My Showa Kayou 5　　"Life is like a Naniwa-bushi ballad."

Japanese Title "Naniwa-buchi dayo Jinseiwa"

During the golden age
of American jazz and pop music,
Enka was thriving in the Showa era.

When I was a child, I didn't like Enka.

Therefore, I hardly knew about the Komadori Sisters. It wasn't until 1984, when 'Naniwabushi da yo Jinsei wa' was released by several singers, that I became aware of the Komadori Sisters.

So, the Komadori Sisters I know are not the delicate twin sisters duo singing with shamisen slung over their shoulders, but rather quite older women.

And even now, the Komadori Sisters continue their activities. This astonishes me.

They begin to tell the story of their upbringing like this.

"Did you all know that we didn't become singers because we loved singing?"

They are people who have gone through hardships.

They had to perform some kind of art to make a living, but even now, I don't think they were particularly good singers.

Enka singers are really talented. That's why their lack of skill stood out even more. If I write such rude things, their fans will get angry. But despite being singers, they had an extraordinary charm beyond their singing.

First, they can talk about life. This is important in live performances. They have plenty of hardship stories, and they can tell them in an interesting way.

Second is their costumes. When the sisters appear together in kimonos, they are twice as flashy as a solo female singer. Kimonos are quite mysterious in this way.

Third is remaining celebrities until they die. The two grandmothers, currently 85 years old, are interesting in their own right. Living long and still having things they want to do makes the Komadori Sisters an inspiration for the elderly.

Looking at photos and videos of the Komadori Sisters from their debut, they were far cuter than the Peanuts. Even though they are twins, the Komadori Sisters didn’t sing difficult jazz or pop songs. Instead, they sang folk-style songs that were familiar to Japan at that time.

Wearing Shichi-Go-San outfits and singing at village parties, they were like the local girls next door. There was a strong sense of familiarity, like saying, 'Oh, is that Tanaka's daughter?'

It's extremely regrettable that I couldn't experience this in real-time.

Well, it can't be helped. After all, Enka has lyrics like these, so it was naturally avoided by elementary and middle school students.

'Naniwabushi da yo Jinsei wa' begins like this:

♪ I drank obediently when told to drink, felt willing when held close ♪

And it ends like this:

♪ Life is like a Naniwabushi ballad, a woman's, a woman's life ♪

The lyrics were written by Masato Fujita, known for 'Mother of the Cliffs.' The music was composed by Akito Shikata, known for 'If You Want Me.'

I usually write about the Showa era songs that I love and listen to, but I wanted to write about the Komadori Sisters' cuteness back then and their presence now.

Komadori Sisters, may you be eternal!

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】