Other Kansai and Non Kansai Acts

If Mr. Fukuhara the Cowboy Dreamers' singer has a rival, it is Fukuda-san, a young man in his early 30s,
who goes under the stage name of Semasuchan. Fukuda-san is the lead singer of a group called "Kenworth. He stunned me when I first saw him, with his superb rendition of the gospelly Vince Gill "Keith Whitley tribute" song, "Go Rest High On That Mountain." Fukuda-san is clearly modeling himself on Gill and sings better than 99% of the pop "singers" who appear on Japanese TV. He plays in small clubs and I have met him several times. I was unable, however, to persuade him to give up his computer day job and become the Vince Gill of Japan! He could just do it though.

As for the best female singer, the Kansai area does not have anyone like the bilingual Emmylou Harris clone Keiko Walker or the talented young Miya Ishida whos first CD Country Girl was just released and whose father plays in her band, the Citylites. However, there are very high hopes for Mari Nagatomi the attractive and talented 23 year old daughter of Kyoto's legendary singing dentist Kenji Nagatomi. Mari has sung with her father's band for some years and has a good voice, excellent pronunciation and a feel for the music. She has made great strides in recent years but still lacks a style of her own and needs to broaden her material. Everyone in the Kansai scene however, is hopeful that she will make an impact following a short spell in Nashville in the summer of 2000. She has recently started to write her own songs in Japanese and has assembled her own group. It is not clear to me how serious she is about making a career in music but has the talent. One other lady belongs to be up there with Kansai's best, and that is Chikako "Cherry" Yoshida, who with her excellent guitarist husband leads the curiously-named band Cabbage Down. Now in her mid fifties, "Cherry" plays a mean fiddle and sings both contemporary and old time country like an angel. Had she been born in the U.S, she might have had a lengthy career as a harmony singer, as she is as good as anyone in Nashville. Cherry you are the best.

Excluding the problem of pronunciation, the quality of Japanese amateur country singing is quite high.
Still, sometimes you want to hear the real thing and thanks to Mr. Nagatomi's connections and efforts,
major (if somewhat aging) artists from the U.S such as Charlie McCoy, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith,
Jeannie Seeley, Johnny Lee and others have all played in Kyoto in the past few years. And younger
artists, including some current stars play once a year at festival in Kumamoto prefecture. Also
interesting is a monthly get together of amateur and semiprofessional singers and players at the
home (called "Mushroom") of one of the founders of the country music scene in Kyoto and an excellent
accordionist, Masugoro Tanaka. At 75, the dapper dean of the country scene, is still highly active. At
the recent Kyoto Opry (see below) he played accordion with the contemporary band, Dallas, led by Honky
Tonk club owner "Beau Yatani" -at least 35 years his junior-on Buck Owens' "Streets of Bakersfield."
Probably the best of the Mushroom regulars is the curiously named Cabbage Down" featuring Cherry
Yoshida husband and wife Here is a a very grainy picture of me at Mushroom backed by the Mushroom
band (who recently appeared on TV in Tokyo in a nationwide amateur contest) flubbing my way
through Alan Jackson's "Little Bitty." Not a very auspicious debut at the age of 42.

The Kyoto country music scene is a vibrant one and at the recent Kyoto Opry, attended by around
600 fans. I was able to see some of the younger acts who play at Honky Tonk. These include the
aforementioned Dallas, Wild Horse Survival and the Urban Cowboys all of whom play with great skill
and passion. Also worthy of a mention are a young couple, Marty and Reiko who play a 50s style Louvin Brothers/Blue Sky Boys-type of gospelly country based around guitar and mandolin.