There used to be a good music group called GODIEGO.  Back in 1980′s, GODIEGO was probably one of the top hit makers in Japan. The band members were all nice musicians with high music technique and music knowledge background.

They made some hits, especially when they produced a TV program song album in Japan, they had the big time.

MONKEY MAGIC was the hit number then as the video in the bottom.  This song is like a Western musician’s song with clear beat and English words.  But the melody is oriental. The exotic atmosphere in the oriental music base was really new then.

With this number, there was one more big hit song called Gandhara.  This is also a beautiful song singing about the utopia in the country of Budda.

Today I heard a news about World Tuna Trading.  A new restricting law of Tuna Trading seems to have been denied so that the Tuna Trading seems to keep going on.

Tuna or any fish have long been Japanese main protein food. We didn’t have a custom to eat meat for about 1300 years ( long !).  Japanese DNA was formed during that long time, so we didn’t have fat people for a long time.

With the new era of Westernization after the world war, Japanese gradually began eating Beef, Pork, and Chicken.  Now it’s good for people of Japan to enjoy various foods, at the same time, they got sick with new types of illness caused by increased fat consumption.

I don’t know how people of the world think about our food custom, but it’s true that fish has been the top main protein food since we started fishing. Probably we will choose fish if we are asked which to choose, meat or fish.

This time, the trading restriction law ( or law of ban ) was refused by voting, but probably this matter could arise in the future again.

Now the Tuna Farming ( photo) in Japan is going well and Tuna growth could be controlled more in the future. That’s only way for our future protection of our traditional food custom.

This is not an emotional opinion, but I objectively think that any food custom in the world should be respected to some extent. For example, I can’t eat lamb because I saw little baby lamb in New Zealand and I really thought they are pretty.  I can’t eat dogs because I really love them.  But Lamb is eaten in the world, and dogs are eaten in Korea and China.  But I don’t think I need to say something about it to any people because it’s their customs.

If it’s really an endangered life, that could be only reason for banning eating.  This could be a fair reason for any body, I think.

Keiko Maruyama(photo)  is a singer/songwriter of Japan. Now she is not that active, so some old fans only know the songs of her old time.

Her songs are very sophisticated and they made gentlemen of Japan feel happy at the time. This song is Douzo Konomama, or “Please leave as it is” in English translation.  Song is backed up by bossa nova rhythm and the melody is really beautiful.

Still this song is comfortable to our ears.

The video is made with image photos of Megumi Oishi, an TV talent of Japan. She was announcer of Japanese TV for the first time, but her good looking image soon captured the hearts of Japanese young generation.  She soon changed her job, and now she is still a beautiful model of Japan.

When I was younger, much younger, this song ” Anohi ni Kaeritai” was a hit number among high school stundets in Japan. Maybe it’s more than 30 years ago.

Songwriter of this song is Yumi Arai, she became Yumi Matsutoya when married. 

Now she’s got a lot of hit songs in Japan, but this song was one of the very first stage songs of her career.  We can see her talent in this song already, and her name is now much more famous than the time of this song.

I liked this song then.

Miyuki Nakajima is regarded as an old singer now. But probably her presence in Japanese music is still influential. 

She doesn’t have many hit songs. Maybe 10 to 15 at most.  She has been singing more than 30 years, so the hit song mumbers are not many to her career.

But some songs of hers are still in the heart of the Japanese people.

This is such a song.  Name is Wakareuta, which was made about 32 or 33 years ago. She sings about a girl, who can’t get happy with love.  The pictures in the slide show are not concerned with herself or this music, but its image of the girl really expresses well this song. If I translate this song title, it should be like “Song of Good-Bye”.

Miyuki Nakajima herself is, probably, not a happy woman because she sings such songs all the time. But the song she writes actually reach the core of the Japanese girls, and sometimes to the Japanese men.

 I’m not young, not that old either.   When I was a high school student, this song was very popular.  This song is made by the inspiration of a movie, Strawberry statement, and the title is Ichogo Hakusho wo Mouichido ( Strawberry statement again ). 

The song is really melancholic enough for us to remember the time of this song. Then, students of Japan are still struggling for the future.  The movie, strawberry statement, was telling about that kind of youngsters in the USA.

Still, it’s a good song, and I will not able to forget it as it has such a lot of memories on us.

Today I went to a Shrine near my hometown.  It’s a good example to show how Japanese shrines are made.

As the photo, Japanese shrines often have big tree, which we call GOSHIMBOKU or God Tree.  Shrines of Japan are built in the deep mountain with a big tree like the photo.

The tallest tree is called Goshimboku.  In Japan, trees are believed as places of God.  At shrines, where a God lives, there always is a very big tree by this reason.  Maybe the people of Japan chose the place for shrines by the big tree in the mountain because trees, especially big trees are believed to be the place for God.

I don’t know how many shrines are in Japan, but it’s probably sure that there are more than 10,000 shrines in total. They are built by the doctrine of  original Japanese religion, Shinto. 

Some say that Japanese Shinto has much to do with old Judaism. 

We call the big trees HASHIRA.  They say the name of Hashira comes from Jewish word, ASHIRA or GOD.  And we Japanese respect Hashira, big trees as the place where God lives, or we sometimes think Hashira is God.

Today’s shrine I visited was a very small one. But the atmosphere of the place is really like a place of God, being surrounded by old trees and it’s built on the top of the mountain with a very old tall tree.