Kayo Kyoku Plus

Mayumi Kojima -- Tango（タンゴ）

2026-11-10T14:40:37.799-05:00

Wikimedia Commons

If I were to ever take up social dancing, I would probably start with the waltz. I mean, the steps seem easy enough but it's the improvisation that scares me.

But for some strange reason, the next dance that I would tackle is the tango. That seems like a huge jump from the waltz but I guess maybe it's because of the class and grace involved. I don't particularly possess either in any great degree but perhaps I can gain some.

Now, before I end up going into some ambling rambling, let's take you to singer-songwriter Mayumi Kojima（小島麻由美）. I hadn't written about her for a few years and she has always struck me as one of the more eclectic Japanese pop singers. She's been described on Wikipedia as a Shibuya-kei singer but aside from my first article on her, I haven't really seen her do a lot of that genre. In fact, I've treated her as a chanteuse in the jazzier areas of town.

In September 2026, she released her latest single "Tango" and yep, she's given her own fun and sultry take on Latin jazz, presumably in tribute to the titular dance. I love those familiar illustrations of herself along with her simian buddy on the cover. It makes me wonder whether there is a music video for "Tango". Alas, I have yet to find one. Anyways, I also have to give some belated congratulations to her for celebrating her 30th anniversary in the music business last year.

Haruo Minami -- Tanaka Ondo（田中音頭）

2026-11-10T14:15:26.965-05:00

During my decades being interested and then living in Japan, I knew my fair share of Japanese Prime Ministers ranging from Yasuhiro Nakasone (good buddy to US President Ronald Reagan) to the current PM, Sanae Takaichi. But before all that, as a little kid, I had really only known of one Japanese Chief Executive and that was Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka（田中角栄）...basically because he had been involved in the Lockheed bribery scandals back in the 1970s. As time passed though, I came to realize that he had been a very powerful politician and that certain comedians loved to do impressions of him...usually by speaking in a very high-pitched crackly voice and pretending to flutter a hand fan in front of his own face.

I have the impression that he had been quite the popular Parliamentarian before he took the reins as PM in 1972 and I take it that he's one of the prime examples of a rags-to-riches story after being born poverty-stricken in Niigata Prefecture to eventually reach the highest position in the land. In fact, I guess he was so popular that the legendary enka and minyo singer Haruo Minami（三波春夫）wrote the glory-filled lyrics and recorded a minyo in tribute to him titled "Tanaka Ondo" (The Tanaka Song). Composed by Futoshi Satogawa（佐藤川太）, the song was released sometime in 1972 (maybe it was meant to commemorate his achievement of the prime ministership) and it sounds like any sort of traditional summer festival song. I think the back of the single cover page even had dance instructions. Couldn't quite find out whether Tanaka himself appreciated the musical gesture.

GAL -- Magnet Joe ni Ki wo Tsukero（マグネット・ジョーに気をつけろ）

2026-11-09T20:00:09.013-05:00

It was a dozen years ago that I first posted on the short-lived aidoru trio GAL（ギャル）. Lasting between 1977 and 1979, just to refresh folks' memories, GAL consisted of Mayumi Kuroki（黒木真由美）, Hitomi Meguro （目黒ひとみ）and Michiyo Ishie（石江理世）initially. Ishie left the group in 1978 with Akiyo Nakaseko（中世古明代）taking her place for the remaining time into 1979.

That article that I posted back in 2014 was for their debut single "Bara to Pistol"（薔薇とピストル）in October 1977. Well, for this long-awaited grand reunion on KKP, I have their second single "Magnet Joe ni Ki wo Tsukero"（マグネット・ジョーに気をつけろ...Watch Out for Magnet Joe） from February 1978. I had no idea who Magnet Joe was and I'd assumed that he was some sort of anime or manga character but actually I think he's just an especially charismatic cad who pulls the women in and repels them once they've served their purpose. Created by the same songwriting team behind "Bara to Pistol", lyricist Yu Aku（阿久悠）, composer Makoto Kawaguchi（川口真）and arranger Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）, the music is nice and disco kayo, and in a way, I think the ladies dressed the part as well. In fact, I could even say that they kinda hit a refined middle ground between the more girl-next-door types of Candies（キャンディーズ）and the hyperactive dancing duo Pink Lady（ピンクレディー）.

Teruhiko Aoi -- Epilogue（終章）

2026-11-09T12:12:18.094-05:00

The songwriting sibling team of lyricist Etsuko and singer-composer Takao Kisugi（来生えつこ・来生たかお）is pretty much legendary through the annals of Japanese pop music. I don't quite know how far their history goes back. Brother Takao starts from 1976 but his elder sister Etsuko has it mentioned in her J-Wiki profile that it's sometime in the 1970s.

