Makoto Kawamoto -- Ni-bun no Ichi (1/2)

Once again, I will be coming at a song from perhaps a different way that a lot of other people...namely, anime fans...got to know it.

I didn't know that Makoto Kawamoto's（川本真琴）"Ni-bun no Ichi" was the 2nd opening theme song for a popular anime "Rurouni Kenshin"（るろうに剣心）. Although with Kawamoto's high-pitched voice, I could see it as an anison.

Actually, during my time in Japan, I got to know "Ni-bun no Ichi" through the heavy-rotation music video of the Fukui Prefecture-born singer-songwriter singing away on a roof. That lyric of hers "Aishiteiru, aishiteiru..." (I love you, I love you) and the rapid-fire delivery are the two things that I've remembered all these years.

"Ni-bun no Ichi" was Kawamoto's 3rd single from March 1997. She wrote and composed the song, and it peaked at No. 2 on Oricon. It actually went Triple Platinum, selling close to 800,000 copies, becoming the singer's most successful hit. It would end the year as the 29th-ranked tune on the charts. The single was also on her debut album "Makoto Kawamoto" which actually hit No. 1 and broke the million barrier. I was a bit surprised that Kawamoto has only released 3 original albums and 13 singles to date.

Seeing her perform, I've placed her in my mind alongside girl-next-door types such as aiko and Mariko Nagai（永井真理子）. I guess it was probably the guitar but I could see her as one active busker by the subway station.

To give credit where credit is due:
http://laughy.jp/1435703741578148299

Haruo Minami -- Lupin Ondo (ルパン音頭)

Lupin III - quirky, ladies' man, and most of all master thief. Or at least that's what I've read on Wikipedia. Though "Lupin III" is one of the more well known manga and anime titles, I can't say that I've read or watched any of it. The real deal, that is. I recall there was a short series in the manga magazine, CO-CO, I used to collect of the same name. However, rather than the slim-Jim in a red suit and hairdo that looks like half a dried coconut, the Arsene Lupin III I read about looked more like a combination of an old-world magician and Robin Hood. But either way, both have a knack for stopping mobster gangs and other bad guys from getting treasure and keeping it for himself, all while evading the cops.

Anyway, as with many popular manga/anime, "Lupin III" has got a number of movie adaptations, both animated and live-action, under its belt since it's release in 1967. An example of the animated films would be "The Mystery of Mamo" from 1978, or "Lupin III: Lupin vs. the Clones" (ルパン三世 ルパンVS複製人間). The theme song of this movie happens to be "Lupin Ondo" by, I wouldn't have guessed it, Haruo Minami (三波春夫). Initially I found it a little odd to see the rokyoku master singing something meant for an anime, but then his happy-go-lucky vocal delivery blend in with the entertaining premises of the song, which tells of Lupin and his ragtag team crossing various continents in their search for treasure. Penning it was the manga's author, Monkey Punch.

As you can see from the title, this anisong - it still feels weird to call one of Minami's works an anisong - has elements of the raucous, celebratory enka/minyo with the use of the taiko and probably a little shamisen. This combined with the saxophone makes for a whimsical, slightly jazzy melody; think of it as a jazzy version of "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" (東京五輪音頭), courtesy of pianist Yuji Ono ( 大野雄二).

"Lupin Ondo" was released in 1978 together with it's B-side, "Zenigata March" (銭形マーチ), that also concerns "Lupin III", but rather than Lupin and the gang it features Lupin's nemesis, the police investigator Koichi Zenigata (銭形幸一). Minami himself actually made a special "appearance" in "The Mystery of Mamo", lending his voice to an Egyptian Police Commissioner.

kasi-time.com/item-35104

Seiko Matsuda -- Bruges no Kane （ブルージュの鐘）

It seems like for the last few Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）entries that I've been doing a travelogue of sorts with her and going back in time as well. "Marrakech"（マラケッシュ） was in 1988, "Miami Gozen Goji"（マイアミ午前5時）was in 1983 and now "Bruges no Kane" (The Bells of Bruges) for 1982. Like "Miami", "Bruges" wasn't an official single but a track on an album; in this case, it was her 6th studio album from November 1982, "Candy" which hit No. 1.

However, as with the previous two songs, Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）provided the lyrics for "Bruges" as Seiko does her tourist thing lamenting her English skills and having that famous waffle. Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）provided the gentle music. According to J-Wiki, this was apparently Hosono's first assigned piece to compose, although considering his role in New Music a decade before and then in the Yellow Magic Orchestra, perhaps "assigned" may have been too strong a word; maybe "asked politely" was more accurate. But then again, the Japanese corporate structure spreads throughout all industries including the music industry. You do as you are told....or asked.

