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.
Got to hear both sides of this 1981 single by Miharu Koshi（越美晴）so I decided to put my thoughts down about it. Perhaps it can be seen by her fans as a turning point in the singer-songwriter's early part of her career.
Side A,"Sarigenaku Ginger Ale" (Casually Drinking My Ginger Ale) is a classic City Pop number. There are those certain keyboards, horns and guitar adorning Koshi's breathy vocals about a woman thinking that things aren't completely set as far as her romantic relationship is concerned. That's fine, Miharu...some of that Canada Dry will be great for settling your stomach; it worked for me. Lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）and composer Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）worked on what was probably her final single before she made that change from City Pop princess to technopop diva a few years later. And both Aku and Tokura had been responsible for a number of Pink Lady's（ピンク・レディー）hits in the 1970s.
Side B, "Pocket Ippai no Love Song" (Pocket Full of Love Songs) is an interesting one since it goes a bit technopoppy which makes me wonder whether this was one hint for Koshi that perhaps she could explore this genre a little deeper. Even her vocals here seem to be making that transition into something higher and lighter although I can still hear the deeper tones that characterized her first City Pop phase. Aku also provided the lyrics for "Pocket Ippai no Love Song" but Koshi was the one behind the melody this time.
Both sides also made it onto her 3rd album, "Make Up" from 1981. The following album "Tutu" from 1983 would see Koshi embrace that New Wave aesthetic.
Almost a year ago, I wrote about chanteuse/actress/tarento Naoko Ken's（研ナオコ）"Kishuu"（帰愁）, a City Pop cover of a Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）song that I enjoyed even more than the original by the Queen of New Music.
Well, just before that 37th single came "Roppongi Rain" in May 1985. Also written by a couple of veterans, Masao Urino and Takuro Yoshida（売野雅勇・吉田拓郎）, I would also consider Ken's 36th a contemporary City Pop tune but this time, it seems to be mixed in with some old-style kayo arrangement of the 1970s. In a way, I can also think of it as a Mood Kayo.
As would befit the title, the story that plays out here is a woman heartbreakingly finding out that her paramour has been pulling a romantic con game all this time in the entertainment district. Again, Ken does a fine job with it due to that resigned and slightly cracking voice, but I can also imagine folks such as Akina Nakamori（中森明菜）and Yosui Inoue（井上陽水）giving their own spins on "Roppongi Rain". Perhaps by this point, Ken was probably more popular for her comical appearances on television than for her singing career, but I think "Roppongi Rain" is a hidden gem.
Well, I just wrote about her in my last article and it's been quite a while since I've put pen to paper (or I should really say finger to keyboard) about one of her own songs. So it's time to give some space to Chika Ueda（上田知華）the singer again.
Ueda did compose this opening song "Hurricane" for her first solo album without Karyobin, "Classiest" (August 1984) as she did all of the other tracks. I read on Amazon.jp that Yasushi Akimoto（秋元康）was responsible for writing the lyrics for most of the songs on "Classiest" but I couldn't confirm whether "Hurricane" was an Akimoto project (November 30 2022: Actually, I found out that Ueda did both lyrics and melody with Nobuyuki Shimizu「清水信之」 handling the arrangement).
"Hurricane" is an interesting Ueda find since compared to her sweet music days with the string quintet Karyobin in the late 1970s and early 1980s and her torch song ballad "I Will" from 1991, it's a very uptempo contemporary pop tune. I was wondering whether Ueda was channeling some EPO or Taeko Ohnuki（大貫妙子）from the same time period when she created the melody and arrangement for "Hurricane". It doesn't quite reach the same pace as a hurricane but it is pleasantly breezy and summery.
This is something that I've said almost on an annual basis but there are two signs in Japanese pop culture that the end of the year is indeed near: 1) the announcements of the participants in this year's Kohaku Utagassen (may be as early as next week) and 2) the announcements of the nominees for Top Catchphrases and New Words of the Year. The latter was announced earlier today and apparently, the nominees include No. 19 "Sho Time" for Los Angeles Angels phenom Shohei Otani, and No. 23 "TikTok" which I had to look up some minutes ago.
www.ebay.com
Well, speaking of catchphrases, I want to throw an old and probably not very well-remembered one at you: Fashion Music. Back in the early days of "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I wrote about a singer by the name of Asami Kado（門あさ美）and her song "Fascination". When I looked up the J-Wiki article for her, I found out that the catchphrase that was used by her people to describe her brand of musique was indeed Fashion Music (and not Fashion Pop that I may have erroneously used in other articles...🙏).
According to that article, Fashion Music may have become a brief sub-genre under the New Music banner in the late 1970s and early 1980s to describe an especially refined sort of popular kayo, perhaps somewhat like the sophisticated pop (Manhattan Transfer, Swingout Sister, etc.) of the West. However, although I punched in the katakana for this genre into Yahoo.jp, I got bupkis so perhaps to all concerned, Fashion Music was more Kado's catchphrase.
