Yoko Minamino/ClariS -- Haikara-san ga Tooru（はいからさんが通る）

 

Last Friday night, as we usually do, we watched the latest episode of NHK information variety show "Chiko-chan", and found out that a franchise's original manga, the anime, the live-action movie and its theme song managed to revive a traditional form of clothing for graduating women.

Now, for some years, I'd known that the hakama was a popular but not mandatory special clothing that's worn by women during graduation ceremonies in Japan. But according to the "Chiko-chan" segment, it had been once worn as a regular school uniform a century ago during both the Meiji and Taisho eras but once World War II passed, the hakama disappeared from view for several decades.

But then, a manga titled "Haikara-san ga Tooru" (Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern) by Waki Yamato（大和和紀）made its debut in 1975 followed by an anime in 1978. It detailed the romantic (and otherwise) adventures of high-flying, hakama-wearing Benio during the Taisho era.

In 1987, the live-action version starring aidoru Yoko Minamino（南野陽子）premiered at the end of the year, and during the "Chiko-san" segment, it was related that the rerun of the anime and then the popularity of the movie brought back the hakama to graduation ceremonies everywhere. It may have also changed Nanno's image as she had been one of the "Sukeban Deka" girls with her contemporary sailor suit high school uniform and deadly yo-yo.

Of course, the live-action movie had the aidoru also sing the theme song which had the same title of "Haikara-san ga Tooru". Sounding very late Showa era contemporary, its synth perkiness probably reflected Benio's personality herself. Written by Megumi Ogura（小倉めぐみ）, composed by Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）and arranged by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）, Nanno's 10th single was released in December 1987 and was another No. 1 hit for her, finishing 1988 as the 19th-ranked single and selling 270,000 records. Along with its single status, "Haikara-san ga Tooru" was also included in the soundtrack for the movie. Not surprisingly, she appeared in that hakama on any music show performances which probably further boosted its comeback.

KKP contributor Joana Bernardo was the first to bring aidoru group ClariS to the blog with their cover of Wink's "Sabishii Nettaigyo"（淋しい熱帯魚）, and on that same special 2023 EP of the same name, the unit recorded their version of Nanno's hit. Cute video tribute to all of those music shows of the 1980s, too.

Yasuko Kuwata -- Ku-gatsu ga Kite mo（九月が来ても）

 

I just realized that I haven't written about 80s aidoru Yasuko Kuwata（桑田靖子）since 2013 through her single "My Joyful Heart", so allow me to rectify the situation.

This isn't a Kuwata single but a track from her third album "Vacation"（バケーション）released in June 1984. "Ku-gatsu ga Kite mo" (Even When September Comes) is a spritely summer song that launches with a bit of happy West Coast flavour. Her J-Wiki article stated that the aidoru had a good high-toned delivery and I'd say that "Ku-gatsu ga Kite mo" is a nice reflection of those vocals. The song was written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）.

From reading that J-Wiki article about her, I found out that her overall catchphrase was "The No. 5 Cutest Girl in Class" which struck me as being rather insulting and mystifying. Even on Kuwata's own blog, the singer-turned-tarento has refuted it as words that someone came up with.

Wataru Kuniyasu -- Gypsy Queen（ジプシークィーン）

 

Happy first weekend of 2021! So far, so quiet today although I did catch that "Doctor Who" New Year's special (I've been doing my fair share of PVR'ing this Holiday season) earlier today. It was actually pretty entertaining and who knew that Chris Noth could play such a hilariously slimy villain?

Several years ago, I wrote up an article devoted to "CD '87", Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）May 1987 album and on it was "Gypsy Queen", one of my very favourite singles by her because of its dramatic exoticness, a melodic theme that seemed to course through the album.

It was given lyrics by Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）and the melody was produced by singer-songwriter Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）. A native of Chiba Prefecture, he has created tunes for a lot of aidoru according to his J-Wiki profile, but he also released several singles and albums of his own during the 1980s, although he had earlier debuted alongside his brother in the band RAIN.

Well, in October 1988, Kuniyasu released "Kuniyasu Wataru Best Hits"（国安わたるベストヒッツ）and on the album is his cover of "Gypsy Queen". It's quite a worthy cover, too, as though it still retains the drama of the song that he had given Nakamori to sing, his version has more of a City Pop flavour. I'm not sure if he was also behind the arrangement of the song, but there is a feeling of Takao Kisugi（来生たかお）in there.

According to that same J-Wiki article, his brother, singer-songwriter Shuuji Kuniyasu（国安修二）, is currently running a bar and live house in the Ueno-Okachimachi neighbourhood of Tokyo, and from time to time, Wataru shows up to play a session (although his website states that he's currently not active). That particular area is just around the corner where I first started my NOVA career as an English teacher in late 1994.

To be honest, though, I still prefer the original by Akina!

