Kaori Tsuchiya -- Fushigi na Gogo（不思議な午後）

 

Kaori Tsuchiya（つちやかおり）was a 1980s aidoru and a tarento who I've written about twice before. The two songs that I covered also happen to be in different genres: Her debut single from June 1982, "Koi to Namida no Juu-Nana Sai"（恋と涙の17才）is a cover of a Lesley Gore tune "You Don't Own Me" and then her follow-up from later that year in September, "Aishuu no Orient Express"（哀愁のオリエント急行）, was more of a technopop piece.

The interesting variety continued via her second album "Kaori Hakusho"（かおり白書...Kaori's Report） which came out in March 1983. One of the tracks is "Fushigi na Gogo" (One Strange Afternoon) which is quite the dynamic track with snazzy horns and a City Pop attitude. It may be no surprise then that Yasuhiro Abe（安部恭弘）, one of the crooning princes of the genre, was responsible for the melody. Meanwhile, Hiromi Kanda（神田広美）took care of the lyrics which speak of a young lass at a street corner with a fellow getting all sorts of giddy thoughts just from having her hand held. 

Aidoru + City Pop! What's not to love? An additional bonus is how Tsuchiya bellows out that one part of the title "GOGO!". It not only means afternoon but it also feels like she's trying to put out a "GO! GO!" to prod her young protagonist to bigger and better things, romantically speaking. Encouragement is always helpful.

Anri -- Tokimeki（ときめき）

 

Well, for City Pop fans, it's been a banner day for those who've found out in the last 24 hours.

I discovered through City Pop masters Van Paugam and Masa that CNN did a feature on New Year's Eve on the genre itself via veteran singer-songwriter Anri（杏里） (and her YouTube channel has stated the above video will only be up for a limited amount of time). Van Paugam even makes a special guest appearance so many congratulations and o-tsukaresama（お疲れ様）for him.

One piece of information from the segment is that Ms. Kawashima will be celebrating her 45th anniversary since releasing her debut single, "Olivia wo Kikinagara"（オリビアを聴きながら）in November 1978 (so it'll still be several months before actually reaching 45, but I'm just splitting hairs here) as well as her debut album "Apricot Jam". And all this occurred when she was still a high school teenager. As with Van, many congratulations to Anri, too!

To commemorate the occasion, I've got the B-side to her April 1979 2nd single "Chichuukai Dream"（地中海ドリーム）, "Tokimeki" (The Beating of My Heart), a bittersweet song of lost romantic opportunities which was written and composed by Ami Ozaki（尾崎亜美）, the same lady behind the creation of "Olivia wo Kikinagara", with arrangement by Shigeru Suzuki（鈴木茂）. The final melodic result, though, makes it sound as if enough time has passed that though there is still some regret, there is also that que sera sera feeling and it's simply time to move on with life. Suzuki and Ozaki have concocted a breezy tune which straddles the line between New Music and City Pop/J-AOR with maybe even a bit of 50s love balladry thrown in as well. I gather that "Tokimeki" would be one of those songs to help fans right now to forget the cold weather outside and think of breezier and warmer climes.

As is the case with "Chichuukai Dream", "Tokimeki" can also be found on Anri's 2nd album "Feelin'" from June 1979. Come to think of it, considering all of those veterans who showed up on the Kohaku this time around, maybe NHK can think of having Anri show up for No. 74.

Gen Hoshino -- Kigeki（喜劇）

 

Let me get this out of the way right now. I never got onto the "Spy x Family" bandwagon when the anime adaptation made its premiere last year although it became a hit, had big-name seiyuu and is going to get a second season. It just never got to me.

So as such, I didn't pay any attention to the theme songs for "Spy x Family". Well, earlier today I was writing up my own feelings on the 2022 Kohaku Utagassen and stated that one of the interesting aspects of the NHK New Year's Eve special was that there was a slightly bigger representation of anison, one of which was sung by singer-songwriter and actor Gen Hoshino（星野源）. Indeed, he sang the first ending theme for this anime which has become one of the more popular songs of the year just passed.

