Ryoko Hirosue -- Maji de Koi suru Go-byo Mae （MajiでKoiする5秒前）

The first time I saw actress Ryoko Hirosue（広末涼子）was early in my Ichikawa days when I caught her in this ad for NTT Docomo's pokeberu, aka "pocket bell", double aka "beeper"...in the days before cellphones and then smartphones really took charge. I think she was all of 15 at the time but soon after this commercial, her star just rose higher and higher until I pegged her as the It Girl for that year and perhaps for a few more. Her popularity rather reminded me of Rie Miyazawa（宮沢りえ）from about half a decade earlier, although Hirosue was more about the girl-next-door than the sassiness.

Well, with all of the commercials, TV dramas and movies that were being thrown into her lap, I think it was pretty much inevitable at the time that the Kochi-born Hirosue would be asked to go into the recording studio. And so it was that she would release 7 singles and 2 original albums between 1997 and 2000 with her debut being "Maji de Koi suru Go-byo Mae" (5 Seconds Before Love) in April 1997.

The music video got plenty of airtime and I will always remember the teenaged Hirosue washing the dog while her vocals warbled cheerfully about heading down to Shibuya for that inaugural date with the boy of her dreams while leaving her rival in the dust. As Marcos V. mentioned in his contribution to the Hirosue discography, "summer sunset", she was never the greatest singer but it was all about the It Girl at the time singing a cute and happy and relatable love song which would have plenty of high school girls hitting the karaoke boxes in turn and boosting Hirosue's profile even more. I could even imagine her wearing the 90s high school fashion item of loose socks.

"Maji de Koi suru Go-byo Mae" was written and composed by veteran singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi（竹内まりや）which would probably explain some of that happy-go-lucky 60s feeling in the music. There is even something slightly Tracey Ullman about it. The song got as high as No. 2 on Oricon and later became the 49th-ranked song for 1997. And it even made it onto another NTT Docomo ad with Hirosue.

One of the world's busiest intersections in Shibuya.

Akiko Kobayashi -- Yasashiku Damashite （優しくだまして）

Apple excerpt only

As far as I can recall, I don't recall ever hearing an Akiko Kobayashi（小林明子）song appearing on "Sounds of Japan" during the 80s. It was all through our visits to our university-age karaoke haunt, Kuri, that I got acquainted with her most famous song, "Koi ni Ochite"（恋におちて）and those mellow Karen Carpenter-esque vocals.

Although, obviously, I couldn't easily obtain every tape and album of a Japanese singer whose output I heard and liked at the karaoke bar or on the radio, I felt that I was fairly lucky whenever I hit Wah Yueh in Chinatown. Strangely enough, lightning would hit once more after hearing the sweet "Koi ni Ochite" when I saw a couple of albums by Kobayashi sitting on the racks. Since one LP was titled "Koi ni Ochite", that was the one I got. Go with what's familiar, I thought.

It was quite the different album compared to the Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）and Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）records I had purchased since Kobayashi's music was as mellow as creamy milk tea...quite along the lines of an album of Carpenters ballads. Compared to the title track, "Yasashiku Damashite"(Fool Me Gently) sounded even more slightly Carpenter-esque. Composed by the singer and written by Yoshiaki Sagara（さがらよしあき）, the lush piano intro and the later mellow horns had me thinking of the American sibling act, although Kobayashi during the refrain sounded somewhat less like Karen. As for the lyrics, they relate one woman's plaintive hopes to her beau that even though she suspects or knows that there is another woman in his sights, that he will keep the charade going.

Back in those days, I would record LPs onto audiotape so that I could more easily listen to them if I had to pull off an all-nighter. "Koi ni Ochite" was definitely one of those albums that got heavy rotation status in the wee hours. There was just something very comforting about Kobayashi's vocals, and I'm pretty sure she did her time behind the mike on radio shows. By the way, along with the title track, you can also give another mellow track, "Diary", a try as well.

