[Mellow blues]
No.161 "Koi shita hito he" by Yoshiko Sai
Hi. Today's song is "Koi Shita hito he" (To the man I loved) by "Yoshiko Sai".
This song might be a little different from our regular posts, since this is not so sunny & cheerful. But it's a relaxing folky mellow blues, and certainly able to heal some people, we believe.
The singer is "Yoshiko Sai", known as a unique artist in music as well as in art.
If you like, please listen.
Some links to the music shops offering song samples are located on the bottom of this page.
Few contents have been put away in a " ▼Memo " tab in each section, so please click it to read.
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Song data
| Title | Koi Shita hito he |
|---|---|
| Artist | Yoshiko Sai |
| Album Title | Mangekyō |
| Catalog Number | PCD-20016 |
| Track No. | 4 |
| Duration | 3:46 |
| Released | 1975 |
| Publisher | |
| Lyricist | |
| Composer | |
| Arranger |
- About the creators
Yoshiko SaiLyricist & composer
The lyricist & composer "Yoshiko Sai" is also a singer of this song.
So, we would like to come back to her later in "About the artist" section.
Yūji OhnoArranger
"Yūji Ohno" is a Jazz pianist, composer, and arranger active since 1962.
He has written, or arranged hundreds of commercial jingles, films scores, drama music, and popular songs for the various sponsors, movies, TV series, and pop singers until today.
But he is perhaps the most well known as a music creator for a national popular Anime series, "Lupin the III".
Early times
"Yūji Ohno" started learning the piano when he was a elementary-age child.
In high school, "Ohno" formed a amateur band (instrumental?) with class mates, and also began to teach himself on Jazz.
After entering a university, "Ohno" joined a famed college big band, "Keiō Light music society", and became one of the regular pianist.
And, while studying at the University, he got started his pianist career by joining a professional Jazz band, "Kōji Fujika Quintet" in 1962.
He chose to continue his pianist career after graduating from the University. And after experienced in few bands, "Ohno" finally formed his first Jazz group, "Yūji Ohno trio" in 1967.
Become a composer
But in the early '70s, "Ohno" suspended his work as a pianist, and began to work as a composer, especially for commercial jingles, and drama music.
Since the beginning, "Ohno" was showing a rare capability on the creation of music. And around 1975, he also began to arrange the albums of the popular singers.
So, today's singer, "Yoshiko Sai" was actually one of the earliest artists, received a support from "Ohno".
In 1976, "Ohno" was offered to write film scores for a big movie, "The Inugami Family".
The movie became a big hit together with the theme music "Ohno" wrote.
By this success, "Ohno" was more generally recognized as a talented composer.
Lupin the 3rd
And in 1977, he was requested to create theme music for the 2nd season of an already popular anime series, "Lupin the III".
Different from most of the preceding TV anime series, which were optimized for their prime audience children, "Lupin the III" was originally a comics for young adults, and therefore designed to entertain them as well as children.
"Ohno" provided completely different, catchy, but high quality theme music, and BGM for this anime series.
The popularity of "Lupin the III" jumped up. Since then, it has been one of the most popular, and long lasting Anime series in Japan.
"Lupin the III" entirely changed the concept of the Animation music, from the sounds to attract children to the authentic film music. And "Ohno"'s contribution on this change was huge.
"Ohno" established his position through a big success on this Anime series.
He has been having busy days as a popular composer and arranger, afterwards.
(Ref: Wikipedia-en, Yūji Ohno)
(Ref: Wikipedia-jp, Yūji Ohno)
Video clip
Finally, here is a "Lupin the III theme", performed by Yūji Ohno & Lupintic five.
"Yūji Ohno & Lupintic five" is a Jazz sextet formed in 2006, which is a relatively large group in the history of "Yūji Ohno" .
But the band even evolved into "Lupintic six" by adding a new member in 2016, and actively performing in various occasions.
The melody is surely a familiar theme music of "Lupin the III". But this performance is already an authentic acoustic Jazz.
If you like, please listen.
* "Lupin the III theme" by "Yūji Ohno & Lupintic five"
Cover art today
- Sound impressions
Mellow & bluesy
This is a relaxed, mellow blues in a very slow, but swinging rhythm.
Healing
The bass, drums, acoustic guitar, strings, and the team of the flute start an introduction in a laid-back atmosphere.
In the main melody, the electronic piano, electric guitar, & percussion join, and begin to accompany with the main vocal.
The pianist is, "Yūji Ohno", guitarists are, "Takahiko Ishikawa" & "Tsunehide Matsuki". and percussionist is "Larry Sunaga". All of them are superb musicians.
And the elegant sound of those professionals, gently supports, "Yoshiko Sai" 's pure, clear & moist vocal, which is relaxing, but convincing.
Yūji Ohno
Without having Yūji Ohno, this LP record could not have been a mellow acoustic album like this.
As introduced in the earlier section, "Ohno" has been involving a very popular animation series, "Lupin the III" as a music creator since 1977.
He changed the concept of the Anime songs, from jingles for children to authentic screen music, through this highly popular TV animation series, by bringing out his talent for Jazz.