Hoshino's performance of "Kigeki" (Comedy) which was his April 2022 digital download single was definitely one of my highlights of the Kohaku when I caught it last night with my family. Ironically enough, that was what he based the song on...family, a story theme for "Spy x Family" with the involvement of three different people with their own special abilities meeting through fate and assignment, and somehow going from being a pretend family into a real loving one.

The soul groove of "Kigeki" is what got me signed onto the song. As I listened to it a few more times, I began to believe that it had a nice blend of Jamiroquai and King Gnu. Some years ago, I remember when Hoshino showed up on the 2019 Kohaku to perform "Same Thing" which had him go a little more gnarlier into his rock side. It was good but I am happy that he has returned to a happier and poppier place once more with "Kigeki", kinda like his old "Koi"（恋）days. By the way, the video hits the core of the message perfectly. It hit No. 1 on the digital download chart for Oricon.

J-Canuck's Thoughts on the 73rd Edition of the Kohaku Utagassen（第73回NHK紅白歌合戦）

 

People on both sides of the Pacific are most likely still enjoying a hopefully relaxing transition from the Holidays back into regular work days. The Japanese are only in their second day of the New Year's celebrations while folks here in Canada and the United States are lucky enough to have a compensatory day off since January 1st fell on a Sunday this time around. 

First off, I would like to thank Larry Chan for his two-part essay on his feelings on the annual Kohaku Utagassen which took place a couple of days ago for the 73rd time. My family and I opted to catch our PVR'ed version last night after dinner on New Year's Day. Among my clan, I am by far the most patient and accepting of contemporary Japanese pop music but I have to admit that I was surprised that for No. 73, there was far less fast-forwarding on the remote control by my brother than had usually been the case, and that's a sign of the tone of how I felt about the show.

I'm not bothering with putting up any YouTube NHK footage of the show since I know that it will all get taken down soon, but I will post up some representative photos. My first observation of No. 73 is that it did follow the "Love & Peace" theme in obvious and subtle ways. Bringing in the Mouse House will usually signify that, although I did hear on the local news channel that a notice had been sent out by the folks managing the Disney resorts pleading for no more abuse by customers ("oh, OH, oh, OH! No, not the ears!"). Also, despite or due to the renovations done to NHK Hall, the relationship between the audience and the performers seemed more intimate; there was more performance done at the very front of the stage, though things could get grand when demanded by certain performers.

Also, perhaps reflecting on the past year which had its share of celebrity deaths and retirements, there was more poignancy which garnered more of that closeness. Enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）, entertainment legend Yuzo Kayama（加山雄三）and one member of the vocal group Junretsu（純烈）said their goodbyes although Hikawa said that he would return. Anzen Chitai（安全地帯）had a near tear-inducing ballad and then a kickass performance of an old favourite while paying tribute to band drummer Yuuji Tanaka（田中裕二）who had passed away in November. I was surprised by the appearance of comedy group Dacho Club（ダチョウ俱楽部）for one number especially following the sudden death of member Ryuhei Ueshima（上島竜兵）earlier in 2022.

The return of the grizzled veterans was something that I noticed happening in a flurry shortly after announcing the main lineup. But it did look like the OB/OG Week on the Kohaku with not only Anzen Chitai and Kayama, but also Yumi Matsutoya（松任谷由実）, Ryoko Shinohara（篠原涼子）, Tetsuya Komuro（小室哲哉）, Keisuke Kuwata（桑田佳祐）, Char (among others), Shizuka Kudo（工藤静香）, and even a vocal cameo by the one-and-only Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎） on behalf of another long-time-no-see act, KinKi Kids. Yamashita was truly a surprise since I didn't think that he was too much of a fan of the Kohaku despite his wife appearing on the special a few years ago, and he didn't hold back on his disdain for the AI Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）project which had culminated in its premiere in the 2019 edition.