Source: Windows

Hiroshi Tachi -- Nakanaide (泣かないで)

Contrary to my initial speculation, this "Nakanaide" is NOT the same Mood Kayo "Nakanaide" that is the Hiroshi Wada & Mahina Stars (和田弘とマヒナスターズ) hit. The two songs are actually quite contrasting.

Just last night, after being spurred by the find of a black and white footage of Yujiro Ishihara (石原裕次郎) singing "Yogiri yo Konya mo Arigato" (夜霧よ今夜も有難う) earlier in the day, I began hunting for some more videos featuring singers from back in the day when I came across this promising medley that featured many familiar names... and Tough Guy's  face on the thumbnail, so I went ahead with watching it. I was first greeted by the dapper Ishihara crooning Tetsuya Watashi's (渡哲也) "Kuchinashi no Hana" (くちなしの花) in his smooth as silk voice, followed by an equally polished Ryotaro Sugi (杉良太郎), and after that George Yamamoto (山本譲二), who appeared and sounded quite awkward - I'm used to seeing the enka singer with his current-day flair and machismo. Then came the only fellow in the medley that I had never heard of, Hiroshi Tachi (舘ひろし). The title of the song he sang was up on the screen saying "Nakanaide", but unlike the really slow and melancholic "Nakanaide" I know of from the late 50's, the former had this out-on-the-town funky vibe and upbeat music, which was composed by Tachi himself. Also, his deep and gentle vocal delivery makes his "Nakanaide" more consolatory and assuring, hence my preference for this one.

Besides that, there were other features of the singer-actor that quickly caught my eye. That particular relaxed and nonchalant expression on his angular face, and that manner in which he sang - a hand on his belly, his body bobbing from left to right to the beat, the way he turned his head to the side when he brought the mic down, gazing at the floor occasionally - just reminded me of ASKA during the late 80's to the 90's. In general, Tachi looks like a real cool cat, and this part of him shone in his role as a rugged officer (I think) in the Ishihara-produced police drama series "Seibu Keisatsu" (西部警察) that aired from 1979 to 1983.

"Nakanaide" was released in 1984, and although there's not much information on the song, I think it was quite popular as it allowed Tachi a spot on the Kohaku on that same year. The video above had Tachi jammin' with another popular Hiroshi (unfortunately the video isn't available, so enjoy Tachi singing it on "Yoru no Hit Studio"). Huh, this article is filled with Hiroshi-s. Oh, I almost forgot, the lyrics to "Nakanaide" were written by the late lyricist, Yuji Konno (今野雄二).

Hooo boy... Wow... That is just... Wow... 

laughy.jp

Tachi seems to have aged pretty well, and he looks better now in my opinion. A lot better. He's a rather suave, good-looking man if I don't say so myself... ...

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Mangekyo （万華鏡）

It's always quite a thrill for me listening to some of the old kayo kyoku that I've listened to for years and years, and still gleaning something new. Case in point: Hiromi Iwasaki's（岩崎宏美） "Mangekyo" (Kaleidoscope). This was her 18th single from September 1979, and it was a song that I first heard on a BEST tape of hers that I got 30 years ago. At the time I listened to it, aside from the dramatic vibe, it didn't make a huge impression upon me. It wasn't an amazing song but neither was it a bad song (as difficult it is to imagine that Hiromi-chan could ever sing a bad tune).

Then, listening to it again after some years, and of course with all of the blogging here and the knowledge that I've picked up about songwriters and song styles, I've gained a lot more appreciation for it. "Mangekyo" was released at what I thought was a time of reckoning or transition for Iwasaki, at least when it came to her singles. From what I've picked up on through the Net and her early singing career, the late 70s seemed to be a period between her time as the short-haired energetic aidoru with the chart-topping tunes and her time as the long-haired chanteuse singing the chart-topping ballads. It was a time when her singles weren't getting all that high up on Oricon, but she was trying out to mix in music such as disco and City Pop which was quite interesting.

