Masao Suzuki/Michiya Mihashi -- Tankō Bushi（炭坑節）

This article is a sequel of sorts to my talk with my new friend, Aja, who has been practicing Japanese dance for years, Yesterday, she sent me a list of various songs that she has known, and one of them was "Tanko Bushi" (Coal Mine Melody). Now that song rang a whole lot of memory bells since I've not only heard the classic minyo but I've actually danced to it.

Let me explain. 30 years ago when I was an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, the Japanese-Canadian Students' Association (as it was called back then) had just begun its time at the St. George Campus in downtown Toronto. Not long after its genesis, we heard an advertisement for some cultural festival that was to be held, and I believe one of the components was a demonstration of the world's dances. So, one of our more effervescent members, Yoko, who had experience in dance, wanted to get a small group together to demonstrate Japan's "Tanko Bushi". My good friend, Laura, (who introduced me to Aja), myself and a few others decided to take part and so we learned how to dance it in the large common room of the residence where Yoko had lived. And the dance was practiced as how you see it above in the training video.

Somehow our motley crew got our act together and when the dance demonstration was done at the main auditorium of the Medical Sciences Building, we not only did it but we did it a second time inviting members of some of the other dance troupes. It worked out pretty well but I distinctly remember (and felt) the participating member of the Jewish Students' Union accidentally smacking me in the knees during the second run. No offense taken, though, obviously.

"Tanko Bushi" was originally recorded back in 1932. According to Wikipedia, the most popular version was the one recorded by minyo singer Masao Suzuki（鈴木正夫）, although it didn't state whether Suzuki's take was the very first recording (his career lasted from 1931 to his death in 1961). It is, though, the recording that our JCSA group followed.

The minyo is known as a folk song from Fukuoka Prefecture and at this time, it is said to have originated in the city of Tagawa with the lyrics referring to the old Miike Coal Mine. As for those lyrics and the melody, I couldn't find any record of who created the song unfortunately.

From what I've read, there have been a number of variations on "Tanko Bushi", so I'm sure enka and other kayo singers over the last century and into this one have given their renditions. The legendary Michiya Mihashi（三橋美智也）gave his contribution in 1956 according to the description under the above YouTube video with Kikutaro Takahashi（高橋掬太郎）providing some more lyrics and Toshiro Yamaguchi（山口俊郎）giving perhaps a more mellower enka-like feeling to the proceedings. Perhaps it can still be danced to.

Anyways, I'm providing the translation for the song below. It comes straight from the Wikipedia article on "Tanko Bushi".

The moon, has come out,
Oh, the moon is out, heave ho
Over Miike Coal Mine has the moon come out.
The chimney is so high,
I wonder if the moon chokes on the smoke...
Heave Ho!

Yoko Nogiwa -- Hijo no License （非情のライセンス）-- The Theme to "Key Hunter"

Everyone in my family got a surprise over breakfast this morning when it was announced on NHK's "News at 9" that vivacious actress Yoko Nogiwa（野際陽子）had passed away from lung cancer at the age of 81 the day before yesterday. Obviously, she wasn't exactly a young person but when someone from the entertainment industry becomes as much of a familiar presence as Nogiwa did through her appearances on dramas, talk shows and variety shows, it still transmits a shock on finding out that she has left this mortal coil.

As you can see from above, Nogiwa was also very prevalent in commercials. My default impression of her was of a very elegant and courteous lady but with a core of iron which wouldn't allow her to suffer fools very gladly.

What I only found out recently was that her first few years on TV had been spent as an NHK announcer (1958-1962) before she decided to go into acting. After that, she became known as an action girl (!) along the lines of Diana Rigg's Emma Peel from the British spy series "The Avengers" perhaps starting with the 1960s "Key Hunter"（キイハンター）, a Japanese show that tried to emulate the feel of series such as "The Avengers" and the original "Mission: Impossible" from America. It was quite the revelation to see a young Nogiwa looking quite the fashion plate of the times while kicking all sorts of butt.

The lead guy was Tetsuro Tanba（丹波哲郎）who had been Japanese spymaster Tiger Tanaka on the 007 entry "You Only Live Twice". He played Tetsuya Kuroki（黒木鉄也）, former intelligence agent-turned-leader of this motley special missions force which included Nogiwa's Keiko Tsugawa（津川啓子）. Tanba would become a star of another famous special good-guy unit show "G-MEN★75", interestingly enough, as another leader with the same last name as his "Key Hunter" character. Not sure whether the producers had wanted to bring in the same mystique surrounding Patrick McGoohan when he played spy John Drake on "Danger Man" and then "No. 6" on "The Prisoner"; there still is some wonder whether the two characters were one and the same.

