<figure id="attachment_393687" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2664px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393687"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="809113ec"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/6c69d50d0ab8b9b76c0376a3b525c79e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393687" class="wp-caption-text">Hitomi Nishikawa&#8217;s new song &#8220;Shiranui Joho&#8221; is doing well. Her previous song &#8220;Onnaeshi&#8221; was an unprecedented hit among enka singers, sparking a YouTube sensation.</figcaption></figure>
<p>Enka singer Hitomi Nishikawa, whose previous song &#8220;Onnaeshi&#8221; sold more than 10,000 copies in Japan. Hitomi Nishikawa, an enka singer, said, &#8220;I absolutely wanted to sing this song.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I really wanted to sing this song,&#8221; she said.</span></p>
<p>She sang a new song on August 7, &#8220;Shiranui Jowa,&#8221; which was written in 2005 by Aki Yatsushiro, a senior singer in her hometown of Kumamoto Prefecture.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was born in Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, six houses down from Aki Yatsushiro&#8217;s parents&#8217; house. In my hometown, the Ariake Sea is called the Shiranui Sea. Both Ms. Yashiro and I grew up seeing the Shiranui Sea, where you can see the fishing fires. It really is a beautiful sea.</span></p>
<h2>Mr. Yashiro told me, &#8220;You have to work hard.</h2>
<p>Mr. Yashiro passed away in December 2011 at the age of 73, and this &#8220;Shiranui Love Story&#8221; was published to commemorate his 35th anniversary. For Mr. Nishikawa, it was a &#8220;hometown song&#8221; sung by a great star from his hometown. It was natural for him to be strongly attracted to this song.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The last time I met Ms. Yashiro was during the recording of a TV program last year. He was listening to &#8220;Onna-ro-hana&#8221; and said to me in Kyushu dialect, &#8220;You must do your best. I was really happy because he was someone I admired in my hometown.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Yashiro was still in good health when I decided to cover this song, and then he passed away very suddenly. Because of Mr. Yatsushiro&#8217;s passing, I wondered if it would be a good idea to release it right away. But now I am going to sing a local song sung by Ms. Yashiro, whom I adored, and connect it to my own. I couldn&#8217;t be happier.</span></p>
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<p>The previous song &#8220;Onna-ro-hana&#8221; was also sung by composer Chiaki Oka 30 years ago. And this time, &#8220;Shiranui Jyogatari&#8221; is also an Oka work.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="The hit of &quot;Onna-ro-hana&quot; is available on YouTube."></div>
<figure id="attachment_393690" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3010px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393690"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c4431763"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/7ddc5a0bc55c43e61263e305ba08a3ce.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393690" class="wp-caption-text">She covered the famous song &#8220;Shiranui Jyogatari&#8221; by Aki Yashiro, a senior singer from the same hometown.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The song is about a woman who waits for a man for a long time and is strong at heart. But it is totally different from my character. I myself say &#8220;Hi, bye-bye&#8221; to those who leave me (laughs).</span></p>
<p>When she sings &#8220;Shiranui Jisatari&#8221; on stage, she says the response is great. We asked him for his tips on how to sing well at karaoke,</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> The song has an impact right from the beginning, and I think it&#8217;s a song that karaoke fans will fall in love with. The best part is the part &#8220;Anata, aitakatta ka &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;. I don&#8217;t think there are many songs like this. If you sing it as if you are talking to someone without thinking, I think it&#8217;s really good.</span></p>
<p>He told us, &#8220;I think it&#8217;s very good if you sing it as if you are talking to them without thinking.</p>
<h2>A change of pace from Nishikawa&#8217;s &#8220;Unarubushi&#8221; style</h2>
<p>In fact, his previous work &#8220;Onna-ro-hana&#8221; was sparked by YouTube, which is a rare pattern. It has been viewed 400,000 times to date, and has become a hot topic in the record industry.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I thought people wouldn&#8217;t buy CDs after watching YouTube, but the CDs sold well. Of course we did a lot of campaigns, but YouTube ignited the fire and definitely contributed to the sales.</span></p>
<p>Nishikawa says that he had considered quitting the COVID-19 crisis because there was no place for him to sing. That is why he treasures each and every stage he performs on now.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> Until &#8220;Onnarohana,&#8221; I was the Hitomi Nishikawa of &#8220;enka&#8221; (traditional Japanese ballad music) and &#8220;unaroused&#8221; (a kind of &#8220;grunting&#8221;). I was a singer without sex appeal. That is why most of my fans are women. I like &#8220;laughter&#8221; so much that I wanted to go into &#8220;comedy,&#8221; so I think I am really funny on stage. Of course I sing seriously, but all I do is laugh during the songs. It&#8217;s a great stress reliever, so I hope you will come and see us.</span></p>
<p>It has been 22 years since his debut. This year, he is steadily expanding his fan base, holding another dinner show at the Hotel Chinzan-so in Tokyo in October. I could sense that Mr. Nishikawa is determined to &#8220;carry on&#8221; the songs of Mr. Yashiro, who is a senior singer in his hometown.</p>
<figure id="attachment_393691" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393691"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="7531b340"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/b8d546bc2180c8ea420d24b3384ce846.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393691" class="wp-caption-text">Both &#8220;Onna-rohana&#8221; and &#8220;Shiranui Jyogatari&#8221; were written by Oka Chiaki (left).</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_393692" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393692"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="cdb1f100"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/38bcd1fdc4b5adb74645ccd443b144c0.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393692" class="wp-caption-text">Hitomi Nishikawa has many female fans, and her dinner show, which has been held for more than 20 years, will be held again this year at the Hotel Chinzan-so Tokyo.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_393693" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1867px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393693"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="933a098f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/571b12e6d25a7fb1bb13ec448ebb58dc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393693" class="wp-caption-text">The coupling song is a duet with Ayano Ichiryu, &#8220;Similarities.</figcaption></figure>


 Norifumi Arakida (FRIDAY Digital Entertainment Desk)

 Hitomi Nishikawa, whose last song "Onna-rohana" was an unprecedented hit in the enka genre, was ignited by a YouTube video. Her new song is a cover of a famous song by Aki Yashiro, a senior singer in her hometown, whose parents live six houses down from her.

Hit Song Jorogumo: Hitomi Nishikawa’s Dedication to Preserving Aki Yashiro’s Shiranui Jouwa

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