This particular song recorded by Teruhiko Aoi（あおい輝彦）will probably go down as one of the Kisugis' earliest joint works. "Epilogue" (although the kanji is formally read as "shuushou") was arranged by Shunichi Makaino（馬飼野俊一）and it's appropriately the final track on Aoi's October 1977 2-LP BEST album "Aoi Teruhiko ~ Anata dake wo -- Johnny's wo Kikinagara"（あおい輝彦 – あなただけを～ジャニスを聴きながら...Only You -- While Listening to Johnny's）.

When it comes to the Kisugis, I've usually said that they can come up with some nicely lush ballads, and "Epilogue" is perhaps one of their earlier successes in this mold. It sounds proud and elegiac and there's a hint of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" in terms of the overall feeling as the protagonist seems to be looking back on a life well fed and well led.

Sandii -- Hey Rock-A La La

2026-11-08T15:07:09.123-05:00

From deepsonic via Wikimedia Commons

I think I may have mentioned it before but one of my regrets was that I never learned how to play the piano. But then again, considering how much I struggled with the French horn and the clarinet, perhaps it was just as well that I didn't bother with keyboards. The number of piano teachers who would have ended up in a fetal position because of me scarcely bears imagining.

Still, I wonder from time to time about handling something like a synthesizer like the folks in Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk did. Nope, neither of those two groups is directly involved here, but Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）, one-third or one-quarter of YMO, did produce Sandii's 1980 solo record "Eating Pleasure" and arranged this track "Hey Rock-A La La". Compared to the more technopop track "Idol Era" which starts the album off, this particular one, which has Sandii starting off like a squeaking dolphin, has more of a body-thrashing B-52s tribal rock vibe although I think we're still firmly within the New Wave. Ronnie Barron and Jim Nash were responsible for the songwriting here.

Satellite Young -- Shin Sekai Banzai（新世界Banzai）

2026-11-08T14:39:38.161-05:00

The above photo by Basile Morin is of Maison Hermes in Ginza. Yup, it's the building for the Hermes company in Tokyo and I actually taught classes there for a while. The glass blocks used to create the exterior were all shipped over right from Italy. And one benefit from teaching there was that I could get a nice brand wedding present for my brother and his wife.

But the point that I actually wanted to make is that for newcomers to Tokyo, seeing architecture like Maison Hermes and a lot of other buildings can be really dazzling. And the Japanese megalopolis was just as dazzling to me back in 1981 when I was on that graduation trip for a month. Elevator girls, plastic food displays and the Toyota Asteroid (nope, it doesn't look as great as I remember it) concept car....got to witness all that and more. It partially explains why I'm communicating with you right now in 2026.

I think that's why the band Satellite Young is communicating with us through their June 2019 single "Shin Sekai Banzai" (New World Banzai) as they entice us to join the world of the digital and neon. The music video's setting is Shanghai, China and I've noticed that there are a few cities in the People's Republic that could be very enticing to futurists. Satellite Young's technopop style is perhaps the ideal music to get folks to escape from the gray and mundane to the colorful and exciting. My question is whether there is a soul within all that crystal.

Miki Nakayama -- Just Now

2026-11-07T21:28:45.811-05:00

I'll be honest...when I first saw the thumbnail of the above YouTube video and that name of Miki Nakayama（中山美紀）, I wondered if this was some sort of AI construct. But as it turns out, the young lady here is a real flesh-n'-blood aidoru from the 1980s. And most likely, she is one of the rarest of the rare in that she only put out one single in March 1983 before her record label, Climax Records, collapsed apparently, according to YouTuber nothingmuch;). As did her singing career.

"Just Now" is a rollicking song that does have that 80s vibe of swinging synthesizers and a beat that reminds me of a lot of the more upbeat American pop songs that were coming out back at the same time. The melody was provided by veteran Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）but the interesting here is that the lyrics were written by none other than Leiji Matsumoto（松本零士）, the man behind the original manga of "Uchuusenkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）and other classics. I had never heard of the legend ever writing song lyrics and so I'm now wondering if he worked with other singers.

