＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
<Added 3/4/2023> Baisho Chieko won the Best Actress award at the 65th Blue Ribbon Awards for her role in the film “PLAN 75” (*). Congratulations!
The film “depicts a near future in which people can choose whether to live or die from the age of 75, and Baisho’s sensitive acting conveys the feelings of a woman who has given up hope for life,” according to a film journalist.
“PLAN 75” has been running in cinemas across the country for over six months since its release in Japan. To commemorate the film’s wins of Best Actress (Baisho Chieko) and Best Director (Hayakawa Chie) at the 65th Blue Ribbon Awards, it has been decided that the film will be screened again and again at Shinjuku Piccadilly, the main theater where it was released, starting Friday, March 10th.
(*) About “PLAN 75”
This is director Chie Hayakawa’s feature-length debut, and she has adapted her short story “PLAN 75,” originally published as part of the omnibus film “Ten Years Japan,” overseen by Hirokazu Koreeda. Set in a near-future Japan where a new system allows people over the age of 75 to choose their own life or death, the film depicts the fate of those at the mercy of this system.
In the near future, Japan faces a declining birthrate and an aging population. “PLAN 75,” a system granting people the right to choose their own life or death from the age of 75, was passed by the Diet and enacted. While initially sparking considerable controversy, it has since been widely accepted as a solution to the problems of a super-aging society. Widowed and living alone, 78-year-old Michi Kakutani works as a hotel room cleaner until she is suddenly fired one day due to her advanced age.
On the verge of losing her home, she begins to consider applying for “Plan 75.” Meanwhile, Hiromu, who works at the city hall’s “Plan 75” application counter, and Yoko, a call center staff member who supports elderly people who have chosen to end their life until that day comes, begin to question the very nature of the “Plan 75” system.
This sensitively directed film tackles the sensational subject of drawing a line between life and death based on age, and as his directorial debut, it was entered in the “Un Certain Regard” section at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. It was also selected as a Special Mention (runner-up) for the Camera d’Or, awarded to debut feature films.
For those of us of the baby boomer generation, when we think of Baisho Chieko, the first thing that comes to mind is her role as Sakura, Tora-san’s younger sister, in “Shitamachi no Taiyo” and the “Otoko wa Tsurai yo” series.
For young people today, it might be easier to understand if I say that she is the voice actress for the heroine “Sophie” in the animated film “Howl’s Moving Castle.”
1. Baisho Chieko is a soothing soprano singer.
However, I believe her true strength, or perhaps her greatest charm, is her crystal-clear, beautiful soprano voice.
While there are other famous sopranos, such as Yumiko Samejima (1952-), hers is a deeply soothing, gentle soprano.
I think her “lyric songs” and “shoka” are particularly excellent, in addition to “Shitamachi no Taiyo.” My favorite is “Sato no Aki.”
It’s sure to gently soothe your soul, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Give it a listen on YouTube.
“Autumn in the Countryside”
“The Sun in the Downtown”
“Goodbye After the Dance”
“Okhotsk Boat Song” (“Shiretoko Journey”)
“Thistle Song”
“Cherry Shell Song”
“Song of the Beach”
“Coconut”
“Summer Memories”
“Kitakami Nocturne”
“Haman Plover”
“Flowers”
“Through the Snowy Town”
“Forget-Me-Nots for You”
“White Flowers” “When the Flowers Bloom”
“Look Up at the Stars at Night”
“Red Dragonfly”
“Scolded”
“Light in the Valley”
“Mountain Smoke”
“The Gondola Song”
“The Godfather – Love Theme”
“Bashofu”
“Hymnemesis of Love”
“Song of Farewell” (based on the original poem “Takadono” by Toson Shimazaki, a student song from Chuo University)
“Future of Early Spring”
「里の秋」
「下町の太陽」
「オホーツクの舟唄」（「知床旅情」）
「あざみの歌」
「さくら貝の歌」
「浜辺の歌」
「椰子の実」
「夏の思い出」
「北上夜曲」
「浜千鳥」
「花」
「雪の降る街を」
「白い花の咲く頃」
「赤とんぼ」
「叱られて」
「谷間のともしび」
「山のけむり」
「ゴンドラの唄」
「芭蕉布」
「愛の讃歌」
「惜別の歌」（原詩は島崎藤村の「高楼（たかどの）」、中央大学の学生歌）
「早春賦」
I wanted to introduce her songs to a wider audience, so I decided to do so today.
I don’t know of any other foreign singers who can pronounce Japanese as beautifully as Teresa Teng, but I don’t think there is any other Japanese singer who can pronounce Japanese as beautifully as Baisho Chieko, with her crystal clear soprano voice.
2. Who is Baisho Chieko?
Baisho Chieko (1941- ) (pictured above as a young woman) is an actress, singer, and voice actress. Her younger sister is actress Baisho Mitsuko (1946- ) (pictured below on the right).
Her husband is composer Koroku Reijiro (1949-), who is well known for his music for NHK’s historical dramas.
As a child, she was known as a troublemaker on the TV show “Nodo Jiman.” After joining the Misuzu Children’s Choir, she entered the Shochiku Music and Dance School in 1957, graduating at the top of her class in 1960 and joining the Shochiku Revue Company (SKD) as part of its 13th class, garnering attention at a young age as a “talented talent.”
Her classmates at SKD included Hiromi Sakaki (1942- ), who went on to become a Shochiku actress, and voice actress Midori Kato (1939- ), best known for voicing “Sazae-san” in the animated TV series “Sazae-san” and narrating the TV drama “Dai Kaisou!! Dramatic Before and After.” As an aside, actress Mitsuko Kusabue (1933- ) was a senior member of SKD (5th class).
She was scouted by Shochiku Films in 1961 and left SKD, making her film debut in “Madara Onna.”
Since starring in director Yoji Yamada’s film “Shitamachi no Taiyo” in 1963, she has become an indispensable “commoner actress” in Yamada’s works. That same year, she made her singing debut with the song “Shitamachi no Taiyo.”
Other hits include “Sayonara wa Dance no Ato ni,” “Ohanahan,” and “Wasurenagusa wo Anata ni.”
In the “Otoko wa Tsurai yo” film series, she solidified her popularity by playing Sakura, the younger sister of the protagonist Tora-san, played by Kiyoshi Atsumi.
In 2004, she voiced the heroine “Sophie” in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and sang the theme song “Sekai no Yakusoku.”
She also appeared on Fuji TV’s comedy sketch shows “Shimura Ken no Daijobudaa” and “Bakatono,” showcasing her friendly side and talent, playing a wide range of roles from funny to straight man.