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'm hoping that Yokohama has been able to enjoy sights like the above in the Minato Mirai 21 area. I always liked this part of the famed international port. Plus, hey, there's a lot of foodie opportunities there, too. I still remember that all-garlic restaurant in one of the towers. My friend and I were absolutely guaranteed of seats on the train back home.🧄
Well, it's time for another Yokohama-based song and this time, I have singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita's（とみたゆう子）February 1986 single"Yokohama Kaze no Station" (Yokohama Windy Station). Just judging from the cover of the fetching Ms. Tomita in her black party dress and the overall design, I figured that this particular song was also a track on her album from the same month "Moulin Rouge".
Last year, I covered Tomita's final track from "Moulin Rouge", "Silk-Hat-Club" which was this light and happy techno jazz tune, and it seems as if the synthesizers were out to party as well for this album. "Yokohama Kaze no Station" appears as the second track on the A-side and indeed the keyboards are in play here as well, but the style is more 1950s or 1960s pop love song (like the crystalline instrumental bridge, by the way) as sung by Connie Francis, thanks to Mitsuo Hagita's（萩田光雄）arrangement.
I've heard of "Funny Girl", but never "Funny Lady". I finally get a chance to come across something with that very title.
And this happens to belong to the second track of singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita's（とみたゆう子）April 1983 third album"Classical Heart". Written and composed by Tomita herself, considering the release date, there is something rather old-fashioned and unusual with the arrangement here: a bit of disco combined with the groove of City Pop and some fleet-footed orchestral bouncy kayo kyoku from the 1970s. It does sound like something that would be adored on Japanese music shows including "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）. It's time for that whirlwind night tour of Tokyo!
Well, I've heard singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）ply her trade in the pop and City Pop realms. This time around, I get to hear another side from her which is more along the lines of techno jazz, thanks to that battery of synthesizers behind her.
In February 1986, Tomita released her 6th and final album under Crown Records, "Moulin Rouge", although by the looks of her on the cover, perhaps it should have been titled "Stood Up at Moulin Rouge". Nope, not the happiest look on her but it's a classy shot. "Silk-Hat-Club" (no idea about the two hyphens) was written and composed by the singer as what I assume to be a sophisticated time out on the town in tux and gown...maybe with a few droids in tow. The synths are fine as they are, but I also wonder how the song would have sounded with a real jazz orchestra behind her.
Do I have a favourite spot in Yokohama? Well, I haven't explored the entirety of the famous port city but within what I have seen, I would have to go with Minato Mirai 21 because I get to walk all around Yokohama Bay and see some wonderful structures such as Landmark Tower and the Nippon Maru Museum Ship. I also have to point out that a friend and I once had dinner inside a restaurant inside Landmark Mall, and it was a garlic-themed establishment. Had a roasted garlic bulb with butter, garlic pizza, garlic salad, garlic pasta, garlic steak and even garlic ice cream. Surprisingly, we were able to get some empty seats on the train ride back home to Chiba Prefecture.🧄
For a lady who hails from Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）did have her love for Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture. A little over a year ago, I posted a song by her titled "Yokohama Kaze no Station"（YOKOHAMA風のステイション）from 1986 from which I noted that it possessed "...the intriguing combination of 1960s romantic pop balladry through the synths, some Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）quirky pop and even a bit of Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）Fashion Music." Quite the heady combination, indeed.
Well, even earlier, Tomita had released an April 1983 single titled "Yokohama Monogatari" (Yokohama Story) whose words and music had been taken care of by her. Once again, it's a song that has quite the tantalizing melange that made things initially hard to categorize. Eventually though, I decided that the song captures the soaring phrasings of an 80s Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）ballad, some underpinnings of City Pop (especially through that bass) and some hard-to-grab feelings of New Adult Music although I can't say that it approaches enka. Perhaps kayo kyoku?😕 Whatever it is, "Yokohama Monogatari" is a pleasant tune.
Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）is someone that had her singing career mostly in the 1980s going into the early 1990s. Her material wavered among the pop, City Pop and technopop spheres of influence so generally I thought of her as hovering over and around the urban contemporary.
