A Bird Soaring Through the Sky of City Pop ~ Family and musician colleagues tell about what a composer Yoichi Takizawa has done such as his songs for Takeshi Kitano and others and his music career. You will know his unknown life and numerous remarkable achievements.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there was a composer and singer-songwriter who created numerous masterpieces of “City Pop.” This artist’s name was Yoichi Takizawa. Known for providing the famous song “Memorandum” to the chorus group Hi-Fi Set, his background had long remained shrouded in mystery. This year marks the 15th anniversary of Takizawa’s passing, and we trace the full scope of his musical activities and background through testimony gathered from interviews with his surviving family members and musician colleagues. What emerged was the great achievements of a shadowy architect behind the “City Pop” boom.

Chinese version (Traditional Chinese) was published in December 2021

Original source (2021/04/20): 
https://www.mag2.com/p/news/492933

Prologue: The Unprecedented Global “City Pop” Boom – Passionate Attention from Overseas to Japan

Currently, Japanese “City Pop” is experiencing a massive boom among overseas music fans. The “Japanese pop music born against the backdrop of young culture that yearned for foreign cultures and sought lifestyles in cities and resorts” released in Japan during the 1970s and 1980s is called “City Pop” as a common language, and its musicality is highly praised.

These songs called “City Pop,” which could previously only be heard by obtaining original analog records or CDs “within Japan,” have recently been “discovered” through the recommendation feature of YouTube, a video sharing site that became commonly viewed due to the spread of the internet and smartphones, which successively displayed “recommended videos” to overseas listeners.

Such songs called “City Pop” were initially only listened to among overseas enthusiasts, but recently, the high performance ability of skilled studio musicians and the quality of arrangements and mixes carefully crafted to catch up with and surpass Western music have been recognized. A few years ago, this led to a major boom where overseas listeners would visit Japan to purchase analog records of “City Pop,” visiting record stores in Shibuya and Shinjuku.

Moreover, singer Miki Matsubara’s (who passed away in 2004) debut song and City Pop masterpiece “Mayonaka no Door ~ Stay with Me” (1979) achieved rankings in Apple Music’s J-Pop charts in 92 countries worldwide in December 2020, becoming a topic not only on music sites but also in general news sites and newspapers.

The current phenomenon where original analog records containing soulful and sophisticated songs by Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi, Taeko Ohnuki, Toshiki Kadomatsu, Minako Yoshida, and Makoto Matsushita have become difficult to obtain is just the “tip of the iceberg” of this “City Pop” boom.

This global boom has brought about an era when Japanese people can take interest in their country’s past music and listen to it “with pride toward Europe and America.” In recent years, this has led to buried masterpieces, composers, and musicians being brought to light.

This article is the story of “one bird” soaring high through the sky of this unprecedented global “City Pop” boom.

An Album That Saw Daylight After 37 Years

On July 29, 2015, a single CD album was released exclusively at Tower Records Japan and Sony Music Shop (online). The name of that album was “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI (Beyond Leonids).” Leonids refers to the “Leonid meteor shower” that appears around November each year.

The original LP record was released on October 5, 1978. However, it was never released on CD for 37 years and had become a half-forgotten existence in the history of Japanese popular music. Let us quote the “product introduction” from Tower Records, the sales outlet:

“Released from Toshiba/EXPRESS, produced by Kunihiko Murai’s ALFA who introduced Yuming to the world, but did not become a hit. However, it has been remarkably re-evaluated by City Pop fans for its rarity and the fact that all songs were arranged by Hiroshi Sato. Such masterpieces are richly colored by arranger Hiroshi Sato (keyboards), Shuichi Murakami (drums), Tatsuo Hayashi (drums), Jun Aoyama (drums), Shigeru Suzuki (guitar), Tsunehide Matsuki (guitar), Masaki Matsubara (guitar), Yuji Toriyama (guitar), Naoya Matsuoka (piano), Kenji Takamizu (bass), Koki Ito (bass), and other first-class musicians with solid skills.”

The fact that such luxurious musician participation could be realized was undoubtedly due to the “single word” from Kunihiko Murai, founder of Alfa Records who produced this album and the musician known for composing the famous song “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” (Give Me Wings). This shows how much talent was recognized in this artist.

The person who brought light to this phantom work was music writer Toshikazu Kanazawa, who planned and supervised the “Light Mellow” series of guidebooks that selected City Pop masterpieces from a unique perspective and reissue CDs, making this album’s first CD release possible.

Kanazawa reflects on the struggles of CD production:

“I first introduced this album in the disc guide ‘Light Mellow Wa-Mono 669’ (2004) that I planned and supervised, calling it ‘Unknown Miraculous Masterpiece by Craftsmen No. 3.’

Numbers 1 and 2 were relatively quickly made into CDs, but ‘LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ‘ took over 10 years.

The evaluation within the industry was high, but it was that unknown. I was moved when the CD release was decided.” (Toshikazu Kanazawa)

The person who created this miraculous masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ” is the protagonist of this article, composer and singer-songwriter Yoichi Takizawa.

The Phantom City Pop Masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ” That No One Knew

Yoichi Takizawa was an artist who released many high-quality masterpieces influenced by Western music from the 1970s to 1980s.

Some people might recognize him as the composer who provided the song “Memorandum” (lyrics: Rei Nakanishi) to Hi-Fi Set, a chorus group formed by three former members of “Akai Tori” (Red Bird).

The reason I wrote “was” in the past tense earlier is because he has already passed away. Takizawa died on April 20, 2006, exactly 15 years before the publication of this article, at the young age of 56.

