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.
That's one striking record cover for Hiroko Yakushimaru's（薬師丸ひろ子）"Woman 'W no Higeki' yori" (Woman - From "W's Tragedy"), with a bit of symbolism via that jagged red 'W'. The young singer/actress sang the theme and starred in the 1984 mystery which utilized the trope of a movie within a movie in which an heiress (Yakushimaru) stands accused of murder of the family patriarch.
I had always thought that Karuho Kureta (呉田軽穂...i.e. Yumi Matsutoya) had only created songs for one aidoru, Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）, in the early 80s. But it turned out that she was also able to squeeze one in for Yakushimaru with Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆） providing the lyrics. Yuming did a fine job as well; the sad pensive melody fits Yakushimaru's soft but resonant vocals, and the arrangements add that touch of class, especially in the refrain. Matsumoto's lyrics, which has the singer begging that special someone not to leave but to stay at her side for a while, seem to have that tragic edge as if it would be the last time the pair would be together before the woman has to face her final fate. Overall, it just has that vulnerability that fits the singer to a T.
When I first heard this song on "Sounds of Japan" years ago, I hadn't known anything about the movie but I kinda figured out that it was a theme. It has that level of epicness. For a lot of the 80s fans, that uncertain melody at the beginning makes the song instantly recognizable. "Woman",Yakushimaru's4th single which came out in October 1984, went all the way to No. 1, and stayed a good long time on the charts. It ranked at No. 58 for 1984 and then remained long enough the next year to rank at No. 77.
I'd always wondered about what the deal was with the hyphens between each syllable in the title "FU-JI-TSU" for Shizuka Kudo's（工藤静香） 4th single. Apparently the story goes that Kudo and company didn't want the fans to mistake the aidoru for necessarily endorsing the electronics manufacturer, Fujitsu, so in went the hyphens. Yeah, like the hyphens really helped. I was kinda wondering if her apartment had been filled with the company's products.
Anyways, "FU-JI-TSU" kept on the tradition of maintaining that urgent beat which characterized Kudo's early singles right from her debut,"Kindan no Telepathy"（禁断のテレパシー）. Released in June 1988, the song was Miyuki Nakajima's（中島みゆき） first contribution to the Kudo discography, and apparently the title itself came from an essay in one of Nakajima's written works titled "Ai wa Suki desu II"（愛は好きですＩＩ....I Love LOVE 2）. The galloping melody was provided by Tsugutoshi Goto（後藤次利）.
It had been a while since I heard this one, but today, I came across an old audiotape which contains her 1st BEST album, "Gradation" which has the A and B sides for her first five singles. "FU-JI-TSU" hit the top spot on Oricon and was the 23rd-ranked song for 1988, selling more than a quarter of a million copies.
The video above has what looks like a whole bevy of male and female aidoru, including Shizuka-chan talking about the meaning of fujitsu (不実...insincerity) and then trying to make a calligraphy session of it before she goes on stage to perform the titular song.
Now, just to make sure that no one reading this has the impression that the manufacturer Fujitsu was trying to shoot itself in the foot by picking that name, the company actually started corporate life as Fuji Tsushinki Seizo（富士通信機製造）, or Fuji Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing. As have a lot of Japanese firms, the company simply shortened the name.
1. Yosui Inoue Kouri no Sekai
2. Yosui Inoue Nishoku no Koma
3. Kei Ogura Sama Yoi
4. Takuro Yoshida Ima wa Mada Jinsei wo Katarazu
5. Kaguyahime Kaguyahime LIVE
6. Kaguyahime Kaguyahime FOREVER
7. Yosui Inoue Yosui Live -- Modori Michi
8. The Carpenters Horizon
9. Downtown Boogie Woogie Band Kei Datsu Donzoko (I hope that's the right reading here)
10. Graciela Susana Adoro
When I was working as a NOVA teacher in the Asakusa branch from 1995-1997, I sometimes walked down the grand shopping street known as Shin-Nakamise Dori which started from just across Asakusa Station all the way down to Tawaramachi Station which was the next station down on the Ginza Line. Near that station was the Asakusa ROX Building which contained all sorts of stores and restaurants. It had been around a while by the time I first set foot in there, but I enjoyed checking out the CD/bookstore and then occasionally grabbing a bite to eat on the restaurant floor right at the top. No, it wasn't exactly the healthiest fare I got there, but at least it was better than my frightening diet of McDonalds/KFC several times a week. Still, looking back on those days, it was nice to get in there especially when the weather was rather inclement.
