Kenichi Mikawa - Heir to the Showa Songs that Intersect with Melancholy and Gloss, 1960s-1990s

Kenichi Mikawa - Heir to the Showa Songs that Intersect with Melancholy and Gloss, 1960s-1990s

Kenichi Mikawa (born in 1946 in Nagano Prefecture) made his debut in 1965 with "But but, but, but". In the mid-1960s, when the rapid economic growth of Japan led to the spread of nightlife districts and nightclub culture, Kenichi Mikawa rose to prominence by capturing the solitude and joy of urban life in the style of mood songs. His long career and origins can be seen in his official profile, and he continues to perform at the forefront of the music scene even as he celebrates his 60th anniversary as a singer.

The turning point was "Yanagigase Blues" in 1966. Set in the entertainment district of Yanagigase in Gifu Prefecture, the song depicted the psychology of the night in a low-pitched, lustrous voice, and won the sympathy of the masses. The lyrics were written by Hideo Usa, and the label was Nippon Crown. This song established Bikawa's image as a definitive mood song.

In 1972, she brought her bewitching aesthetic to the forefront with "Scorpius Woman. With its provocative lyrics and visuals, the song deviated from the enka (traditional Japanese ballad) and uta-yokyoku (traditional Japanese song) norms, and brought a neutral gloss to the tea room at a time when gender expression was still rigid. The song was a single released in December 1972, and is still sung to this day as one of Mikawa's best-known works.

In a comparison of their contemporaries, Shinichi Mori sang enka (enka) of sentiment, and Mina Aoe depicted night scenes in her urban mood songs, while Mikawa theatrically shaped human sorrows with her storytelling and low-pitched persistence. Mikawa was unique in that she presented the character of the song as a somewhat abstract role while giving it the scent of the city at night. As a result, he opened up a place for a third type of song that is not confined to the two extremes of "youth songs" and "enka" (traditional Japanese ballads).

In 1996, at the occasion of Noriko Awatani's US-jubilee celebration, Awatani talked about how she wanted Mikawa to sing her song "Ame no Blues" to her. The song is remembered as a symbolic succession of the prewar blues tradition with postwar aesthetics. This event was also the moment when Mikawa became culturally layered as a descendant of Showa blues chanson.

In general, Kenichi Mikawa is a singer who visualized the shadows of emotions living in the city at night with his low-pitched luster and theatrical gestures. He has done a great job of inverting the social underbelly of society in "Yanagigase Blues" and the norms of the times in "Scorpius Woman" into beauty and pleasure, respectively. Even today, more than 60 years after her debut, she continues to update her songs with new works and performances, and continues to be an heir to Showa-era songs and an active performer.