Ayumi Amano -- Kakueki Teisha（各駅停車）

2026-11-07T15:43:31.412-05:00

Although I can't take credit for the photo itself (which is provided by nesnad via Wikimedia Commons), it is a shot of my old subway station on the Tozai Line, Minami-Gyotoku Station, in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture. When I started living in the area, I quickly learned that my station could only be served by kakueki teisha or local subways which stopped at every station. The station just west of Minami-Gyotoku is Urayasu and it has both kakueki teisha and kaisoku（快速...rapid express）. It was often the case that on my way home, I took the kaisoku as far as Urayasu, got off and then waited for the kakueki teisha to take me to Minami-Gyotoku. If I ended up sleeping on the former train, well, I'd end up several stations east of my home, much to my chagrin.

Some of my salarymen students have fallen prey to the kaisoku trap due to drunkenness or fatigue. They ended up all the way in the countryside by failing to get off at the right stop. One guy ended up on the final kaisoku of the night and by the time the train reached the terminus out in the dark woods, even the last local train had shut down. That was one expensive taxi ride back to civilization and then a confrontation with an angry wife.

About a couple of months ago, I introduced singer Ayumi Amano（天野歩美）who had once been part of the duo Kilala & Ulala (キララとウララ) in the 1980s. Well, going solo in the following decade, she released her first album in 1992, "Okurimono ga Aru no"（贈り物があるの...I've Got a Present For You） from which I introduced the track "Suki na Mono wa Suki"（好きなものは好き）. I found out about the album through kinuzure's blog "Tamaranaku, AOR Kayo"（たまらなく、AOR歌謡...Irresistible, AOR Kayo）.

Well, another track from "Okurimono ga Aru no" is "Kakueki Teisha". Although kinuzure had indicated that the album was a hidden City Pop treasure, I didn't particularly find "Suki na Mono wa Suki" to be from that particular genre, being more straight-ahead pop in my estimation. However, "Kakueki Teisha" is closer to urban form. It starts out with a nice fresh riff that to kinuzure sounds reminiscent of Christopher Cross although I think it's more Pat Metheny. Written by Kumiko Yoshizawa（吉澤久美子）and composed by Amano herself, it's a bright and light 90s tune that definitely doesn't sound anything like the unfortunate incidents involving my students by not transferring to the local train.

Uwanosora -- Koi Suru Dress（恋するドレス）/Matenro（摩天楼）

2026-11-06T22:14:16.321-05:00

It's feeling refreshingly cool in my room since I've had the windows open, so why not finish this edition of Urban Contemporary Friday with something mellower but still good for a night out? I've got Uwanosora's（ウワノソラ）debut single from April 2015, "Koi Suru Dress" (The Dress I've Fallen In Love With). Written and composed by Uwanosora guitarist Hirohide Kadoya（角谷博栄）, I do love the Fender Rhodes, the laidback horns and the tender strings accompanying vocalist Megumi Iemoto（いえもとめぐみ）. It's interesting to see the music video awash in black and white although I especially enjoy the evening street scenes. Nice touch with the chorus sounding like a cold wind.

Now, "Koi Suru Dress" shares double billing on that 2015 vinyl with their song "Matenro" (Skyscraper) with the latter song being the A-side. I figure that there are probably quite a few City Pop songs across the decades with "matenro" in the title since the tall office buildings are the architectural representatives of the uber-genre. So, why shouldn't Uwanosora come up with their own "Matenro"? The tempo picks up quite a bit here in a way that makes it feel like skyscraper-viewing should be an official urban hobby in Tokyo. Walking on the pavement or driving on the highway, this is another musical accompaniment for some high time in the metropolis. Kadoya was also responsible for words and music but he was joined on the composition side by former member Tomomichi Oketa（桶田知道）.

JADOES -- Natsu no Dubi Daba（夏のDU・BI DA・BA）

2026-11-06T21:43:39.592-05:00

The temperatures became more seasonable today after several days of unseasonable warmth here in Toronto. But I heard through NHK that Tokyo was still getting hit with summer temperatures. Apparently in Ueno Park, there was supposed to be some sort of Christmas market with one person selling hot wine. Uh...almost no one was buying the hot wine with temperatures in the high 20s Celsius over there. Icy beer was more the thing.

I was going to put up "Stardust Night" by comic soul funk group JADOES, only to find out that I'd already done so five years ago. But I wasn't going to be put off by my failing memory, so I've gone back to the band's debut album from November 1986, "It's Friday" and plucked out another track. I already did one track from there even earlier, so here is another one, "Natsu no Dubi Daba" (Summer Dubi Daba), with a bit of nice scatting in the title and elsewhere.

