Down the Ginza Line

From simple.wikipedia.org

This is pure Thursday whimsy on my part. For the past few days, I'd been thinking about doing an article involving one of the main subway lines in Tokyo, the Ginza Line which according to Wikipedia is the oldest subway line in Asia, having started on December 30th 1927. Obviously, I have no intention on giving a history lesson on the line but I do want to feature some of the kayo kyoku that have some attachment to the five areas whose subway stations are on the Ginza Line. However, I won't be giving any major information on the songs since the links will take you to the original articles. All I just want to do is relate the walk and a few impressions along the way.

Ah yes, the walk. I also received some inspiration to do this because I still remember my just-as-whimsical but totally insane-and-exhausting decision one day during the Golden Week holidays to actually walk down the streets that have the Ginza Line underneath all the way from Asakusa Station to Shibuya Station. My feet are still muttering to me years later "I'm still not letting you live this down!".😠

From www.tsunagujapan.com

Just to let you know in advance, most of the tunes listed here are in the older kayo genres of enka and Mood Kayo, probably because when they were first recorded, there was an interest in putting the various neighbourhoods of Tokyo into music when the metropolis was getting back on its feet in the postwar period and pulling in lots of young people from all around Japan for work.

1. (1959) Komadori Shimai -- Asakusa Shimai （浅草姉妹）

I got off at Asakusa Station to start the trek on that day in May. Asakusa still garners a lot of affection as a place where I was working for a couple of years (1995-1997) early in my Tokyo career as an English conversation teacher. Got to see the Samba Festival and the Sumida River Fireworks Festival, and frankly speaking, every day was pretty much a festival with Kaminarimon and Nakamise Dori just around the corner from the school. The shopping streets were great for getting everything from some of the cheesiest Japan-themed souvenirs to some really soft and crunchy yaki manjuu.

Before I made the decision to go ahead with this project article, I had hesitated a bit specifically because I had covered Asakusa and Komadori Shimai during my series of articles while I was on my 2017 trip to Tokyo. Then again, I figured at my age, I was already repeating old stories to my buddies in person so why not do the same in print?

Places frequented often (PFO): Kaminarimon, Asakusa Matsuya, Nakamise and Shin-Nakamise Dori


2. (1964) Hachiro Izawa -- Ahh, Ueno Eki （あゝ上野駅）

A 20-minute walk from Asakusa got me to Ueno...not bad at all. I must have performed this major walk on May 3rd, aka Constitution Day, since I did see the ultra-right extremists getting their gear ready near Ueno Station (including the ear-splitting megaphones) while the riot police were setting up their vans.

Ueno also holds a dear spot in my heart since it was the area where I had received my training at NOVA for a couple of months before I was assigned to Asakusa. There was a lot of shopping and noshing to be had in this area since there was the Ameyoko shopping street and I got to learn a lot about the places with bento boxes for lunch. Speaking of Ueno Station, that place has undergone a lot of renovation in the years that I was living in Japan. It was a fair bit grottier back then but it's been gussied up with stylish cafés, restaurants and the like.

PFO: Ueno Station, Ueno Park, Ameyoko, Takeya Department Store (for the bento)


3.  (1961) Yujiro Ishihara & Junko Makimura -- Ginza no Koi no Monogatari （銀座の恋の物語）

The walk took me from the older traditional districts to the more modern and skyscraper-filled parts of the city, and that includes Ginza. I may have gotten lunch here during the epic walk, but if so, I can assure readers that it wasn't at any of the swanky joints that Ishihara probably frequented. Most likely, it was at the very first McDonalds in the nation, just south of the main intersection (I believe that it closed down years ago). The fact that the counterperson recognized me with a huge smile meant that I had frequented it way too much.

I really enjoyed walking up and down the main drag of Chuo Dori especially when the street was closed on the weekends (weather permitting). Also wonderful were the various stores that I could afford especially Yamano Music which was one source for my CD buying.

PFO: Yamano Music, Ito-Ya (stationery shop), Mitsukoshi Department Store, Yamaha Music Shop


4. (1968) Los Indios -- Como Esta Akasaka ?（コモエスタ赤坂）

After having moved from Ginza and then through Shimbashi, Toranomon and Tameike-Sanno, I finally reached Akasaka-Mitsuke Station which is at one edge of another swanky neighbourhood, Akasaka. Things were getting rather sweaty for me by that point and I walked over another 500 metres before I stopped off at a parkette right next to the Canadian Embassy. To be honest, I didn't really hit Akasaka all that much aside from invitations from friends and students to certain restaurants and bars. Basically, I had to go there on my own to renew my passport at the embassy.