However, according to my memories, I think a case can be made that there was indeed Fashion Music featuring female singers for a few years at least around the turn of that decade to accompany the exotic kayoinvolving chanteuses singing about traveling through foreign countries and of course, the first high point of Japanese urban contemporary via City Pop. But unlike the inclusion of jazzy elements within sophisticated pop, my impression of Fashion Music is that it was distantly akin to the sweet music of American popular music of nearly a century ago as opposed to the "wild and immoral" jazz of the 1920s. Fashion Music is still perhaps not considered to be a true sub-genre, so my examples of what I consider to be part of it have been categorized under different genres ranging from New Music to general Pop, but in terms of sound, there is a certain Old World European feel often involving strings and maybe an accordion. The melody is also very mellow and occasionally melancholy or dramatic. Visually, I think the singer is on a chaise lounge performing the song while reaching for that solitary grape on a tiny wooden table.
But I've written enough for now here. Allow me to give my own examples of Fashion Music.
Well, why not start with the lady who first got the phrase coined? This is one person who I would also automatically picture on that chaise lounge on a balcony in some really ritzy hotel in the south of France. With Asami Kado's"Fascination", there is a tiny hint of bossa nova in there, another easy genre to relax to.
I also mentioned in that article for Kado's "Fascination" that Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）, one of my favourites, would also make for a fine member in Fashion Music. Her appearances on TV and her album covers have her looking very ennui-laden. The one song that seems to be one of her trademark tunes is "Last Scene ni Ai wo Komete"（ラストシーンに愛をこめて）which seems tailor-made (especially the instrumental bridge) to accompany an Oscar broadcast montage of classic romance scenes (such as the final one between Rick and Ilsa in "Casablanca"). Visually, I can only imagine a night walking along a canal in Venice.
Sweet music, indeed. Chika Ueda's（上田知華）strong vocals and a pop melody from the 1970s that has been given an arrangement dating back 40-50 years earlier really made an impression on me when I first heard it on "Sounds of Japan" decades ago. It's those strings by Karyobin which finally sparked me into writing this article. "Aki Iro Kesho"（秋色化粧）does sound like something that I would like to hear in an old-fashioned cafe while the master is expertly grinding those coffee beans.
Through listening to Mieko Nishijima's（西島三重子）music via "Sounds of Japan" for many years, I've categorized her brand of music as ranging from folk to AOR. As I put it in the original article, "Kamome yori Shiroi Kokoro de"（かもめより白い心で）is a reminder of a walk through sylvan woods in Europe, although perhaps with that titular seagull in the title, maybe Nishijima had meant the setting to be somewhere along the beach.
I could have done without the horns in the "Yoru no Hit Studio"（夜のヒットスタジオ）performance by Mayumi Itsuwa（五輪真弓）, but listening to the original recording of "Sayonara Dake wa Iwanai de"（さよならだけは言わないで）, it almost describes a scene from a 1960s French movie with Alain Delon and Charles Aznavour. It's one of my favourites by Itsuwa, and for other fans, I wouldn't be surprised if they said they had been transported to France.
Considering that I envisaged a trip to an old-style café for a couple of these songs, perhaps Fashion Music can also be known as Café Kayo. Any of these songs could call for a really finely brewed cup of coffee with a slice of pie or cake. The one word that I have yet to use here, though, is elegance. I guess the common denominator for all of these songs and perhaps songs that I have yet to come across is the elegance within them.
Although not my overall favorite aidoru (that would be Chisato Moritaka [森高千里]) or singer (and this one is surely Megumi Hayashibara [林原めぐみ]), I believe Naoko Kawai (河合奈保子) had everything in her favor. Besides getting some well-crafted songs from professional songwriters and composers during her early years, she also had the looks and talent to succeed. Always really cute in her aidoru dresses, but sometimes sexy in bikini fashion, later she surprised her audience with the new look of a beautiful and classy mature young woman. On top of that, Naoko Kawai was gifted with true talent and was able to develop a solid singing technique.
After
starting a singing career as the typical cute aidoru in the early 80s, Naoko
Kawai chased some West Coast trends during the mid-80s with albums such as
“Daydream Coast” and “9 ½” (links to part one and two, respectively)… just to finally rediscover Japan around 1986~1987. In a
somewhat bold move, Kawai embraced Japanese traditional elements, mixing them
with standard pop structures, while also leaving the obvious Western
adaptations behind – in opposition to what her fellow colleagues were doing at
the time, voraciously incorporating Western trends into their music. In fact,
it was during this rediscover of Japan’s musicality that she released, in June
1987, the beautiful album “JAPAN as waterscapes”, which was followed by the
recut single “Izayoi Monogatari” in July.