Written by JADOES percussionist Kensaku Saito（斎藤謙策）and lyricist Yui Masaki（真沙木唯）, composed by bassist and vocalist Hideki Fujisawa（藤沢秀樹） and arranged by Toshiki Kadomatsu（角松敏生）, it does feel a bit like one particular Stevie Wonder song (with some Tats thrown in for good measure) with the percolating rhythm and zooming sax solo by Osamu Koike（小池修）. But the important thing is that it's an upbeat slice of summer fun and maybe that's what Tokyoites were feeling yesterday more than "Christmas Eve".

EPO -- Alley Cats（アレイ・キャッツ）

2026-11-06T16:05:06.221-05:00

I knew that aidoru, male or female, once they hit their stride on their way to fame and fortune are heavily tasked to pump out the singles or albums although the contemporary versions may not have to work quite as hard as their 1980s sempai. So it was with some surprise that pop singer-songwriter EPO's J-Wiki discography had her putting out three to four singles a year during her peak in those 1980s.

The year 1986 was no different. My last EPO article was posted just a little over a month ago and it dealt with "Nagisa no Monument"（渚のモニュメント）, her 10th single from March that year. Well, her 12th single from November is the subject of this article and it's "Alley Cats". Written and composed by EPO with Saeko Suzuki（鈴木さえ子）providing a downtown boogie pop arrangement, I'd assumed that the song was about a woman and her best buds painting the town red and terrifying everyone else.

Actually, it's quite the inverse. EPO's protagonist is someone who has been declining or ignoring invitations right and left because she simply wants to be alone. Perhaps she was one of those party-hearty types in the past but now she wants to leave all that behind her and stay as solitary as she can be. She basically wants to be abandoned like an alley cat. Quite the declaration considering Japan was entering the Bubble Era but then again, perhaps EPO could already see the future and decided that it was really not for her.

SUKISHA -- Cherry

2026-11-06T15:38:32.948-05:00

It was back in 2024 when I first put up an article regarding SUKISHA, aka track maker and singer-songwriter Hiroyuki Ikezawa（池澤寛行）, and his collaboration with jazz and soul guitarist Shingo Sekiguchi（関口シンゴ）, "Imaginary Trip" from 2020. Just like going out with buddies on a vacation, it was quite the soulful journey.

In that same year, SUKISHA also put out a digital single in March titled "Cherry". This one is a little more sultry and laidback and nocturnal with a bit of a Stevie Wonder vibe. Written and composed by the man himself, "Cherry" depicts a man's loving relationship with a young lady with those kissable cherry-red cheeks via a hip-hop sing-like-talking style. In a way, the whole song reminds me of the old jazz standard "My Funny Valentine", lyrically speaking, since although he doesn't describe her physically in the most glowing of ways, he still loves the heck out of her, beginning with those cheeks...on her face.

Masahiko Kondo -- TOKYO - L.A. - N.Y.

2026-11-06T15:15:46.026-05:00

Usually when it comes to 80s teen idol Masahiko "Matchy" Kondo（近藤真彦）, good ol' high school rock-n'-roll and kick steps are the phrases that coalesce in my memories.

City Pop doesn't pop up though most of the time for this third of the Tanokin Trio. Mind you, he did record "Eien ni Himitsu sa"（永遠に秘密さ）in 1984 which was a Tatsuro Yamashita（山下達郎）creation. And even earlier, he came up with the subject of this article, "TOKYO - L.A. - N.Y.", a track from his 4th original album "Rising" from April 1983.

Just from reading the title, "TOKYO - L.A. - N.Y." sounds like a fine title in City Pop circles and that's what it is. It's a thick slice of urban sophisticated pop written by Hisashi Suzuki（すずきひさし）and composed/arranged by Koji Makaino（馬飼野康二）with a devil-may-care Doobie-ish rhythm, sharp horns, shimmering strings and wailing electric guitar. Those lyrics also fulfill another common theme of kayo kyoku: that of a fellow leaving everything behind in his native Japan including a now-former flame to head overseas for an unknown but exciting future. And this time, the final destination is clear: the amazing Big Apple! The lad doesn't intend to return and as they say, if one can make it in New York City, then he can make it anywhere.

Susan Nozaki -- Onna no Jikan（おんなの時間）

2026-11-05T15:51:45.237-05:00

I started the Susan file on KKP back in 2023 and thus far, three articles have been posted on the half-Japanese/half-French-American singer whose time behind the mike lasted until 1984. Those three articles with the most recent one being for her 1980 "Koi Se yo Otome"（恋せよおとめ）have shown her embracing the wonders of technopop and New Wave.