Akina Nakamori -- Blue on Pink

A big load off my mind. That big presentation to the kids down at the University of Toronto on my current career of translation finally took place earlier this afternoon. It was pretty darn scary for me but aside from some rambling ad-libbing at points, I think we all did a fairly good job.What also helped was a generous audience.😌

Actually, after all was said was done, a bunch of us including the presenters and a few of the audience went over to one of our old haunts near the university, the Madison Avenue Pub, and slowly decompressed. I got into a good conversation with one of those audience members, Daniel, who just happens to be a fellow Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）fan. The both of us were rather worried about how the lass was doing these days considering that last time I saw her on that "surprise" Kohaku appearance a few years ago where she looked downright frail. I hope she is doing well.

Daniel told me that one of his favourite songs by Akina-chan is "Blue on Pink", a pensive number that I had first heard on her live album "AKINA EAST LIVE INDEX-XXIII" from November 1989. The original recorded version is a coupling song to her 23rd single from April of that year, "Liar". Written by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed by Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）, it is a ballad about the feeling of isolation within the big city. As was often the case with her songs during this particular period of Nakamori's life, "Blue on Pink" has those deep but increasingly fragile vocals paired with the themes of loneliness.

(1:13:53)

The first video has that rather soft rendition of the song but I much prefer the version Akina performed at that concert featured in "AKINA EAST LIVE INDEX-XXIII" thanks to the added synths and powerful bass in the refrain. Plus I think the singer herself put in some more oomph to her vocals to compensate.

I'm not sure because my impressions have been coloured by the near-tragic situation that occurred in July 1989 but when I see her eyes while she's performing "Blue on Pink" in the concert for "AKINA EAST LIVE INDEX-XXIII", they seem especially sad and distant.

"Blue on Pink" is also included on her BEST compilation, "BEST III" from 1992.

Akiko Matsumoto -- Natsu Iro no Garcon （夏色のギャルソン）

Welcome to August...halfway through the summer now, and I can honestly say that it's been a good hot summer in Toronto. We haven't got a whole lot of rain but there have been scattered cloudbursts now and then which are good for the grass and reservoirs. However, according to one of my clients back in Japan, the Tokyo area has been suffering a lot from a lack of the wet stuff for some weeks, so I'm hoping that some precipitation does come my old city's way.

One observation I have about contemporary Japanese pop culture has been that although the country has been more than happy to bring in various aspects of the pop media culture from other nations such as Hollywood movies and TV shows, it is basically a thriving encapsulated phenomenon. It means that just like in the United States, all of the indigenous music, TV and the like can pretty much be generated and developed without too much of a nudge from external sources. And perhaps the fact that Japan is an island nation may have something to do with my perception, but there seems to be a tighter closeness between the celebrities in Japan and the hoi polloi. Not that the younger folks here are a jaded lot and will not go nuts at times when they see AKB 48 or Arashi in their neighbourhoods, but it seems that the incidence of stars and fans crossing paths at least in the major cities is significantly higher. Plus, I've always felt that the majority of tarento on the telly aren't all that much different from regular people (aside from being rather loud).

And even my little snark in parentheses may have gone the way of the dodo, personally speaking. Many years ago, one of my best students who has since gone on to become a teacher of English for children had a gig for a few years during which she taught the child of a TV personality by the name of Akiko Matsumoto（松本明子）. I had already known of Matsumoto by her reputation as a boisterous comical tarento, but one day, I actually got the opportunity to go with my former Padawan to Ms. Matsumoto's house to observe her teaching her young charge. Meeting Ms. Matsumoto was quite the revelation since she was absolutely the nicest and most self-effacing host. In fact, I had to tip my ear a few times because she sounded so quiet in her responses sometimes.

One thing that I didn't know until later was that Akiko Matsumoto also had a brief career as an aidoru back in the 1980s. Well, it is summer so here is her 3rd single from June 1984, "Natsu Iro no Garcon" (Summer Colour Garcon). I was pleasantly surprised when I heard it for the first time last night since the arrangement seemed a cut above the usual aidoru stuff, and Ms. Matsumoto had some nice vocals.

The song was composed by Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）who helped out with a lot of aidoru tunes and also took care of the music for the dramatic "Gypsy Queen" by Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）. Interestingly enough, "Natsu Iro no Garcon" sounds a bit like something that Taeko Ohnuki and Ryuichi Sakamoto（大貫妙子・坂本龍一）would have concocted around this time, so I was quite attracted because of that. The lyrics were provided by veteran Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）in which Matsumoto sings about enjoying that summer day on the pool by herself and encouraging (although not desperately so) her beau to join her. Ryu also wrote that she was drinking back a ginger ale so I hoped that she had Canada Dry in mind.

Nothing was written about how well "Natsu Iro no Garcon" did on the charts so it's possible that it didn't do anything but then again at that time, female aidoru tunes were being pumped out on a daily or even hourly basis (exaggerating, of course, on those last two words). Therefore, it was truly a cause for celebration when such a song was able to even crack the Oricon Top 10, let alone hit No. 1. As I said, "Natsu Iro no Garcon" is a pretty nice little diversion to the ears.