Takizawa’s lifelong only solo album “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ” was highly praised by Japanese music fans as a “hidden masterpiece” and “miraculous album” when the CD was released exclusively at Tower Records in 2015. The original LP record is still traded at high prices of tens of thousands of yen. Borrowing the recommendation of Tower Records staff, it is a miraculous “City Pop” album with “no throwaway tracks.”

This album is currently “subscription-unlocked” on various music distribution services and can be listened to for free from anywhere in the world if you have the Spotify app installed. First, please listen to the beautiful melodies that were too early for 1978 sensibilities and the thrilling performances by the participating musicians. Kanazawa’s efforts over more than 10 years to rush CD production bore fruit in the form of worldwide distribution of the album.

Takizawa’s “habit-free vocals” strangely become “habit-forming” the more you listen. The evaluation from music fans who heard it for the first time is extremely high regarding this musical sense and performance quality.

However, one question arises here. Despite receiving such high praise, what kind of artist was “Takizawa Yoichi,” who had not attracted much attention until now?

Now, at this milestone of 15 years since his death, we want to trace the full scope of the musical activities of “Yoichi Takizawa,” the shadowy architect behind the “City Pop” boom who had been shrouded in mystery, and the numerous masterpieces provided to many singers, talents, and actresses, based on testimony from music industry figures, musician colleagues, and surviving family members. There were several great achievements hidden in Japan’s “City Pop” history that we had never known about.

Former Members of Backing Band “Magical City” Speak About Yoichi Takizawa

Both in the past and now, Yoichi Takizawa’s background and career are shrouded in mystery. Even searching thoroughly online yields extremely limited information about him, with only the following items known:

• Said to be “born March 9, 1950 in America”
• Had a contract with Alfa Music, managed by composer Kunihiko Murai
• As a singer-songwriter, released one solo album and three singles
• Provided songs to many singers and talents
• Takizawa’s backing band was called “Magical City”

“Magical City” was an amateur band formed about 45 years ago by four musicians from Tokyo. However, the members were truly magnificent:

Bassist Koki Ito and drummer Jun Aoyama, who participated in recordings of City Pop signature songs like “Plastic Love” and “RIDE ON TIME,” and served for many years as the “rhythm section” for the Tatsuro Yamashita & Mariya Takeuchi couple, backing numerous popular songs and major singers.

Keyboardist and arranger Hiroshi Shinkawa, who arranged many hit songs including “Kimi wa 1000%,” “Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo,” “1986 nen no Marilyn,” “Amaoto wa Chopin no Shirabe,” and “Kimitachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne.”

Legendary guitarist Motoaki Makino, who debuted at age 15 in the band “Bad Scene” that Char would later join, studied at Berklee College of Music in the US, and then spent 14 years in Grammy Award-winning blues harp player Sugar Blue’s band.

Magical City (formed 1975):

• Jun Aoyama (drums) – born March 10, 1957
• Koki Ito (bass) – born February 19, 1954
• Hiroshi Shinkawa (keyboard) – born July 26, 1955
• Motoaki Makino (guitar) – born February 11, 1956

This was truly a miraculous band where the architects of the current global “City Pop” boom had come together. The fact that their professional debut opportunity was as Takizawa’s backing band is not well known.

This time, we gathered three former members of “Magical City” (Aoyama passed away in 2013), who were among the few musician colleagues who knew Takizawa during his singer-songwriter era, to share precious episodes about Takizawa and memories from that time.

[Additional note: On January 8, 2025, former Magical City member Hiroshi Shinkawa passed away suddenly at age 69. We express our condolences here. This article maintains the original notation from the time of publication.]

Meeting Between Members and Yoichi Takizawa

—Thank you all for gathering despite your busy schedules. With global attention focused on Japan’s “City Pop,” there are almost no documents or articles about when Yoichi Takizawa, who released the highly acclaimed “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ” (1978), began his musical activities. We thought the only way was to interview those involved. We’d like to hear precious stories from former members of “Magical City,” who served as Takizawa’s backing band.

Actually, I learned about Magical City by chance when I found a transcript of a 2013 radio program online where Koki Ito and Jun Aoyama briefly mentioned this band name, which revealed the connection between Takizawa and Magical City. First, could you tell us about the band’s formation and how you met each other?

Shinkawa: Among the members, Jun Aoyama and I met first. When I was in high school, my girlfriend said, “There’s also a good drummer at my school,” and introduced me to him. This was around 1973. I lived in Seta, Setagaya Ward, and Aoyama said he lived in Kaminoge, so I went to meet him. Normally, high school students wouldn’t be home on Sunday, right? But Aoyama was home on Sunday polishing his drums (laughs). He was a pale-skinned boy. This was my first meeting with a member. We certainly did work as Takizawa’s backing band, but before that, didn’t Koki and I play in the same band? Keio’s “Far East.”

Ito: Right, we were helping with performances by “Far East,” a disco band from Keio University’s Black Culture Research Club. The members were Shinkawa on keyboard, Yasuyuki Hasegawa who played drums with Makino in the band “Bad Scene,” Ike Ueno on guitar, and me participating on bass for the first time. Actually, I had been a guitarist until then. The roadie was Aoyama Jun, still in high school (laughs). I met Hasegawa at a ski resort and was invited to Far East. After that, I first met Aoyama at Shinkawa’s house. Where did we meet Takizawa?

Shinkawa: In Far East, there was Shun’ichi Arimoto who played trumpet (passed away in 2020), right? Arimoto’s father and Takizawa’s father were both diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Ichigaya, there was a students’ dormitory called “Shitei Dormitory” where children could live while their parents were stationed overseas, and we all used to hang out there.

