Michiya Mihashi -- O-Saraba Tokyo (おさらば東京)

As I had said on my other tributes to my grandfather, I've always wondered what his reaction to me liking enka would be. Well, after getting to know his personality better through Mom, I'd figure it'd go something like this if I were to show him some performance of an enka/kayo singer I like:

Me: I like this song. What do you think?
Grandpa: *Stares at video for a while, then at me, then at the video again* Why do you like this sort of music/such old singers?
Me: Why not...? 

It'd probably end about there for me, but then he would proceed to give my mom an ear-full. Yeah, Grandpa wasn't hot about Japanese music or its singers, to put it lightly. However, I think my weapon of choice against the unamused reactions and tutting would be to bust out "O-Saraba Tokyo", and then I'd be gloating over the fact that the original version of one of his favourites was actually by one of my favourites, Michiya Mihashi (三橋美智也). He's eyes might probably be rolling so hard they'd roll out of the house... but I think from there he'd warm up to the idea of me listening to good ol' Japanese oldies.

Moving on, "O-Saraba Tokyo" was something I'd least expect to be Grandpa's favourite. While I did mention that he enjoyed one of Hibari Misora's (美空ひばり) works, somehow it did not strike me that he'd be a fan of anything from the Yonin Shu. Perhaps it's because I always had the impression that their songs are quintessentially Japanese and so I just assumed that the likelihood of Chinese covers would be much lower. Turns out I was wrong the whole time and it's actually the complete opposite.

Mandarin cover.

As J-Canuck mentioned in his article for the song, this jolly sounding tune was one of Michi's many big hits and was incredibly popular in the titular city. Apparently, its popularity had extended out overseas as well, judging by the number of Chinese renditions made. The one version in particular that Gramps adored was this Mandarin cover titled "Liang Xiang Yi" (兩相依... Two Together... or something like that) done by Taiwanese singer Yao Surong (姚蘇蓉), and its lyrics are not as sad as "O-Saraba Tokyo" (if I'm not wrong) - seems more like the character is simply missing a loved one rather than mourning over him/her. Well, personally, I still prefer the original. To be honest, I am being somewhat biased here - because Michi - but at the same time I'm not used to listening to Chinese music, especially covers of Japanese songs which I mostly find sounding strange.

page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w137892292

I'm not sure if this Michi Best album has "O-Saraba Tokyo" in the track list, but I think it serves as a good visual representation of my face in that scenario I mentioned at the start of the article.

Sumiko Yamagata -- Kumorizora （曇り空）

Long time, no see Sumiko Yamagata（やまがたすみこ）. Welcome back to the blog! I was kinda looking for something City Pop and thought that I could find an entry in Yamagata's discography since she had her period of urban contemporary starting from the late 1970s.

However, I ended up making a detour when I found this interesting and lovely song by her. It's titled "Kumorizora" (Overcast Sky) and was a track on her 5th album "Orgel"（オルゴール...Music Box）from August 1975. Before Yamagata made that right turn into New Music/City Pop, she had been known as a young folk singer. But I think there is more of a drama in this song that was composed by her and written by Tadashi Akai（赤井正...I hope that's how the name is pronounced）so that the arrangement takes things into a more New Music area. Perhaps, there are other tracks in "Orgel" that may have been slowly convincing her that she could make a crossing between genres.

In any case, the lyrics by Akai have a woman silently pining for someone she's fallen for under that titular overcast sky and exhorting him to notice her, especially since there is a hint that he may have just broken up with someone else and is mourning that loss. I do love that guitar, that piano and Yamagata's voice here.

Koichi Aoki -- Genki de ne, Sayonara （元気でね、左様なら。）

Getting back home after dinner with my friends tonight, I flicked on Turner Movie Classics where I caught the last 45 minutes of the classic musical "The Band Wagon" (1953) with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Of course, there were some of the wonderful routines involving "Dancing In The Dark" and especially "That's Entertainment".  And now I know from where the music video for Art of Noise's "Peter Gunn" was inspired along with Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal".

Anyways, after the movie ended, I was left wondering about some of the kayo that had come out in that same year of 1953. There are four previous songs from that year listed on the blog and I found out another one titled "Genki de ne, Sayonara" (Take Care, Goodbye) by enka singer Koichi Aoki（青木光一）.

