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Nirinsou
An Old Couple Meet a Coming Spring
Date:15, Mar, 2018
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
About our introductory articles


Hello, everyone. Today, I'm talking about "Nirinsou (Soft Wild Flowers)," a 1998 enka song sung by Kawanaka Miyuki.


I suppose that there are many who don't know who Kawanaka Miyuki is. She is a Japanese enka diva who originally made her debut as Kasuga Harumi in 1973. She changed her stage name into the present one Kawanaka Miyuki in 1977.

"Nirinsou" was published in 1998 Jan. 1. It became her second biggest hit as keeping over 80 weeks in the Oricon Chart's top 100 and selling over one million copies in Japan alone.

Her first hit, by the way, was "Futari zake (Two Drinks)" in 1980.

The two have a point in common. They sing about a loving couple. I guess it is rare in the enka field. Usually, enka sings about sad love affairs or Japanese self‐torture.

Especially, we are truly difficult to find sadness within "Nirinsou." It sings about a ripe old couple meeting a coming spring.

It seems that Spring is coming. An old couple are feeling the signs, so glad to feel it together. The lyrics show us the scene. So we are almost impossible to say it includes something tragic.

In other words, we can say the great hit tells us enka listeners also longed for something happy, not just tragedies. They were mostly tired at sad songs, wanted something affirmative. Is it unreasonable to think like thus by the big hit of "Nirinsou?"

Spring is coming to Japan's main island this year again. Good timing to enjoy listening to the enka song singing about an old couple who meet the signs of spring.


about Nirinsou

・Written by Mizuki Kaoru
・Composed by Gen Tetsuya
・Arranged by Maeda Toshiaki
・Performed by Kawanaka Miyuki
・Published by Teichiku Entertainment
・Released on Jan. 1, 1998







 

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