Makino: I think it was called “Shitei Ikuei Dormitory.” We went there often.

Shinkawa: At that time, we were all university students, but school was on strike so there were no classes. So Keio students didn’t go to school either and played mahjong every day in the one-bedroom rooms of Ikuei Dormitory (laughs).

—Indeed, in the 1970s, universities throughout Japan were on strike, and many schools were closed.

Shinkawa: Yoichi Takizawa was introduced as Arimoto the trumpeter’s senior. That’s when we decided to work as Takizawa’s backing band. This became the opportunity to form Magical City.

Amateur Band “Magical City” Formation – Named by Takizawa

Makino: Takizawa named “Magical City.”

Ito: I remember that. The name was decided at a curry restaurant called “Delhi” in Roppongi, wasn’t it? It was in the basement of STUDIO BIRDMAN. We had a manager at the time, a Keio student named Shinohara. He disappeared at some point (laughs). We were excited saying “World’s Magical!” and such. So we decided to work as Takizawa’s backing band, and we performed in Ikuei Dormitory.

—So you all met before Takizawa signed with Alfa Music.

Shinkawa: Takizawa was first signed with RCA Records (now disbanded) before Alfa. I remember recording demo tapes of Takizawa’s songs at Maury Studio in Meguro.

Ito: Yes, Maury Studio! At that time, the RCA director got angry about our performance, and later Aoyama and I went on a training camp (laughs).

Shinkawa: After recording the RCA demo tape, Takizawa signed with Alfa, and then demo tape recording work came to Magical City through Alfa.

Ito: That’s right, that’s right. That’s when work with Alfa began.

Demo Tape Recording Work Comes In

Shinkawa: At that time, Alfa was still a music publishing company called “Alfa Music” located in Tokyo Tamachi’s Tokyu Apartment. In those days, making demo tapes was difficult – it wasn’t like today where you can make music at home with DTM (desktop music). So Murai asked us, “Could you make demo tapes of songs created by composers?”

Murai’s home was in Otowa, Bunkyo Ward, and he had a simple studio there. It later became “LDK Studio.” There, the four members of Magical City were made to record demo tapes of songs created by young artists affiliated with Alfa almost every day. People like Junko Hirotani.

Ito: Right, so first we met Takizawa at Ikuei Dormitory, performed there for fun, Takizawa named the band, then we recorded Takizawa’s demo tape at RCA, and when Takizawa moved to Alfa, Magical City got work from Alfa to make demo tapes for composers. That’s the sequence.

Makino: That’s the order. Shinkawa gathered these four members.

Ito: So Takizawa and this four-member band’s activities were really just performing for fun in Ikuei Dormitory and recording that RCA demo tape.

The Claim That Takizawa Yoichi and Magical City Named “New Music”

Shinkawa: Takizawa had a chronic illness so his body was weak, and even then he was repeatedly hospitalized. So we never did live performances with Takizawa, right?

Makino: No, we did. Actually, there’s a very interesting story about that live performance that I remember well. I think Koki brought us a job for a radio public recording at “Maruike Ski Resort” in Shiga Highlands (Nagano Prefecture). It was around early 1976.

Ito: Hmm, I don’t remember at all (laughs).

Makino: We did a public recording of a live performance, and when we were all in the dressing room, Takizawa was looking at a paper he got from the radio host and thinking “Hmm” about various things. What he was thinking about was that there was a request to answer an interview, and one of the questions was “What kind of music do you aim for?” He was troubled, saying “What kind of music… I guess I have no choice but to say ‘new music’ or something.” So I casually said, “Well then, how about saying ‘New Music’?”

Ito: That’s straightforward (laughs).

Makino: Takizawa also said, “Well, that doesn’t really explain anything.” But when the host actually interviewed him and asked, “Takizawa-san, what kind of music do you aim for?” he said, “Well, New Music” (laughs). After that, the term “New Music” began to be used in catchphrases for various records released by Alfa Records. So the term “New Music” was probably first used when Takizawa said it in that radio public recording. I was the one who suggested “New Music” to Takizawa in the dressing room.

—That’s an amazing story. This is the moment of “New Music’s” birth that no one in Japan knows about (laughs).

Makino: So Yoichi Takizawa and Magical City were probably the ones who named New Music (laughs). Shinkawa, didn’t you have that recording tape? Someone had the recording tape and played it for us. That’s how most truths in the world work (laughs).

—At that time, Alfa was known as “the New Music record company.”

Ito: In that era, you could become a pioneer in anything you did.

Shinkawa: It might have been that kind of era. There were only words like folk and rock.

Member Departure and Going Professional

Ito: While all this was happening, Shinkawa left “Magical” to join Hi-Fi Set’s backing band.

Shinkawa: That was around 1976. Hi-Fi Set’s backing band was called “Garbo Gin,” with Masataka Matsutoya on keyboard, Masaki Matsubara on guitar (passed away in 2016), Masato Shigeta on drums, and Keisuke Miyashita on bass. When Garbo Gin accompanied Takuro Yoshida’s tour for about half a year, Hi-Fi Set needed to recruit a backing band, and they decided to have Magical City, who were recording demo tapes every day in the studio, work as their backing band. This was the first time we could get proper paying work.

Ito: Right, it was the first time.

—Finally, you could work as professionals.

Shinkawa: Hi-Fi was with Bird Corporation agency, so we were also assigned to back other artists from that agency, like folk singer Masafumi Tayama and Akiko Kosaka of “Anata.” We went on concert tours and lived like that for about half a year, but when Garbo Gin returned from Takuro’s tour, we were let go. However, Matsutoya was getting married to Yumi around that time and had to work on his wife’s projects, so he asked me to stay and join Garbo Gin in place of Matsutoya. So I was the only one who left “Magical.”

