August 7, 2000

                          To Harumi-chan

The Evergreen Songstress: Harumi Miyako

                                                           Naoto Murai

Contents
�T For People without Knowledge of H. Miyako                                   
�U Her Background                                                                       
    a. Kyoto as Her Birthplace                                                             
    b. Her Father                                                                               
    c. Her Mother                                                                              
�V Her Music                                                                 
    a. Before Her Retirement                                                         
    b. Her Retirement                                                             
    c. After Her Comeback                                                         
�W Her Musical Philosophy                                                    
    a. Buddhism                                                                  
    b. Historical Philosophy                                                       
    c. Well-honed Sensual Performances                                            
�X Her Future: Aiming to be a Worldwide Singer                                  

�T　For People without Knowledge of H. Miyako
     Harumi Miyako, 53 years old, is one of the most famous Japanese female singers. She
appeared on the stage of NHK Kohaku-Uta-Gassen, the annual New Year’s Eve contest
between male and female popular singers sponsored and continuously broadcast by NHK from
1965 to 1984. She is generally known as an enka singer in Japan. Enka can be called Japanese
ethnic songs, which have unique melodies and lyrics. She is an excellent singer although she is
virtually unknown to foreign people.
     The other day, I watched a TV music program in which foreigners sung Japanese songs. Of
course, they sung them in Japanese. The words of a certain female participant moved me; she
said, “Anyone in the world is impressed by the stories of love, parting and agony that are the
main subjects of enka songs. Because they contain the common matter of concern about human
affairs, I like enka songs very much.” When I heard this statement, I thought that enka had the
potential to become universally popular.
     On December 19 two years ago, the “ ’99 Miyako Harumi Concert” was held in Budo-Kan in
Tokyo. After the concert, I enjoyed listening to others talking to each other about it on my way
home. Some said it was fun, others it made high-spirited. When I met a young German with a
Japanese partner among the audience, I asked him for his impression of the concert. He said,
”Her concert was very nice. Both her songs and performance were splendid.” I then asked him,
“Do you understand the Japanese lyrics of her songs?” He answered, “No, I don’t, but I can
appreciate them.” It was the first time for me to have met a non-Japanese in a Miyako Harumi
Concert. Through the fact that even one foreigner was interested in her concert and that he
happened to be well-disposed toward H. Miyako, I had a hope that other foreigners might be as
good as the Japanese in understanding Harumi’s music. Such a hope encouraged me greatly to
write this essay, whose purpose is to promote H. Miyako as a global singer.
     When I went to the Miyako Harumi Concert in Koshigaya City in Saitama Prefecture on
September 17 in 1999, I had the chance of shaking hands with her. After introducing myself, I
said to her boldly, “I am planning to write your biography or essay about you in English.” She
replied to me with a smile, “Thank you.” Strictly speaking, this essay is the realization of my own
promise to her. Indeed, the aim of this English essay on Harumi Miyako is to spread her
information to the world by using the Internet etc., and to seize the opportunity to encourage
her to be a worldwide singer.

�U Her Background
     Harumi Miyako won the “14th Columbia Nationwide Popular Song Contest” at the age of just
15 in 1963. She also gained the Rookie of the Year Award the following year. As mentioned
above, she participated in the NHK Kohaku-Uta-Gassen twenty times in succession.
Furthermore, even after her retirement in 1984, which will be referred to later, she had also
performed on the stage of the Kohaku-Uta-Gassen for nine years since 1989. Although it caused
distress to her fans, she suddenly declined the offer of the Kohaku-Uta-Gassen Contest in 1998,
saying that “she had already grown out of it.” However, the performances at the Annual NHK
Kohaku-Utagassen, in which she continuously participated for 29 years, have proven that she is
one of the best Japanese singers. From the writer's point of view, the basis of her marvelous
songs seems to have been developed, cultivated and supported by three main factors: Kyoto,
her Father and her Mother.
 