Well, let's go all the way back to her debut in 1971 when she was first introduced as Susan Nozaki（スーザン・ノザキ）. She released her first single "Onna no Jikan" (A Woman's Time), a typical pop ballad of the times arranged by Hiroshi Miyagawa（宮川泰）with Kunihiko Suzuki（鈴木邦彦）behind the melody and words provided by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）. It's quite the elegant and dramatic kayo kyoku with the urban sax and electric guitar paired with the lofty strings. Knowing that it's Miyagawa behind the arrangement, there are some parts of "Onna no Jikan" that reminds me of a James Bond theme song and others that have me reminiscing of the soundtrack of "Uchuusenkan Yamato"（宇宙戦艦ヤマト）, another one of Miyagawa's legendary works.

Phil Collins/The Supremes -- You Can't Hurry Love

2026-11-05T14:39:41.714-05:00

When I look back at Phil Collins, he's left the impression on me that he was one of the 1980s pop balladeers as well as the drummer/front man of the British band Genesis. And yet, when I was a teen back then, I hadn't known him much at all aside from his association with this band whose albums I used to see tons of at the various record stores without giving any of them a try.

But then one day, perhaps it was on "America's Top 10", I saw this video. I immediately liked it even though it was just a darkened stage with lights focused on Collins backed up by two other Collins; it looked rather old-timey TV. And the song itself "You Can't Hurry Love" was fun and fast-paced with the feeling of 1960s Motown and a killer percussive intro. I knew that Collins was also trying his hand at acting at the time...well, the three Collins were squeezing the thespian juice out of their performances. I've heard many of his other songs since "You Can't Hurry Love", which was released as a single in October 1982, and this one will go down as his breeziest and most joyful...and it doesn't even last three minutes!. If this had been televised back in the 1960s, I could imagine a lot of bobbysoxers bobbing their heads or twisting on their bedroom floor.

I've known Diana Ross and the Supremes since I was a baby. Their big hits such as "Stop in the Name of Love" and "Baby Love" will always live rent-free in my oldest memories. But I hadn't known that "You Can't Hurry Love" was one of theirs until a number of years following my introduction to the Collins cover. Created by the Motown team of Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier, the original was released in July 1966. And indeed it's the Supremes doing their usual wonderful sound here as they provide music's most congenial form of advice for the romantically inclined. "You Can't Hurry Love" hit No. 1 in both Canada and the United States. As for the version by Collins, it reached No. 9 in Canada while Stateside, it reached No. 10.

I had already meant to post "You Can't Hurry Love" many weeks ago but wasn't sure about the right time. However, yesterday, when I had to go to the local government office to get some paperwork done, as I was waiting for my turn in the sitting area, the Collins cover played over the speakers and as they say, "Music has charms to soothe a savage breast", and I'd say that for the folks waiting along with me, "You Can't Hurry Love" had a lot of breast-soothing charms. That was good enough to post it today.

So, what else was coming out as singles in Japan during October 1982?

Southern All Stars -- Ya Ya ~ Ano Toki wo Wasurenai（あの時代を忘れない）

Yu Hayami -- Answer Song wa Aishuu（アンサーソングは哀愁）

Anzen Chitai -- On My Way

Atarashii Gakko no Leaders feat. AiNA THE END -- Sweet Memories

2026-11-05T12:00:07.504-05:00

Simply to set the record straight, this isn't a cover of the Seiko Matsuda（松田聖子）classic ballad that she released back in 1983.

Nope, this is actually an original creation by Shingo Kubota（久保田真悟）who was behind both words and music while Kanata Okajima（岡嶋かな多）also helped out on the lyrics. Recorded by a collaboration of song-and-dance group Atarashii Gakko no Leaders（新しい学校のリーダーズ）and actress and former BiSH member AiNA THE END（アイナ・ジ・エンド）, this is actually quite the happy-go-lucky upbeat pop tune which came out in September 2026. Listening to the optimistic melody, I would have thought this would have been the ideal theme song for a slice-of-life anime, but actually it was created as a jingle for a Bourbon Fettucine Gummi（フェットチーネグミ）commercial. I'll have to give that a try the next time I'm in Tokyo although part of me is a bit concerned about a gummi containing cheese. The ad below though is actually from a few years ago.

Megumi Nakajima -- Anata ni Better Bore（あなたにBETTERぼれ）

2026-11-04T14:31:21.193-05:00

First off, my apologies to the online music shop "Soul Respect Records" for borrowing their image but I couldn't find any footage of the actress (and brief singer) Megumi Nakajima（中島めぐみ）on YouTube, and I'd wanted to show more than a video thumbnail this time around.