Anyways, let's get back to Nogiwa. The opening theme for "Key Hunter" was this typically 60s spy show-sounding instrumental of intrigue. Imagine guns and go-go boots. The ending theme was the sung version of the opening theme, "Hijo no License" (Extraordinary License), and the singer was indeed Nogiwa. As far as I could see on Nogiwa's J-Wiki article, this was most likely her only record, and to be honest, I can understand why. I mean, she hit the notes but I think as a singer, she was a far better actress. And judging from the comments I've seen on YouTube and Mixi over the last several hours, she will be missed. I'm not a religious person but perhaps the afterlife just gained a bit more in class.

Jun'ya Sato（佐藤純弥）wrote the lyrics while Shunsuke Kikuchi（菊池俊輔）came up with the music. Kikuchi would also come up with the famous theme song for "G-MEN★75".

Mondo Grosso feat. bird -- TIME

As someone commented for the above video, it's been too long since the last collaboration between bird and Mondo Grosso. I still fondly remember their sunny "Life" from 2000.

"Time" isn't an instant earworm but it's still pleasant enough. At first, I couldn't quite believe it was actually bird singing but as the song went along, that distinct voice started emerging again. Nice to hear her after so long.

It is the first track on Mondo Grosso's latest album "Nando demo Atarashiku Umareru"（何度でも新しく生まれる...Newly Reborn Over and Over）that was released just last week. And MG's website has some videos for the tracks. Along with bird, UA gives her contributions as well as actress/singer Hikari Mitsushima（満島ひかり）and Asuka Saito（齋藤飛鳥）from Nogizaka 46（乃木坂46）.

Denki Groove -- Mononoke Dance （モノノケダンス）

Up to tonight, I would have proudly said that my favourite Denki Groove（電気グルーヴ）song was "Nijuu-ichi Seiki mo Motetakute"（２１世紀もモテたくて）. The techno mashup of Seiko Matsuda's（松田聖子）"Tenshi no Wink"（天使のウィンク）and CCB's "Romantic ga Tomaranai"（Romanticが止まらない）from 2001 was epic genius.

But then I came across this little gem by Takkyu Ishino（石野卓球）and Pierre Taki（ピエール瀧）that came out as their 13th single on Valentine's Day 2008, "Mononoke Dance" (Spectre Dance). It was used as the opening theme for the 2008 late-night version of the classic anime "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro"（ゲゲゲの鬼太郎）on Fuji-TV under its different title of "Hakaba Kitaro"（墓場鬼太郎...Kitaro of the Graveyard）. It's the first time in a long time that I watched a YouTube video on first look three times in a row since I was so attracted to the opening credits of the show. It's cool, sultry and driven.

https://music.apple.com/jp/album/j-pop/1536370987

The above is the album version (excerpt only) of "Mononoke Dance" that was included on the band's 9th album "J-POP" from April 2008. However, I think the short and sweet version used in the anime is tighter and better. The single peaked at No. 17 while the album broke the Top 10 at No. 9. Now, that I've heard "Mononoke Dance", I gotta make a decision.

For the original and more famous theme for "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro", have a look here.

Ken Hirai -- Hitomi wo Tojite （瞳をとじて）

I was so struck by the pure pop happiness of "POP STAR" by singer-songwriter Ken Hirai（平井堅）that I'd almost forgotten that the year before, he had come out with one of the most tenderhearted ballads in recent J-Pop memory with "Hitomi wo Tojite" (With My Eyes Closed).

Released in April 2004 as Hirai's 20th single, looking at the translation of the lyrics, I realized that it was a bittersweet one about a man who no longer has the love of his life but still treasures the time that he had with her. And it was the theme song for the 2004 movie "Sekai no Chūshin de, Ai o Sakebu"（世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ...Crying Out Love in the Center of the World）whose plot was along those lines.

I never saw the movie but I remember that "Hitomi wo Tojite" got a lot of airplay on TV through the music shows along with shots of audience members tearing up. It absolutely hit the spot for everyone since it ended up becoming the No. 1 song of the year, sold over a million copies, went Double Platinum, won Song of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards, was nominated for a Gold Prize at the Japan Record Awards and earned Hirai his 2nd appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen (whew...that's the longest streak of Bold that I've used). I guess the only surprise I found out was that despite all of the accolades, it actually didn't hit No. 1 on the Oricon weeklies, peaking at "just" No. 2.

"Hitomi wo Tojite" was also a track on his 6th original album "SENTIMENTALovers" from November 2004. Unlike the single, it did hit No. 1 on the album weeklies and became the 3rd-ranked album of 2005.