"Jitensha de Oide" (Come By Bike) was the song that was used in a commercial for ROX, and it hits that right tone in terms of how I feel about the place. Composed by Akiko Yano（矢野顕子） and written by Shigesato Itoi（糸井重里） in 1987 for her album, "Granola", I came across it through her 1996 BEST album, "Hitotsudake" (it was never released as a single...at least, not as an A-side). Ryuichi Sakamoto（坂本龍一） gives a faint echo of Yano's technopop past in the keyboards, but basically the duet with Motoharu Sano（佐野元春）is a laid-back invitation to listeners to come (by bike) and spend some relaxing off time with that friend over tea and good conversation. It must've made for a good jingle for ROX, and for the Asakusa neighbourhood in general since I could envision the old houses and narrow streets through the lyrics.
The slide guitar and the gentle piano can slow down the heartbeat quite nicely, and the distinctive voices of Yano and Sano (who also provides the whistling) make it sound as if they were intimately performing in one of those cafes, old/new or chain/mom & pop, that line Kaminarimon Dori in the area. Strangely enough, I think a light rain would be the perfect meteorological backdrop for this song.
Thanks to my good buddy of over a quarter of a century's standing, I got introduced to a lot of what was called at the time Japanimation during my time at the University of Toronto. He had anime presentations of "Akira", "Patlabor" "Lodoss Wars" and the like for all of the engineering geeks and anyone else who was into the genre. I saw high school girls sitting next to truck drivers in the audience waiting to watch the movie version of "3X3 Eyes".
Another movie that was in the programme was the anime adaptation of E.E. Smith's"Lensman", known in Japan as "SF Shinseiki Lensman"（ＳＦ新世紀レンズマン....SF Lensman of the New Century）. Unfortunately, although I was in the auditorium for that showing as well, I really only saw a part of it; you see, being midterms, I was pretty much spent due to all of the cramming, and as a result, I was dead on my feet and in my seat. So, the only scene I really remember was the one that resembled the Cantina Scene from the original "Star Wars" (I think it was actually some space disco thing).
And then there were the end credits (yep, I was truly exhausted). I heard this ethereal male chorus whisper out "Starship....ride on with me, oh my little girl...." while this playfully introspective piano tinkled away. Then, the music literally tumbled into this heroic pop/rock anthem with the guys from ALFEE at the fore. I didn't exactly vault out of my seat but my eyes were a lot more open.
Sometimes, when I remember the very first time I saw ALFEE on the 1983 Kohaku Utagassen playing "Marie-Anne",I think it was kinda too bad that the guys couldn't come back for the 1984 edition playing "STARSHIP - Hikari wo Motomete"(Seek The Light). It did quite well in the rankings, hitting No. 5 on the Oricon weeklies and then finishing the year as the 30th-ranked song of the year. It had that sweeping epic flavour that would've fit quite nicely into the young pop section of the Kohaku proceedings. In a way, "STARSHIP" reminds me of Queen's theme for "Flash Gordon" in terms of the overall style.
ALFEE's 18th single released in May 1984 was written and composed by co-vocal Toshihiko Takamizawa（高見沢俊彦）with Ken Takahashi（高橋研）helping out on the lyrics. It was the band's first stab at an anime theme song. I may not remember much of the movie, but at least, the theme song still establishes that link to it so that I may repent my viewing sins and finally get to watch it in its entirety.
I think this song is one of the reasons that I just don't want to merely get a BEST hits album by a singer. Going into an original album, I have been able to find tracks that never got released as singles but are just fun examples of ear candy.
Getting interested in Eri Hiramatsu（平松愛理）, I bought her 6th album from December 1993, "Hito Yo Hito Yo Yume ni Migoro"（一夜一代夢に見頃....The Best Time To See A Dream In One Night In One Lifetime） one day. Among the highlights (all of the songs were written and composed by Hiramatsu) was a great Latin Jazz Xmas song, "Holy! Hot Christmas" and this duet number by her and Stardust Revue's lead vocalist, Kaname Nemoto（根本要） (yep, I was inspired by nikala's article on one of the band's songs).