Recording Secrets of the Masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI”

Ito: After Shinkawa left, there was talk of Takizawa recording a solo album. That became “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ,” with Hiroshi Sato (passed away in 2012) arranging all the songs. I first met Sato during this recording. Hidehiko Koike, a keyboardist, replaced Shinkawa, but since Sato played keyboard on almost all the tracks for “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI ,” Koike didn’t participate in the recording.

Makino: What was the background for forming a band with Sato?

Ito: After recording “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI,” in June 1978, we all went to Sato’s house with a “Thirty-One” ice cream cake to celebrate his 31st birthday. At that time, Sato said, “I’d like to have a long relationship with you guys,” and Magical City was entirely taken under Sato’s wing. With the addition of percussionist Pecker (Masato Hashida), “Hiroshi Sato and High Times” was formed.

Makino: Was that how it happened? I don’t remember at all (laughs).

Ito: So the last work we did with Takizawa was recording “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI,” and we didn’t tour after that. Around this time, Takizawa was entering his composer activity period.

—Do you remember which songs you played on “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI”?

Makino: What I remember is a song called “Saishuu Bus” (Last Bus). It was such a good song that I still remember the melody.

—That’s the first track on the album. This “Saishuu Bus” was also released as a single.

● Yoichi Takizawa ／ Saishu Bus (1978)

Ito: The arrangement changed quite a bit from the original.

What I remember well about “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” is that there was a song called “Hiyoke” (Sunshade) that wasn’t included on the album, and that was my favorite song. It was a really cool song, though I don’t know if the audio source still exists – I think it was probably just recorded as a demo tape.

—”LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” features Latin piano master Naoya Matsuoka (passed away in 2014). Do you remember anything from the recording session?

Ito: I remember watching Naoya Matsuoka’s recording. Sato and I were watching and said, “This person is really amazing” (laughs). Matsuoka overdubbed his piano after all the rhythm section parts were recorded. So Matsuoka came alone and added his parts. At that time I first recognized, “What an amazing old man!” About a year later, I participated in Matsuoka’s album “Majorca” (1979) with Ponta Murakami and others.

—Is there anything else you remember about recording Takizawa’s songs at that time?

Makino: Takizawa really loved Stevie Wonder. He was definitely influenced by unexpected chord progressions and such. Also, he wrote incredibly strong melodies. Among songwriters, many people who are particular about chord progressions write monotonous melodies, right? But he never wrote songs like that. The songs Takizawa wrote had melodies that sounded good even when played on instruments.

Shinkawa: What I remember is Takizawa copying and imitating Stevie’s singing style, saying “Like this, right? Like this?” (laughs).

Ito: That’s right, that’s right (laughs).

Hearing Takizawa Melodies After Departure

—There’s a live version of Hi-Fi Set’s “Memorandum” on YouTube now, with Garbo Gin as the backing band. This is Takizawa’s representative work, and this was performed by Shinkawa, who joined Garbo Gin after leaving Magical City, right?

Shinkawa: Yes, I think so. After joining Garbo Gin for a while, I heard that Hi-Fi Set would sing a song by Takizawa, and I thought nostalgically about Takizawa. The “Memorandum” on Hi-Fi Set’s record was recorded in Los Angeles (album “Diary”). I was taken to LA by Hi-Fi at that time and observed the recording at A&M Studios.

The drums were Harvey Mason, guitar was Lee Ritenour, and arrangement was Bob Alcivar, I think. After leaving Magical, listening to “Memorandum” composed by Takizawa, I remember thinking nostalgically about him.

Former Members Speak About “Yoichi Takizawa”

—Finally, could each of you say a word about the musician Yoichi Takizawa?

Shinkawa: At this age, with everyone starting to archive various things from that time, I’ve come to realize anew that Takizawa was someone who lived through that era in the same way I did. And that Takizawa was the person who brought me closer to talks like this interview, Kunihiko Murai, Yuming, and others. So as long as the members are alive, I think it wouldn’t be bad to use these memories as drinking companions.

Ito: Takizawa really writes good songs. I mentioned the song “Hiyoke” that wasn’t on the record, but that song was the most impressive to me. The “Saishuu Bus” we all listened to earlier – I still remember the phrase, it’s that memorable. Even though I’ve done various jobs over the years, the fact that this remains so strongly in my memory shows what an amazing person he really was. He was a composer who wrote songs that I still think “that’s nice” when I listen to them today.

Makino: Compared to Shinkawa and Koki, I don’t do much backing work, so I haven’t worked with that many songwriters, but I think Takizawa was a really good writer. His melodies were strong and memorable, and most of all, his chords were stylish. “Saishuu Bus” also – while Hiroshi Sato arranged it later – had stylish original chords with unexpected progressions like Stevie’s, so I think Sato found it worth arranging.

Ito: Everyone, if we’re still healthy, let’s do Takizawa’s songs live – a Magical City reunion! We’ll ask Jun’s son Hideki Aoyama to replace Jun – he’s a really good drummer. So if we do “Magical” again, let’s invite Jun’s son. Takizawa’s daughter also works in singing, so let’s invite her as vocalist. Takizawa’s key is high, so she could probably handle it as is.

Shinkawa: Yes, let’s definitely do it when COVID settles down!

Makino: I see, that’s right. Let’s do it!

—Thank you for gathering today. I look forward to the day when we can hear Takizawa’s songs performed by the reunited Magical City with original members.