Yes, I have included Nakajima on KKP before under the Label of Megumi Nakajima (80s) for her June 1981 City Pop debut single "Lamé-iro no Decameron"（ラメ色のデカメロン）to distinguish her from contemporary seiyuu Megumi Nakajima（中島愛）. And I also have to now add that there is another Megumi Nakajima who even has the exact name structure as Megumi Nakajima (80s) but she is in fact a former Kansai TV announcer.

Now that I've gotten that disclaimer paragraph out of the way, I can refer to Nakajima's final single from June 1982 (I did say that her music career was very brief), "Anata ni Better Bore" (Falling For You Even More). Compared to her brassy and bombastic Meiko Nakahara（中原めいこ）-similar debut single, this one is a straight-ahead bouncier and slightly speedier pop tune with a bit of 50s/60s vibe (sounds a bit like "The Loco-Motion") that was written by Yu Aku（阿久悠）, and Aku handled the lyrics of all three singles, A and B sides, and composed/arranged by Katsuo Ono（大野克夫）.

Pink Lady -- Futari dake no Date（二人だけのデート）

2026-11-04T11:18:24.543-05:00

When I came up with the article for Tommy february6's 80s synthpop cover of "I Only Want to Be with You", I thought that it would be the end of everything about the pop song vis-a-vis this blog. Oh, how wrong I was.

I found out while I was taking a look at the information for the Tommy february6 version that none other than the legendary aidoru duo Pink Lady（ピンク・レディー）had their go at the song decades before. Recorded under the Japanese title of "Futari dake no Date" (A Date Just for Two), Mie and Kei's take was a track on the duo's first album "Pepper Keibu"（ペッパー警部）with the famous title track from January 1977. In fact, Side B of the original LP seems to consist of Pink Lady's covers of Western pop songs.

Having had a few listens to Pink Lady's version, I have to say that this is also quite appealing since this time, we have a disco cover of "I Only Want to Be with You" compared to the pop/rock and 80s synthpop takes. Sung totally in Japanese, we have lyricist Fumiko Okada（岡田富美子）to thank for that. Tachio Okano（あかのたちお）was responsible for the arrangement.

Yukiji Asaoka -- Wakare no Bossa Nova（別れのボサノバ）

2026-11-03T15:41:39.072-05:00

I remember posting the late Yukiji Asaoka's（朝丘雪路）1970 song "Ame ga Yandara"（雨がやんだら）back in May 2018, only a few weeks following the announcement of her passing at the age of 82. I did write one more post regarding her since then, but it's basically been several years of nothing on Asaoka up to today.

Well, allow me to remedy this. In August 1966, Asaoka did release her 57th single "Namida no Kakera"（涙のかけら...Fragments of a Tear） but I'm here today to talk about the B-side, "Wakare no Bossa Nova" (The Farewell Bossa Nova). Written and composed by Masao Yoneyama（米山正夫）, it doesn't sound anything like bossa nova; in fact, I'd say that it sounds more Latin jazz or cha-cha. But putting that aside, it is a snazzy kayo for folks to get out and shake those hips on the dance floor. And if folks are gonna be breaking up that night, then why not do so gloriously through some good old-fashioned moves in a classy saloon?

NOVA -- Tokimeki Kisetsufuu（ときめき季節風）

2026-11-03T14:43:45.207-05:00

Kayo Grace and Mr. Calico have their own distinct way of picking apples and this time or perhaps last month was the ideal time to do so. However, the first week of November has been unseasonably warm for us here in Toronto; we've been getting into the low 20s Celsius as a high. Not that many of us are complaining, mind you.

Maybe those seasonal winds have been thrilling. Ah, yes...another sledge-hammered segue by me to get into today's song "Tokimeki Kisetsufuu"（Thrilling Seasonal Winds） by the obscure but cherished group NOVA from the 1970s and early 1980s.

Strange, though. I swore NOVA was a mere duo including songwriter Kazunari Kido（木戸一成）, and yet, I see four people on the cover of that 2nd single which is "Tokimeki Kisetsufuu" from January 1978 (maybe it was a union thing...I don't know). I couldn't find out who had been behind words and music although I am pretty sure that Kido was the composer. It's quite the bouncy number by NOVA, quite reflective of those strong refreshing winds blowing in. Before this one, I'd posted my last posting on the band back in 2023 for the B-side of the single "Ai Naki Sedai"（愛なき世代...Loveless Generation）.

