Listen to an old Japanese song Hokkiko/Carlos Pueblo

Listen to an old Japanese song Hokkiko/Carlos Pueblo

Recently, I am back to Japanese language study; therefore, I switch my

You Tube attention from Richard Clayderman’s piano pieces to the old

Japanese Enka and I am introducing one of them, Kokkiko, amended in

1961 for a movie of Kobayashi Akira originally by Oda Hirosi in 1941 at

Lushun, Manchuko. It was very popular among students who resided at

the dormitory of Lushun Koutougakkou. I need to explain more about the

old school system in Japan before 1945. My alma mater, Taiwan Normal

University, has been on the campus of Taihoku Koutougakkou established

in 1927. My father mentioned this institution when I passed the entrance

examination to enter Taiwan Normal and briefly about the status at that

time.

Oda was 19 when he enrolled to the school just open in 1941. He was born

In 1922; therefore, my conclusion was that he missed his application to be

a freshman at Tokyo First Koutougakkou, Ichi Ko for short which he mentioned

his sorry on the poem at paragraph 2 of the original poem. He also mentioned

the Manchuko University, Chien Kuo Daigatko, on the same sentence and of

course Lu Kou. The whole piece is very touching of his time wondering from

the imperial capital city of Tokyo and came to Manchu outside of Japanese

homeland. He did use the bitter sake, misery rain, separation of family and

friends to complete his homesick. The song was very popular at that time

with his pier. After the War, people are still singing it, of course, Kobayashi

made it famous and so do many other famous singers which I’ll name a few,

Baisho Chieko, Chiaki Naomi, Doji Yukiko, Miyoshi Eiji, Ishikawa Sayuri, etc

for the amended edition Hokikko while the original one under the performance

of Midorizaki Kasumi, the dormitory song of Lu Kou.

I was brought up by Japanese music after the War due to the vacuum of

Chinese occupation in Taiwan. I have never get into the Chinese music such

as classical Mandarin Opera or any kinds of instrument used. I believe that

the Meiji Restoration and the acceptance of the western civilization makes

the difference of Japan from China. I am interested in songs making and

the Pro-Prussian school systems. Now, in Japan is 6-3-3-4 schools like the

U.S. while before the War, 5-5-3-3 and Koutougakkou is the first 3 and the

final three is the university, Imperial University or Private University. I

believe the old British school systems are identical and I suspect the Eaton

and Rugby school are Koutougakkou. The Oxford and Cambridge were 3

years term then.