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.
I've usually assumed that the small and temporary genre of exotic kayo was limited to the late 1970s when hits such as Judy Ongg's（ジュディ・オング）"Miserarete"（魅せられて）boarded the Oricon charts. After that, it was the Golden Age of aidoru, City Pop and technopop.
However, there may have been some pop-ups here and there of songs that seemed to bring images of life and love overseas in distant Asian and European climes. Maybe one such song can be Mayumi Hara's（原真祐美）"Persia no Namida"(Persian Tears). Released in September 1984 as her 7th and penultimate single, it feels slightly like an adventure on the Silk Road in an aidoru atmosphere. The silky strings along with other stringed instruments help sell the image of traveling in the titular area. "Persia no Namida" was written by Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）.
Well, I guess this is a first, providing two Kazuko Ishibashi（石橋和子）songs on KKP in a calendar year.
Up to now, the articles on singer-songwriter Ishibashi have focused on tracks from her 1981 album"Nice to Meet You" (including the last article on her) since that's the only one I've known due to its presence in the book "Japanese City Pop". I managed to find a track though from her 1982 release"Nora ga Tobira wo Akeru Toki"（ノラが扉をあけるとき...When Nora Opens the Door） with the beaming face of the singer-songwriter smack dab on the cover.
"Fuyu ni Sayonara" (Goodbye to Winter) is the final track on Side A of the original LP according to Discogs, and although there is a City Pop sax instrumental bridge in the song, I wouldn't really place it within that genre. There is also a feeling of Fashion Music in the European-ness floating all about but in the end, I've categorized it as a pleasant pop ballad written by Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫） (nope, Ishibashi had nothing to do with its creation this time). Would be interested in hearing some of the other tracks from the album, and for that matter, I'm wondering who the heck Nora is.
Once again, we've come to one of those many 80s aidoruwho had somewhat less than their fifteen minutes of fame but were still able to make a mark in the collective teenybopper discography.
I was able to find this video YouTuber kachouzu's channel for an aidoru whose time behind the mike lasted perhaps 18 months during 1983 and 1984. Junko Tokumaru（徳丸純子）of Oita Prefecture won a TDK Core audition contest out of 34,854 applicants in 1982 by singing Naoko Kawai's（河合奈保子）"Natsu no Heroine"（夏のヒロイン）and by the first day of spring in 1983, she released her debut single"Sei First Love"(Sacred First Love).
My first impression of "Sei First Love" is that it really hits me as the quintessential early 80saidoru tune. There are Tokumaru's oh-so-slightly off-tune and very girlish vocals and the high-toned instruments conveying an arrangement of uncertainty and teenage puppy love. I can just see the poodle skirt and that 80s aidoru hairstyle now on that high school student within the lyrics as she sighs about the first boy she has feelings for.
As for the B-side at 3:06, "Azayaka Musume"(Bright Girl) has a bit of classical and 60s pop mixed into another quintessentially aidoru song about a lass enjoying the coming of spring as she skips down the lane. Tokumaru's vocals sound even more adorably amateurishly aidoru here. For both songs, it was Yu Aku（阿久悠）on lyrics, Yasuo Kosugi（小杉康夫）on the melody, and Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）taking care of the overall arrangement. Unfortunately, despite the big names behind the making of the aidoru's first single,"Sei First Love" only got as high as No. 115. She would release four more singles and two original albums up to the end of 1984, but out of them, the highest ranking would be for her 2nd single"PICA-PICA" which came in at No. 99.
Tokumaru also had her time as an actress right from the same time that she debuted as a singer and she contributed her services to commercials, too. In fact, I did find one which featured her and a famous American actor who apparently made his fame as a television detective, I hear.😊
Her acting career came to a close going into the 1990s and from then on, she became a model. After getting married, Tokumaru moved to Seattle in the 2010s.
I gather that today's weather is somewhat in a meteorological transition period. It's neither warm nor cool but the sun is out, but we are fast approaching the arrival of autumn in half a week.