Speaking of all of that computer stuff, I wasn't all that enthused by the appearance of virtual Yumi Arai（荒井由実）in Yuming's（ユーミン）performance (although I saw that she had to put on the "wetsuit" and dots). It was too brief and not that impressive although Arai at the piano did introduce the real McCoy's lovely performance of "Sotsugyo Shashin"（卒業写真）, the first Yuming-penned song that I ever heard.

There is a "Japan Times" article about the biggest J-Pop hits of the year coming from Tik-Tok and anime. The Kohaku was also another mirror of confirmation on that as I noticed a slightly larger coterie of anison performers on the show this time around. And Fujii Kaze's（藤井風）"Shinunoga E-Wa"（死ぬのがいいわ）got its huge break on Tik-Tok. It was from this angle that got me to bookmark a number of songs to cover in the next number of days including an ending theme from "Spy x Family". Thank you, Kohaku!

From AsianWiki

Going back to the overall feeling of No. 73, it seemed a lot more leaner and straightforward which is a good thing. There was no massive opening extravaganza involving most or all of the performers and there was none of that annoying sidetracking with comedians between numbers. It was musical act-quick talk-musical act with the occasional big multi-singer performance. In a way, it was almost like how it was when I first began watching the Kohaku in 1981, although of course, it's still a much more different animal now. 

As well, the theatricality of certain acts such as Fujii's performance of "Shinunoga E-Wa" definitely made the Kohaku look a sight bigger than what goes on in the usual episode of the weekly "Uta Con"（うたコン）, and that's the way it should be. In terms of the hosting, I've had my beefs with actor Yo Oizumi（大泉洋）, but for No. 73, he kept his "Bravo!" to a minimum at least in the first half although in the second half, the ham began returning. I've always thought that Oizumi would make a great J-Doctor Who!

For the record, Kohaku Utagassen No. 73 scored its second-lowest ratings in its history with a 31.2% (lower than last year) average in the first half and a 35.3% (higher than last year) average in the second half according to its J-Wiki article. For your information, No. 72 was the lowest-rated edition. At one point, I'd actually wondered aloud on the blog whether NHK's venerable New Year's Eve special was frankly ready for the television ash heap but from the ratings, there are still people (including overseas viewers like myself) who are willing to watch the four hours and change of Japanese pop music and as long as the Kohaku gets ratings that are still higher than those for the average top episode of any J-drama, it will continue. 

The heyday of having over half the nation watching the Kohaku is long gone since there has been so much more to do with friends outside of the apartment nowadays, and I did that as well when I was living in Ichikawa. During my 17 years living there, I don't think that I saw a Kohaku in its entirety if at all. One self-quote that I like to use to describe my non-committal to NHK on New Year's Eve all those years is "Ryoko Hirosue actually performed on the Kohaku?!". Having said that though, I think if the relevant producers keep things on the even entertaining-enough keel that No. 73 was riding on, then it will hang around for at least some more years as niche fare for those who find themselves at home helping out with the osechi.

My Thoughts on Kouhaku 2022 Second Half (紅白２０２２後半への感想）

Happy New Year 2023!!!

Finally finished watching the second half of Kouhaku.  I watched around 40 minutes after posting my first blog post last night, then went to my friend's New Year party, and ended up waking up at 1pm today!  Anyway, I'm going to wrap up my thoughts on Kouhaku's 2nd half.

Let me say this upfront.  This is the most entertaining Kouhaku in the past 5+ years.  Hours flew by without notice.  I'm not sure if anything was cut from the version I was watching (I watched it on a Chinese website called bilibili).  I'm quite sure I watched the full version, but there're a few things that I found:

(1) There's no ceremony at the beginning that marked the starting of this year's Red vs White team competition.  There's no team captains.  Maybe this is new this year?  Or maybe this started a few years back?  I also felt that in this year's Kouhaku, the producer seemed to have deemphasized the competition.  I think this is heading in the right direction.

(2) In the past few years, I remembered that they showed the competition results midway through the show but I didn't recall seeing it this year.  The results were shown only at the end after which they announced that the White team won this year.