a. Kyoto as Her Birthplace
     Harumi Miyako, whose real name was Harumi Kitamura, was born in Kyoto City on February
22, 1948. Kyoto is one of the most popular Japanese sightseeing cities among foreigners. It has
a different atmosphere from modern cities like Tokyo. Kyoto has a long history of over
1,200 years, and is the second oldest capital of Japan, its unique cultural background having
three important features. To give a familiar example, it might be food. Some vegetables are
called “Kyo-Yasai”, vegetables peculiar to Kyoto. “Shojin-Ryori”, a vegetarian diet, is highly
developed in temples in Kyoto. Moreover, Ocha (the tea ceremony or green tea), Okashi
(Japanese cakes) and Otsukemono (Japanese pickles) have characteristic traditions and tastes
of Kyoto's own. Many foreign visitors as well as the Japanese, praise the beauty of the temples
and shrines in Kyoto, and say that the statues of Buddha are beautiful. Although these facts
support the artistic, subjective uniqueness of Kyoto, it is also a city objectively valued in the
academic field, for Kyoto University has produced five Nobel laureates among just seven Nobel
winners in the field of natural science in Japan. With Dr. Hideki Yukawa at the head of the list,
most winners are from the science department, such as atomic physics. The academic
uniqueness of Kyoto University should not be called just “unique”, but also “creative”
because the Nobel laureates’ achievements were extremely that.
     Kyoto is said to be the starting point of all the Japanese culture. Many Japanese cities
in old times were built in imitation of Kyoto. As a result, there are a lot of cities called
Sho-Kyoto (small Kyotos). Besides, most authorities on culture as well as on politics are
located in Kyoto. Not only most head temples of Buddhism sects but also most head families
of Ocha (tea ceremony), Ohana (flower arrangement) and Odori (a Japanese dance) schools
were there. In Kyoto, many superlative paintings were composed, and many fabulous statues
of Buddha produced. Kyo-Kaiseki, a typical high-class Japanese cuisine, dominates the
whole country. Kyoto produced a number of priests of virtue in old times, and it did Nobel prize
winners in modern times. Kyoto has an excellent record of producing culture, art and academic
performances. Kyoto, then, is not only a unique city, but also a creative one.
     Appreciating the cultural creativity of Kyoto is necessary to understand Harumi Miyako.
Although the write was also born in Kyoto, it was not until his leaving it that he became aware
of it. Incidentally, Harumi Miyako was born in Kyoto, where she had a number of influential
experiences. Brought up in Kyoto, she was well informed about its cultural climate. Owing to
her particular birthplace, she has grown into a great singer whom nobody can copy. A typical
example is her “unari-bushi”, her special way of singing. (This will be considered in chapter c.)
Many people in Kyoto are always seeking new ways of living. They never rest on their laurels.
So Harumi Miyako too has never skimped on work for her concerts, to which the writer can
testify because he has seen them. She is always creative in singing songs.

b. Her Father
     Harumi’s father was born on January 23 in 1904 in North Kyongsang Province over 200
kilometers southeast of Seoul. His name was Yi Jong Tack (李鐘澤), and came to Japan on
October 14 in 1940 because he had to farm as a tenant on account of the and register policy
of Chosen So-Tokufu (the Korean government-general). However, his hometown was famous
for its silk products. That was why he moved to Nishijin, a famous town with many textile
factories in Kyoto City. He had to change his Korean name to a Japanese one: Shoji Matsuda.
Most Koreans living in Japan were forced to change their names because of discrimination by
the Japanese at that time. Meanwhile, his work was successful, and he set up in larger
business. which resulted in employing three female weavers. One was Matsuyo Kitamura, with
whom he fell in love. They were later married and their first child was Harumi. She was born
on February 22 in 1948. Her father, Shoji, was 42 years old, her mother Matsuyo 27 at that
time. Harumi was a child of mixed race.
     Sukesaburo Kitamura, Matsuyo’s father-in-law, was strongly opposed to their marriage,
because he had a deep-rooted prejudice against Koreans. The social background of those days
fostered a Japanese tendency to discriminate against Koreans, Chinese and other Asians.
However, Harumi never felt any discrimination against herself while she was young, because
there were many children in similar circumstances. Her neighbors also were kind and watched
over her warm-heartedly. In fact, she spent her happy younger days free of discrimination.
     Harumi Miyako was twenty-eight years old when she was greatly shocked to learn of 
her father’s nationality. She had already acquired Nihon-Kayo-Taisho (The Japan Annual
Pop Grand Prize) on November 16 in 1976. Furthermore, she was also about to obtain Nihon-
Record-Taisho (The Japan Record Annual Grand Prize) awarded to the best singer.
Unfortunately, several weekly magazines disclosed her father’s Korean ancestry. They
asserted that neither Japan-Kayo-Taisho nor Japan-Record-Taisho should be given to a
singer whose father was Korean. How miserable she was to hear this racism! Afterwards,
some cold-hearted people had sent such letters to her office. It was said that she had really
wanted to quit being a singer then. Eventually, though, she won “the 18th Japan-Record-
Taisho” at Teikoku-Gekijyo at the end of the year. Harumi Miyako, a singer with great
sensitivity, has felt the agony that only the discriminated against know.