Aoki is already represented by a song that has become an enka standard, "Kaki no Kizaka no Ie"（柿の木坂の家）which was released in 1957. However, it was with "Genki de ne, Sayonara" that the singer from Saga Prefecture got his first big break. And unlike the slightly sorrowful "Kaki no Kizaka no Ie", "Genki de ne, Sayonara" sounds more cheerful despite the theme of parting-is-such-sweet-sorrow.

Released in March 1953, the lyrics were by Toshio Nomura（野村俊夫）with the music provided by Minoru Mikai（三界稔）.  The other interesting thing about the song is in the title; I don't think I had ever seen the word "sayonara" written in kanji before.

Yuko Ohtaki -- Mr. Private Eye

In my first article on singer Yuko Ohtaki（大滝裕子）, I mentioned that I had never heard of her before I discovered that she sang the coolest jingle for a yogurt drink. Well, that is still true, her name hadn't been known to me but I have heard her before.

Actually, when my anime buddy was kind enough to give me a copy of some of his large collection of anison some years back, it included "City Hunter OAS Volume 1". Included in it was "Mr. Private Eye" which was sung by Ohtaki. To me, it doesn't have a City Pop feeling but it does remind me in parts of some of the music that was playing about in the West during the late 1980s, especially when it came to those teenage movies starring Molly Ringwald (maybe it's The Psychedelic Furs).

Regardless, "Mr. Private Eye" is pretty darn cheerful, and Ohtaki delivers it as if she were a very grateful client to the man of "City Hunter", Ryo Saeba, which would probably arouse him to no end (is that a 100t hammer I see coming up there?).

Anyways, the song was created by Linda Hennrick and Ryoichi Kuniyoshi（国吉良一）. I'm not absolutely certain when "City Hunter OAS Volume 1" came out but I think it was 1989. It has also been placed on a remastered version of Ohtaki's 1980 debut album "Million Kiss"（ミリオン・キス）which was released in 2010 according to J-Wiki (although the year may be wrong since there is an entry on Japanese music blog "Music Avenue" about that remastered album and it's dated 2008) as a CD. Those extra tracks include some more City Pop and her contributions to "City Hunter" and even the detective series "Abunai Deka"（あぶない刑事...Dangerous Detectives）.

Goro Noguchi -- Amai Seikatsu （甘い生活）

The Eno-Den

Almost a couple of weeks ago, I think, "Uta Kon"（うたコン）had Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）on for what I think NHK said was his very first appearance on the music-variety show in its current incarnation. And he made the most of his time by performing his most successful hit.

That would be "Amai Seikatsu", his 14th single from October 1974. Now, at first glance, I would have translated that title into "A Sweet Life" but reading Michio Yamagami's（山上路夫）lyrics, it is much more accurate to have it mean "A Naive Life". Noguchi sings about a guy trying to pick up the pieces after a relationship goes down the tubes. The impression is that there is a huge hole in his apartment where his mate used to be.

Now that I remember, I realize that Noguchi showed up during that tribute show to composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）who indeed came up with the melancholy melody. And man, looking up at that video above, the 70s aidoru really had his supporters. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had suddenly stopped singing to chastise the screamers.

Listening to "Amai Seikatsu", I'm starting to glean some insight about why there were so many sad songs in the kayo period. Fans just seemed to love getting all sympathetic for a heartthrob singer crooning about a lost romance. But then again, that was true in Western music wasn't it?

Anyways, the song hit No. 1 on Oricon and came close to hitting the million barrier in sales; according to J-Wiki, it was about 950,000 records sold. "Amai Seikatsu" also won composer Tsutsumi a prize at the Japan Record Awards that year, and earned Noguchi his 3rd appearance at the Kohaku Utagassen which apparently cemented his position as one of the Shin-Gosanke（新御三家...The New Big Three） along with fellow singers Hiromi Go（郷ひろみ）and Hideki Saijo（西城秀樹）. In fact, his appearance at the Kohaku marked the first time that all three aidoru made their presence known at the NHK special. By the end of the year, the song was the 70th-ranked single of 1974 and even grew higher a year later by ranking in at No. 34.

Takeshi Kaga -- Ja-nay （じゃない）

I was well into that 3-year period in Toronto between the JET Programme and my really long stay in Japan. A couple of friends were kind enough to send me video tapes of Japanese TV during that time, and one of them actually sent me a tape filled with this new Fuji-TV variety show (debuted in 1993) which knocked the socks off me. It was this crazy program which took the concept of the cooking show and elevated it into gladiator spectacle. And it was hosted by this foppish force-of-nature who presided over the epic proceedings like a benevolent cuisine-obsessed king. Plus, I was stunned to hear most of the background music consisted of the larger-than-life soundtrack from "Backdraft", a score that I liked so much that I bought the CD (still wonder how much Fuji-TV had to pay for the rights to feature that music).

