BIG IN JAPAN
Saburo Kitajima
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| Courtesy of Koma Gekijo |
Saburo Kitajima is one of
the most enduring and popular enka (Japanese blues) singers in Japan. His
masculine voice coupled with lyrics about the hardships of men' lives, especially those
doing manual work and fishing, make him especially popular with blue collar workers.
If you watched the last Kohaku Uta Gassen of 1999 - the famous and extravagant
annual NHK New Year's Eve TV music show - then you will have already seen Kitajima,
because he filled the most auspicious slot of the show, the otori final act. It
was his 36th appearance on the show, making him the most senior artist in the lineup. But
probably the most famous and amusing Kohaku incident involving Kitajima was in
1981. He was singing "Fusetsu Nagare Tabi" (a kind of weather ballad) and paper
snow was released from above the stage. As the snow got heavier and heavier, flakes were
sucked up into Kitajima's famously large nostrils and into his mouth as he bravely
struggled to finish the song. The scene, often replayed on year-end review programs, is
hilarious.
Kitajima was born in 1936 in Hokkaido, the eldest of seven children. Until his
grandfather's time, the family had been fishermen. At high school he decided to become a
singer, after watching Hibari Misora (1937-1989), Japan's greatest postwar singer. At 17
he moved to Tokyo and studied singing, supporting himself by working part-time as a nagashi,
a guitarist who goes from bar to bar singing customers' requests for a few coins. He
continued for six years until one day a customer introduced him to the famous composer
Toru Funamura, and Kitajima became his student. Two years later, in 1962, he made his
debut and the next year won a new singer's award with "Namida Bune" (Boat of
Tears). The following year he also began appearing in films, usually playing the role of a
yakuza gangster.
Kitajima has spread his special enka magic abroad extensively, and was the first to give
enka concerts in the former Soviet Union. He is also a kind of "Godfather" to a
whole bevy of younger singers whom he has taken under his wing and trained, the most
famous of whom is Joji Yamamoto.
Aside from his career, his passion in life is horse racing and he owns several horses. He
is extravagant, both in his generosity to others and in his own spending. He loves all the
trappings of stardom, which include a 36-room house and expensive cars, and he used to
dress in a very flashy way, although in recent years his clothing has become quieter and
more elegant.
He regularly appears at theatres in a play followed by a concert. The colorful and
spectacular finales are the best of any singer because he ends with his own composition
"Matsuri" (Festival), which he sings standing atop a huge portable shrine or
festival float, with a cast of more than 130 people on stage who dance, shout, wave fans
and beat drums. He performed this for the ending of the 1999 Kohaku program, too.
You will be able to catch it firsthand at the Koma Gekijo theatre in Shinjuku, when
Kitajima performs there for the month of June.
Jean Wilson |
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