c. Her Mother
     The name of Harumi’s mother is Matsuyo, whose own mother, Tami, was married to Tomitaro
Nakaya. Matsuyo was born in Kyoto Prefecture on October 22, 1919, but her parents divorced
when she was four years old. Tami and Matsuyo moved to Komatsu City in Ishikawa Prefecture,
where Tami happened to meet Sukesaburo Kitamura and remarried. They later returned to Kyoto
City.    
     The Kitamuras were engaged in textile manufacture in Nishijin, which is famous for producing
kimono cloth. Matsuyo was a very hard worker, working from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Her days
off were just the 1st and 15th of each month. Harumi had been eager to help her mother live
more comfortably since her childhood. However, although she worked eagerly, Matsuyo was
never penurious. She spent a great deal of money on Harumi’s lessons for her performing arts.
Harumi began to learn Japanese dancing at the age of 6, ballet at 9, joined a theatrical
company at 11, and went to private music schools. Matsuyo worked for Harumi, and supported
her economically in order to help her career.    
     Formerly, the word kyoiku-mama (a mother who is too much over-concerned about her
child’s educational affairs) was popular in Japan, and Harumi’s mother was such a moter.. She
was greatly interested in Harumi’s performing activities. As Matsuyo was also a good singer, she
tutored her young child strictly. At first, she required her young child to sing in different
tones of voice, because Hideko Itami, a female naniwabushi (the Japanese ethnic art of
narration spoken in a singing tone) recitation player in 1950’s, was able to perform various
voices such as women’s, children’s, young people’s and elderly people’s. It was said that she
had had “seven colors of voice”. This is a unique Japanese expression, which means seven tone
qualities. Owing to Matsuyo’s training, Harumi was able to sing in different tone qualities. In fact,
you will soon realize it for yourself if you compare some of her songs. Moreover, Harumi’s unari,
the skill of singing an important phrase of a song with a groaning voice, was very unique. It once
dominated the enka world. Her unari was taught by Matsuyo too. You can still hear her typical
unari in the last part of her song “Anko-Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-Hana” (Camellias and a Lady in
Love)1. Finally, Matsuyo Kitamura was not only Harumi’s mother, who supported her daughter
economically by doing her best so that Harumi might be a famous singer, but a teacher who
inspired her with a unique and creative style of singing.

�V Her Music
     Harumi Miyako is admired as one of the most famous Japanese enka singers. She has been
singing many enka songs since she debuted in 1964, and some of them have been big hits. As a
result, she became an enka singer who represented Japan. However, she hated being called an
enka singer, for she would not distinguish between enka and other songs. Harumi had already
crossed the barriers of music genre.

a. Before Her Retirement
     Suddenly, Harumi Miyako retired as a singer in 1984, with the unique remark that Futsu-
No-Obasan-Ni-Naritai (I’d like to be an “average lady”). She said she had worked very
hard for over twenty years, but did not like singing songs. In fact, she confessed that
singing songs was just a job to her. She had sometimes suffered from a kind of inferiority
complex about her enka-type songs. She had even envied other young singers of her age who
sang attractive Western music.
     Before she reached her decision to retire, Harumi attained such happiness that she could not
understand its real meaning. She might not have realized that she was blessed with her family,
her teachers and her own gift for music. Her mother in particular gave a special musical
education to her daughter, which Harumi disliked very much. Although she owned her splendid
singing to her mother, she was too dependent on her mother’s kindness. What was worse,
her mother’s expectations of Harumi  trapped her like a spell. She hoped that she would
eventually be free from her mother.
     Shosuke Ichikawa was the teacher that Harumi respected most. He composed most of
Harumi’s songs. Some of them were “Anko-Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-Hana” (Camellias and a
Lady in Love)¹, “Sukini-Natta-Hito” (My Boyfriend)², “Osaka-Shigure” (Drizzling Rain in
Osaka City)³, which became hit songs. However, other of her songs, for example,
“Bakaccho-Defune” (A Foolish Sailor Takes a Passage)⁴, “Ara-Miteta-None”(Oh, You Were
Watching Me!)⁵，”Harumi-No-Sando-Gasa” (Harumi with a Yakuza Type Sunshade)⁶, which
she disliked. She disliked these because Bakaccho means a fool, Ara-Miteta-None has bad
connotations, and she had pretended to be a yakuza guy with a strange hat when she sung
“Harumi-No-Sando-Gasa”. She sometimes thought that she was unattractive, ugly while
singing them.
     Against her will, she went on singing for over twenty years. She continued singing “as
a job”. Perhaps she did not notice that she had been supported by not only her staff but
her fans too. Harumi Miyako, before she retired, seemed not to have noticed her own
outstanding talent for music.