Time to introduce another 80s aidoru who had a brief time in the spotlight. Sanae Yokota（横田早苗）was born in Nakano Ward, Tokyo but grew up in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. In 1982, the lass as a high girl senior got as far as the semi-finals for the Miss Seventeen Contest sponsored by the girls' fashion magazine "Seventeen", and right in January 1983, she made her debut as a teen idol with the single "Fuantasy Night"（不安タジー・ナイト）. No spelling error with the first word of that title which is a transnational pun combining the word "fantasy" and the Japanese word "fuan" which means "worry" or "doubt".
However, this article will feature the B-side to "Fuantasy Night", "Digital Lullaby". As was the case with earlier aidoru Tomoko Ishizaka's（石坂智子）similarly titled "Digital Night Lullaby"（デジタル・ナイト・ララバイ）from 1980, Yokota's "Digital Lullaby" doesn't sound even remotely like a techno kayobut is merely another cute aidoru tune written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）, composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）and arranged by Kazuo Otani（大谷和夫）. It's got a bit of character through the inclusion of that rolling Latin piano in parts.
Yokota released three singles, all in 1983, along with one album"Summer Breeze". She also appeared in a smattering of variety shows and dramas, and published one photo book up to 1987, but that was all she wrote.
Just finished off a conversation with Rocket Brown so we were catching up on things, including of course, Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）"Love's On Fire".
It's always nice when I come across a pleasant song by someone that I have never heard of before, and so it goes with Mayuko Miyahara's（宮原巻由子）"Hana Akari". There's very little information about her online and nothing at all on J-Wiki. I did find out from "Idol.ne.jp" that she came from Osaka and that she was also a winner on the talent audition program "Star Tanjo!"（スター誕生！...A Star is Born!）. She had her initial time in showbiz as a singer and actress, although she only released two singles in 1983.
That first single from February 1983 was "Hana Akari" which translates, according to Jisho.org: the brilliance of cherry blossoms which illuminate the evening. So it's most likely an ohanami phenomenon in the spring. Written by Takemi Shima（島武実）, composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）and arranged by Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）, "Hana Akari" seems to be a jaunty example of the usually laconic Fashion Music, hepped on some extra synthesizers. Despite the revelation of sakura, "Hana Akari" does feel like something with a bit more of a European setting.
Miyahara retired from show business in 1984 once she got married, but then made a comeback as an actress and model under the pen names of Mayuko Kyomoto（京本真由子）and Mayuko Okada（岡田真由子）. She has also taken on the occupation of a video translator. Under that original name of Miyahara, she has an Ameba blog where I discovered that she has posed as a grey hair model. On top of that, she opened her own Instagram account.
Not only is it Hump Day today but it's the final day of March 2021. Can't say that the news has been great for the last number of days here when it comes to COVID but I personally encountered something nice earlier this morning. A USB that I'd assumed lost forever containing many photos of my last few years in Japan suddenly popped up again after spending almost a decade in the far corner of a dusty drawer in one of the rooms in my home. Nice to go over the old pictures again.
One photo that was contained in the USB was the above. It's a cup of Viennese Coffee which I used to drink whenever I met a student at a small café in Funabashi for his weekly lesson. In Japanese, it's called wiener coffee so before I made its acquaintance all those years ago, I'd crazily assumed that it was the java with a sausage poked into it. I knew that the Japanese were more than capable of some gastronomically insane notions but with some relief, I came to realize that wiener coffee was actually Viennese Coffee, coffee with a good dollop of sweet whipped cream on top.
For me, it was never a difficult decision on whether to stir in the cream with the coffee below or just eat my way through that top layer. I always went with the latter option. Nope, having Viennese Coffee every Friday wasn't a wise course of action in terms of any potential entry into Type 2 Diabetes, but dang was it tasty!
Instead of this being a re-discovery though as was the case with my formerly lost USB, this song was just a plain discovery last night. Titled "Café Noir de Hitoiki" (Taking a Break at Café Noir), I knew that I had to dig up a photo of a Japanese coffeehouse or a cup of java so what wonderful timing to find all those photos from over a decade ago again.