"Mangekyo" has that feeling. Although the song as written on J-Wiki was merely listed as an aidoru kayo kyoku, there was that percolating bass and that certain beat which just said that the song could only relate a story taking place in the big city. Plus, I have to give my new appreciation for the piano player who pulled off that opening riff up the keys. The song was composed by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）and the lyrics were by Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）.

Speaking of the lyrics, Miura brought together a story that seemed to belong in a haunting romance. Iwasaki sings from the point of view of the woman who is intent on haunting a former beau or even a failed suitor as he sees the mystery woman in a shop window and a rear mirror among other reflective surfaces. However at the end, the last line says that she is so alone, perhaps seen by the man as a dream or as a lie. Both characters are not in a good place. There's something somewhat ghostly or gothic, and Iwasaki's softly, softly delivery enhances that impression which makes for an interesting contrast with the urban contemporary arrangement.

Connected to that spookiness, I read on the J-Wiki article on "Mangekyo" that according to a Japanese-language Excite article, the song has been listed as one of a number of kayo to have "ghost voices". Now, knowing how some of my old students got majorly freaked out over ghost images in photographs although to me, they were obviously double exposures, I could only imagine how the powers-that-be behind the production of the song would have been freaking out if such rumours about "Mangekyo" came out when it came to the business side of things. And supposedly, there was talk that there had been a strange low voice of a man on the recording, but apparently it turned out to be a male backup singer whose contribution was toned down on the master tape. I believe I heard it on the very top video and basically it just sounded like Masayuki Suzuki（鈴木雅之）. Nothing scary about that.

To finish off, "Mangekyo" managed to peak at No. 10 and then become the 64th-ranked song for 1979.

CHEMISTRY -- Pieces of a Dream

On Sunday nights back in Japan, I occasionally watched the TV Tokyo program called "Asayan"（あさやん）. I thought it was basically just another one of the number of shows that Osakan comedy duo Ninety-Nine hosted, but it actually specialized in talent searches much like some of those old 70s programs that introduced some of the most famous aidoru such as Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）and Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）. Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）was born on that program as the show followed the five young ladies who had actually lost a contest to come back from the ashes by trying to sell 50,000 copies of their demo single. Of course, the rest is history.

But then a few years later, the folks on "Asayan" started getting interested in getting a male vocal duo launched. And once the dust settled, Tokyo-born Kaname Kawabata（川畑要）and Yoshikuni Dochin（堂珍嘉邦）from Hiroshima were the winners to form CHEMISTRY in 2001. When I looked at the duo for the first time, I thought that the producers were trying to create the Japanese version of Hall & Oates; although according to J-Wiki, Kawabata and Dochin are virtually the same height (173 cm and 174 cm respectively), Kawabata seemed to look quite a bit shorter and scruffier than Dochin.

Well, in any case, with the new duo set, their first single was released. "Pieces of a Dream" came out in March 2001, and along with the cool groove of the tune, I also remembered the music video which had CHEMISTRY and the rest of the setting all filmed in appropriately cool tones with the female character speaking in sign language.

Written by Tetsuro Anjo（麻生哲朗）and composed by Kazunori Fujimoto（藤本和則）, "Pieces of a Dream" launched CHEMISTRY's career like a rocket. It debuted at No. 2 and hung around the Top 5 for several weeks before it finally hit No. 1 late in April of that year. It became a million-seller and won Song of the Year honours at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. On top of that, it became the No. 3 song for 2001. For some reason, the duo didn't make it onto the Kohaku Utagassen. However, I would see them quite often on the telly for the next number of years.

In April 2012, after the end of their tour in Okinawa, the duo stopped their work together and are now working at solo careers. One interesting thing I've always wondered about CHEMISTRY's roots via "Asayan", though, is that the pair could be considered to be the "brother" to the "sister" act of Morning Musume. And I'm not sure whether the two groups had ever met on some show but did Kawabata & Dochin ever reverentially treat the ladies of MM as senpai?