b. Her Retirement
     As stated above, Harumi Miyako retired from show business in 1984. Although the
underlying reason for her retirement is complicated, three main reasons can be mentioned
here.
     The first is that she wanted to take care of her father. He was 44 years old when
Harumi was born, and already 80 when she retired. Harumi said to Shosuke Ichikawa, the
famous composer and her teacher, that she would quit being a singer because she
wanted to take care of her father. Ichikawa said, "For your father, you can quit singing." He
also said at Miyako Harumi's concert that he was happy for her to have quit, as her father
died of acute liver trouble just three years later. Of course, Harumi was happy to have
nursed her father. Harumi had not lived with him since she left Kyoto, so she was pleased
that she could live for her father after she retired.
     The second reason was her “marriage” problem. Harumi married Hiroomi Asatsuki, once a
singer, in 1978 but divorced him in 1982, even though they had been intimate for 16 years. 
Five months after her divorce, she was reported to be living with Ikko Nakamura, her
director. Nakamura was already married, but had told Harumi that he would divorce his wife.
Unfortunately, his divorce by mutual consent did not proceed successfully. Harumi once
muttered about how uneasy her relationship with Nakamura was, but she had another hope;
she wanted to have a baby. She was already 36 years old, so thought that this was her last
chance. She sincerely wanted to bear Nakamura’s child. Because he could not obtain a
formal divorce from his spouse, Harumi was to cohabit with him. On the TV program “NHK
Kohaku-Uta-Gassen”, she sung “Meoto−Zaka” (A Song in Praise of a Married Couple)⁷.
The words of the song，”If we could pass this slope, happiness would be waiting for us.”
represented the very happiness she wanted.
     The final reason is that she would have liked to be a Futsu-No-Obasan (an ordinary
middle-aged woman). She had been singing since she was 16 years old. Singing was a job to
her. She hoped that her parents’ financial situation would improve and went on working with
this aim. She sung many songs that she was not fond of. She worked very hard, like a wheel
at full speed. She was a person who was inexperienced in daily life. She could not even get
on a train alone. She did not live an independent life at all. So, she wanted to take herself
back by quitting singing. Her retirement meant her own resuscitation.