It seems he was trying to balance his stylish Jazz arrangement, and a natural, but elegiac original melody of "Yoshiko Sai".
That was perhaps why this song became like a Jazz blues, but partially a sentimental folk song.
- Reference
about Google translate
- "Google translate" often tries to translate even the personal names of Japanese, and occasionally displays humorous answer as a result. So, if you are in question, please check with the original article of us, which is slightly more reliable normally than a machine translation.
- About the artist
Yoshiko SaiSensitive Poet
"Yoshiko Sai" is a singer-song writer, and poet active since 1975.
One of the most unique artist in a folky, and little eccentric blues category, singing the raw, and too honest emotions of women.
"Sai" debuted in 1975 with a single, "Hatachi-ni nareba" (When I turn 20…). Since then, 4 singles, and 6 original, plus 1 live albums have been released until now.
(Ref: Wikipedia-en, Yoshiko Sai)
Nude image(illustration)
Early times
"Yoshiko Sai" was a member of school chore when she was a middle school student.
In high school, she belonged to an amateur band, wanting to be like a '70s popular folk group, "Akai tori" (Red bird), which a popular singer "Junko Yamamoto" used to belong to.
But "Sai" herself had no particular wish, or intention to be a singer at this point of time.
Just after entering a university in Kyoto, she got an unexpected illness, and forced to keep quiet in bed for 1 year.
While she had to be in bed, she spent most of the time reading novels.
Especially, she preferred to read horror mysteries, or surreal fantasies of leading Japanese authors, like "Seishi Yokomizo", or "Kyūsaku Yumeno", since those scary mysteries, or fanciful & aesthetic novels actually healed her unsettled mind.
It was not a particularly lucky experience for her, but those novels she read in this period affected a lot on her music creation later, according to her official website.
After discharged from the hospital, "Sai" began to write many lyrics as well as the melodies.
In 1974, she had a chance to perform as a warm-up for a popular singer "Rabi Nakayama".
Her performance was accepted well, and received offers from record companies.
And in 1975, she debuted as a folk singer with her first album, Mangekyō (Kaleidoscope).
Nude image(illustration)
Healing music for thinker
The realm of her lyrics are, in a sense, bizarre and mysterious, then naturally, the listeners live in the same world became the fans of her.
In the '70s Japan, there were still a lot of reflective people, and worrying about philosophical themes every day.
For such sensitive guys and young women, her tender, and a bit pessimistic songs were just like a healing music.
In fact, her albums often held very good space in many record shops.
Because of the uniqueness of her music world, she did not become a main stream singer, but certainly, there were significant amount of core fans, and surely she has been a singer representing the folk song of the '70s.
Off shoulder photo
Suddenly...
"Sai" was constantly releasing unique, but fine albums almost once a year until 1978.
But in 1979, after coming back from India, she told that she was feeling not able to write music she could accept.
Then, she suspended the whole of her music activities.
Taklamakan
After almost 30 years of silence, "Yoshiko Sai" released a new CD, Taklamakan as her 5th original studio album.
In 2001, "Sai" participated in an album of JoJo Hiroshige. (A leading member of a Japanoise band. "Hijō Kaidan" (emergency staircase). And demonstrated her perfectly beautiful high-pitched voice.
But 30 years of blank isn't short. Fans like us were still feeling not totally reassured.
However, we realized it was a pointless concern. Her new album was a perfectly genuine, correctly the 5th album of "Yoshiko Sai".
Not just all the songs are keeping unspoiled "Yoshiko Sai" quality, but there is certainly a new taste of her.
If you like, please listen.
About her artistic cover arts
Highly artistic, and aesthetic watercolor paintings are printed on the sleeves of the most of her single records & LP records.
Those illustrations are really beautiful, and particularly unique. So, we can immediately tell they are hers.
Surprisingly, the painter of these highly artistic illustrations are "Yoshiko Sai" herself.
She is just like a person born to art.
The thing is, the most of those illustrations applied a nude of a young woman (or women) as a motif.
They might be just beautiful for adults, or women. But, for '70s middle school boys like Satsuma, they were a little too punchy.
Eventually, he was not able to touch her albums at record shops in those days. Funny memories.
(Ref: Wikipedia-en, Yoshiko Sai)
(Ref: Wikipedia-en, Yoshiko Sai)🇯🇵
(Ref: tower.jp, No.12, Yoshiko Sai)🇯🇵
(Ref: fukugan.net, Yoshiko Sai retrospective)🇯🇵
(Ref: kt.rim.or.jp, Yoshiko Sai official website)🇯🇵
- Samples from online music stores
About the samples
Please go to the page below, and just play or click track No.4.
Trial button is on the left side of the song title.
AD :
Free listening samples
Tower records online
billboard-japan.com
7net.omni7.jp
Japanese Letters
| Song Title | 恋した人へ (Koi Shita hito he) |
|---|---|
| Artist | 佐井好子(Yoshiko Sai) |
| Album Title | 萬花鏡(Mangekyō) |
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