"Kaerimichi de Ciao" (Ciao On The Way Home) sounds like that light uptempo Carpenters song that never got to see the day of light. Mind you, neither Hiramatsu nor Nemoto sound like Karen, but that boppy keyboard intro and the chorus by the duo had me thinking a bit. In any case, "Kaerimichi de Ciao" doesn't revolutionize J-Pop by any means, but it's just a happy little duet about a man and woman goofily in love without any major hangups. To me, that "ciao" on the way home just means "See you tomorrow, same bat time, same bat place, same bat channel".....yes, that was my Adam West Batman reference of the year. Those two will be together forever, come hell or high water. The rom-com-like melodic arrangements pretty much cement the overall theme, and I'm sure there have been a few real couples out there in Japan who have tackled the tune in karaoke boxes over the years.
As the vocal for Stardust Revue, I've heard Nemoto give those great heartfelt performances of some pretty epic ballads, so it was nice to hear him to give his part to a cute little love song.
"Hito Yo Hito Yo ni Yume Migoro" got as high as No. 2 on Oricon.
My memory of my first encounter with Stardust Revue (スターダスト・レビュー) is pretty vague and it's been a while ago. I do remember that they won me over quickly with their AOR and jazzy material from the 80's. So many memorable melodies in their catalogue. One of those is their 25th single, "Mokuren no Namida" (木蘭の涙...Tears of Magnolia), which came out in July 1993, though it originally appeared on the band's studio album "Sola" back in March that year. I had no idea how big that song was until I saw it performed numerous times on Japanese music programs by different singers and then came to Japan only to catch it on speakers in various stores I entered. In fact, they played it at a local supermarket just this past week. When the single originally came out, it peaked at #54 on Oricon weeklies and sold about 150,000 copies. Not exactly major hit material (considering how huge J-Pop sales generally were in those years), though it did chart for 20 weeks. Around the turn of the next decade, it was revived from the ashes thanks to the cover versions that started popping up everywhere. It eventually became one of the most recognizable songs by the band. In 2005, they re-released the single with a stripped-down acoustic arrangement, and that one peaked at #15. You can listen to it here.
My preference, however, is with the original. It has this nice oriental vibe that, according to this page, reminded the band of Shanghai when they first composed the melody. It's a gentle melancholic piece that (surprise surprise) laments the loss of the beloved. Kaname Nemoto (根本要) sings it so elegantly, and the bassist Kiyoshi Kakinuma (柿沼清史), who composed it, also lends his voice in the interlude. Love that part along with the saxophone. The page linked above offers a detailed blow-by-blow account from a radio talkshow on how the song was created. Here are two pieces of trivia I got from it. First, it was originally titled "Roman no Hanasaku Koro" (浪漫の花咲く頃...The Time When Romance Bloomed) and featured more saccharine lyrics, which lyricistHiroshi Yamada (山田ひろし) thought would fit the Chinese-sounding melody. The members of Stardust Revue didn't like it much and asked Yamada to revise the song to make it more down-to-earth and genuine.
The other piece of info is that the intended protagonist was male. However, when it came to karaoke, both men and women would perform this comfortably. Must have something to do with gender-neutral pronouns and Nemoto's high voice. Now, I don't know for sure how loyally the Japanese follow this rule, but I heard that in karaoke women are not supposed to sing songs with a male perspective. (I gotta admit, I break it shamelessly all the time.) However, with this song, anyone could interpret it from whatever angle they wished. It's a universal and timeless heartbreak theme.
As I mentioned above, many artists have covered "Mokuren no Namida" so I'm going to highlight a few versions. Perhaps the most famous one is by Chikuzen Sato (佐藤竹善) with the vocal duo Kobukuro (コブクロ), which they released as a single in 2004. This arrangement is more straightforward AOR with all the guitars. Nemoto's voice will always be the one, but their interpretation is also good.
This is my first time embedding something from xiami, so hopefully it works (sorry but it's now disabled), because the 2002 cover by Satoru Sakamoto (坂本サトル) happens to be my favorite. It's all vocals and piano, similar to Stardust Revue's acoustic remake. Sakamoto's delivery is so piercing, it gives the song an extra layer of sadness. Another singer joins him as it goes along. You have to be a total newbie to kayo kyoku if you don't recognize that voice. :)
And last but not least is the vocal duo Alma Kaminiito (アルマカミニイト), who decided to turn it Spanish in 2012. I'm not sure what to think of this other than that their pronunciation is pretty good. I only came across this cover while doing research for the entry but hey... why not share.