 c. After Her Comeback
　   Harumi Miyako has released more than 115 records so far. At first, she was called a pop
singer, for almost all kinds of songs except folk songs were brought together in the style of
popular music at that time. However, enka, a traditional-style Japanese song, was soon
formed. As a result, she began being called an enka singer. Over half of her songs were
composed by Shosuke Ichikawa, a great enka composer. He wrote many hit songs for Harumi.
For example, “Anko-Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-Hana” (Camellias and a Lady in Love), “Namida-
No-Renraku-Sen” (A Ferryboat and a Weeping Woman)⁸ and “Osaka-Shigure” (Drizzling
Rain in Osaka City) are representative. Despite this, Harumi disliked being called an enka
singer, and her songs could not be crammed into one small genre. That is, Harumi’s talent
for music broke the bounderies between music fields, such as so-called enka. In fact, she
regards herself as a pop singer, not an enka singer, even now.
     Harumi returned to work in May 1990, inclining this time toward pop music. New songs
after her comeback were “Otaru-Unga” (the Otaru Canal)⁹ and “Sennen-No-Koto”
(Kyoto with a Thousand-Year History)^10. Most songs before her retirement except
“Meoto-Zaka” (A Song in Praise of a Married Couple) had nothing to do with her way of
life. Harumi had sung them for her supper. But now, differently from previous songs, she
participated in producing “Otaru-Unga” and “Sennen-No-Koto”. As a result, her “life-style”
was reflected in these songs. It was the moment when her songs and her way of life were
connected.
     Furthermore, Harumi’s three songs: “Otaru-Unga”, “Sennen-No-Koto” and “BIRTHDAY”¹¹,
give us clues as to the direction in Harumi’s music. The first song, Otaru-Unga, was arranged for
pop music. Inlaid in it are key phrases that reflect her way of life. For example, “being on the
wrong side of forty” implies her real age. Besides, “Listening to Yesterday” (of The Beatles)
reminds us of the musical tendencies in the 1960s. More phrases were set in “Sennen
-No-Koto” than in “Otaru-Unga”. For instance, Kinugasa-Yama, (the hill near her parents’
house), the sound of weaving (her family business), Mother (her dearest person), the song of
stars (taught by her mother while young), jizo (a guardian deity of children) and the eternal
ancient city tell us that her hometown is Kyoto. The images of the song and Harumi’s life
overlap each other through these key phrases. Finally, the song of “BIRTHDAY” was
written by Yoko Aki and composed by Ryudo Uzaki, a married couple and the best-known
musicians of pop music composition. The melody of the song, then,  was composed in the pop
fashion. As Harumi and Yoko were friends, Yoko wrote the lyrics for Harumi considering her
life-style. For instance, the lyrics “every day is my birthday,” and “I’d like to spend a
life that I never regret,” and “I'd rather sing a song with the vitality of a bouncing ball than a
love song.” were much connected with Harumi’s life. By pioneering a route different from
enka, Harumi was able to open a new musical door as an activity to express her own way
of life.

�W Her Musical Philosophy
     Harumi Miyako is a perfectionist in her musical activities. She once said to Yoshifu Arita, a
Japanese journalist, “I never want to make any mistakes in my concerts; after my comeback
in particular.” In fact, her concerts are always performed in a tense atmosphere that
generates concerts of high quality. Harumi’s main musical activities are to release CDs，to
appear on the stage of TV musical programs, to perform concerts traveling through Japan,
to have long-term concerts for one month at Nissei Theater in Hibiya and a concert in the
Budo-Kan every year. She emphases the musical activities she likes. This liking is her own
policy, and it can be rephrased into her musical philosophy. It is a philosophy not expressed
by philosophical publication but through her songs.
.
a. Buddhism
     Kyoto has many temples and shrines, and there was a temple and a stone jizo
statue near Harumi’s parents’ house. This temple is called “Enma-Do” (A temple for the King
of Hell), and Harumi named her band “Enma-Do” after it. Furthermore, the lyrics of the song,
“Sennen-No-Koto” read “Netsuke no suzu o uresisa ni, Jizo no tsuji de narashitemimashita.”
(As I was so happy, I tried ringing a netsuke ring on the street where a stone jizo stood.)
Jizo represents a guardian deity of children, the lyrics of “Sennen-No-Koto” and 
the jizo statue near her house overlap each other. “Otaru-Unga” goes like this; “Shojin
otoshi no sake o nomi, betsu no ikikata attaneto.” (Drinking sake on the last day of
abstinence, we talked to each other about the other possibilities of our way of living.) The
"last day of abstinence" is a Buddhist term. Besides, “Sakura-Shigure” (Rainfall in the Cherry-
Blossom Season)¹² says, “Makenaide, ikite iko neto, omikuji musunda ginkakuji.” (Promising to live
together without giving in, they knotted an oracle at Ginkakuji-Temple.) To tell their fortune by
consulting an omikuji (a written oracle) is also a very popular Buddhistic ritual of the Japanese.
Finally, “Koto-Shoyo”(A Song for Strolling around Kyoto)¹³ uses a particularly deep Buddhist
expression; “Yume maboroshi ka gion e wa, jokuse no yami ni aka aka to, mitama o okuru
daimonji…” (The meeting at Gion Town is like a dream or a phantom; Daimonji, bonfires
shaped like the Chinese character 大, are burning brightly in the dark of this dirty world to
see off the spirits of the dead to the other world.) These lyrics are extremely difficult and
many Japanese may not be able to understand them. The high-grade terms of Buddhism are
inlaid in Harumi’s songs. Part of Harumi’s musical philosophy consists of such Buddhist
expressions. Her songs are always looking steadily at both light and dark of human beings.