"Café Noir de Hitoiki" is a track from Yuki Kato's（加藤有紀）1983 debut mini-album"Love Potion", and there are a few articles on the singer-songwriter already on KKP. "Nazo wa To-ka-na-i-de"（謎はと・か・な・い・で）starts off the album and that is an interesting mix of New Wave and ska. Kato's "Café Noir de Hitoiki" is also a nice blend, but this one has more of the AOR and bossa nova and although I don't think it has enough of the styling to deserve a place in Labels for this song, I couldn't help but hear some Miharu Koshi（コシミハル）New Wave in there, especially in the first several seconds and that high-pitched background chorus later on. For that matter, the keyboard in use for this number also seems to predict some of the mellow music that Miki Imai（今井美樹）would interpret a few years down the line into the late 1980s. The overall effect is truly like taking a break at that Café Noir. While Kato wrote the lyrics, Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）provided the music.
For the record, according to the website Idol.ne.jp, Kato released two singles and two albums including "Love Potion", all in 1983, followed by a BEST collection which was released in 2019. BTW, I couldn't help but also throw in a Royal Host parfait below. Don't lick the screen!😋
It's July 12th here in Eastern Canada but it's already July 13th in Japan....which means that it's Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）birthday! 😃 So, lets first have the gang from "Sesame Street" fulfill the festivities here.
OK, now as such, I think today is an appropriate day for me to present Akina-chan's 2nd album"Variation ~ Hensoukyoku", and as was the case with her debut album, "Prologue ~ Jomaku"（プロローグ〈序幕〉）, that latter Japanese term is just the translation of the former word. "Variation" was released in late October 1982, a little less than 4 months after "Prologue", and as the title for the 2nd album would have it, it's been praised by a book called "Hotwax Presents Kayo Kyoku Meikyoku Meiban Guide 1980s"（Hotwax presents 歌謡曲 名曲名盤ガイド 1980's...Hotwax presents Famous Songs and Recordings Guide 1980s ）for having some more variation in the song stylings due to the different songwriters at work here along with the singer's progress in her abilities.
Three of the tracks have already been covered in "Kayo Kyoku Plus", the hit single teen rock "Shojo A"（少女Ａ）, the City Pop"Yokohama A-KU-MA"（ヨコハマA・KU・MA）and another urban contemporary tune "Aishuu Majutsu"（哀愁魔術）.
"Variation" is book-ended by some dramatic strings by Kei Wakakusa (若草恵...who helped arranged the album along with Mitsuo Hagita/萩田光雄), and the album then starts off with the wild and woolly "Cancel!"（キャンセル！）which has some similarity to "Shojo A" in that it's got that teen rock sensibility with the fast beat and the wailing guitar. Composed by Kazuhiko Izu（伊豆一彦）, the lyrics are provided by Masao Urino（売野雅勇）, the same guy behind "Shojo A", as Akina plans to drop a phony of a beau like an anchor.
The following track is "Moroi Gogo"（脆い午後...Sentimental Afternoon） has a couple taking a secret trip to Kyoto. It's a wistful mid-tempo song characterized by those strings that seemed to have accompanied many an Akina number in the early days of her aidoru career. The strings could be jagged or, as it is in "Moroi Gogo" more sweeping to fit the more vulnerable side of the singer here.
The strings take on even more character in "Sakihokoru Hana ni..."（咲きほこる花に…To the Flowers in Full Bloom） as they start off sounding more like late Beatles, but then remind me of some of the Fashion Music that Chika Ueda（上田知華）helped create at around the same time. However, words and music were actually provided by Etsuko and Takao Kisugi（来生えつこ・来生たかお）...which then made me go "Ahhh...naruhodo" since whenever the Kisugi sister-brother combination get together to create music, it's always of pretty refined quality. It seems like the entire song is devoted to the beauty of flora, so there is that overwhelming image of having a cup of tea in a high-class shop with a window view of one of the great gardens in Japan.
From that tea shop in a well-manicured garden, we head off to Tokyo Disneyland or some beach paradise via "Meruhen Location"（メルヘン・ロケーション...Fairy Tale Location） to join a couple on a date. It's an aidoru tune with that touch of Resort Pop, and even some country twang near the end as the lucky pair enjoy each other and their travels to fantasy land. As was the case with "Yokohama A-KU-MA", Tsuzuru Nakasato（中里綴）was the lyricist while Noboru Mimuro（三室のぼる）was the composer.