For the first little while, I was fairly obsessed with the original "Ryori no Tetsujin"（料理の鉄人...Iron Chef） which I continued to watch even into my time in Japan since it was on late night on Fridays. But then the inevitable familiarity-breeds-contempt curse of the formula set in and I gradually weaned myself from the show, even not watching the entirety of the final episode in 1999.

Takeshi Kaga（鹿賀丈史）played the grand chairman of the cooking academy and he had the perfect voice and the saturnine looks to pull the whole hammy thing off. He's been an actor since he was a kid (born in 1950) but he also took some time to record a few singles.

Now, it's time for a personal tangent. In my early years of my life in Chiba Prefecture, there was "Ryori no Tetsujin" on Fridays for me to enjoy, and if I'd had a regular job in the Japanese corporate world, I would also have been heralding the start of my weekend. However, I was a NOVA English teacher which meant that regular Saturday/Sunday weekends were as preciously coveted as water in a desert. In that time, my "weekends" consisted of Mondays and Tuesdays, and so my mornings off then and even during the mornings before my afternoon/evening shifts consisted of me leisurely having breakfast and watching another Fuji-TV show, the kiddy program "Ponkikies"（ポンキッキーズ）.

So, why watch a show like that instead of the morning wide programs featuring adult news on the other channels, you may ask? Well, part of it was that "Ponkikies" had some pretty darn catchy tunes (which is why I have the Ponkikies category in the Labels). And one of them was done by Chairman Kaga himself.

With kids' tunes, I think they have to be earworms by nature and although it took me a long while to find out that it was Kaga who sang this one, "Ja-nay", this song hooked me hook, line and sinker right from the get-go. Launching with a rapid-fire torrent of 「じゃない、じゃない、じゃない」like a clickety-clack train, Kaga loopily goes into some nutty lyrics that were probably chosen more for their onomatopoeic pleasure than for any particular story although my theory is that they revolve around some over-caffeinated kid and his will to live life large and not listen to the grown-ups. Plus, "Ja-nay" has this really simple but contagious melody that brings to mind a combination of something country-western and The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" with the same sense of whimsy.

Released in August 1996, I have to admit that "Ja-nay" was one of the tunes that I looked forward to on "Ponkikies", and someone on the production staff had the brain wave to even make it into a quick calisthenics regimen. It could get not only the kids but even some of the adults moving about (didn't quite get me to stand up and move...was too busy flexing my arm to eat my breakfast danish).

"Ja-nay" was written by veteran lyricist Yoshiko Miura（三浦徳子）and composed by Makoto Mitsui（三井誠）who had come up with an evergreen J-Xmas tune a couple of years earlier. The song peaked at No. 38.

Yoshiko Hanzaki -- Ashita e Mukau Hito （明日へ向かう人）

(Sorry but the video got taken down.)

I was surprised that the above video got up so quickly but this was the piece that I was watching last night on NHK's morning show (time difference, remember). I had never heard of singer-songwriter Yoshiko Hanzaki（半崎美子）before and when she was introduced as the "Shopping Mall Utahime" (Shopping Mall Diva), I was not particularly impressed.

From what I read on her J-Wiki file, the Hokkaido native had debuted back in 2007 and released a smattering of singles and albums over the past decade with her first major album coming out just earlier this year in March. Plus, she's held a number of concerts. Still, I'm not sure whether she has become a household name.

But during the NHK feature, it was discovered that she has become famous in Taiwan for performing in various shopping malls. And there was one moving ballad that seems to have become especially popular. "Ashita e Mukau Hito" (The One That Heads To Tomorrow). It was originally released as the title track of one of her albums back in March 2015.

The song is about being able to move forward in life despite the various obstacles and tragedies that inevitably populate life's path, and in the NHK segment, a couple of families have turned to "Ashita e Mukau Hito" for solace while mourning the loss of children.

I will be honest on seeing the original music video that I had to grab a tissue. The animation is cute and simple but speaks volumes about the power of friendship. The original album only got as high as No. 120 on Oricon but I am hoping that having folks in Japan discover this song for the first time will bring some more fame to Hanzaki. Perhaps hope beyond hope but wouldn't it be nice if she were even invited to the Kohaku Utagassen in a few months?