b. Historical Philosophy
     H. Miyako’s historical philosophy is expressed in the song “Sennen-No-Koto,” which goes
like this; Toki wa mijirogi mo sezu, yukyu no mama (Time does not move at all, and it has
eternally stayed still.) The fundamental perception of endless time seems to be her idea about
history. It seems that she sings the song with a sense of “everlasting time” that is peculiar
to all her songs.
     A further example of her historical recognition is expressed in “Tennyo-Densetsu”
(The Legend of a Nymph of Paradise)¹⁴. The song chants; “Ikusennen no yuru o koe, toku no
kuni kara futtekuru.” (The snow comes down from the other world, after passing thousands of
years.) It also compares time to “the river” with light and dark (Kezayaka ni hikari to kage o
orinashite, tsumugi kirenai toki no kawa). This too expressed the eternity of time.
     The historical philosophy of H. Miyako’s songs seems to have originated from Kyoto with its
long history. The final example of her songs regarding history as essential is “Hana-No-
Ran”¹⁵ (Yoko Aki wrote the lyrics for the theme music of Hana-No-Ran, the NHK TV epic
program, composed by Shigeaki Saegusa, a famous Japanese composer.) Hana-No-Ran was
broadcast every Sunday night for nine months in 1994. The heroine of this song was Hino
Tomiko (1440-96), the wife of Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-90), the eighth shogun of the
Muromachi shogunate (1338-1573). This epic describes the historical features of the day
through their lives. “Hana-No-Ran” (Discord in the Imperial Palace), sung by Harumi Miyako,
expresses through a profpund melody, the historic personage, Hino Tomiko’s love and agony
as a woman. There was probably nothing except “Hana-No-Ran” that dealt with such a
historic person seriously. By introducing historic events in the song, H. Miyako showed an
aspect of historical philosophy. Her songs are now stabbed with the belief in time and
history; in other words, her historical philosophy.
    
c. Well-honed Sensual Performances
     Few people seem to know Harumi’s debut song. It was not “Anko-Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-
Hana”, as is popularly believed, but “Komaru-No-Koto-Yo” (I’m Perplexed)¹⁶. She was just
sixteen years old when she sang it. Its lyrics describe the situation in which a young girl
courted by her boyfriend is hesitating in refusing him. It is a spicy kind of enka. Next, “Anko-
Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-Hana” produced by Tetsuro Hoshino and Shosuke Ichikawa, became
Harumi’s first hit song. Hoshino was a famous lyric writer, and Ichikawa already a famous
composer. Hoshino was in his late, and Ichikawa, his early in 30s. They said directly that
Harumi’s arm coming out from the sleeve of her komono was very exciting. Besides,
Ichikawa is reported to have said she was “Iroppoi-Hi-No-Tama” (sexy dynamite) [Miyako
Harumi Dai-Zenshu, pp.145-149, 1994), but I presume that she was singing those songs
standing on tiptoe, although she might well have been as sexy as he said. Unfortunately, she
could not sing well the songs that were fitting for her age. Hence it followed that she was to
retire from the entertainment world at the age of 36. Harumi was singing songs that older
people produced. She had said before that there were some songs that she disliked. It was
impossible to identify Harumi’s real life with her songs. She sung her songs constantly
streching herself..
     However, the situation before her retirement completely changed after it. “Meoto-Zaka”,
which was sung in her final concert in 1984, suggested a happy future for her. “Kono saka o
koetanara, shiawase ga matteiru” (After overcoming the trouble, we will be happy.) The song 
hinted at the relationship between Harumi and Ikko Nakamura, her producer. Harumi retired 
saying that she would be a Futsu-No-Obasan (an average housewife). At her comeback
concert, she sung, as planned, “Otaru-Unga” and “Sennen-No-Koto”. After that, she sung
“BIRTHDAY,” “Ai-Wa-Hana, Kimi-Ha-Sono-Tane” (The Rose by Amanda McBroom)¹⁷,
“Tobenai-Tori-Eno-Requiem” (Requiem for Flightless Birds: the Song of the Gulf War)¹⁸.
“Anata-No-Tonari-O-Arukitai” (I’d Like to Walk with You: a Memorial Song for Kenji
Nakagami)¹⁹ and “Ajia-Densetsu” (An Asian legend)²⁰ one after another. All of them
expressed Hurumi’s actual life. Furthermore, a big change set in progress during in her 50s;
a sensual aspect in her songs began to flower. The song, “Jashu-Mon” (A Gate of a Heretic
Religion)²¹, is a case in point. According to a Nihon-Geizai Newspaper column on April 13,
1998, “Jashu-Mon” is sensual as well as challenging because a tanka (a Japanese poem of
thirty-one syllables) written by Tomoko Michiura, a Japanese poet, was inserted at the
beginning of the song. This is the tanka; “Zansho no hikari no umi o futari yuku, hana no
gotokaru tsumi o idakite”. (A couple is walking in the sunset, with a sense of an illicit act.)
This poem describes the struggle of a couple falling in illicit love in provocative language: for
example, the expressions, "the feverish breasts", "Loving him deeply until she puts her
body into his hands," and “the sap smells when she hugged his vigorous body” renders
the song literaly yet sensual. Another example is “Ohara-Zessho” (A Superb Song in
Ohara, a Small Town in Kyoto)²². You could easily recognize that the theme of this song 
as also being a forbidden love affair, for the phrase “Utsusemi no koi (Transient passion
like a castoff skin of a cicada) is repeated three times at the end of the song. There are a
number of expressions showing the sensuality, e.g., “Nioi koboreru shiroi hada” (Clear skin
that has a sweet smell), “Karada soru hodo iki mo tobu” (She pants as much as her body
bends back.) and “Daite kudasai mo ichido” (Hug me once again please). Harumi’s moving
songs with their prominent melodies are a complex mix of love, life, death and hope, and
the sensual performances in her music cannot be limited with the simple, hackneyed word,
“sexy.” H. Miyako said in a talk with Motoko Michiura, “I’d like to sing something hot of a
woman like pulp (onna no atsui toro toro shita mono) at the age of 50.” The sensuality of
her performances in concert never cause the audience discomfort. This aspect of her
singing could be described as well-honed sensual performances, which would be sure to
make her concerts even more attractive.

