1973 was also a date that does show what was up at the top of the Oricon single charts thanks to the site which I discovered a few months back. What was up at Nos. 1, 2 and 3...and for that matter, what was up at No. 6?
Indeed, the annual bewitching hour is almost upon us. My community is supposed to be holding a brief Halloween party for the kiddies later this afternoon. Additionally, I gather that will be devoting some of the posts this coming Tuesday to Halloween-themed songs. Last night, I received a comment from a student at the University of Maryland last night that a radio station associated with his alma mater, WMUC, had devoted an episode to Japanese Halloween-themed music which was surprising and wonderful. My many thanks to that commenter for that playlist.
One of the songs that was on the WMUC playlist was Tulip's（チューリップ）"Koi no Dracula"(Dracula of Love). The B-side to the folk group's 15th single "Yakusoku"（約束...Promises） from October 1978, it's about as playful a pop song that I have ever heard from Kazuo Zaitsu's（財津和夫）wholesome band, and the whole Dracula thing is more analogous than literal. Therefore, there is no master vampire making blood withdrawals; the only stake being thrust anywhere is Cupid's arrow into some poor sap's chest on seeing a fetching young lady. Zaitsu was responsible for words and music. Good choice in starting KKP's annual Halloween thing with Tulip since it's been about a year since I posted about them.
Considering what I've just posted above, I couldn't help but be reminded of Frank Langella's more romantic take on "Dracula" from 1979. More familiar with his older and crustier character roles in recent movies, I've had to be reminded that Langella cut quite the dashing young figure in that movie.
It's been a couple of years since I've written up an article dedicated to the famous group Tulip（チューリップ）with Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）, so I'm happy that I'm going to devoting this space to the B-side of one of their enduring hits, their first No. 1"Kokoro no Tabi"（心の旅）from April 1973. And it was a good thing that this was their breakthrough hit, too, since as I mentioned in that article that this was the final make-or-break effort by the guys.
In comparison with the folksy rock anthem of "Kokoro no Tabi" which I think should be played for any sendoff of anyone heading off to a big adventure from the small hometown, "Muchuu sa Kimi ni" (I'm So into You) is a fun 1950s rock n' roll style romper (especially with that sax solo and the background chorus) about a college guy falling head-over-heels for that co-ed who may be a little higher than his station. Considering that it was first heard on all of those record players in the early 1970s, "Muchuu sa Kimi ni" may have been unintentionally prescient about the coming wave of rock n' roll and 50s pop culture that overtook Japan about half a decade later.
As with "Kokoro no Tabi", "Muchuu sa Kimi ni" was written and composed by Zaitsu, and according to its J-Wiki article, that B-side has been a popular request at their concerts over the years. Apparently, it's the tradition for the audience to yell "Zaitsu-san!" for each verse. Once again, it's a fun tune and while I can sway to "Kokoro no Tabi", I've put a little more speed into my side-to-side movements to "Muchuu sa Kimi ni".
Almost to the day a year ago, I wrote up a Reminiscings of Youth article on Carpenters'"Close to You", arguably one of the most well-known songs by the sibling pop duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter from 1970. Naturally, hearing Carpenters songs on the radio while I was a kid was par for the course.
When I first went to live in Japan, I soon realized that the Carpenters had even more fame and love in the country of my ancestors than in the United States. In addition to the usual hits, I even discovered a song by them that I hadn't heard before, shockingly enough. And that song was "Yesterday Once More". It was originally a Carpenters single that was released in May 1973, but the first time I heard it was as a the theme song for "19xx Bokutachi no Natsukashii Melody"（僕たちの懐かしいメロディー）, a late-night (or early-morning) Fuji-TV series that quietly showcased some of the oldies from Japanese pop. I remember catching it as I shivered underneath my futon in the wintry depths of Gunma Prefecture in 1990. There was nothing like the velvety voice of Karen to keep me warm before the kayo poured out. Ironically, videos of the show on YouTube have now garnered a lot of nostalgic feelings for it, a show that had been produced to display the nostalgic songs in the first place.