The above video is how I usually saw Ms. Matsumoto.

Akina Nakamori -- CD ' 87

First off, I'd like to wish Ms. Nakamori（中森明菜） a Happy 48th Birthday today. Hopefully, even if she's no longer singing (for the time being), she's enjoying her time with family and friends.

Akina Nakamori -- CD '87

So, on that note, I'd like to present a disc that I just had to have as an Akina fan. Titled rather drably as "CD '87", Akina Nation can thank the birth of an awards show for the creation of this mini-album. The very first Japan Gold Disc Awards was held in early 1987 to commemorate the best in music (1986) on the then-increasingly popular medium of the compact disc, and the awards show's first Artist of the Year (Domestic) was none other than the Tokyo native (Madonna was the International prize winner). In celebration of getting the award, the powers-that-be decided to pack together her 14th-17th singles along with their B-sides into one album, and all for release on May 1 1987 which was the 5th anniversary of her debut single, "Slow Motion". I think the relative rush job might explain the lack of imagination in a title. Ah, well, it was still a must-buy for me, one reason being the front cover of that come-hither profile of Akina. It was adapted from the very sexy (to me, anyways) black-&-white photograph which made for the jacket for "Tango Noir". Couldn't get that record, but I was enamored enough to get this disc.

Track 1 is "La Boheme", the B-side to the mammoth hit and karaoke standard that was "Desire", her 14th single. A fine, propulsive accompaniment to "Desire" with the synths and electric guitar, it has the spirit of a steed. With lyrics by Reiko Yukawa（湯川れい子）and melody by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆） (who would compose tunes for a number of aidoru such as Naoko Kawai and SMAP), Akina makes an impression with the vocal tropes that she became known for during the latter half of the 80s: her soft velvety voice and that near-operatic vibrato (I wonder what she would've been like as an enka singer?).

This is indeed "Tango Noir", released as Akina's 17th single in February 1987. And the cover for the single was the one that a friend of mine showed me one Saturday night at a university event. Took a good long stare at that picture (and that was as far as it got....honest). As the title says, the melody, also by Tsushimi, had the feel of a particularly intense tango. And Akina seemed to put even more of an affectation in that velvet delivery. The lyrics by the late Kayoko Fuyumori （冬杜花代子）describe through the metaphor of the dance a particularly contentious relationship....quite a difference from the words from her earlier days, although Akina had always been pegged as the rebel in the aidoru troupe. The single hit No. 1 and became the 2nd-ranked single of 1987. And it also won as Best Single of the Year in the 2nd edition of the Gold Disc Awards.

"Abunai Mon Amour"（危ないMon Amour...Dangerous Mon Amour)is the B-side to Akina's 16th single, "Fin". Unlike the mysterious and dramatic feeling behind the A-side, "Abunai Mon Amour" has more of that fun and flirtatious side as Akina is in the car with her guy for a night on the town while she's wondering what kind of appealingly dark side he's trying to hide. Compared to the all of the other tracks on the album, this one has a bit more whimsy in it. The lyrics were by Eiko Kyo（許瑛子） with music by Kisaburo Suzuki（鈴木キサブロ）.

The second reason I got this CD: this song. I saw Akina performing "Gypsy Queen" on one of the music shows, and the image of what appeared to be a shellshocked Akina singing in a weird dress with a chromakey desert behind her has never left my memory. A lot of drama was packed into her 15th single right from the get-go with that synth arpeggio and then her intro which she starts gently before giving this boom of a note before ending just as softly. And then the song just takes the listener on a nocturnal adventure of intrigue which takes a momentary detour for a great sax solo. Kudos to composer Wataru Kuniyasu（国安わたる）and lyricist Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）. The song was released in May 1986, and reached No. 1. It ended the year as the 7th-ranked song.

Appropriately, the final track is "Fin". Released in September 1986, the lyrics were again written by Matsumoto, with Ken Sato（佐藤健）as the composer. There is a sense of moodiness in the music which is similar to the atmosphere surrounding "Gypsy Queen". Lyrically, the protagonist is a woman who fully knows that her lover is a girl-crazy cad but I'm not sure whether she's quite willing to kick him to the curb as he deserves. The repeated line of her pretending that her hand is a pistol made me wonder whether she would actually use the real thing. Again, just like with the sax solo in "Gypsy Queen", I really enjoyed the synth solo in this one as well. And like that song, it hit No. 1, although it ended the year a fair bit lower in the rankings at No. 25.

For a couple of years starting in 1986, Akina's work seemed to split into two wings. There was her album work starting with "Fushigi"（不思議...Strange) which seemed to incorporate more esoteric songs although they also enjoyed critical and commercial success via Oricon. But there were also her TV-friendly singles during that time which were never included in those albums but also had their time on the charts. I think for folks who enjoyed that latter wing, "CD '87" makes for an ideal way to catch up.