�X Her Future: Aiming to be a Worldwide Singer
     The original purpose for which I began to write this biographical essay on Harumi Miyako in
English was to promote her from a so-called Japanese enka singer to a world-famous one.
Unfortunately, there are few global pop singers in Japan now. However, the Japanese have
disseminated certain other cultural traditions worldwide. Typical examples are cartoon
characters, game software, some Japanese major leaguers, karaoke, etc. “Doraemon” is
popular in Asian countries; “Pichachu” is well known to the world, too. Japanese major leaguers,
such as Ichiro and Shinjo, are active in the USA. Professional soccer players like Nakata and 
Ono, likewise. Talking of music, though only the hardware of karaoke is now global. As said, the
Japanese have few world-famous singers. However, the past reminds us that there has been 
a global singer in Japan. His name was Kyu Sakamoto. (He was born in 1941 and killed in an
airplane accident in 1985.) He sang the song, “Ue-O-Muite-Aruko” (I wanna walk looking
upward). The title was changed to “Sukiyaki”, and the Capital Record Company released it.
It was over thirty years ago that this “Sukiyaki” broke unexpectedly in the USA. The number
of records sold reached more than ten million, and it is said that they continue to sell still now.
Unfortunately, there is no singer like Kyu Sakamoto now. I would like to introduce Harumi
Miyako to the world in order to fill in the “blank” of over thirty years. Giving information about
H. Miyako to the non-Japanese who do not know her well is the other aim of my writing this
essay in English. I recommend that they listen to her CDs, watch her videos, and to go to her
concerts. Her concerts, in particular, are the best for understanding her music, for they can
be enjoyed by listening to her varied voices, watching her beautiful kimonos and feeling her
musical mood. I hope that Harumi will have a concert for New Yorkers in some place like
Carnegie Hall or Madison Square Garden. Her singing skills and performances of heartfelt
emotion are sure to move them. Besides, the themes of her songs, religion, history, philosophy,
romance and agony, are all common to the world. It is possible that the oriental evergreen
songstress, Harumi Miyako, will show them through her fabulous songs the emotions that we
all of us share, regardless of race, nationality or religion.

                                                 Notes

                               A List of the Songs by Harumi Miyako
                                         (All published by Nippon Columbia Co.)