In any case, I thought that there was something quite Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）about the song, perhaps due to the rolling guitar. It was about as different from anything that Hosono had done for YMO or for himself back in the 70s. And the melody does go quite nicely with the above traveling video.

The Folk Crusaders -- Kaettekita Yopparai （帰って来たヨッパライ）

I've heard this song before (how can I ever forget a song that sounds like it was done by Alvin & The Chipmunks in perfect Japanese?) through TV and such, but I had no idea that this was performed by The Folk Crusaders.

Noelle and nikala provided the two other entries for the folk group on "Kayo Kyoku Plus": "Kanashikute Yarikirenai"（悲しくてやりきれない） and "Imjin River" （イムジン河）respectively, and so my impression of the group was Kazuhiko Kato（加藤和彦）, Osamu Kitayama（北山修）and Norihiko Hashida（はしだのりひこ）performing these classic heartfelt ballads. So I get to do the goofy tune. And strangely enough, "Kaettekita Yopparai" (The Drunkard Returns) was the band's debut single on Christmas Day 1967. Considering the Alvin sound, perhaps it was quite appropriate it came out on December 25th...it certainly sounds like a song for the kids.

It may have been a comical tune but the subject matter was quite dark in that it was about a rascal who ends up dying in a drink-and-drive crash and heading up to heaven but ends up getting kicked back down when he starts carousing with the booze and women up there. Kitayama and Takeshi Matsuyama（松山猛）wrote the lyrics while Kato provided the sped-up melody; supposedly there was no helium involved during the recording.

"Kaettekita Yopparai", whose official English title was "I Only Live Twice" as a riff on a recent James Bond movie, must have hit the nation's funny bone since it managed to reach No. 1 and stay there for a good month early in 1968. In fact, it was the first Oricon song to break the million-record barrier selling a little over 2.8 million copies. It also became the 2nd-ranked song for 1968.

Back in those days, when a record became a hit, it was often the case that a motion picture would be made around it. And so, a comedy was made out of "Kaettekita Yopparai" which also featured The Folk Crusaders as themselves. The surprising thing was who the director was. It was none other than Nagisa Oshima（大島渚）who would later take care of "In The Realm of the Senses" and "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence".

(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)

It was a bit of an obvious point, but the original song could not be performed verbatim at The Folk Crusaders' concerts despite its mega-hit status. Apparently, the concert version had a more rock arrangement but the above video has a soothing bossa nova lilt.

Michiya Mihashi -- Yuyake no Tonbi (夕焼けとんび)

I don't think I have described anything that is enka with this word before and I doubt I'll ever use it to describe anything from this genre again, but I think "Yuyake no Tonbi" sounds rather cute. With it's perky music and Michiya Mihashi (三橋美智也) singing stuff like, "Yuyake zora ga ma-ka-ka" and "Ichiban boshi ga chika-chika" in such a merry manner that I can imagine him grinning while doing so, the thought that this enka-minyo veteran's single could pass as a kid's song has popped into my mind many a times.

Another interesting thing about "Yuyake no Tonbi" is that it's talking about a "Tonbi", or a kite. If you're wondering what a kite is - not that thing that rides the wind while attached to a string - it's basically a small version of an eagle but with a V-shaped tail. While it is common to have birds in enka tunes, they are more often than not seagulls or crows depending on the song's setting. But a raptor? No, except for this song. Although I haven't heard the call of a kite, I'd assume that they make some sort of whistling sound like the other birds of prey, and to mimic its call in "Yuyake no Tonbi", especially when the bird itself is mentioned, composer, Kenji Yoshidaya (吉田矢健治), had incorporated the high-pitched notes of the flute into the melody - that's actually pretty cool.

Writing the lyrics was Ryo Yano (矢野亮) who had worked with Yoshidaya on other occasions to create a number of songs for Michi - and Hachi, for that matter - like "Ringo Mura kara" (リンゴ村から). Anyway, "Yuyake no Tonbi" looks to be about a fellow talking to said kite as it makes its rounds in the evening. (Noelle from 1/3/16) I managed to figure out the meaning of the song; it's more like the fellow is waiting for the return of his brother - probably working in the city - and while doing so he asks the passing kite about the whereabouts of his sibling since the raptor soars high in the sky and can see everything from up there.