"Dai Nana Kan ~ Septieme Sense"（第七感（セッティエーム・サンス）...The 7th Sense）at 30:33 above in the full album is Akina being happy and coy in the embrace of some saxophone-led City Pop. Mayumi Shinozuka（篠塚満由美）and Yoshitaka Minami（南佳孝）created this light shuffle of a song with a bit of Latin which seems to have the lass walking through an autumn forest as she perhaps considers her options about shedding one guy for another. The fact that one of Shinozuka's lyrics repeats Akina getting pelted with a shower of autumn leaves hints that change is in the forecast.
The rock feeling and the wailing guitar are back for "x3 (Bye-Bye) Lullaby"（X3 (バイバイ) ララバイ）, and usually when it does, it means that Akina is in trouble. In this case, she's just been dumped near a Yokohama interchange, but the tough one simply brushes the cad away like dust and basically sings a big kiss-off. The tandem of Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）and Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）, who were also behind "Aishuu Majutsu", worked on this one. Strangely enough, the verses sound similar to the Manhattan Transfer's"Twilight Zone" from the late 1970s. For me, I especially like Akina's delivery here...very sultry and sweet.
The finale is "Catastrophe Amagasa"（カタストロフィの雨傘...Catastrophe Umbrella） which has a style reminiscent of a French pop ballad from the 1960s and a contemporary kayo ballad by Mariko Takahashi（高橋真梨子）. Shinozuka from "Dai Nana Kan" is back to write the lyrics as Akina sings about taking a rainy walk soon after the end of a relationship. She's taking it relatively well considering that the title includes the word catastrophe (which was kindly explained in the liner notes in terms of what it means...I'm not even sure whether the word is still known now in Japanese katakana), and as Tsunehiro Izumi's（和泉常寛）melody hints, tomorrow is another day. There is always hope for the future.
I mentioned about the Queen Bee theory in the article for "Prologue" when it comes to Nakamori's upbringing in music, so I wonder with all of these songwriting talents involved in "Variation", whether there was a sign that the then-teen aidoru was being seen as a potential superstar so all of the genres were being thrown at her as a challenge. Those powers-that-be then should take a bow since all of the types of music featured in the album did appear in bulk in the rest of Akina's discography going right to the end of the 20th century. Perhaps then, "Variation" might be seen as an even more seminal release.
"Variation" hit the top spot on Oricon as Nakamori's first No. 1 album and it stayed there for a total of three weeks according to "ALBUM CHART-BOOK COMPLETE EDITION 1970 〜 2005", a part of Oricon's marketing promotion. It hung out on the charts for 29 weeks and ended up as the 8th-ranked album for 1983, selling around 440,000 LPs and 300,000 tapes.
Anyways, I hope that Nakamori will enjoy her 54th birthday!
From what I've read, TV Asahi's humongous magical girl franchise "Pretty Cure" is now in its 16th series "Star Twinkle PreCure"（スター☆トゥインクルプリキュア）, and I'm pretty sure that my anime buddy who's in Japan at present has or will be visiting the PreCure shop underneath Tokyo Station. For a lot of young kids (and even some parents) on Sunday mornings, this particular franchise has been the gift that has kept on giving.
The very first PreCure theme that I wrote about here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" was the first ending song for "Fresh PreCure!"（フレッシュプリキュア! ）, the giddily R&B"You make me happy!" by Momoko Hayashi（林桃子）. Everything about that series was a fresh spin on what had come before in the five previous years. And certainly for me, I've especially seen that ending theme (and ending credits) as the key point of change when it came to the approach that future PreCure producers and directors took for wrapping up each episode.
Still, there is an ending theme from those pre-"Fresh PreCure!" years that has stood out for its adorableness, and it has the singular noteworthy achievement of being the only theme song in the franchise's history that has been used in three separate PreCure shows. The fans will know which song I'm talking about.
This would be "Ganbalance de Dance" which got its first go in the third year of the franchise as the second ending theme for the second PreCure team, "Futari wa PreCure Splash Star"（ふたりはプリキュア Splash Star）which had its run from 2006 to 2007. Written by Kumiko Aoki（青木久美子）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）, the same duo responsible for the snazzy and fairly suspenseful opening theme for the first dynamic duo of PreCures, "DANZEN! Futari wa Precure"（DANZEN！ ふたりはプリキュア）, it was also the same singer behind that theme who recorded "Ganbalance de Dance", Mayumi Gojo（五條真由美）.
