### Tsubaki no uta: Harumi Miyako and Shousuke Ichikawa, the bond between master and disciple engraved in enka (1964-)

### Tsubaki no uta: Harumi Miyako and Shousuke Ichikawa, the bond between master and disciple engraved in enka (1964-)

Harumi Miyako -- born in Kyoto in 1948, won the National Song Contest at the age of 15, and made her debut in 1964 with "Bai ni nano koto o". In the same year, "Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana (Anko Camellia is a Flower of Love)" became a million-seller and catapulted her to stardom. Her voice, a mixture of dignified melancholy and passion, instantly captured the hearts of the Showa-era masses.

Behind this success was a composer. Shosuke Ichikawa - a master of the enka world, and to Harumi Miyako, the "father of the song world". Their encounter went beyond mere work; it was a resonance of soul to soul. Ichikawa created a succession of Miyako's signature songs, including "Tears on the Liaison Boat" and "Osaka Shigure," and successfully brought out the emotion deep in her voice.

Of these, "Kita no Yado kara" (From the Northern Lodge), released in 1975, is a song that crystallized the teacher-disciple relationship between Harumi Miyako and Shosuke Ichikawa. The lyrics were written by Aku Yu and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa. The lyrics are the monologue of a woman who cannot forget the man who left her and lives in a state of regret and sorrow. The lyrics are not drowned in emotion, but rather have a quiet strength to them. Harumi Miyako's deep and soft vibrato delicately depicts the subtleties of her heart, which seeps into the listener's heart.

From the opening line, the scene is that of a northern country in the bitter cold of winter. However, the coldness is not a physical thing, but rather the loneliness that piles up deep in the heart. Miyako's voice gently lights up this frozen emotion.

Harumi Miyako won the 18th Japan Record Award in 1976 for this song. She also performed as the final performer at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen in the same year, and made a name for herself.

Harumi Miyako's songs are characterized by her unique vibrato and fist, also known as "Harumi-bushi," but it was Ichikawa's melody that supported the depth and shade of her songs. He accompanied her through the subtleties of her emotions, guiding her at times and watching over her at others. Ichikawa supported her from the shadows.

In 2009, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of his death, she released a memorial album, "Harumi Miyako: Singing Shousuke Ichikawa," which features the voice of her former teacher, Shousuke Ichikawa, as well as the songs of her former teacher, Shousuke Ichikawa. The album was filled with the deep respect for her teacher in her voice and words that could only be exchanged through song.

Harumi Miyako has swayed the hearts of Japanese people many times with her voice while standing behind the composer, Shosuke Ichikawa. As if to say that enka is not a song about sorrow, but about the power to live with it, her songs, with the strength and fragility of a camellia flower, still resonate quietly and powerfully.