Songs of Iwate: The Heart of Our Hometown Passed Down in Song | A Collection of Classics to Enjoy While Thinking of Iwate

Nanbu sakeKobashi Koji

Southern Sake — Shoji Koganezawa — from the Yuu Nakarai Works Collection

Originally, it’s a song by Shoji Koganezawa, but it seems quite a few artists have covered it.

This is Koji Kobashi’s cover, and it feels like a modest, earnest man quietly reminiscing about his hometown while having a drink.

You can sense a rustic simplicity in the way he sings that he doesn’t need anything extra.

The monk from IwateMitsubishi Michiya

Iwate Monk (Michiya Mihashi) Cover Song by leonchanda

Michiya Mihashi, who is also famous as a folk singer, sang this kind of comical song as well.

It’s about someone who couldn’t endure the harsh winter and ascetic training deep in the mountains of Iwate, and, feeling homesick for his mother, descends the mountain and returns to his hometown—only to find it’s festival time.

He decides to stay in his village as long as his hood hides his shaved monk’s head and no one notices… but it seems he probably won’t make it as a full-fledged monk.

Kitakami NocturneWada Hiroshi to Mahina Sutāzu, Tama Sachiko

Kitakami Nocturne - Hiroshi Wada and the Mahina Stars & Sachiko Tama, UPB-0037

What a very beautiful lyric.

This song, “Kitakami Nocturne,” was apparently sung nationwide at sing-along cafés around the year 1955, while its author remained unknown.

In 1961, the person who came forward as the author was Mr.

Tadashi Kikuchi.

Astonishingly, he had written the lyrics in his teens.

Mr.

Kikuchi later pursued a career as a teacher, but he became so absorbed in writing lyrics that he nearly had to repeat a year.

Kitakami RiverNomura Mina

[Official] Mina Nomura “Kitakami River” Full Chorus with Comments from the Artist

The Kitakami River flows through Iwate Prefecture.

Rivers that represent a region often appear as backdrops in songs, but most of them carry an image of parting.

This song, too, is a local tune that names famous spots in Morioka along the way to the Kitakami River.

With this song, Mina Nomura adds the third installment to her river-themed series.

Hachimantai Travel SentimentsUrushibara Emiko

Hachimantai Travel Sentiments

Emiko Urushihara, who is active as a folk singer, is from Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture, so it’s no surprise she would be asked to perform.

The lyrics to this refreshing-style song, however, are by the famed Tetsurō Hoshino, who visited Iwate many times to play golf.

The scenery of Hachimantai is etched in his memory, so he was able to write the lyrics quickly.

Although Hachimantai straddles Akita and Iwate Prefectures, in this song it serves as the Iwate-themed motif.

Woman of HanamakiChiba Genta

Genta Chiba 40th Anniversary of His Singing Career: Commemorative Performance for the Release of the New Song 'Hanamaki no Onna'

Miyazawa Kenji was from what is now Hanamaki City, and the lyrics even quote “Ame ni mo Makezu” and “Night on the Galactic Railroad.” While it sings of a love story that never comes together in Hanamaki, it also does a thorough job of promotion, including in the title.

Chiba himself is from Miyagi Prefecture, and it’s said that “Hanamaki no Onna” was his first attempt at a softer image.

He usually performs powerful enka with folk-song elements.

Morioka RomanceYuko Kinoshita

Morioka Romance / Kinoshita Yuko Cover: Yamaguchi Eiko (Doenka Eiko)

It says “romance,” but it doesn’t feel like a love song—rather, it strongly evokes feelings for one’s hometown.

The mention of “Rakan-sama” refers to the Five Hundred Arhats at Hōon-ji Temple in Morioka City, a series of statues each with very expressive faces, known as a spiritual power spot.

The song also fully captures the beauty of Morioka in other ways.