"Ganbalance de Dance", as compared to "DANZEN!", launches off the pad with a vapour trail of good feelings and teddy bears, and can get the kids dancing right from Note One. To add to the cuteness, the two sprites from "Splash Star", Flappy and Choppy as played by Kappei Yamaguchi（山口勝平）and the late Miyu Matsuki（松来未祐）respectively, assist in the chorus. Even with the impressive choreography for the ending credits of "Fresh Precure!", it's still lovely to see the kid-friendly dancing on display at the end of each "Splash Star" show. I also have to throw in the fact that I like that funky intro.
The original single was released in October 2006 and peaked at No. 58 on Oricon.
Then, the following year came "Yes! PreCure 5" with a new quintet of PreCure warriors. Once again, it was the second ending theme with the added subtitle of "Yume Miru Kiseki-tachi"（夢みる奇跡たち...The Dream-Viewing Miracles）. Of the three different versions of the song, I have to say that this version is my least favourite only because of an intro that has never quite fit in with me. That intro just sounds a little too gloppy. However, Kanako Miyamoto（宮本佳那子）gives an even more adorable delivery on her "Ganbalance de Dance" with the main cast of the show backing her up, including seiyuu Mariya Ise（伊瀬茉莉也）who played Cure Lemonade.
The single for this version was released in October 2007 and scored a No. 59 ranking.
Finally, there is "Ganbalance de Dance ~ Kibou no Relay"（希望のリレー...Relay of Hope）which served as the second ending theme for "Yes! PreCure 5 GoGo!", the second year with the same quintet plus the added Milky Rose helping out. This comes down as my favourite of the three versions since it's got some extra octane in the arrangement and the voices via Cure Quartet（キュア・カルテット）which now not only has Mayumi Gojo and Kanako Miyamoto coming back and working together but also Mayu Kudo (工藤真由...who would continue to contribute to the franchise) and Yuka Uchiyae（うちやえゆか）.
The ending credits involve pretty much everybody in the cast and this version of "Ganbalance de Dance" seems to serve as an epic "Let's bring it home!" take on the song. Since the second season with the same gang would indeed be the final one for them (and the last time that a PreCure team would get a second year), it would be nice to go out with a bang. This single came out in September 2008 and got the highest ranking at No. 49.
To finish up for tonight, I'll leave you with the full version of "Kibou no Relay". Good night.
Winter remains most definitely with us...and it should, because there is still a little more than a couple of weeks left before March 21st. It has been freezing cold but at least we've been blessed over the past number of days with copious amounts of sun.
Forgive me while I sidetrack a tad on this midweek article for "Kayo Kyoku Plus". A little over 5 years ago, "Doctor Who" fans were going ga-ga as the 50th anniversary episode"The Day of the Doctor" was presented. The show delivered on all TARDIS engines but then came the final number of minutes which launched a volley of WHAM scenes which most likely had Whovians squeeing like crazy, gasping for air and even shedding copious amounts of tears. Of course, the biggie was the "ALL THIRTEEN!" scene.
I kinda wonder if there were some Whovians on the production staff for the "Precure" show that had finished its run in early February, "Hugtto Precure"（HUGっと！プリキュア）. The reason I say this is that though I haven't been covering the franchise along the same lines as my anime buddy has, I found out through YouTube in the last couple of days that some of those folks on Toei may have pulled a few ideas out of the "Day of the Doctor" playbook and catapulted some truly squee-worthy moments in the entire history of the franchise. Case in point: one of the later climactic episodes had ALL FIFTY-FIVE Precures from the past 15 years of magical girl goodness explode out like bullets for a Battle Royale that fans would have expected in one of those All-Star movies. I'm sure that both parents and kids jumped all over that sofa in front of the telly when that happened.
To add that layer of scrumptious icing to this cake, the battle was accompanied by the opening theme song to the very first entry in the franchise. From what I've read on "TV Tropes", "Hugtto Precure" has now become the series to beat in terms of popularity.