Hiroshi Sato -- Say Goodbye

Not sure if any of you folks are probably relaxing on a backyard deck while guzzling down a beer or nursing a cocktail, but if you are also into Japanese City Pop, I think I've got the tune for you. The late Hiroshi Sato's（佐藤博）"Say Goodbye" is one of the tracks on his classic 1982 album, "Awakenings" that I've already written about. It's a nice funky number with Sato on the vocoder (the ancient version of Auto-Tune?), and with those synths, it almost goes into technopop territory. It may not be the prize track on "Awakenings" but it still has a golden place in my heart since the arrangement has me reminiscing about some of those AM radio tunes I used to hear way back when.

It's been a pretty cool week so far...not like the oven that it was the week before. I can only give my sympathies to much of Japan which is basically cooking in its juices...as it usually does during the summer.

Nebuta festival songs

Gotta love that Tachineputa face!

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Y'know, when it comes to the different categories of enka, I only note the usual fair - drinking (the hard stuff) to forget the one that got away, drinking to celebrate, drinking because you miss home, husband-wife relations, prefecture landmarks natural and man-made. But there is one that I always leave a dark corner of my mind even though I listen to some of them quite often; ironic, isn't it? This category of songs features the various festivals in Japan. One such example is the Nebuta festival (ねぶた祭) of Aomori.

I hadn't known what the Nebuta festival was, especially when first taking a look at Ikuzo Yoshi's (吉幾三) discography - there's this song called "NEBUTA of Japan". I thought it was another of the singer's weird connotations for something until I looked it up. According to japan-guide.com, the summer festival, that's held from the 2nd to the 7th of August (so it's still going on as I write this), is known for people parading around the city hefting gigantic lantern floats of colourful and often intimidating-looking characters. And it is considered one of the 3 great festivals of the Tohoku region, along with Akita prefecture's Kanto festival and Sendai's Tanabata.

Coming to today's topic. Since I am aware of a couple of enka that feature the Nebuta festival, I'd like to write about them.

Ikuzo Yoshi -- Tachineputa (立佞武多)

Now, it wouldn't be a list of Nebuta songs without something from good ol' Yoshi, who hails from the festival's prefecture of origin, would it? However, rather than the usual Nebuta, Yoshi's tune centers around the Goshogawara Tachineputa (五所川原立佞武多), which is basically his hometown's version of the festival. As you can see, Aomori has a few, slight variations of the festival in certain regions, but most notable is the one from it's capital city, if I'm not wrong. Though the only difference I can pick out from these variations is that the fellas carrying the floats yell something different. For the Tachineputa in Goshogawara, they scream out "Yatemare" instead of the usual "Rassera".

Here's Yoshi singing it at last year's Tachineputa.

As for the song "Tachineputa", Yoshi added some rock into the fun, rousing, festive music, and there is still an enka-ness to it made by the occasional strumming of the shamisen and the thumping of the taiko at the start. "Tachineputa" was released as Yoshi's 37th single on April 25th 2001, and he has been singing it every year since then at the festival in Goshogawara. In fact, he just did so last night. With Yoshi being all gruff and at the grass-roots level, I find that he's the perfect guy to be singing this song. I can just imagine him as one of those lifting the floats.

Unfortunately, I could only find the abridged version of "Nebuta".

Takashi Hosokawa (細川たかし) -- Nebuta (ねぶた)

Now, imagine Yoshi's "Tachineputa", but a lot more boisterous, fiercer, manlier, and more traditional... sort of. That's exactly what Hosokawa's "Nebuta" is. The amount of shamisen and taiko are increased by at least two-fold, and like most of Hosokawa's songs, it has got the electric guitar screaming away in the back. Unlike the former song, "Nebuta" seems to be referring to the festival as a whole, or at least the one from Aomori City since the backup singers and himself have been chanting "Rassera" throughout. "Nebuta" came out not too long ago in 2011 and it written by Rei Nakanishi (なかにし礼) and, to my surprise, composed by Keisuke Hama (浜圭介). Wow, I did not expect him to be the one responsible for such a raucous tune.

That's all for now. Besides these two, I'm quite sure there are many other songs featuring the Nebuta festival, it's just that I'm not all that familiar with them.

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