The Akasaka stop was when my legs and feet started to cry "Uncle!" along with some very choice expletives to my face. My physical condition was beginning to mourn just like Los Indios' chorus which is why I was thankful for the many vending machines that provided opportunities to replenish my fluids. But the message was sent loud and clear: I was pushing things.

PFO: Canadian Embassy


5. (1994) Masayuki Suzuki & Momoko Kikuchi -- Shibuya de Go-ji (渋谷で5時）

Approximately 6 hours of fairly constant walking later after having started from Asakusa Station, I finally arrived (ambled, limped, oozed) in the Teen Mecca of Shibuya. My legs were toast by that point and I was moving like a penguin and The Blob. My memory is a blur after that and I can only surmise that I found some sort of café to stylishly collapse in for an hour or so.

Shibuya was definitely one of my favourite areas and the sparkling Suzuki/Kikuchi duet reflected how I felt about it whether it be day or night. It may be seen as the area for the adolescents but with the various establishments covering the gamut between cutesy and glamourous, it appealed and attracted everyone of all ages. Of course, when I did land in Shibuya, I was sure to visit Tower Records and RecoFan. Not after the walk, though.

PFO: Tower Records, RecoFan, Tokyu Hands, HMV, Parco, Hachiko Square

Somehow I dragged myself up the steps and took the Ginza Line back to Nihombashi Station and switched over to the Tozai Line to head home. I was indeed grateful for the remainder of Golden Week since it took that long for my feet to deflate back to their normal 27.5 cm size. Still, it was quite the odyssey passing through so many different neighbourhoods. I'm glad that I let my whimsy do the talking and the walking.

Masa Takagi -- Omoide ga Ohsugite（想い出が多すぎて）

About four years earlier, I had written about singer-songwriter Masa Takagi's（高木麻早）debut single "Hitoribocchi no Heya" (ひとりぼっちの部屋) from 1973, a folk song that sounded so country-western that I wondered whether she had actually gone to visit the relevant part of the United States for inspiration. Well, that was a big hit for her, but she had other singles to release as well.

For instance, her 2nd single was "Omoide ga Ohsugite" (So Many Memories) released in January 1974, and this one sounds more conventionally folk. Written by fellow folk singers Jiro Sugita（杉田二郎）and Osamu Kitayama（北山修）and composed by Takagi, the singer goes into the aftermath of a relationship and admits that there are too many cherished memories for her to ever completely forget the time with her former boyfriend. Most of the song has her voice, a guitar and some percussion, but then to add some depth, the strings then come on in to finish off.

I don't know how "Omoide ga Ohsugite" did on Oricon; I hope it did quite well since I enjoy the relaxation that comes with the song. Mitsuo Hagita（萩田光雄）handled the arrangement.

Candies/℃-ute -- Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu（暑中お見舞い申し上げます）

We're not quite yet at midsummer but watching last night's "Uta Kon"（うたコン）, there was that light theme of summery songs and then I also thought about the Ochuugen（御中元）season which represents the time of summer gift-giving in Japan. Whenever I entered a supermarket or department store anywhere there during the hot season, I would always see these huge boxes of anything food-related ranging from coffee to meat being sold. I myself never partook in the tradition since I saw Ochuugen as basically being a corporate way of thanking clients for their continued patronage. Mind you, I was tempted to purchase one of those boxes of AGF Coffee or Nippon Ham for myself.

In any case, one of the summer songs that got featured through old footage on last night's "Uta Kon" was "Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu" (Midsummer Greetings). This was Candies'（キャンディーズ）14th single from June 1977 that I had never heard before last night. Written by Makoto Kitajo（喜多條忠）and composed by Juichi Sase（佐瀬寿一）, the trio sing about going over to meet the beloved beau during summer for all sorts of romance under the hot sun. The arrangement was handled by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）.