Y'know...if there were ever a theme song for the ROY articles or for the blog in general, it would be "Yesterday Once More" since the vast majority of the entries here is all about the nostalgia and good ol' days of music and kayo. The whole song sounded nostalgic even when it was first released in the early 1970s, and I've found out that this was totally intentional according to the Wikipedia article for the song since it goes along the 50s progression chord that was all the rage for songwriters back in the 1950s and early 1960s. Apparently one of the number of nicknames for it was the doo-wop progression.
I've found out over the years since watching "19xx" that "Yesterday Once More" has also been a popular karaoke tune to be warbled among the students that I've had; it's up there with "Top of the World" and the aforementioned "Close to You". To be honest, I've had a go with "Yesterday Once More" a few times myself at places like Karaoke Kan and Big Echo with varying results.
Furthermore, according to that Wikipedia article, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and has become the Carpenters' biggest-selling single worldwide, so I've definitely been missing out on some information there. And it doesn't hurt that Richard has stated that "Yesterday Once More" is his favourite creation. For me, though, no matter how much I listen to it, I will always think of it as the theme song for "19xx".
So what were the singles that got released in May 1973?
'Tis a wonderful thing to find those old gems on that nostalgic televised time capsule show "19XX". As I did with the 1980 version a couple of nights ago for Masashi Sada's（さだまさし）tenderhearted "Doukeshi no Sonnet"（道化師のソネット）, I found another chestnut on the 1979 episode last night. But this time, it's actually something that I did hear before but completely forgot in the ever-thickening mists of my memories.
Tulip's（チューリップ）"Niji to Sneaker no Koro" (Around the Time of the Rainbow and Sneakers) is a fairly dramatic rendition of a romance that, alas, wasn't meant to be, as seen through one of the couple that wasn't. Written and composed by vocalist Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）, his lyrics read as if things were just going swimmingly including a romantic barefoot walk in the rain but then they suddenly finish with no happy ending, although the first two lines of the song offer an ominous foreshadowing:
Selfishness is a man's crime Not forgiving that is a woman's
Not sure how long it's been since the romance faded, but it looks either one or even both of the protagonists here may still be wringing their hands due to the lost opportunity. In any case, that whole arrangement (especially the main chorus) along with the story related in Zaitsu's lyrics strike me as being very Off-Course（オフコース）, and perhaps that's not surprising since Zaitsu and Off-Course member Kazumasa Oda（小田和正）have been good buddies.
For the band Tulip, "Niji to Sneaker no Koro" may have been a melancholy story but it had a happy ending for Zaitsu and company. Their 16th single from July 1979 became their first Top 10 hit in over 6 years since their No. 1"Kokoro no Tabi"（心の旅）from May 1973 as it sold over 500,000 records and peaked at No. 6. In fact, I'd say that 1979 was a fine year for Zaitsu himself since he would also have a solo hit out of "Wake Up" later from December. All in all, "Niji to Sneaker no Koro" ended up as the 35th-ranked single of the year.
I have been somewhat neglectful about not covering this tune by folk group Tulip（チューリップ）since I had written about their 1975 hit and 8th single"Saboten no Hana"（サボテンの花）back in 2013. "Saboten no Hana" got its second wind when it was used as the theme song for the Fuji-TV drama "Hitotsu Yane no Shita"（ひとつ屋根の下）in the early 1990s.
Well, there was another Tulip tune used in the show in one of the last episodes, and it was such that it probably had viewers weeping an ocean's worth of tears. That would be "Seishun no Kage" (Shadows of Youth), which was actually the band's 6th single from June 1974. Lyricist and composer and singer Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）delivered this song in such a mournful way that if anyone remembers the relevant scenes from "Hitotsu Yane no Shita", it would probably cause a Pavlovian reaction in their lachrymal glands.