However as an 18-year-old, her singing career began with the December 1979 single "Midori no Kazoku no Go-Shoutai"(Invitation from the Green Family). Judging from that cover of the young Tomita sitting in some outdoor café with a drink and what I feel is an adorably 1970s kayoarrangement, though, I thought that the lass had been training to become an aidoru. Another revelation is that the words and music about a really friendly family of plants were provided by folk singer Iruka（イルカ）for which I went "Ah, naruhodo..." because I remember a similarly whimsical song which had been created and performed by the singer-songwriter, "Sarada no Kuni kara Kita Musume"（サラダの国から来た娘）the previous year.
More than 24 hours ago on my latest Yumi Tanimura（谷村有美）article, I was complaining about a throbbing lumbar and a dead computer mouse. Happily, one has been largely remedied and the other has been replaced easily enough. Usually by this point on a Tuesday night, I would have already gotten my usual two articles up on the blog, but today I was waiting for part of my Xmas package to arrive by courier, so I had to keep my ears open for that telephone call. The package finally arrived at 4 pm.
Anyways, enough of my shopping spree news. Just by coincidence as I type up this article for singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）, it was exactly one year ago today that I contributed the last Tomita article via her "SECRET LIPS" from 1984. That song was an interesting mélange of pop, City Pop (via the sophisti-pop route) and even some synth-Caribbean.
I'm gathering that Tomita seems to enjoy putting together a mix of styles into her music, and that includes her 10th single from February 1986, "Yokohama Kaze no Station" (Yokohama Windy Station). This was a song put together by Tomita and arranged by Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）. For this one, it's quite the intriguing combination of 1960s romantic pop balladry through the synths, some Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）quirky pop and even a bit of Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）Fashion Music. Tomita, in tandem with that first genre of 60s pop, goes full bore into Connie Francis torch song mode. The cover of the single is pretty darn classy including the singer getting all gussied up in front of the mirror and the iconography for the title.
"Yokohama Kaze no Station" would be Tomita's final single for several years until the early 1990s when she would release three more singles.
I don't think that singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita's（とみたゆう子）"SECRET LIPS" breaks any molds in Japanese pop music, but it's catchy and pleasant enough, both very good qualities since Tomita was asked to come up with a jingle for Kose Cosmetics, and this February 1984 single was the result.
Written by Machiko Ryu（竜真知子）and composed by Tomita, I think that it is basically a pop song but going into the verses, it certainly seems like the singer incorporated some of that flavour of City Pop and maybe even a hint of sophisti-pop. Tomita even brought in some synth-Caribbean highlights as well. "SECRET LIPS" does feel like getting ready for a night on the town and of course, the lady has to use her Kose lipstick.
"SECRET LIPS" was included as one of the bonus tracks on a later edition of the original November 1983 album"Shampoo". You can also take a look at some of what Kose has had to offer below.
It's been about 18 months since I actually put up an article devoted to pop singer-songwriterYuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）so I figured that it was time to feature her again as the topic of the first KKP article for July 2021.
Tomita is someone that I've gotten to know because of my work on the blog over the past decade, and as such, I've been able to glean that she's more in the softer side of pop: AOR, Fashion Music/Baroque Pop and balladry. Therefore, it's no surprise that I've come across this B-side to her March 1982 3rd single"Bobby", "Yukidoke no Hi" (Thaw Day).
Beginning with some hard piano strikes, "Yukidoke no Hi", which was written and composed by the singer, takes on the arrangement of a gentle waltz as Tomita sings (I believe) about a woman in a small wintry town perhaps still harbouring feelings for a fellow who has long since left home for a bigger environment. At the very least, she is sending those pen-and-paper letters to him. I think that this is a good cocoa-sipping tune on those cold nights...ironic, considering the time that I'm typing this. Mind you, it's not as hot as it was earlier in the week here in Toronto but summer has nonetheless arrived.
Typing this up before I hit the hay for tonight, but earlier this morning, I received a request about trying to identify the source song and singer for this Vaporwave tune called "Come Over the Night" by Android Apartment. The album "The Stars Through Your Eyes" which has this track was apparently released in 2019 (I do like the cover).