---

The approximately two-hour “Magical City” remote discussion session had the atmosphere of a “reunion” filled with constant laughter and excitement throughout. What became clear was that Takizawa was beloved by many junior musicians and played a role in connecting many people.

Takizawa continued to create outstanding songs with presence as a songwriter, and his works remain in the ears of his musician colleagues even after more than 40 years. I felt that the masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI,” packed with Takizawa’s sound charm, was completed through the accumulation of time spent with colleagues and shared experiences of hardship and joy.

After finishing his solo album with the members of Magical City, Takizawa began expanding his field of activity as a “composer” who provided songs to many singers, talents, and idols around that time.

The Internationally Acclaimed Song Provided to Beat Takeshi: “CITY BIRD”

After Takizawa made his late debut at age 28 with the masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” (1978), he released “Saishuu Bus” (a single cut from the album) in the same year, his second single “Miami Dreaming” in 1980, and ended his solo singer activities with his third single “Sunday Park” in 1982. As a singer-songwriter, he only released one album and three singles.

However, around 1977, before and after his solo activities, he began working as a “composer” providing songs to distinguished artists. The songs Takizawa released until his death number over 100, as far as currently known.

Among these many works, one song that deserves praise as a masterpiece is “CITY BIRD,” provided to Beat Takeshi in 1982.

A Blues Number with Takeshi’s Melancholic Vocals

Beat Takeshi, busy with the manzai boom from the previous year and the popularity of the Fuji TV show “Ore-tachi Hyokin-zoku,” released his first album “Ore ni Utawasetero” on June 21, 1982. “CITY BIRD,” a blues number set in Tokyo provided by Takizawa, was one of the tracks.

The lyrics were co-written by lyricist Keisuke Yamakawa (passed away in 2017), who wrote Eikichi Yazawa’s “Jikan yo Tomare” and the theme song for “Space Sheriff Gavan,” among others, and Takizawa.

The arrangement was by Nobuyuki Shimizu, who made his arrangement debut in 1980 by co-arranging EPO’s “DOWN TOWN” (a Sugar Babe cover) with Tetsuji Hayashi, which was the ending theme for “Ore-tachi Hyokin-zoku.”

First, please listen to Takizawa’s work “CITY BIRD” sung by Beat Takeshi. It’s a masterpiece overflowing with melancholy and nostalgia that only Takeshi could express.

● Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) ／CITY BIRD（1982）

In recent years, the evaluation of “CITY BIRD” sung by Takeshi has been gradually rising both domestically and internationally.

Music Writers, Musicians, and Music Fans Praise “CITY BIRD”

Ryohei Matsunaga, editor and music writer known as the author of the youth essay “My Heisei Pants, Socks, Shoes, Songbook” (Shobunsha), praised Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD” on Twitter in January as follows:

“I was surprised to find Beat Takeshi’s ‘CITY BIRD’ on the publishing management song list when I was making a playlist for the Alfa 50th anniversary site ‘ALFA50.’ Perhaps because composer Yoichi Takizawa had a writer contract. However, Takeshi’s vocals on this song are wonderful. He could have even become Japan’s Ian Dury.”

He praised Takeshi’s vocal ability in “CITY BIRD,” suggesting he could have been the Japanese version of Ian Dury, known for his hit “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.”

This “CITY BIRD” was also chosen by a musician for their “top 10 favorites.” Takashi Tanaka, bassist of the rock band Sunny Day Service, introduced Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD” in an HMV&BOOKS online article titled “Sunny Day Service Takashi Tanaka’s Top 10 Favorite Tracks”:

“The overwhelming presence of the vocals and Nobuyuki Shimizu’s moving arrangement. When I was in junior high listening to this song, the Tokyo I dreamed of was Yotsuya-sanchome. My urban blues.” (Source: HMV&BOOKS online “Sunny Day Service Takashi Tanaka’s Top 10 Favorite Tracks”)

Beat Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD,” which captivates even musicians’ ears, continues to shine undiminished nearly 40 years after its release.

Of course, it wasn’t only music industry people who were moved by “CITY BIRD.” This song seemed to be popular at karaoke and live performances among Japanese music fans. It was also revealed through fan SNS posts that Takeshi sang “CITY BIRD” as a piano solo performance at his own concerts.

International Recognition: “CITY BIRD” Popular in China

In recent years, Beat Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD” has begun spreading in popularity in neighboring China. On Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, numerous audio files of Takeshi singing “CITY BIRD” have been posted, and hundreds of comments have been posted about this song on the music streaming site “NetEase Cloud Music.”

A video posted on Weibo titled “Mix of Loneliness in Takeshi Kitano Films” uses “CITY BIRD” throughout, with increasing view counts.

Posted comments are all positive, such as “I like this song,” “I listen to this song when I’m lonely,” and “Don’t you think this is really good music?”

Shanghai-based video media “Yit” published a solo interview video with Takeshi on YouTube in July 2018, using “CITY BIRD” as the ending BGM. When explaining to Takeshi himself that they would play this song, a scene appears where Takeshi talks about “CITY BIRD”:

“…Oh, CITY BIRD? That’s very embarrassing. It’s really bad (laughs). Very embarrassing, makes me sweat (laughs). (Do you still sing it?) I occasionally sing at live performances, but I rarely sing this song. It’s difficult (laughs).” (Source: “71-Year-Old Takeshi Kitano Has Lived an Awesome Life,” Shanghai video channel “Yit” YouTube)

While music industry figures praise it highly, Takeshi himself modestly says it’s “bad and embarrassing.”