"Yuyake no Tonbi" was released in 1958 and was one of Michi's million-sellers; it sold 2.2 million copies, tying it with "Tasha de na" (達者でナ) for 5th place on his list of best-selling singles. As I may have said before, Mihashi had a disco phase in the 70's and during that time he released the disco versions of both "Yuyake no Tonbi" and "Tasha de na" as "THE TOMBI" and "BYE BYE HORSE" respectively in 1979. By a stroke of luck I managed to find "THE TOMBI". It's funky and as good as the original in my opinion. Plus, it's hilarious to see Mitchie in the John Travolta-Saturday Night Fever outfit striking that pose up there.

amazon.co.jp

Morning Musume -- Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima（モーニング娘。のひょっこりひょうたん島）

My days teaching in Tsukiyono, Gunma Prefecture usually started at 6:30 to 7:00 am, and one of my rituals getting up was reaching out from the futon to switch on the television. For whatever reason, the telly would be on TV Tokyo for the morning business program to drone on about the usual ups and downs in the economy (considering I arrived in the country after the end of the Bubble Era, most likely the latter) before the first commercial.

Ah, and speaking about that first commercial, this is what I heard and, sometimes if I were willing to open my eyes early enough, saw:

It was an ad for Nippon Express, and at the time I had thought that Nittsu put out a particularly cute commercial with a bunch of old-style puppets. Give Marketing that extra bonus!

Little did I know at the time that the jingle I heard morning after morning was actually not a jingle at all, but a theme song for a beloved 1960s afternoon children's show titled "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" (Island of Unexpected Contradictions) with those old-style puppets. Debuting in 1964 for a 5-year run, Yoko Maekawa and the Hibari Children Chorus（前川陽子とひばり児童合唱団）sang the chirpy theme for the NHK program. It was written by the creators, Hisashi Inoue and Morihisa Yamamoto（井上ひさし・山元護久）, and composed by Seiichiro Uno（宇野誠一郎）.

My interest in the music of Morning Musume（モーニング娘。）had already waned by 2003 with my last purchase of an MM single being the snazzy and jazzy "Mr. Moonlight" in 2001. Still I was reminded of my Gunma morning ritual when the girl group went ahead to give their own longer and more revved-up version of the theme song titled "Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima" as their 17th single in February of that year. The video was appropriately adorable with the usual choreography and camera close-ups of every member. And I just thought that petite Mari Yaguchi's voice dropped down a fair bit to speak her English at the beginning.

The single went Gold and peaked at No. 4 on Oricon.

Some time after the 2011 earthquake, this heartwarming ad for Toyota came on TV featuring SMAP member Takuya Kimura（木村拓哉）, comedian Tsurube Shofukutei（笑福亭鶴瓶）and director Beat Takeshi（ビートたけし）with "Hyokkori Hyotanjima" as an overarching theme. The gimmick had the three being re-born versions of famous figures from Japanese history.

Hachiro Kasuga -- Wakare no Hatoba (別れの波止場)

The moment I saw the "Wakare no" in Hachi's "Wakare no Hatoba", I wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of listening to it. Instincts told me that it would be similar to the First Enka Singer's hit, "Wakare no Ippon Sugi" (別れの一本杉) - sluggish and melancholic with a heavy atmosphere. While I don't mind the latter, I have to admit that I'm still not as excepting of the slow enka. If at all, under normal circumstances, it'll take me a while to warm up to it. But I gave in as the gnawing curiosity got the better of me. I checked out that video up there and was I surprised to hear something that's jauntier and about twice as fast as "Ippon Sugi". Even Hachiro Kasuga's (春日八郎) warbling sounded more lighthearted. I took a liking to it immediately.

While "Wakare no Hatoba" features your typical enka topic of lovers parting, this time at a wharf, Tetsuro Fujima's (藤間哲郎) lyrics feel more positive as our couple here are trying to make the most out of their last night together by taking a walk down and around their usual haunt by the sea, starting with the man comforting his lady who seems all too sad to see their relationship end. Wonder if he's putting on a brave front. Composing this song was Yo Maki (真木陽).

(Hiroshi Itsuki's performance)

"Wakare no Hatoba" was released in 1956 as Kasuga's 23rd single. Though I don't think it was as successful as "Ippon Sugi", it seems like "Hatoba" might have been well received, and I see many videos of this song on YouTube so that must account for something, right?

billboard-japan.com/goods/detail/180568