I probably wouldn't expect Android Apartment to divulge the sources due to the usual copyright headaches. But from listening to it, the original song does sound rather 1980s and the singer sounds like Mari Iijima（飯島真理）of Lynn Minmay fame. However, that's all I can come up. So if any of you folks out there might be able to identify the original song and singer, let us all know.
December 6th 2020: As you can see from the comments below, the source song was quickly found as Yuko Tomita's（富田裕子）"Naze..."（何故...Why?）from her 4th album"Shampoo"(1983).
It seems that Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）has ranged somewhat among pop, City Pop and AOR but for this one particular song, she may have also dabbled a bit into the synthpop as well.
"Yanagi ni Dakarete"(Embraced by the Willows) begins with a cute synthesizer and then Tomita's coquettish vocals come in for a pop song that fills in with a whole number of synthetic sounds. Sounds rather Sakamoto-esque. Although Tomita has often helped out in creating her songs, for this one, Miku/Mirai Maeda（前田未来）and Yoshihide Maeda（前田義秀）took care of words and music respectively. The song was a track on Tomita's first album"Colours" released in September 1981.
Back in April, I wrote about pop singer-songwriter Yuko Tomita's（とみたゆう子）4th single, "Aoi Kaze"（蒼い風）and since I liked that one song so much, I decided to pick up the album that it came out on "DEUX", her 2nd album from July 1982.
To be up front about "DEUX", I've listened to it twice and although I've found a few of the tracks pretty good, it hasn't struck me as being one of those home runs. There are other tracks where I thought that they will probably have to grow on me some more.
However, the patterns that I've gotten about Tomita's tracks here, most of which were written and composed by her, are that she's delved into AOR and pop with some rock n' roll or techno kayo sprigs here and there. The first two tracks though did leave a happy impression with me. Track 1, "Morning Harbour" is definitely breezy AOR and it's something that sounds like a swift car drive on the marina highway, no matter what time of the day. You can thank Ken Yajima for the electric guitar solo there. Although he had nothing to do with the production of the album, that bit of chorus near the end sounds quite reminiscent of Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）.
Right after "Morning Harbour" is "Umi no Quatre Saisons"（海のキャトル・セゾン...Four Seasons of the Sea）, another Tomita creation with arrangement by Kimio Mizutani（水谷公生）. Her lyrics are about remembering the good times of a romance that is now over but it's the Tomita/Mizutani collaboration on how the melody makes its way through the song that has captivated me. The verses themselves sound like that typical melancholy love ballad but then when it goes into the main chorus, there is that tonal shift into something stronger and more hopeful...that there is a better tomorrow in store. I think it takes the song into Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）and even Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）territory.
"Y'know, you really ought to get a belt to hold that skirt up!"
The third track, "Telephone Magic" is another Tomita/Mizutani collaborative effort that starts off like an Electric Light Orchestra tune. However then it quickly veers over to a 50s rock-and-roll-themed number about a woman who's been trying to reach the target of her love and wondering like a green-eyed monster about any particular competition the guy might be with. There is an undercurrent in the melody that reminds me of "I Only Want to Be with You" by Dusty Springfield.
"Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa"（悲しみよこんにちは...It's Too Sad Saying Hello）is one of the few tracks that wasn't created by Tomita. Instead, it's Ryohei Yamanashi（山梨良平）, who also has some of his own stuff on the blog, behind words and music and chorus. This is quite a sweet pop tune that would probably have it into some aidoru's discography if Tomita hadn't decided to record it herself.
"Shuumatsu no Etranger"（週末のエトランゼ...Weekend Stranger） starts out with a keyboard riff that also had me thinking of a song by Supertramp from the 1970s. This one has a slightly harder and more urgent edge and perhaps there's even something rather ominous as Tomita sings about a young woman who may have been literally swept off her feet by a fellow at what seems like a masquerade party. The lady is thinking whether this is a good or bad thing although it looks like the guy has already poured her into his Ferrari after one too many drinks. Any of you City Pop bass addicts may appreciate Yasuo Tomikura's licks here.