Apparently, according to a Chunichi Shimbun article in 2014 via J-Wiki, Zaitsu had created "Seishun no Kage" with The Beatles'"Long and Winding Road" in mind. The song actually talks of a time after a man and a woman had split up from a relationship but supposedly, the number has often been used at wedding receptions. Go figure on that. In any case, "Seishun no Kage" got as high as No. 46 on Oricon. It's also a track on Tulip's 3rd album"Take Off" from April 1974.
Masaharu Fukuyama（福山雅治）, who starred as one of the brothers in the original "Hitotsu Yane no Shita" and its sequel, provided a cover of "Seishun no Kage" in his 2002 album"Fukuyama Engineering Soundtrack ~ The Golden Oldies"（「福山エンヂニヤリング」サウンドトラック The Golden Oldies）. Released in June of that year, it peaked at No. 2 and ended up as the 25th-ranked album of the year.
Friday evening, sunset. I sometimes turn to Tulip (チューリップ) whenever I’m in the mood for a gentle melancholic piece. Like their fellow contemporaries in Off Course, the band often created these simple emotional ballads that shoot straight for the heart… and don’t miss. “Sayonara Doukemono” (さよなら道化者...Goodbye Joker), Tulip’s 19th single from March 1981 is one such piece. Written and composed by Kazuo Zaitsu (財津和夫), it presents a lonely man recalling his happy days while in love and how his beloved brought out the funny side of him. And so, he earns for that joker to come back. Beautiful melody, like faint sunshine peering through the clouds. The verses are particularly moving with how Zaitsu’s voice quivers through them. But like most misfortunes, this sad episode comes to an end in the final quarter of the song, where it gives way to happy dance music as Zaitsu’s character proudly declares that he’s a fun-loving man once more. It’s an amusing twist for a song that’s so emotional throughout, but then again, that’s how life works. We become heartbroken, we sulk, and then we move on.
The music163 (music163 is dead but there is the YouTube video) link at the top of the post will take you to the album version of “Sayonara Doukemono”, which appears on the band’s 11th album “The Love Map Shop”. That's the one I dissected in detail. The single cut from the live performance above doesn't have that happy twist. It begins on a melancholic note and ends with one. Being an optimist that I am, I’ll go with the album version. The band also has shared my sentiments by featuring that one on their best-of compilations.
I've always considered Tulip's （チューリップ）biggest hit of "Kokoro no Tabi" (Voyage of the Heart) to be one of the great kayo send-off songs. Just imagine....a college graduate from the old countryside hometown heading for the big city to start his/her career, and the old gang provides the streamers and the stream of tears, all while this song is being sung as the young lad/lass takes the train from the tiny local station. One might say that it would be the ideal theme for one of the most important moments in life.
Well, perhaps that was a bit florid but "Kokoro no Tabi" did come from one of the big moments in Tulip's life. Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）and his band hadn't made too much of an impression from their first 2 singles or their first 2 albums, and "Kokoro no Tabi" was their self-imposed last chance to make it big or head back to Fukuoka in failure. Zaitsu was behind the lyrics and music for Tulip's 3rd single from May 1973, and he created this out of his feelings before making his way to Tokyo to make it big in music. Well, there was obviously a happy ending in that "Kokoro no Tabi" went all the way up to No. 1 after debuting on Oricon at the humble ranking of No. 71. It sold slightly under a million records and ended the year as the 7th-ranked song. And why not? There is that sense of sentimentality and triumph infused into the song so that it can be used at any event from the end of a victorious Koshien high school baseball campaign to a wedding party.
What surprised me was that the original 1973 recording was not sung by leader Zaitsu but by the youngest Tulip member, Tatsuya Himeno（姫野達也）. Zaitsu was to have been the main vocal but at the last minute, it was decided by staff that Himeno had the "sweeter" voice and so he should be the one to sing it. Although "Kokoro no Tabi" did become the saviour song, Zaitsu apparently had some complicated feelings about that vocal decision.