I am hoping that some more NOVA tunes will eventually make their way known on YouTube in the next number of months or years.

Time Songs

2026-11-02T15:06:53.527-05:00

Over two years ago, I posted up an Author's Picks dealing with time travel...as exotic as that may sound on a Japanese music blog. But still, I did it and I could find a fair share of songs having to do with the premise. I gather that the Doctor isn't the only one interested in walking in eternity.

A few days ago, a lot of us in Eastern Canada had to do what we have been doing for decades on end. We put our clocks back by one hour from Daylight Saving Time to regular Eastern Standard Time. Meanwhile, a good chunk of Western Canada didn't even bother anymore. Their DST is now permanent time for them. For us here in the province of Ontario, the debate on springing forward and falling back one hour twice a year will continue to rage on until various governments finally come to sort of accommodation.

As such, I've decided to devote this space...and time...to songs whose titles include some aspect of time on the clock.

(1981) Miki Matsubara -- Neat na Gogo 3-ji (ニートな午後3時)

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

(1993) Pizzicato Five -- Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichi-ji (東京は夜の七時）

(1983) Goro Noguchi -- 19:00 no Machi （19:00の街）

(1982) Kingo Hamada -- midnight cruisin'

(1979) Miki Matsubara -- Mayonaka no Door （真夜中のドアー）

Ryokuoushoku Shakai -- TABOO

2026-11-02T12:05:44.013-05:00

Happy first Monday in November 2026! We're kinda back into that post-Halloween/pre-Christmas (at least outside of the shopping malls) gray neutral zone for a few weeks so things might feel relaxing or a little out of sorts depending on attitudes towards the Holidays. I can easily imagine that parts of Roppongi are now covered in Yuletide-friendly LED lights already.

I recall that there was an 80s aidoru song titled "Taboo"（タブー） by Hiromi Koide（小出広美）that I first heard on an episode of "Sounds of Japan" on CHIN-FM decades ago. I would figure that a title like "Taboo" would be pretty popular within music since it deals with topics and situations that shouldn't be broached easily, and I think the arts anywhere have had a tendency to enjoy a bit of sin now and then.

Well, the pop band Ryokuoushoku Shakai（緑黄色社会）appeared on "Uta Con"（うたコン）not too long ago to perform their latest which is a track from their September 2026 6th album "Atamago"（あたまご）. Their "TABOO" is a fun and upbeat pop tune with a touch of funk which takes aim at so-called data-based ways to measure compatibility between potential mates in an AI-controlled world (personally speaking, there's still something to be said about having a meaningful conversation over good coffee in a stylish cafe). Created through contributions by the entire band, bassist Shingo Anami（穴見真吾）had initially gone for something more laidback and melancholy but in the end, it just became this knock-one's-socks-off number.

You may have noticed that I didn't automatically provide a translation for the album title "Atamago". Indeed, I was left scratching my head, too. However, when I read through the J-Wiki article on Ryokuoushoku Shakai's latest creation, I found out that vocalist Haruko Nagaya（長屋晴子）had opted for a Japanese portmanteau of "atama" (head) and "tamago" (egg) since she saw her songs in the same way as beloved children on the verge of coming out into the world. Still, I couldn't glean what the significance of "atama" was, but Nagaya also remarked that she had wanted a four-character title written in hiragana; noting that she hadn't desired to use an existing word, but rather to create an original name.

Keiko Matsuyama -- Miren no Hatoba（未練の波止場）

2026-11-01T16:00:28.032-05:00

From Yanajin

We do have airports as the settings for parting-is-sweet-sorrow romantic farewells. And then there are the even older seaports from which a lot of other kayo kyoku were made. I've always wondered whether there would be a Pavlovian response if any women of a certain age ever heard a boat whistle going off in the background.

The Keiko Matsuyama（松山恵子）file on KKP is still pretty short so I've decided to check out some of her earlier material. So, going through her article on J-Wiki, I found out the late singer from Fukuoka Prefecture had been on the Kohaku Utagassen a total of eight times with her first (1957) and last (1989) appearances covering the same song.

That song would be "Miren no Hatoba" (Harbour of Regret) which was actually released in May 1957 as her 27th single under the Nippon Mercury label. Yurio Matsui（松井由利夫）was behind the lyrics while Fujio Mizutoki（水時富士夫）came up with the mournful melody of a woman pleading with her paramour not to leave town on the ship. Of course, that's not going to happen in an enka song and so the lady has to tearfully wave him goodbye.