Just
like the big “Half Moon Serenade” (ハーフムーン・セレナーデ) from 1986, “Izayoi
Monogatari” is also a dramatic ballad, but this time with some typical Japanese
sounds in the arrangement. Now, let’s just put it clear: her embrace of
Japanese elements is nor overwhelming, nor really rooted in the country’s traditions,
serving more as a stylized Japanese flourishment on top of a more 'universal' foundation. However, based on Kawai’s early image as the cute and smiley aidoru in “Smile For Me” or “Moonlight Kiss”, it’s astonishing how she was able to mature
herself and adapt to this type of emotional ballad. It truly showcases her as a professional vocalist, just like “Nanpasen” (難破船) did to Akina
Nakamori (中森明菜)
around the same time.
“Izayoi
Monogatari” reached #10 on the Oricon chart. Lyrics were written by Yumi
Yoshimoto (吉元由美), while music was composed by Naoko Kawai herself. As
for the arrangement, Ichizo Seo (せおいちぞう) was the responsible.
Time for another slightly more adventurous article at "Kayo Kyoku Plus". I first heard this hoedown-friendly tune as an opening theme song for the 1990s anime "Midori no Makibao"（みどりのマキバオー...Midori's Makibao）, about a mule who looks slightly like a svelte hippo but with the beating heart of a champion thoroughbred as he wins race after race. It apparently was performed by three Fuji-TV announcers under the name of F-MAP, one of whom was Kenji Fukui（福井謙二）, the play-by-play man on the legendary "Ryori no Tetsujin"（料理の鉄人...Iron Chefs） cooking contest show.
"Hashire Makibao"（走れマキバオー...Run, Makibao） is a song that I had just treated as an especially jaunty anison for years. But then one day, I discovered that it was a cover of an original folk tune from 1970.
Salty Sugar（ソルティー・シュガー）was a folk group with a comical touch that had its origins in the late 1960s at Hibiya High School in Tokyo under an initial name. One of the members, Toshio Sato（佐藤敏夫）, needed to focus on getting into university, so he pulled out of the band, but his name was left with the remainder of the group who decided to twist it around and then translate it to form the new band name of Salty Sugar.
Guitarist Koutarou Yamamoto（山本厚太郎）, contrabassist Michio Tezuka（手塚通夫）, guitarist Takashi Takahashi（高橋隆）and Kanekichi/Kenkichi Ikeda (池田謙吉...instrument not specified) debuted in December 1969 with "Aa, Daigaku-sei"（ああ大学生...Ah, University Students） which only sold 3000 records, according to the J-Wiki article.
However, then came their second single in July 1970, "Hashire Koutarou" (Run, Koutarou) which had been written and composed by Ikeda with Nobuo Maeda（前田伸夫）as co-composer. Sadly, though, soon after the announcement of the release of the single in May of that year, Ikeda suddenly and tragically passed away at the age of 21. However, banjo player Sato, who had promised to come back to the band in a year, did so and together they did their departed bandmate proud by scoring a massive hit that reminded me a bit of the theme song from "The Beverly Hillbillies".
The song was originally created in tribute to an actual winning racehorse from the 1960s with the same name as Yamamoto but it also soon became a humourous poke (I hope) at the guitarist who had a penchant for always running late for practice. Regardless, "Hashire Koutarou" became a No. 1 hit on Oricon, selling close to a million records, and ended up as the 26th-ranked single for 1970. The next year, it rose even higher by finishing up at No. 20. It also won Salty Sugar the Best New Artist prize at the Japan Record Awards for 1970. Strangely enough, though, the band never got invited to the Kohaku Utagassen.
It looks like anime wanted to give the song another look since "Hashire Koutarou" was adapted once more as a song for a game version of the anime "Uma Musume Pretty Derby"（ウマ娘 プリティーダービー...Horse Girls Pretty Derby） which had come out earlier this year. Eight of the many seiyuu in that cast sang the high-flying "Hashire Uma Musume"（走れウマ娘）including Azumi Waki（和氣あず未）and Naomi Ozora（大空直美）who have their own entries in the Labels. Ikeda's legacy lives on.
Kinda nice to bring this one in, especially since we've apparently got snow coming in as we approach the weekend here. I was watching tonight's extended "Uta Kon"（うたコン）when a quintet of shakuhachi players gave a brief performance of a song that immediately sparked familiarity from years back. The fact that it was composed by the famous Joe Hisaishi（久石譲）then sparked me to search for "Summer".
It took me a while to track it down but "Summer" was used for some years as the music for Toyota Corolla commercials in Japan. With that gently flowing piano, it did feel like a Hisaishi composition.
Originally though, "Summer" was the theme song for the Takeshi Kitano/Beat Takeshi（北野武・ビートたけし）film "Kikujiro no Natsu"（菊次郎の夏...Kikujiro） that had come out in 1999. Despite hearing it as a most wonderful background piece for those Toyota ads all those years, tonight was the first time that I heard the song in its entirety. Starting off feeling a bit reminiscent of "Krazy Klock", a song that my junior high school band class practiced ad nauseum, the familiar theme comes in before things take on somewhat of an overture-like feeling. I never saw "Kikujiro no Natsu" but I assume that parts of "Summer" were used throughout the score for the movie.
Nice to get that warm melodic glow again although we are in November now.
