My Showa Kayou 10 　This is exactly what youth is all about 1966

Japanese Title "Korega Seishun da"

The memories of youth
now linger in the melodies
and lyrics of nostalgic old songs.

It gives me energy. It makes me feel positive. It makes me want to spend my days brightly.

There are no longer popular songs that many people feel the same way about.

'I feel fashionable. I felt like I wasn't alone. I was so moved that I cried.'

Even if there are personal impressions, there aren't many popular songs nowadays that you end up singing with a group of people.

I can't imagine classmates sharing and singing songs by Radwimps, Kenshi Yonezu, YOASOBI, or Ado together. Besides, most of these musicians don't even use kanji, hiragana, or katakana in their stage names.

Akira Fuse, 75 years old. Still active.

I got to know Akira Fuse through his singing ability in 'Kiri no Mashuko.'

What deeply moved me was watching 'Ai wa Fushichou' on Kouhaku. When he stretched out his arms in his pure white costume, they looked like wings. It might look cheap now, but with just the band and the spotlight on stage, that costume was perfect.

Now, I only watched the drama 'This Is Youth' a few times, and it wasn't until much later that I realized Akira Fuse sang the theme song.

The rugged Raita Ryu left an impression because he didn't quite fit the image of the main character. Moreover, his character was supposedly studying abroad in London.

At that time, baseball was the number one sport, and the baseball club was very popular, but in this drama, it was the Nankai High School soccer club.

The hot-blooded theme song and Akira Fuse don't seem to go together. But back then, with an expression like that of a high school student, he sang this theme song refreshingly.

Generally, such passionate melodies are sung loudly with a resonant voice, but he incorporates a strange sound into his voice, making it feel as if the wind is blowing.

Being a woman, I can't quite produce that sound well, but without the right throat opening and vibrato technique, it can't be achieved. He might be singing effortlessly and pleasantly, but if that's the case, then he's truly a genius.

When I listen to his later songs, this vocal style is gone, and his singing becomes more emotional and technical. This makes me think that he sang that way naturally when he was younger.

The lyrics were written by Tokiko Iwatani and the music by Taku Izumi.

Taku Izumi is known for 'Tebakuro wo Taiyou ni,' 'Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi wo,' and 'GeGeGe no Kitarou.' Each of these three songs has a sudden leap to a high note that feels incredibly satisfying.

In 'This Is Youth,' the phrase ♪ With pride held high in my heart ♪ jumps up from 'ho' to 'ko.' This gives life to the word 'pride' in the lyrics.

The first verse continues with 'Unafraid, this is youth.' The second verse says 'Diving into dreams, this is youth.' The third verse says 'Always bare, this is youth.'

The song clearly conveys that youth means being unafraid for the sake of pride, having dreams, and being true to oneself. Wonderful!!

Such a song would be unthinkable in the Heisei or Reiwa eras.

What intrigued me about these lyrics was the phrase 'seven seas.'

At that time, there were no PCs or Wikipedia, so I asked my father. He told me, 'The Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and two more big seas that we’ll have to look at a map for.'

As an adult, I understood it to mean 'all the seas of the world.' Wikipedia describes the transitions of the concept of the seven seas from medieval Arabia to the present.

However, the seas envisioned by the Japanese, a maritime nation, are different. 'Seven seas' is an adventurous phrase conceived by Westerners.

Tokiko Iwatani used a global term in the story of a teacher who studied abroad in London and rode a yacht, and a struggling soccer club member. How delightful.

I cannot read or write in English.
This text has been translated by ChatGPT.
I haven't edited it, so there may be some strange parts.

【Reference Video】

【Japanese Version of the Article】