So, here are some notes that I jotted down while I was watching the second half of the show.

(1) This Kendama けん玉 thing has become a fixture now of the show.  Congratulations!  I wrote about this before that I was indifferent and I still feel the same way.

(2) There's been some controversy surrounding Twice's appearance.  I think this also happened many years ago when some Korean girls group appeared on Kouhaku stage.  Usually the hosts will talk to the performers before and/or after the performance but when it comes to Twice, they were introduced by the host and that's it.  No talking, no short interview.  Maybe this is damage control so that it doesn't stir more controversy?

(3) I know Disney is probably a big sponsor but I don't quite care about this section of the show.  Ooizumi 大泉洋 and Hashimoto's 橋本環奈 singing were not bad though.

(4) Speaking about that special Disney performance, it was done inside Tokyo Disney, wasn't it?  Also, Misia was the one singing on the boat, wasn't she?  So, Misia was then teleported back to the NHK studio for the last Red team performance?

(5) I enjoyed Junnretsu's 純烈 performance with Dachou Club ダチョウ倶楽部 and Ariyoshi Hiroiki 有吉弘行.  I am familiar with Ariyoshi's face as I saw him in Japanese dramas before.  I didn't know he can sing.

(6) Another impressive performance by back number.  I like Shimizu's 清水依与吏 voice.  It's powerful.

(6) Kudo Shizuka 工藤静香 looks really old.  I knew her as Kimura Takuya's 木村拓哉 wife and I never listened to her songs.  This is the first time I listened to her.  I'm not particularly impressed by her song or her performance though.  I can't help but think that she performed in order to give her daughter a chance on the Kouhaku stage.

(7) Both Official Hige Dandism (Official髭男dism), Aimyo あいみょう, Superfly and Fujii Kaze's 藤井風 performancs were very enjoyable.  I found Fujii a bit too showy though.  This stretch of the Kouhaku was very entertaining.

(8) Kayama Yuzo 加山雄三 doesn't look like he's 85!

(9) I found Shinohara Ryoko's 篠原涼子 performance a bit underwhelming.

(10) I don't quite understand what's the point of this "Yumin with Yumin" (松任谷由実 with 荒井由実) thing utilizing AI technology. It's a pure gimmick.

(11) This is my first time listening to Kinki Kids.  I knew Domoto Tsuyoshi 堂本剛 from his appearance in Kindaichi Case Files 金田一少年の事件簿 but I never heard him sing before.  I was impressed.  And I like both songs, both of which were written by Yamashita Tatsuro 山下達郎.

(12) Anzen Chitai 安全地帯 didn't disappoint.  I wish they could sing more songs.  Tamaki Koji's 玉置浩二 voice always has this special character that mesmerizes me.

(13) After listening to Ishikawa Sayuri's 石川さゆり performance, I just realized that there were unusually few enka 演歌 songs in Kouhaku this year.  Maybe this is intentional?  Also, Ooizumi went wild again after Ishikawa's performance 😂

(14) They should have really saved this as the last performance of the night.  I thoroughly enjoyed this special performance by Kuwata Keisuke 桑田佳祐 and his friends.  Not only did I enjoy their charity song Jidai Okure no Rock'n'Roll Band (時代遅れのRock `n`Roll Band), I also liked their covered performance of Yozora no Hoshi (夜空の星) paying tribute to Kayama Yuzo (see #8 above).

That's it!

Some Closing thoughts.

(1) This year I clearly enjoyed the second half more than the first half.  During the first half, too many Korean style boys and girls groups.

(2) Hashimoto's performance as Kouhaku host wasn't bad at all.  This morning, I read some Yahoo news article saying that the most impressive thing about Hashimoto was her laugh.  Now I think about it, she did have a distinctive laugh.  And that's cute also.

Hope 2023 will bring you joy and laughter.