Many voices of praise have been sent from both domestic and international audiences for this video, with lyrics and visuals that seem to overlap Takeshi’s films with his life: “I was immediately captivated by this song as BGM right after Takeshi Kitano’s interview.”

*”In the street corners of life I’ve continued to wander But the dreams I saw as a boy Still burn in my heart today

Someday time flows The streetscape has changed But still calling me The sky is blue and dazzling”*

(Beat Takeshi “CITY BIRD” Lyrics: Yoichi Takizawa, Keisuke Yamakawa)

Beat Takeshi trained as a comedian, broke through as part of the manzai duo “Two Beat,” and continued living a turbulent life experiencing incidents and accidents, later making a major leap as “World’s Kitano” through his film directing work.

The lyrics that seemed to foresee his success and his bluesy adult vocals may have resonated with many people’s hearts across national borders.

Music Writers and Editors Choose: 10 Masterpieces Left by Yoichi Takizawa

Takizawa’s masterpieces don’t stop at Beat Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD.” As mentioned earlier, Takizawa began his composer activities around 1977 and provided over 100 songs to distinguished artists including Bread & Butter, Circus, Hi-Fi Set, Kyoko Koizumi, Iyo Matsumoto, Hiromi Iwasaki, Hideki Saijo, Hidemi Ishikawa, Kumiko Yamashita, Yasuko Tomita, Mitsuko Komuro, Yukari Ito, and Ayumi Ishida.

Among these numerous provided songs, music writers and editors who love Takizawa’s works have selected two songs each that can be called “masterpieces.”

Music Writer Toshikazu Kanazawa’s Recommended 2 Songs (Who Realized the CD Release of “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI”)

Hi-Fi Set / Memorandum (1977)

The song that made me conscious of Takizawa as a songwriter

 

Lyrics: Rei Nakanishi Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Bob Alcivar From album “Diary” (1977)

Kaoru Sudo / Mayonaka no Shujinko (Midnight Protagonist) (1983)

Urban AOR tune that started the excellent album “DROPS.” It sparkles

Lyrics: Shun Taguchi Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Masataka Matsutoya From album “DROPS” (1983)

Music Writer/Editor Ryohei Matsunaga’s Recommended 2 Songs (Who Brought Attention to “CITY BIRD”)

Yoichi Takizawa / HIGH UP TO THE SKY (1978)

Every song on “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” is wonderful. I think he’s Japan’s Brian Elliott

Lyrics: Machiko Ryu Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Hiroshi Sato From album “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” (1978)

Circus / Rokugatsu no Hanayome (June Bride) (1979)

For Circus + Yoichi Takizawa, I also like “OUR WINTER VACATION.” I chose this one for the season

Lyrics: Keisuke Yamakawa Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Shigeru Suzuki From album “New Horizon” (1979)

6 Songs Recommended by the Author

Bread & Butter / Ichimai no E (One Picture) (1981)

The final late-summer tearjerker that closes the third work “Pacific” of the Shonan trilogy, rarely included in various best-of albums

Lyrics: Michio Yamagami Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Kan Inoue From album “Pacific” (1981)

Yumi Seino / YOU & I (1981)

A masterpiece by the Takizawa & Shinkawa combination that showed respect for Chaka Khan. This has that “adult sound” feeling

Lyrics: Shinzo Higure Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Hiroshi Shinkawa From album “NATURAL WOMAN” (1981)

Ayumi Ishida / BLIZZARD (1981)

Lyrics by Karuho Kureta (Yumi Matsutoya), but this is a different song from that “BLIZZARD.” A lovely song with a gentle feeling

 

Lyrics: Karuho Kureta (Yumi Matsutoya) Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Nobuhiko Shinohara From album “Ayumi Ishida” (1981)

Hideki Saijo / Kagirinaki Natsu (Endless Summer) (1984)

A mellow song where an unreleased solo was provided to Hideki. I was torn between this and Hideki’s “Ao ni Nareshop” (1987)

Lyrics: Arisono Mi Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Hiroshi Shinkawa From album “GENTLE A MAN” (1984)

Circus / Miami Dreaming (1980)

An ambitious work overflowing with longing for good old America, reminiscent of Mamas & Papas’ masterpiece. There’s a self-cover version by Takizawa

Lyrics: Keisuke Yamakawa Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Mike Mainieri From album “Wonderful Music” (1980)

Yukari Ito / Wakare-michi (Parting Ways) (1984)

The supreme masterpiece of enka by the Rei Nakanishi & Takizawa combination since “Memorandum.” I was moved by Kenji Omura’s arrangement

Lyrics: Rei Nakanishi Music: Yoichi Takizawa Arrangement: Kenji Omura, Ryoichi Kuniyoshi From album “fado” (1984)

Yoichi Takizawa Playlists Available for Free

There are many other masterpieces besides the 10 songs featured here. Other Takizawa works are available on the Spotify playlist “Japan CityPop Yoichi Takizawa Works 1977-” where you can listen to all currently subscription-unlocked Takizawa compositions for free.

There’s also a YouTube playlist “Yoichi Takizawa Song Book” that includes all 52 songs, covering tracks not yet available on streaming services.

● Yoichi Takizawa song book（YouTube Playlist）

Furthermore, I released a “Complete Yoichi Takizawa Composition List” online for free in March 2021. This serves as a good guide for listening to Takizawa works from solo to provided songs that are still little known to the world.

Eldest Daughter Speaks About Her Father Yoichi Takizawa’s Background, Personality, and Final Years

Through testimony from former backing band members, the outline of Takizawa during his singer-songwriter era has become clear. However, even musician colleagues seem to know little about his actual background, what led him to start music, and his final years.

