Shinichiro Kurokuma -- Konnyaku Yaro（こんにゃく野郎）

 

Let me be clear...I've known about konnyaku, or konjac as it's alternately spelled (that spelling reminds me of an old 1970s TV detective), since I was a baby. It didn't appear all that much in our daily menu but I always saw it on New Year's Day when my mother prepared it as part of the osechi goodies. It's rubbery and chewy, and I'm not going to run toward it in glee but at the same time, I wouldn't sniff at it either. It fits the middle tier of my foods that I will eat with no problems.

I was surprised though when I was watching a recent episode of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本のうた） and encountered a "new" enka singer Shinichiro Kurokuma（黒川真一朗）, although his career began in 1999. I'd never seen him before but he came up with a cute little enka ditty titled "Konnyaku Yaro" (Darn Konjac) which is his 18th and most recent single from July 2024. Written by Osamu Arishima*（有島司）and composed by Hideo Mizumori（水森英夫）, it's a light-hearted song (the video makes that abundantly clear) about the gray and rubbery foodstuff being all too self-aware of his reputation and letting any epithets thrown his way smoothly slide off his exterior while appreciating the like that he does get. I wish I had nearly that level of self-confidence.

Kurokuma was born Toshiie Shizuhata（賤機利家）in Shizuoka City in 1972. As a high school student, he won a local karaoke contest after which he went straight to work in a hotel. However, he won a prize at the 1st Annual Hiroshi Itsuki Song Contest and was soon scouted. He underwent lessons with composer Toshiaki Arai（新井利昌）before becoming an apprentice under the aforementioned Mizumori's wing. The singer took on the new name of Kurokuma in 2003 and all of his songs save one have been composed by Mizumori.

*The first name has a number of readings so I took the first listed reading of "Osamu" and placed it in. If anyone can confirm or correct it, I would appreciate it.

Duke Aces/Pizzicato Five -- Atarashii Uta（新しい歌）

 

Just imagine...a veteran vocal group from decades ago collaborating with a songwriter and producer famous for a trendy music genre from a few decades ago. But that's what we get with Yasuharu Konishi（小西康陽）writing and composing a song called "Atarashii Uta" (A New Song) and Duke Aces（デューク・エイセス）tackling it at full throttle. And indeed, it's the familiar voices from yesteryear singing about creating that song for that significant other against a wall of Shibuya-kei sound goodness.

Duke Aces first covered "Atarashii Uta" on the March 2002 Pizzicato Five tribute album "Sensou ni Hantai suru Yuuitsu no Shudan wa. ~ Pizzicato Five no Uta to Kotoba"（戦争に反対する唯一の手段は。-ピチカート・ファイヴのうたとことば-...The Only Way to Oppose War ~ Words and Music by Pizzicato Five）. The project was released on the 1-year anniversary of P5's disbanding. The Duke Aces' cover was once again put out years later in 2017 as a single.

(31:23)

The original "Atarashii Uta" can be found on P5's 11th studio album "Playboy, Playgirl"（プレイボーイ プレイガール）from October 1998 with the Divine Ms. Maki Nomiya（野宮真貴）singing with Hisashi Kato（加藤ひさし）of The Collectors. The arrangement is "slightly more subdued" but still an exciting trip around town. Kato and Nomiya teamed up as well for "Nagame no Ii Heya"（眺めのいい部屋）.

One more version of "Atarashii Uta" can be found as a twee technopop take with Nomiya behind the mike once more through the special album "Haishin Muke no Pizzicato Five ~ Sono San Nomiya no Maki"（配信向けのピチカート・ファイヴ その3 野宮の巻...Pizzicato Five for Streaming Part 3: Nomiya） which came out in November 2021.

Aki Yashiro/Naoko Ken -- Tomoshibi（ともしび）

 

I've noticed that I hadn't been covering any of the 1970s kayo kyoku all that much recently...not that I've been intentionally snubbing the songs from that decade; it just turned out that way.

So, luckily, I've encountered this atmospheric piece by the late Aki Yashiro（八代亜紀）titled "Tomoshibi" (The Light) which was the singer's 11th single from May 1975. Delivered softly and wistfully by the singer, if I've read the lyrics by Keiko Yuuki（悠木圭子）correctly, "Tomoshibi" deals with a woman in agony because her former significant other may be on his last legs and the light in him is slowly fading away. It's a nice nostalgic kayo to listen to because I can't quite qualify it in any one genre. I can get the regular kayo but also I feel that it has two other limbs in Mood Kayo and enka at the same time. My compliments to composer and arranger Jun Suzuki（鈴木淳）, especially when it comes to the sharp trumpet. The song reached No. 10 on Oricon and became the 35th-ranked single of the year.

Later in December that year, singer-actress Naoko Ken（研ナオコ）released her 3rd album "Guzu"（愚図...Indecisive） in which most of the tracks were covers of songs including Yashiro's "Tomoshibi". Her take is more along the straight pop line with a twangy guitar replacing the trumpet and some shimmering strings. What stands out for me is that Ken's usually smoky and world-weary vocals come across higher and more emotional.

Miho Nakayama -- Mellow

 

It was a bit odd seeing the latest "Uta Con"（うたコン）on a Sunday morning but the regularly scheduled broadcast on Tuesday had been abruptly cancelled due to a news bulletin. Still, it was good to see the expanded version as the hosts and guests celebrated NHK's century of existence. Plus, there was some poignancy in that enka singer Kiyoshi Hikawa（氷川きよし）was back on the program for the first time in a few years after taking a hiatus and fellow enka singer Yukino Ichikawa（市川由紀乃）also returned after several months away to battle ovarian cancer.