Tomoko Aran -- Hitonatsu no Tapestry （ひと夏のタペストリー）

Yup, I think this is one of those songs that fits perfectly with the weather. I was listening to a best compilation of Tomoko Aran's（亜蘭知子）hits, and I realized that during the 80s when she was the most active in singing as well as songwriting. she was dabbling in a few genres as she entered the 90s. There were her contributions to City Pop in the early part of the decade followed by a dip into American-style dance pop (Reimy/麗美 and Junko Yagami/八神純子) were two other singers who would follow suit at around the same time) and then going into the next decade, she would come back musically into Japan with a different urban contemporary pop sound with mellower synths.

Aran's "Hitonatsu no Tapestry" (The Tapestry of One Summer) from her 1983 album "Fuyuu Kuukan"（浮遊空間...Floating Space）kinda straddles the line between City Pop and funky R&B on the West Coast. I couldn't help but feel a bit of Dazz Band on hearing the synths, and of course, there is that boppy bass. Masatoshi Nishimura（西村麻聡）, later of the band Fence of Defense, came up with the oh-so-80s music while Aran provided the lyrics.

And those lyrics talk about a night of subtle debauchery through Mona Lisa smiles, blue cocktails and dedicated leering (yup, they are straight from her lyrics) with the ending verse talking of the morning after when everything seems to have faded into half-remembered memories. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, although I wonder if Aran could have been talking about Roppongi on a Saturday night.

The singer-songwriter also came up with the words for all those fun-in-the-sun tunes for TUBE so I gather that she was able to take all that night feeling and turn it to a somewhat more innocent thing during the daytime for that band. That would make for an interesting analogy: Aran goes to the beach by day, hits the discos at night.

Perhaps the only bugbear that I might have about "Hitonatsu no Tapestry" is that Aran herself doesn't have as strong a vocal presence as some of her contemporaries, so I would have loved to have had someone like Yagami take the song on.

Hideko Yoshida/Hiroshi "GWAN" Sato -- Tanpopo no O-Sake （たんぽぽのお酒）

It was kinda hard to imagine as a kid that the dandelion was an unwelcome weed. It smelled like Juicy Fruit chewing gum, looked pretty in full bloom, and it had that cool dispersal system for its seeds. Just give it a blow and watch every seed fly off under its own parachute. My "hobby" of blowing fluffy dandelion seeds was curtailed at a young age when I ended up blowing a whole ton of them into a stiff wind...which ended up in the direction of my family and all of the picnic food on the table. NOT good times, they were.

Since those salad days, I have learned that though there are many commercials selling herbicide to get rid of the yellow flowers every year, the dandelion has provided some nice parts in terms of greens for salads and tea. I'm not sure how the flower has been treated in Japan but that famous ramen noodle western from 1985, "Tanpopo" does exist and that title is the Japanese word for dandelion. Plus, a couple of years earlier, Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）had given her own tribute to the flower via "Dandelion".

Well, I've just come across this other dandelion-themed folk song (that flute gives it all away), "Tanpopo no O-Sake" (Dandelion Wine) from 1975. There wasn't a whole lot of information about the song on YouTube and there was a commenter who had asked about it...5 years ago, mind you. However, the mellow music and the lovely vocals by Hideko Yoshida（吉田日出子）intrigued me enough to take on the challenge to track this down.

First thing is that Yoshida is an actress, and when I looked up her biography in J-Wiki, there was no mention of her ever going behind the mike to sing so perhaps "Tanpopo no O-Sake" was a one-off. It would be too bad if that were indeed the case since I think she actually sings the song very well. According to her bio, she would have been over 30 years of age by this recording but she sounds like a teenager here.

Apparently, the song was perhaps first performed as the theme song for an NHK drama "Roku Nen Ni-kumi no Haru wa"（六年二組の春は...The Spring for Grade 6, Class 2）but I'm not sure whether Yoshida's version is the original one for this show. The lyrics of the lives of a bed of dandelions were written by Kazuko Fujimoto（藤本和子）and the music was composed by Hiroshi "GWAN" Sato（佐藤GWAN博）. Now to be clear, this isn't the late keyboardist Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）who had come up with the marvelous City Pop album "Awakenings" but the folk singer/actor with the same name (Hiroshi Sato is pretty much like John Smith in Japan) whom I'll be distinguishing through the inclusion of his nickname GWAN in the Labels. Supposedly, according to Sato's bio on J-Wiki, he was given the nickname by fellow actor Ryuzo Hayashi（林隆三）since the singer had eyes that resembled those of a bird that had just gotten shot by a pellet gun (gun=GWAN....go on!). Moving on...

In any case, I have recently come across some other songs by GWAN online so I would like to explore and perhaps feature some of these in future articles.