So I contacted Takizawa’s eldest daughter via SNS, who is currently raising two children while working as a vocal instructor under the name “Emiru Mutsuki,” and she kindly agreed to an interview. The designated meeting place was Shimokitazawa in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward.

“When I think of father, it was always Shimokitazawa. How about an old-fashioned cake shop that I visited with my father several times?”

Located 5 minutes on foot from Odakyu/Keio Inokashira Line “Shimokitazawa” Station, the designated “Cafe ZAC” is a coffee and pastry shop with a good reputation that opened in 1970 when the Osaka Expo was held. The interior atmosphere somehow retains the feeling of around 1978 when “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” was released.

At a sofa in the back of the shop, Emiru waited with her 9-year-old eldest son, who was on spring break. This bright woman who laughs often seemed to somewhat resemble Takizawa’s face, which I had only seen in record jacket photos.

Childhood Spent Moving Around the World Following His Diplomat Father

—Thank you for giving me this opportunity today. I’d like to hear various stories about your father Yoichi Takizawa’s background, personality, and his final years. According to the profile written on Takizawa’s second single “Miami Dreaming” (1980), it said he was “born March 9, 1950 in Portland, Oregon, USA.” Is this true?

Emiru: Yes. My grandfather, father’s father, was a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so there was a lot of overseas living. However, my father was apparently born in Japan and taken by his mother to America shortly after birth.

After that, he attended American School in Iran for four years and went back and forth between various countries and Japan. He didn’t settle permanently in Japan until around fifth grade (around 1961).

He lived in places like Setagaya Ward and Suginami Ward in Tokyo, and continued living in those areas afterward.

—So he went back and forth between not just America but overseas and Japan. When he settled in Japan was still the 1960s when Japan was poor.

Emiru: At that time, elementary school students in Japan wore undershirts and shorts, right? But my father, returning from abroad, wore long pants and was relatively well-dressed. While this would be normal clothing now, he was often bullied by bully-type children saying “What’s with you!” It seems he looked arrogant, especially since he was small and born in March, making him smaller than other children in his grade. Even as an adult, he was only 160cm tall.

Also, while overseas he attended Japanese schools and learned from Japanese teachers, but he seems to have been weak at reading and writing kanji. He didn’t usually use them or see them. So the inferiority complex about not knowing kanji apparently followed him throughout his life.

—The profile on “Miami Dreaming” mentioned “Western music sense gained from overseas life following his popular music-loving father, and refreshing vocals.” Indeed, his somewhat sophisticated musical sense might have been acquired through overseas living.

Emiru: However, I think my father was most influenced by Stevie Wonder and the Beatles. While mainstream (laughs), he felt particularly close to Stevie because they were the same age. I was often told to “listen to Stevie” and made to listen from a young age.

Past as a Ski Instructor – Music Began Due to “Illness”

—Speaking of which, members of Takizawa’s backing band “Magical City” also mentioned that Takizawa was influenced by Stevie’s chord progressions. When did he start music?

Emiru: He seems to have been in a band in high school, but had no intention of becoming a musician.

Actually, in university he got into skiing and worked as a ski instructor. He lived in at a mountain coffee shop while working part-time and got his instructor certification, but he became ill around that time and had to give up skiing.

That illness was also the cause of his death – he was a carrier of hepatitis B virus, so his liver was bad. When he was working as an instructor, his health deteriorated and he was repeatedly hospitalized.

At that time, he apparently wrote and stored songs because he was bored during hospitalization with nothing to do. When friends heard them, they said “These are good, I’ll take them to a record company.”

—The birth of singer-songwriter Yoichi Takizawa. I never imagined it started in a hospital room during hospitalization. If he hadn’t gotten sick and been hospitalized then, he would have continued skiing.

Emiru: Actually, he met my mother at the hospital. My mother was hospitalized for severe asthma. At that time, as now, hospitalized patients are mostly elderly, right? So they both stood out and apparently noticed each other. My mother and father are 8 years apart in age, but my mother was still in high school then (laughs). There weren’t any other young people, so they became friends there. If my father had continued skiing, I wouldn’t have been born either.

—The hospital brought together his musical activities and meeting your mother.

Emiru: I don’t think he intended to make a living from music. He was just doing music as a hobby.

Threw Away Daughter’s CDs Leading to Arguments – Father Yoichi Could Be Scary When Angry

—This is a very abstract question, but what kind of father was Takizawa?

Emiru: We got along well and he really doted on me – I was completely a daddy’s girl. My brother might have a different perspective as they were both males, but he was kind and I loved him.

However, when he got angry, he was incredibly scary. My son says I’m scary, but father was about 100 times scarier (laughs). He never said things like “study,” but he’d get angry when I was being absent-minded. When I seemed to be living without thinking about anything, he’d say things like “Work harder at various things!”

Once, I was really angry about something. When I was around junior high, I got really into a certain musical style. Since it was completely different from the music he was doing, it seems to have made my father very angry.

I think he had been enduring it for a long time, but since I was so absorbed in that direction, at one point he exploded with “Don’t mess around!”

I had started composing around that time too, but my musical style had no influence from my father at all. I think my father was lonely because he wanted to teach me and work together with me.

When I got angry and said things like “I’m not writing songs for you!” and “You’re annoying,” my father got really furious and started putting all my precious CDs into garbage bags while saying “Don’t mess around” (laughs).

Even though I was a daddy’s girl, I was properly angry – these were things I had saved my allowance to buy little by little. I thought my mother would side with me on this, but she said “Listen to what Papa says,” and I was like “Huh? Unbelievable!” I didn’t speak to my father for about a week after that. Now I think I should have learned songwriting from my father, but parent-child relationships are difficult. We can’t be honest with each other and end up saying whatever we want.