The nostalgia is strong with this one with its Candies-esque arrangement. But one thing that I have to say is that some of that pounding piano reminded me of Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" for some reason. "Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu" peaked at No. 5 and became the 39th-ranked single of the year, selling around 320,000 records according to the J-Wiki article for the song. It is also a track on Candies' 9th album "Candy Label" which was released in September 1977. Not　surprisingly, "Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu" was also used as the campaign tune for a Japan Post commercial for summer greeting postcards.

Another point about the song is that during its rise into the Top 10, Candies held a concert in July that year at the Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo where they blurted out their intention to disband. Man, I hope that the ladies' manager and other staff were in on the announcement beforehand. Sure enough, eight months later, Candies had their final roundup in April 1978.

There have been a number of covers of "Shochū Omimai Mōshiagemasu" over the years including the one performed by Hello Project's ℃-ute as their 9th single in July 2009. Aside from a bit of synthesizer updating, the arrangement is pretty much the same, and even ℃-ute is performing in very similar outfits to the ones worn originally by Candies.

Because we're on the summer kick right now, after watching "Uta Kon" last night, I'd wondered about doing a list of summer songs, especially on seeing Misato Watanabe（渡辺美里）perform her classic "Summertime Blues". However, my mind must have gone a bit swoony from the heat since I'd already provided Part 1 and Part 2 of such a list almost a couple of years ago. Please peruse those if you wish.

Taneko Seki/Hiroshi Inoue -- Ame ni Saku Hana（雨に咲く花）

I gather that this is one of the few older kayo kyoku that I have first found out about without needing the guidance of "Uta Kon"（うたコン）or another similar music show.

Through my browsings via YouTube and tips from commenters and collaborators, I've been able to find out about a lot of the more contemporary music in City Pop and the like, but this time around, some after-dinner exploration had me discover something from nearly a century back.

Taneko Seki（関種子）who lived from 1907-1990 was a Showa-Era singer hailing from Okayama Prefecture who began her career as a classical soprano. She made her debut on records at Columbia Records in 1931 and had hit upon hit until in 1935, she recorded the theme song for the movie "Toppa Muden"（突破無電...Breakthrough Wireless）, "Ame ni Saku Hana" (The Flowers That Bloom in the Rain) which became an even bigger hit for Seki, selling around half a million records.

Written by Kikutaro Takahashi（高橋菊太郎）and composed by Fujio Ikeda（池田不二男）, the tango-esque "Ame ni Saku Hana" is about a woman lamenting the loss of her romantic affair. She likens the flowers in the rain to her love probably losing its petals.

About a quarter-century later, singer/actor Hiroshi Inoue（井上ひろし）covered "Ame ni Saku Hana" in July 1960. Born in Yokohama in 1941, he had been a rockabilly singer with an early form of The Drifters troupe in 1958 but left the group a year later.

His "Ame ni Saku Hana" is more in the Mood Kayo vein with that bluesy sax, the twangy guitar and that percussive piano. I automatically got those images of smoke-filled nightclubs and tumblers filled with whisky on the rocks. Inoue's cover was a huge hit since it sold a million records according to a November 1991 issue of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper via J-Wiki. In that same J-Wiki article, the Mood Kayo "Ame ni Saku Hana" was such a hit that it sparked a boom of singers of that decade in covering some of the old classics including Frank Nagai's（フランク永井）take on "Kimi Koishi" （君恋し）in 1961, originally sung by Teiichi Futamura（二村定一）back in 1928.

Inoue also appeared once on the Kohaku Utagassen in 1961 although it was to perform a different song. In 1985, he had started learning how to cook in his education on how to run a restaurant but tragically in September of that year, he suffered a fatal myocardial infarction at the age of 46.

Leon Niihama -- Kimi wo Motomete（君を求めて）

I think the musical arrangement of enka and perhaps even Mood Kayo is changing in at least some of their songs. The genres might even be melding. Enka in decades past to me was always about the traditional instruments including the koto, the shamisen and the shakuhachi whereas Mood Kayo often involved Latin and/or jazz rhythms with a brassy orchestra behind the singer. But nowadays, when the new breed of enka singers lands on TV to perform their latest, there seems to be more of an injection of rock (and maybe even R&B) at times, and it sounds like the songwriters have been asked to throw in some more pizzazz at the expense of some majesty. Not that I begrudge this development. Everything evolves over time...languages have done so, and I see music as a language.