The re-release of "DEUX" has included three bonus tracks of which one is "Cassiopeia no Futari"（カシオペアのふたり...Cassiopeia Couple）, Tomita's November 1982 5th single. A ballad of longing by Tomita with Mizutani once again handling the arrangement, there is that thumpy synth and overall feeling of pining for love overseas. Plus the keyboard and accordion work has me thinking dark castles and French cliffs.
Now that I've been going through the songs one by one via YouTube, I'm starting to get a handle on them and getting a better appreciation for them, which has been something that I've cherished from working on the blog. As for "DEUX", this was Tomita's highest album on Oricon, getting up to No. 48.
Already have one Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）song represented here on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with "September Girl"（セプテンバー・ガール）which was her 2nd single from August 1981.
However, I have to admit that I'm liking this one by her even better. This is Tomita's 4th single from August 1982 titled "Aoi Kaze" (Blue Wind) which was also included on her 2nd album"DEUX"which came out earlier in July.
Starting off with some tinkly synthesizer reminiscent of Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）and Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）, compared with the 50s pop sensibility of "September Girl", "Aoi Kaze" has that introspective and inquisitive feeling that I've enjoyed with a number of these 1980s aidoru numbers over the decades. As I hinted in the first Tomita article, the singer-songwriter has that delivery and "Aoi Kaze" has that arrangement which would make me think of a very talented teenybopper chanteuse tackling this single, but as I also mentioned there, I don't think that she was ever marketed as anything but as a pop singer.
"DEUX" got as high as No. 48 and there's no idea how the single did, but my impression of Tomita is that she is one of those underrated singers that, regardless, has been able to garner her own dedicated cadre of fans. She's on my shopping list...once I find out how my income tax return turns out.
When I first started "Kayo Kyoku Plus" back in 2012, I initially depended on the various songs that I had already internalized over the decades through the records, tapes and CDs in my possession. There are perhaps a few left but the past few years have had me relying on music shows and those same other sources to jog my memory about previously forgotten tunes. It's also been the case now that I've encountered new old tunes on YouTube and the shows to write about.
Plus, there have been from time to time tips from the other collaborators on "KKP", commenters and other folks. So, tonight, my two contributions will involve recommendations from a commenter and one of those other folks.
The "other folk" here happens to be someone I got to know (his handle is C.C. Baxter) via the social networking site Mixi many years ago, specifically through the Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）community. We've gotten to respond to each other time and again since he has also become my Facebook friend. Plus, he was very magnanimous in getting me a copy of Kurahashi's very first album "Without Sugar".
Well, earlier today, when I was checking FB, I noticed that C.C. put up an entry about a singer named Yuko Tomita（とみたゆう子）and one of her songs "September Girl". He lamented mildly that the song never really went anywhere although he still enjoys it. Now, I realize that this isn't exactly an overt tip, but still knowing that there is a lot of potentially wonderful Japanese pop music to be unearthed in my estimation and since of course it is September, I decided to give "September Girl" a whirl.
The song was Tomita's 2nd single from August 1981 which was released about 18 months after her debut in 1979. I've seen Tomita on YouTube a number of times but hadn't taken the leap until today. And you know what? "September Girl" is a pretty pleasant piece...some synth in there and a nice guitar solo with Tomita's nice voice. Actually, it even sounds a bit aidoru-ish but considering the clothes that Tomita was wearing on her various covers, I think it was marketed as a general pop tune. Perhaps the song wasn't enough to get her into the limelight of fame but I'm sure that it struck a happy nerve with a number of listeners.
"September Girl" was also placed in her debut album"COLOURS" which was released in September 1981. Tomita was born in Nagoya in 1961 and released 13 singles between 1979 and 1992 and I believe 9 original albums. Unfortunately, I couldn't find out who wrote and composed "September Girl" but I've got a feeling that they are probably quite well known.
I'm fairly sure then that when this article gets heralded on Facebook, C.C. may be in for a bit of a surprise. I will give my thanks.
