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.
Bring in one more into the menu tablet at the karaoke boxes! Got another duet for the older generation, and perhaps for those sunakku squeezed into Shinjuku, more opportunities for a shibui singalong.
But that's for now. The timing was probably not the best when "Tokyo City Serenade" by enka veterans Kiyoshi Maekawa（前川清）and Miyuki Kawanaka（川中美幸）was released in April 2020 when COVID was running roughshod over global society. However, the song and the accompanying music video were probably appreciated for providing what was awaited on the other side of the pandemic. Written by Chihiro Fuyumi（冬弓ちひろ）and composed by Yuhei Hanaoka（花岡優平）, "Tokyo City Serenade" has the emotion-plucking of enka, the bar-friendly rhythms of Mood Kayo and the sophisticated refinement of New Adult Music as the singers delve into the millions of stories that populate Japan's largest city.
A few months ago, I introduced a singer to the pages of KKP by the name of Michiru Yuasa（ゆあさみちる）after I'd seen her on an episode of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）. She performed something that was a little different from the usual enka and Mood Kayo via her "Osozaki no Hero"（遅咲きのHERO）which was more along the lines of 80s rocker Ayumi Nakamura（中村あゆみ）.
Well, when she made her official debut back in April 2020, her first single was "Watashi no Hana"(My Flower) which was written by Reiko Kaminaka（紙中礼子）and composed by Yuhei Hanaoka（花岡優平）. After listening to it, I realized that this particular song was the type of kayo that I would usually hear on "Shin BS Nihon no Uta", but I wouldn't classify it as either enka or Mood Kayo. For me, this is in that genre middle ground known as New Adult Music sprinkled with Latin. And in the music video above, Yuasa even pulls off some tango moves.
A few weeks ago, we were watching NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた）on Jme, and thankfully, it's finally returning on a regular schedule, when we saw a slim young lady with short hair in what looked like a rocker's outfit. Hm...I thought that she rather stood out among the other enka and Mood Kayo guests.
Well, shades of Ayumi Nakamura（中村あゆみ）and GAO. This is singer-songwriter Michiru Yuasa（ゆあさみちる）from Niigata Prefecture and her profile has stated that she's basically open to any genre to sing. But in this case, her 7th single from May 2024, "Osozaki no Hero"(Late-Blooming Hero) is a good ol' rock-n'-roll tune from yesteryear and that's why I made the comparisons to the first two singers. It kinda feels like a 80s pop-rock song. Written by Yuhei Hanaoka（花岡優平）and composed by Masato Sugimoto（杉本眞人）, the song seems to be paying tribute to the little guys...the people who plug away at their professions day in and day out, just trying to make a good living and lifestyle.
As for further information on Yuasa, she won a prize at the "Nodo Jiman"（のど自慢）national championship in 2007, has participated as a backup singer on a GLAY album, recorded songs for commercials, and made her official major debut with the single "Watashi no Hana"（私の花...My Flower） in 2020. She was also greatly influenced by acts such as Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）and the Carpenters. Among her hobbies are illustrating, reading and making her rounds of the onsen.
I was watching the latest episode of "Kayo Concert"（歌謡コンサート）tonight, and as usual, the last three singers sang their latest releases. The second up to bat wasJunko Akimoto （秋元順子）with "Ai Kagi"(Key of Love) which was released just a couple of months ago in June 2014 as her 10th single.
I've enjoyed examples from the various shades of enka over the years. For example, there is the manly-man enka such as Saburo Kitajima's （北島三郎）hearty"Yosaku"（与作）and there is the enka that represented a certain geographical area in Japan like the sultry "Isesakicho Blues"（伊勢崎町ブルース）by Mina Aoe（青江三奈）. And there is the enka that contains a certain exotic musical element that has been called European Enka. I've often associated Teresa Teng （テレサテン）with that sub-genre, but I can also include "Ai Kagi" by Akimoto now. It has some of that Latin and French flavour mixed in which I like sometimes with my traditional Japanese music, and the Tokyo native has some fine vocals to match. Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）was the lyricist while Yuhei Hanaoka（花岡優平）composed the music.
Junko Akimoto is someone that I've seen often on "Kayo Concert" and some of the seasonal specials, so I had assumed that she was around for years and years. Actually, she made her debut as an enka singer at the age of 57 in 2005. In her younger years after graduating from high school, she was in a Hawaiian band while working at an oil company before becoming a housewife and helping manage her family's flower shop. Then at the age of 40, she and her old bandmates decided to start up the band again, before making her major debut several years later with "Madison-gun no Koi"（マディソン郡の恋...Love of Madison County）. In 2008 and 2009, Akimoto appeared at the Kohaku Utagassen, becoming at the age of 61, the oldest member of the Red Team to ever debut at the New Year's Eve special.