My little internal analysis comes on the heels of "Kimi wo Motomete" (Desiring You) which is the first of enka singer Leon Niihama's（新浜レオン）digital download singles that was released in May this year. He had actually debuted in 2019 with three CD singles under his belt. In fact, Niihama was heralded as having made his debut on the very first day of the Reiwa Era, according to the J-Wiki article about him. To add onto the interest, the lad is the very first enka singer under the Being label, the same entertainment conglomerate taking care of acts such as B'z and Mai Kuraki（倉木麻衣）.

I first saw him on last week's "Uta Con"（うたコン）performing "Kimi wo Motomete" which has that mix of the more contemporary enka laden with electric guitar and dynamic horns and some of that Latin spice from Mood Kayo albeit with more hip-swiveling. I'd say that there is enough action in Koji Makaino's（馬飼野康二）melody that "Kimi wo Motomete" could even do well as a theme song for a current tokusatsu show. Keiko Serizawa（セリザワケイコ）provided the lyrics of a man really crying out for his lady in love.

Watching his performance on "Uta Con" and then seeing the official music video (in its full glory!), I rather wonder if Niihama is seen in the same light when Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）made his grand entrance into the spotlight two decades earlier. Would he be the new Boy Prince of enka? I could imagine Hikawa looking at Niihama and sighing wistfully "Yes, I remember it well...".

For a bit more trivia on Niihama, he was born in 1996 as Yuuki Takajo（高城勇貴）in Shirai City, Chiba Prefecture. He's the son of another enka singer Yasuo Takajo（高城靖雄）, and in February 2020, Niihama won Best New Artist honours in the enka/kayo kyoku field at the Japan Gold Disc Awards.

Kumiko Hara -- Ku-gatsu no Kaigara（九月の貝がら）

A few years ago, I featured a jazz singer Kumiko Hara（原久美子）with her City Pop "Magic Night". Originating from her 1978 2nd album "Neppu"（熱風...Tropical Wind）, it was a rollicking and funky piece that showed what an enjoyable evening in Tokyo could be like back in the day.

Well, today's article focuses on the track that immediately followed "Magic Night" on "Neppu". Beginning with a light jazz piano intro and populated with silky strings, "Ku-gatsu no Kaigara", which translates directly as "September Seashell" but has the English subtitle of "Fading Love", is quite the different animal. It's much more of an introspective and melancholy ballad that takes things into the chaise lounge-friendly Fashion Music area. As soon as I heard it for the first time, I was reminded of singers such as Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）and Mayumi Itsuwa（五輪真弓）. It makes for quite the contrast with the preceding "Magic Night". Perhaps "Ku-gatsu no Kaigara" acts as the regretful requiem sequel for a bit too much of that magic night.

The ballad was composed by Hiroki Inui（乾裕樹）and written by Namiko Saki（崎南海子）, who may actually be a poet. "Neppu" is another rare album that I may have my eye on.

135 -- Tokio no Kao（トキオの顔）

This is a most interesting band that I've discovered only recently. Known as 135 (Ichi-Go-San), vocalist/guitarist Shigeto Kajihara（梶原茂人）, keyboardist/bassist Shigeharu Takagi*（高木茂治）and percussionist Yoshihiro Honda（本田義博）first started up in 1986, and have released a dozen original albums and seventeen singles up to 2003. According to J-Wiki, the trio first began under the somewhat less ambiguous name of West Wood (probably because they initially had wanted to do West Coast music) but then decided to change it to 135, after the 135th meridian east, the line of longitude that runs through Kyoto and Hyogo Prefectures in Japan.

"Tokio no Kao" (The Face of Tokyo), from their debut album "135" from February 1987, definitely doesn't sound like West Coast AOR. I guess that I can call it more along the lines of World Music, perhaps. There is some hint of reggae in the intro but then it pours into something more exotic with Kajihara's vocals reminding me of the delivery of the bands Picasso and H2O, and the music reminiscent of the works of Aragon.

I'd be interested in picking the band's brains on their impression of the face of the capital city of Japan since the music is far and away from anything that I could perceive of Tokyo. The usual musical images that I have of the megalopolis is either enka-based or something quite City Pop. It's almost as if 135 had entered a completely different realm of tiny festival-loving villages in an alt-universe Europe.