I remember "Kokoro no Tabi" all these years due to the fact that the song has been covered so often by a number of artists. One of the versions I recall the most is the thrashing version by rock band GO!GO!7188, one of the great names in Japanese music collectives and whose derivation is apparently still only known by its members: lead vocal and guitarist Yuu, bassist Akko and drummer Turkey. They may hail from Kagoshima Prefecture but I always imagine the side streets of Shibuya, Tokyo whenever I think about them. According to Wikipedia, they had influences from genres such as surf rock, punk and even enka. In that way, I've often related them to chanteuse Ringo Shiina（椎名林檎）. The band debuted in 1998 but disbanded a couple of years ago in 2012.
Their cover of "Kokoro no Tabi" came from their album of kayo kyoku covers, "Tora no Ana"（虎の穴...Tiger's Lair）from July 2002.
One of my fondest first reactions to Japan since coming here in June 2013 was starting to ride trains to work. I suppose I am just fascinated with trains since they remind me of elektrichkas from childhood, though I don't really go out snapping photos of different models. I just enjoy watching scenery pass by the window while listening to humming of the engine. Although GTA back home does have its GO network and VIA Rail connections, they are not that extensive, don't run frequently and are not used much for travel like in Europe and Asia. In Japan, on the other hand, you can access plenty of areas by rail, whether through Shinkansen, JR, local networks like Meitetsu and Kintetsu, and even old-fashioned locomotives that have become a novelty in remote regions of the country. But let's not get derailed from the main topic here. One major phenomenon surrounding trains in Japan is the last train of the day. Since my job is usually in the evening and sometimes finishes after 10 pm (you know, parents not picking up their children on time), catching a train home is a big deal for me, especially if my school is at a remote town with no other connecting transport available. And when I do board one of those last trains, it's usually crowded and smells of sake and beer, due to locals dropping by izakaya bars after work and staying there till the last minute.
The story in Tulip's (チューリップ) 1975 folk/rock piece “Semete Saishuu Densha Made” (せめて最終電車まで...Until the Last Train Calls) takes place at an izakaya during those late hours, but instead of an enkai or a casual drink with friends, it deals with a farewell meet-up that would conclude a regretful breakup. The band's leader and main vocalist Kazuo Zaitsu (財津和夫), who wrote and composed this song, sings about the protagonist's wish to stay with the girl he once loved until the last train takes her away. He is not interested in filler talk or acting drunk but just savoring those last moments together in peace. Being a fan of Tulip's and Zaitsu's work, I don't usually hear him use colloquial jargon in lyrics, but this time he gives an impression of a guy who's emotionally unsettled and just wants to be direct. Even the music is a bit grittier than the band's usual fare, who in the 70's normally emulated the mellower side of The Beatles sound. This is Tulip in the rock Beatles mode. And they did a good job at that. Even before I could understand the lyrics, I enjoyed this song simply for melancholic mood of it all and the images of a lonely night bar by the station that aurally pop up in the intro.
“Semete Saishuu Densha Made” was never released as a single, but it appears on the band's 6th studio album “Nippon” (日本). The image in the video above that displays a red umeboshi (unfortunately, that video has been taken down) on a white plate is the album's cover. The song has become one of fan favorites, especially when performed live.
And last but not least, here's the full translated lyrics, courtesy of Found in Translation.
