ISHIKAWA SAYURI IN CONCERT: EVOKING THE BEAUTY OF A JAPANESE WOMAN

by Sanae Ishiguchi

The doors opened thirty minutes before showtime for Ishikawa Sayuri’s performance at the Aoyama Gekijo in Tokyo. Fans gladly braved the rain to see their beloved Sayuri-chan. Most fans were upper-middle aged, the majority in their 50’s and 60’s. Among them, a few came in kimono though most people were in regular attire.

I took my seat in the middle of the theater, slightly toward the back. I gazed at my program and noticed that the evening would feature 34 songs in all. The concert was scheduled to begin at 5:30, but started a little late. Then the curtains opened and Ishikawa started the evening with an upbeat number, “Oppekepe”, accompanied by a band of around 12 members. To help her get through the program, Tamaoki Hiroshi joined in as the evening’s “Navigator”. The band was led by conductor Miyazawa Akira.

For part one of the concert, Ishikawa sang a total of 19 songs, taking us through a sort of history of Japanese folk music. The beginning numbers were tunes about the Meiji Era. The third song was “Kago no Tori”, and by the fourth song, “Sendo Kouta”, she had brought us to the Taisho Era. She remembered that her grandmother liked this particular song.

Every few numbers, Ishikawa would go off stage and change kimono. In the meantime, her Navigator filled in the time or we could hear Ishikawa’s voice over the PA system as apparently she was talking to us while she was changing costume backstage.

Last year she performed a few jazz numbers and had a guest saxophone player. To match, she wore a western dress to match those numbers, but this year she said, “Dieting to wear such dressess is too much (laugh), so she wore only kimono this year”.

Part one continued, and the energetic entertainer took us through the Showa Era. Song number nine, “Ringo no Uta”, was a post-war tune. Song number thirteen, “Gampeki no Haha”, (Mother at the Wharf) was sung originally by Futaba Yuriko who was Ishikawa’s singing coach this time. She continued to change costumes and hair styles to match the songs, and for the fifteenth and sixteenth songs she dressed as a geisha.

One could tell her fans adore her. “Iroppoi (sexy)!” called out an ojisan (old man) from the crowd as she narrated and sang her geisha numbers. For the eighteenth song, a shamisen player appeared on stage, and for the last number of part one, Ishikawa did a tap dance in her geta shoes, imitating a drunk. After having covered nearly a century of Japanese folk music, Ishikawa took a well deserved break and we entered intermission.

Many people got up out of their seats and filed out to the foyer for the break where bento and hot drinks were available. Many looked a various Ishikawa Sayuri goods and souvenir items. After about twenty minutes, when the show was about to resume, people returned to their seats.

Like part one, part two opened with an upbeat number. Song five, “Elegy”, was written by a Korean writer and described a difficult long distance relationship. Then for the seventh number in part two, a musical company came on stage and performed with her. The energetic song left Ishikawa a little short of breath, and she used the time after the song to introduce the band members to the audience.

I really enjoyed songs eight and fifteen of this part because it was when Ishikawa Sayuri sang her biggest hits. I suppose not being particularly knowledgeable about enka, these were most familiar to me. Song number eight was perhaps her signature song, “Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyu Geshiki”. Her fans seemed to get more into the performance often calling out, “Sayuri! Sayuri-chan kirei (pretty)”, and, “Kawaii (cute)”. Like so many enka singers, she looks sharp in kimono, and though she is approaching her mid-40’s, she looks much younger.

The songs continued to roll. She took time at song number thirteen to introduce a new single, “Namida Tsuzuri”, and people were delighted. This song is about a couple who has been married for several decades, and describes that kind of love.

The last song of the evening ended in dramatic fashion with a red light showing on Ishikawa while the smoke of dry ice puffed up around her. The stage rose and the curtain fell as she finished song number fifteen. Sayuri fans had had their fill and left the theater with warm hearts.