Sumako Matsui -- Katyusha no Uta（カチューシャの唄）

 

Writing the blog for over a decade will bring its fair share of rhetorical questions regarding music to ponder. One such question is "What was the first kayo kyoku?". It would be nice to know the answer considering the title of this blog is "Kayo Kyoku Plus". And just to remind folks, kayo kyoku means "popular song".

According to both J-Wiki and Wikipedia, the first kayo kyoku, or at least what has been considered to be the great ancestor to the modern Japanese pop song, is "Katyusha no Uta" (Katyusha's Song) which was sung by singer-actress Sumako Matsui（松井須磨子）in 1914 for a play performed in Tokyo which was based on Leo Tolstoy's 1899 novel "Resurrection". With lyrics by Hougetsu Shimamura and Gyoufuu Souma（島村抱月・相馬御風）and melody by Shinpei Nakayama（中山晋平）, "Katyusha no Uta" is about the sad parting of lovers although the story of Tolstoy's "Resurrection" is more about the horrific treatment and abandonment of the young girl Katyusha.

Not being a musicologist, something that I've mentioned throughout the blog for years, I still kept seeing the term in Japanese and English, major pentatonic scale, whenever "Katyusha no Uta" popped up anywhere, so my assumption that as with the kayo kyoku that was to follow, this particular song, seen as the predecessor of all kayo kyoku, may have both Japanese and Western musical elements. But being released in the Taisho Era, the term ryūkōka（流行歌...popular song） was used, years before kayo kyoku was used to mean "popular song" in the following Showa Era under Emperor Hirohito. 

"Katyusha no Uta" became a national hit, selling around 27,000 records and was even performed by street artists all throughout Japan and perhaps beyond. It's also been covered by many singers in the decades since its first appearance including the Queen of Kayo Kyoku herself, Hibari Misora（美空ひばり）, and folk singer Tokiko Kato（加藤登紀子）.

Rabbit Kayo -- Welcome to 2023!

 

Well, a Happy New Year to everyone out there and welcome to 2023! 新年あけましておめでとうございます。

As would usually be the case in my family, we had the traditional o-zoni（お雑煮）breakfast this morning after the New Year's greetings. Because our ancestors originally hailed from western Japan, our o-zoni have round mochi in a miso soup. Folks in the Kanto area, however, tend to grill square mochi before putting the cakes into a clear soup. I've had both styles but in each case, I'm always careful to chew pieces of mochi well and over several seconds lest I end up a victim of choking. French kissing a vacuum cleaner isn't my idea of enjoying January 1st.

Anyways, getting onto the first business of KKP this year, 2023 is known as the Year of the Rabbit and I've illustrated that with the thumbnail of the cute little bunny at the top of the article. Not that I'm into astrology, but I did manage to find what Rabbit people are supposed to be like from the website Chinese New Year, although the paragraphs below don't tell the whole story:

To outsiders, the Rabbit’s kindness may make them seem soft and weak. In truth, the Rabbit’s quiet personality hides their confidence and strength. They are steadily moving towards their goal, no matter what negativity the others give them.

With their good reasoning skills and attention to detail, they make great scholars. They are socializers with an attractive aura. However, they find it hard to open up to others and often turn to escapism.

A plain and routine life is not their style. Though conservative and careful in their actions, they need surprises every so often to spice things up.

Just to let you know, I'm not a Rabbit but a Snake person, so it'll be a few more years before I commemorate that. However, as the first article for 2023 on "Kayo Kyoku Plus", I thought I would pay tribute to the occasion by putting up some rabbit-themed songs or songs that have something to do with rabbits just for kicks.

1. Dali -- Moonlight Densetsu (ムーンライト伝説）(1992)

Well, the main character's name is Usagi after all.

2. Petits Rabbit's -- Daydream Café (2014)

All of the cafés in the franchise "Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka"（ご注文はうさぎですか）have rabbits in their titles among other rabbit connections.

3.  Miharu Koshi -- Hashire Usagi （走れウサギ）(1985)

4. Noriko Sakai -- Aoi Usagi (碧いうさぎ) (1995)