Do as you please There's no happiness for people like us If you think about it, we've been together forever So long, that even the color of the tatami mat has faded So at least stay with me until the last train calls That's the last present you'll ever need to give to me Let's not get stuck on dried up conversation It'll only make the drinks taste worse And even if we pretend to be drunk and laugh Our faces just don't look right So at least stay with me until the last train calls That's the last present you'll ever need to give to me What do you mean to be butting in now Complaining of the cigarettes and drinking The one I'm worried about is you With no place to go on a late night like this So at least stay with me until the last train calls That's the last present you'll ever need to give to me
Though primarily known for their 70's folk hits, the band Tulip (チューリップ) went through three stylistic phases during their initial 17 year-long run, all of which involved member changes. The second of these phases spanned between 1980 and 1985, during which the band decided to leave the Earth and explore the world beyond through their music. I'm guessing it was probably the leader Kazuo Zaitsu (財津和夫) who decided to push the band in this new direction after experimenting with digital sounds on his 1978 solo album "Uchuujin" (宇宙塵... Space Dust). With the advent of techno during those years, he also couldn't resist playing with the synthesizers. As for Tulip, not everyone in the group liked this new direction, so two original members, Akira Yoshida (吉田彰) and Masatoshi Ueda (上田雅利), left, being replaced by Shin'ichiro Miyagi (宮城伸一郎) on bass and Kaoru Ito (伊藤薫) on drums. Long story short, Miyagi became a loyal member of the band, and after their reunions from 1997 on he was always there.
Thankfully for Tulip, entering the Space Age didn't necessarily mean leaving behind their Beatle-eque melodic roots and vocal harmonies they were always known for. Their sound still remained simple and melodious, but with a dreamy atmosphere that accompanied the new motif. The title track from their 1982 album "2222-nen Picnic" (2222年ピクニック), composed and written by Zaitsu, is just vibrant with life from that distant and uncertain future that he invites us to imagine. Try listening to this song with your eyes closed and feel that dark space brighten up with the delight that's coming through the ears. Yep, I do love this song, and this album also happens to be my first Tulip purchase I made in 2010, just when I was getting into this band. That dreamy 1.5 instrumental intro in the clip above is an opening track titled "Utsukushii Hoshi" (美しい星...Beautiful Star), and when the drums and tinkling synths kick in, the real adventure starts. Kind of like launching a rocket after that moment of stargazing. Yes, we can fly indeed.
Here's a performance of "2222-nen Picnic" from their 1982 tour"Live Act Tulip The 1000th". I always get chills whenever I watch the part with the smoke and bright lights breaking through the darkness at the end of the intro. Even on stage this song still maintains its original impact. I always found the early-80's to be a magical time for Japanese music, so hearing songs like this vividly brings that period to my mind.
Back in the early 90s, our university Japanese club had one little weekly event which attracted a fair number of Canadians and Japanese. Basically on Wednesday nights at the International Student Centre at the University of Toronto, a few members showed a couple of episodes of the popular dramas of the time via rental video tapes. One of the dramas was the Fuji-TV show, "Hitotsu Yane no Shita"（ひとつ屋根の下....Under One Roof) starring Yosuke Eguchi (of "Tokyo Love Story" fame and the husband of Chisato Moritaka), former aidoru Noriko Sakai and pop singer Masaharu Fukuyama as separated orphans-turned-adults getting back together as a family.
The theme song was a folksy ballad that had actually first seen the light of day almost a couple of decades earlier. Sung by New Music/Folk band Tulip（チューリップ）, "Saboten no Hana"(Cactus Flower) enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in 1993 as it did back in the mid-70s. It was first released in February 1975 as Tulip's 8th single and at the time, it peaked at No. 19 on Oricon. Written and composed by vocalist Kazuo Zaitsu（財津和夫）, I enjoy hearing that country-style guitar and Zaitsu's high vocals. Kinda like a breath of fresh air from simpler times. If I'm not mistaken, the above video has the original 1975 recording. The single was also a track on their 5th original album, "Mugen Kido"（無限軌道）which could be translated as "Infinite Trajectory" or "Infinite Railroad Track".
For "Hitotsu Yane no Shita",Tulip re-recorded "Saboten no Hana" and did it once more for the sequel series a few years later. The band first started back in 1972 in Fukuoka and called upon The Beatles as their influence. In fact, lead vocalist Zaitsu was once labeled as Japan's Paul McCartney. The band broke up for the first time in 1989 but got back together in 1997 for another 9-year run, and they then went on a concert tour in 2012 for their 40th anniversary.
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