Ahhh...that very first theme song. Reminded that I wrote about the very catchy "You Make Me Happy!", the first ending theme for "Fresh Precure!"（フレッシュプリキュア!）back in 2016 and then inspired by Joana's article on "PaPePiPu☆Romantic" (パぺピプ☆ロマンチック), the ending theme from "Hugtto Precure" in the last several days, I've decided to add to the Precure file.
My observation for the ending and opening themes of the Precure shows has been that, generally speaking, the ending themes have been the likelier earworms. I really can hardly remember the opening themes for each of the entries, except for one. Ironically, that very first opening song, "DANZEN! Futari wa Precure" (Definitely! We Are Precure) has been the one that I can play in my head from beginning to end without losing a beat (there is perhaps one other opener for which I can only remember the intro, and that is it).
As sung by Mayumi Gojo（五條真由美）, I think "DANZEN!" has been able to adhere to my brain like cheese curds to French Fries and gravy in a good poutine because, unlike the other openers which have stayed resolutely super cheerful and positive, there is that sense of impish "What's gonna happen now?" mystery in the first part of each verse, punctuated by that low rumbling and racing piano. Of course, there is also the combination of banging synth that seems to have been kidnapped from the 1980s and Gojo going "Purikyuaa, purikyuaa, purikyuaa..." that has just stuck to my memories. I think it's been that springboard of uncertainty in the music in the first part that makes the inevitable music of hope and heroism sound even more epic and a clarion call for all of the Precures to come to the rescue.
"DANZEN!" was written by Kumiko Aoki（青木久美子）and composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）. Will always cherish those Big Damn Heroes moments.
For all of the tango-like rhythms that I've associated with some of Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）songs in recent years, I think there was a certain sound that characterized her music way back when she first started off as an aidoru in 1982.
I'm still in the midst of exploring Akina-chan's earlier material since until recently I had only known her singles and not the rest of her album-based tracks. So I went into YouTube and checked to see if any of her music from her 2nd album"Variation ~ Hensoukyoku"（変奏曲）was there.
Lucky enough, I did find "Aishuu Majutsu" (Sorcery of Sorrow), one of those tracks from that album released in October 1982. And indeed, it still does serve as an example of that early Akina sound. I think compared to Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）girlish innocence imbued into her music, Nakamori's songs had that certain urgency in an urban setting. The instruments that I often heard in her music including "Aishuu Majutsu" were those alternately sweeping/cutting strings signifying some sort of crisis matched up with some soft keyboards perhaps representing an innocence going lost in the young teen.
That's about as far as I can go as a musicologist, I'm afraid. As an Akina fan and overall Japanese music enthusiast for the 1980s, I simply enjoy the nostalgia of the music which was composed by Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）. Speaking of which, "Aishuu Majutsu" has a pretty snazzy guitar solo as well. Yukinojo Mori（森雪之丞）took care of the lyrics which speak of the giddiness and pathos of a love affair as seen through the prism of a Hollywood romance.
As for "Variation", Akina's 2nd album did hit No. 1 on Oricon. Most likely, it will be a Xmas target for me...provided that Canada Post settles its labour problems by November. I also have a postscript in that another song that I've already written about about Akina is also from "Variation".
It's been over a year since I wrote about the Hawaii-loving aidoru of the 1980s, Yu Hayami（早見優）, and I did listen to that first disc from her large collection yesterday so it's time to revisit her discography.
Why not go back to the very beginning? This is her debut single "Isoide! Hatsukoi" (Hurry Up! First Love) which deals with the usual pining away for that love. Hayami's first release came out in April 1982 with Ikki Matsumoto（松本一起）providing the words and Yasuo Kosugi（小杉保夫）coming up with the breezy music.
"Isoide! Hatsukoi" managed to get as high as No. 36 on Oricon, not too bad for a debut. And I think for the purposes of this blog, the song is quite appropriate as it is White Day in Japan...or at least, it was...since as I am typing this out, it's already the Ides of March over there. I'm sure the chocolate shops were pulling some major overtime in the days leading up to the 14th.
It also happens to be Pi Day (3.14) which brings me to the fact that Professor Stephen Hawking passed away earlier today at the age of 76, so would like to give my tribute to him here. I did buy "A Brief History of Time". According to his Wiki biography, it seems that he wasn't all that religious so I can hope that his spirit has headed off into one of those alternate dimensions instead of Heaven.