Although Matsuyama appeared seven consecutive times between 1957 and 1963 on the Kohaku, it would be another 22 years before the singer made her final appearance on the New Year's Eve special in 1989. She would die around 17 years later from liver cancer at the age of 69.

Hiroaki Igarashi -- Because

2026-11-01T14:53:50.679-05:00

By Torsten Bolten

I found myself on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles just once in my life since I was on a mini-bus tour of the city back in the summer of 1989. It was just as well that I stayed within air-conditioned comfort on the bus because I couldn't even imagine stepping into any of those ritzy establishments.

Looking at the cover of singer-songwriter Hiroaki Igarashi's（五十嵐浩晃）May 1982 4th album "Wing" reminded me of Rodeo Drive for some reason although I'm not sure whether that is indeed a depiction of one of the world's most expensive commercial streets. But with those deep blue skies and the tall palm trees, it definitely strikes me as being very Los Angeles.

One of the tracks is "Because", a new urban discovery by me that I always cherish this late since the City Pop boom in the late 2010s. Written by Tetsuya Chiaki（ちあき哲也）and composed by Igarashi, it starts off feeling oh-so-80s and then the gallivanting rhythms of the genre begin racing through the streets fueled on a boppy bass. Despite the daytime album cover, "Because" is more nocturnal as Igarashi's protagonist welcomes an old flame back into the apartment after she's gone through a tough spot. He still has feelings for the lass but understands that they are just friends now. Maybe it's a bittersweet thing but more on the sweet side thankfully.

Shin Kouda -- Sakaba no Kingyo（酒場の金魚）

2026-10-31T15:04:47.300-04:00

By James St. John via Wikimedia Commons

I've mentioned a few times in past articles about one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto, Kingyo. I still go to the place now and then but usually just for lunch. It was one of the great izakaya when I first visited the place on the recommendation of a friend and eventually it was often the case that our group year-end dinners took place there. However, during the COVID lockdown, Kingyo took a right turn and evolved into a half-Japanese grocery shop and half-eatery, so those dinners were no longer viable due to the lack of seating space.

Well, in the early days, in keeping with its name, Kingyo did have some goldfish in one specialized large table. Unfortunately, one night, a drunken moron opted to have some really fresh sashimi by swallowing the goldfish whole which may have signified something for the future of the restaurant.

Anyways, my memories of Kingyo were sparked by this song that I saw performed on a recent edition of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）. My family noted audibly about the whereabouts of former singer Shin Kouda（香田晋）, and more on that later. However, Kouda was the one behind this song titled "Sakaba no Kingyo" (The Goldfish at the Bar) which struck me not only as something quite kayo kyoku...rather interesting considering that this was his 16th single from April 1998, far into the J-Pop era. I figured that there was more of a hybridization of sorts in terms of genre.

Then, when I took a look at this J-Wiki profile, it showed that he sang both enka and folk songs. Maybe the jaunty "Sakaba no Kingyo" was a nice mix of the two genres or another example of New Adult Music. In any case, this was an example of songwriting pedigree with Yu Aku（阿久悠）handling lyrics, Takashi Miki（三木たかし）as the composer and Kei Wakakusa（若草恵）arranging everything. I'm just not sure whether the goldfish is an analogy for the flitting in and flitting out of customers over a usual day at this bar or whether real goldfish are just living their aquarium lives while human drama is playing out outside of the water.

On seeing the thumbnail of the video above, I could recognize Kouda as someone that I used to see on television a fair bit. Kouda was born Koji Washizaki（鷲崎孝二）in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1967, In 1985, young Koji was scouted by famed composer Toru Funamura（船村徹）after the teenager had sung in a karaoke contest held via the composer's radio program. A few years later in 1989 after having served as Funamura's apprentice, the new Shin Kouda debuted with "Otoko Doushi"（男同志...Male Comrades）. In 1994, he would even get onto the Kohaku Utagassen to perform "Yume Ichido"（夢いちど...Dream One Time）.

However, after releasing his 40th single in October 2011, Kouda basically fled show business in early 2012. Through a magazine interview, he admitted that he had decided to retire without any official announcement due to pent-up stress which affected his ability to sing. At the time, he felt that he was being pushed into becoming more of a TV personality which wasn't what he wanted to be. In the end, he had to seek psychiatric care. Kouda is now very much a past name for Wakazaki and after marrying someone outside of the entertainment industry, he is now a Buddhist monk, helping to run a restaurant and a wellness studio. His only regret is that he couldn't give an official explanation to his fans.