1. “Anko-Tsubaki-Wa-Koi-No-Hana” (Camellias and a Lady in Love), (Tetsuro Hoshino /
Shosuke Ichikawa), 1964 [3:58]
2. “Sukini-Natta-Hito” (My Boyfriend), (Choei Shiratori / Shosuke Ichikawa), 1968 [3:36]
3. “Osaka-Shigure” (Drizzling Rain in Osaka City), (Osamu Yoshioka / Shosuke Ichikawa), 1980
[3:57]
4. “Bakaccho-Defune” (A Foolish Sailor Takes a Passage), (Miyuki Ishimoto / Shosuke Ichikawa),
1965 [3:47]
5. “Ara-Miteta-None” (Oh, You Were Watching Me!), (Shinichi Sekizawa / Shosuke Ichikawa),
1966 [3:13]
6. ”Harumi-No-Sando-Gasa” (Harumi with a Yakuza Type Sunshade), (Shosuke Ichikawa /
Shosuke Ichikawa), 1969 [3:30]
7. “Meoto−Zaka” (A Song in Praise of a Married Couple), (Tetsuro Hoshino / Shosuke
Ichikawa), 1984 [4:31]
8. “Namida-No-Renraku-Sen” (A Ferryboat and a Weeping Woman), (Shinichi Sekizawa /
Shosuke Ichikawa), 1965 [4:46]
9. “Otaru-Unga” (the Otaru Canal), (Osamu Yoshioka / Tetsuya Gen / Draft Planner, Harumi
Miyako), 1990 [4:21]
10. “Sennen-No-Koto” (Kyoto with a Thousand-Year History), (Osamu Yoshioka / Tetsuya
Gen / Draft Planner, Harumi Miyako), 1990 [5:25]
11. “BIRTHDAY”, (Yoko Aki / Ryudo Uzaki), 1991 [5:11]
12. “Sakura-Shigure” (Rainfall in the Cherry-Blossom Season), (Tetsuro Hoshino / Shosuke
Ichikawa), 1993 [4:45]
13.“Koto-Shoyo”(A Song for Strolling around Kyoto), (Takashi Taka / Tetsuya Gen), 1994 [5:42]
14. “Tennyo-Densetsu” (The Legend of a Nymph of Paradise), (Teruyuki Sakaguchi / Tetsuya
Gen), 1992 [5:57]
15. “Hana-No-Ran” (Discord in the Imperial Palace), (Yoko Aki / Shigeaki Saegusa), 1994
[6:46]
16. “Komaru-No-Koto-Yo” (I’m Perplexed), (So Nishizawa / Minoru Endo), 1964 [3:42]
17. “Ai-Wa-Hana, Kimi-Ha-Sono-Tane” (Adopted from “the Rose,” An original lyrics writer and
composer: Amanda McBroom. A translated Japanese lyrics writer: Isamu Takahata), 1991 [402]
18. “Tobenai-Tori-Eno-Requiem” (Requiem for Flightless Birds: the Song of the Gulf
War), (Teruyuki Sakaguchi / Toshikazu Sase), 1991 [7:30]
19. “Anata-No-Tonari-O-Arukitai” (I’d Like to Walk with You - a Memorial Song for Kenji
Nakagami), (Teruyuki Sakaguchi / Takashi Miki), 1993 [7:24]
20. “Ajia-Densetsu” (An Asian legend), (Michio Yamagami / Nobuyuki Sakuraba), 1996 [4:33]
21. “Jashu-Mon” (A Gate of a Heretic Religion), (Motoko Michiura / Tetsuya Gen), 1998 [6:53]
22. “Ohara-Zessho” (A Superb Song in Ohara), (Teruyuki Sakaguchi / Tetsuya Gen), 2000 [5:22]

                                               Bibliography
Miyako Harumi Dai-Zenshu, Tokyo: Nippon Columbia Co., 1994.
Eiji Oshita, Shosetsu: Miyako Harumi, Tokyo: Tokuma-Shoten, 1991.
Yoshifu Arita, Utaya: Miyako Harumi, Tokyo: Kodan-Sha, 1994.
Kenji Nakagami, Ten-No-Uta, Shosetsu, Miyako Harumi (The Songs of the Heavens: a Fiction,
Miyako Harumi), the complete works of Kenji Nakagami (vol. 8), Tokyo, Shuei-Sha, 1996.
                                                                         

 by Naoto Murai

 Copyright (C) 2000-2004 by Naoto Murai