And another big thing was that there was finally a tribute to the late Miho Nakayama（中山美穂）that we had been hoping for but didn't get during last year's Kohaku Utagassen. There was plenty of old footage of Miporin singing on previous NHK music programs which culminated in Hikawa and guest Hiroko Moriguchi（森口博子）performing a couple of her songs on stage.

My contribution to the Nakayama file this time around deals with an album of hers that I saw on sale via the "Eye-Ai" mail order service back in the early 1990s. It featured the singer-songwriter smiling mischievously somewhere in the desert while most of her back is turned toward the camera. Then there was the elegant script of "Mellow", and so the combination was enough for me to part with a money order to get the album.

"Mellow" wasn't only Miporin's 14th album from June 1992, but the title track had also been released as her 24th single earlier in April. To be honest, when compared to the rest of her vast discography, "Mellow" won't be one of my very favourite songs by her but it does stand out as interesting at least for that hard rock guitar and bashing percussion intro before the measured stomp of a rhythm comes in with Nakayama's delicate vocals. Although Yoshimasa Inoue（井上ヨシマサ）was responsible for the melody and arrangement, I think I've heard that same guitar riff in the intro from some other rock song outside of Japan. Nakayama took care of the lyrics under her pen name of Issaku（一咲）. Both the single and the album peaked at No. 3 on Oricon.

Ichiko Hashimoto -- Kitsune（きつね）

Wikimedia Commons
Shiretoko-Shari Tourist Association

 

Although I'm not deep into Japanese folklore, I've heard that foxes possess magical powers that they use to trick and bewitch unsuspecting people. In the Marvel multiverse, I wonder whether any particular fox through magic or mutant genes evolved over centuries into a sentient and sapient super genius for good or evil. But I'll leave any other thoughts on this to Doctor Strange or The Watcher.

I get similar vibes when I listen to jazz pianist Ichiko Hashimoto's（橋本一子）"Kitsune" (Fox) from her 1984 or 1985 album "Beauty" (I opted for 1985 in Labels). Yes, I did say jazz pianist although "Kitsune" is obviously on the line between technopop and avant-gardism. "Kitsune" is indeed a glacially haunting piece with a rhythm and Hashimoto's own voice lending to a mesmerizing aural experience akin to a meditation session. It's almost as if the Marvel fox has evolved itself out of time and treats it as a wind chime. Would like to hear some of her other tracks from "Beauty".

Hashimoto hails from Kobe and aside from her music work which includes singing and composing, she has also acted on TV, movies and anime. When Akiko Yano（矢野顕子）had to go on maternity leave, she filled in for her on keyboards during Yellow Magic Orchestra's domestic tour back in 1980, so perhaps the arrangement in "Kitsune" and perhaps "Beauty" was influenced by her time with the band. Below is her album "Mood Music" from 1987.

Yoichi Takizawa & Sumiko Yamagata -- Morning with Venus

 

Around Christmas last year, a commenter alerted me about the late Yoichi Takizawa（滝沢洋一）having a mystery 1982 album "Boy" which had been undeservedly shelved for decades until its unearthing in 2024. So I was happy to listen to the tropical City Pop from "Endless Summer" as one of the tracks on "Boy". One reason that I'm here in this article today is that a good fellow by the name of Ryusei Miyakodori（都鳥流星）let me know of his own English article on the album, so if you can follow this link right here, you can get his own personal take on Takizawa and his history with music from his childhood.

Well, today I'll be starting this session of "Kayo Kyoku Plus" with another track from "Boy", "Morning with Venus". Composed by Takizawa and written by Keisuke Yamakawa（山川啓介）, this takes things more into downtown Tokyo starting with a really attenuated twangy guitar before we have the lovely duo of Takizawa and an especially sultry-voiced Sumiko Yamagata（やまがたすみこ）coming up with a whimsical combination of City Pop and American variety show jazz. I was half-expecting the two to suddenly break into either a tap dance or a soft-shoe on stage during the instrumental bridge.  I'd say that is one happy morning with Venus and one more reason that I'm glad for the revelation of "Boy".

Yutaka Kimura Speaks ~ Japanese City Pop Masterpieces 100: Makoto Matsushita -- One Hot Love

 

J-Canuck here. Well, we've come to the 100th and final song in Yutaka Kimura's series of City Pop masterpieces that began all the way in the spring of 2023 with Hiroshi Sato（佐藤博）and Wendy Matthews' "I Can't Wait". And it seems rather poignant and appropriate that the long list finishes with another song that was one of the first that I encountered when I got into the whole City Pop thing years ago. Anyways, let's get you reading the final entry.

Number: 100

Lyricist: Akiko Matsushita

Composer: Makoto Matsushita

Arranger: Makoto Matsushita

From Matsushita's 1981 album "First Light"

Getting away from the rat race of city life, you take the highway and head to the ocean. What awaits you are the hot sands and summer love...this is the scenario in "One Hot Love", and it's not an exaggeration to say that it's the once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece by Makoto Matsushita（松下誠）. The tight sound of the Doobie Brothers-like blue-eyed soul in the latter half and the bouncing chorus line really get me excited.

The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).