Mike Maki, Folk Singer of Flowers and Wind, 1971

Mike Maki, Folk Singer of Flowers and Wind, 1971
Mike Maki was a folk singer who emerged from the 1960s. His representative song, "Roses in Bloom," depicts small everyday happiness and signs of rebirth with a simple melody and words at its core. Avoiding difficult metaphors, the lyrics, which push out scenes and allusions, combined with the widespread use of television at the time, reached the living rooms of families naturally and had a universality that even children could hum along to. The bright sound of the acoustic guitar and the soft tone of the voice also functioned to wash away the fatigue of urban life.

In Japan around 1971, amid the reverberations of the receding student movement and social tension, folk music was divided into two streams. One was the indictment type, which attacked the system and its absurdities, and the other was the lifestyle type, which sang about the touch of daily life. Mike Maki stood at the center of the latter group, taking a half-step back from the fire line of protest and cheerfully presenting the emotions that take root in our daily lives. This moderation caught the ears of the public, who were far removed from newspapers and lectures.

A comparison with his contemporaries further clarifies his position. Nobuyasu Okabayashi and Takuro Yoshida brought to the fore the conflict between politics and the individual, tearing through the era with rough strokes and words of accusation. The Folk Crusaders, including Kazuhiko Kato, experimented with satire and absurdity, while Happiendo poetically wove the shadows of the city. In contrast, Mike Maki prioritized harmonic clarity and vocal openness, establishing a pop-folk style optimized for home television and radio. As a result, he visualized the gentleness and audibility that folk music can possess, and greatly expanded the scope of the genre.