—Your father probably had pride about music that he couldn’t compromise on.

Past Running a Pizza Shop – Established Music Production Company and Contributed to Nurturing Young Artists

Emiru: After I entered university, I started band activities in the light music club. I made my own songs and sang, and when I performed at the school festival, my father came to see. At that time, my band mates ignored me and asked my father various questions. “Please listen to the song I made!” and such (laughs).

At that time, my father was running his own music production company and was working to nurture young musicians and help them debut.

—So he was composing in parallel with that work?

Emiru: That part is mysterious, but when I became aware of things, I didn’t know my father was a composer. I didn’t know he made songs or sang. My father did various jobs – he completely quit music and ran a pizza shop at one point (laughs). I remember when he was running a pizza shop.

—Speaking of which, Koki Ito also said, “When I met Takizawa once, he was running a pizza shop at the time and it was thriving.” Takizawa apparently said that even if you increase stores, the fixed costs mean the profit doesn’t change much (laughs).

Emiru: He repeatedly started and quit various jobs like that for about 10 years.

Around when I was in junior high, so 1995-96, he started running that music production company. He mainly worked to gather young musicians, produce them, and pitch them to record companies he had connections with.

However, about two years before my father died, the company’s management became difficult due to a certain business venture, and just when he was saying “I need to start something else,” his liver condition, which he had been suffering from before, began to worsen.

“Liver Cancer” Missed Due to Hospital Dislike – Too Early Death

—The liver that caused him to be hospitalized when he was young and led to his start in music became problematic again.

Emiru: My father really hated hospitals. Actually, my father’s illness can be cured with today’s medicine. So if he had been attentive, it probably could have been cured, but I regret that I should have strongly told my mother to “make father go to the hospital.” After leaving it alone for a while, the liver cancer had grown quite large, and although they operated and removed it, he didn’t recover.

—He was still young at 56 at that time.

Emiru: I never thought he would die. It wasn’t like he had been battling illness for many years – we found out about the cancer about half a year before he died, and it was very quick after that. The post-surgery recovery was poor, so perhaps that cancer removal surgery wasn’t good.

—Were you living together at home at that time?

Emiru: We were living together, but it was right when I was about to get married. However, since my father’s condition wasn’t recovering, we decided to postpone the wedding. We had reserved a wedding venue but postponed it to September. The wedding was planned for June, but my father died on April 20, 2006. It’s already been 15 years.

—Meeting your mother at a hospital, starting music at a hospital, and the cause of death was also that illness. It makes you feel complicated when you think about it.

Emiru: When the illness developed in his early twenties, he was repeatedly hospitalized and subjected to various tests, so I think he came to dislike hospitals. But that certainly delayed the discovery of the cancer.

—If he were alive now, he’d be 71. He doesn’t even know that he has four grandchildren – two daughters and two sons.

Emiru: If he were alive, I think he would have doted on them. My husband was also able to greet my father for marriage approval shortly before he died, but he was scared to meet my father because he had heard the story about my CDs being thrown away (laughs). Since his condition was already poor, the greeting ended safely without any “who is this guy” attitude. What my father was talking about shortly before he died was that he “wanted to spend one night somewhere alone with my husband and talk all night.” But I don’t think he thought he would die.

The family was told by the doctor that he had “about two weeks at most,” but he ended up dying about a week later. I was already too distressed and left it to my mother toward the end, so I couldn’t be with him much. Until then, I had been going to the hospital every day.

—He passed away without being able to see his daughter’s marriage and childbirth. He might have been active in various fields and returned to the world of composition. As a fan of composer Yoichi Takizawa, his death at 56 is deeply regrettable.

Emiru: That’s right. Speaking of various fields, my father also worked on game music during his lifetime – Koei’s “Suikoden: Oath of Heaven’s Mandate” (1989) (“Dreams Come True!”). I still occasionally receive contact from fans.

Among the songs he worked on around that time, there are unusual composition works with a similar style to “Suikoden.” That is the music for dismissal time at the elementary school I attended. The teacher at the time apparently asked my father, and he said “Sure, no problem” and wrote the song. During dismissal time, my father’s composed music would play, so I was proud (laughs). It was an instrumental that my father made with programming.

—By the way, which elementary school?

Emiru: Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward Matsubara Elementary School. I don’t think it’s used anymore, and I don’t know if the audio source from that time remains. During my time there, it played normally during dismissal around 1994.

—That’s a valuable rare audio source (laughs). I’ll have to add it to the Yoichi Takizawa complete composition list. Since his liver was bad, didn’t he drink alcohol?

Emiru: He didn’t drink at all. Instead, he was a heavy smoker. I never saw him drinking alcohol.

I was often asked to “buy cigarettes” with my brother – we’d run errands for him. While children can’t buy them nowadays, once when my brother and I went to buy cigarettes as usual and returned, there was a loud sound from a 7th-floor apartment where an elderly lady lived alone, and flames came out. My father noticed the sound, quickly ran up the stairs, and rescued the old lady. My brother and I were children, so with flames and black smoke rising, we were going “What should we do, what should we do,” when my father came down carrying the old lady and handed her over to rescue workers. This was before my father turned 40, so around 1988.

—Your father was brave. Takizawa has a phantom second album called “BOY” that was postponed from release in 1982 and still hasn’t been released. The first song that was supposed to be on it was titled “Kanashiki Fireman” (Sad Fireman). That episode really lives up to that song title.

‘Album Release Notice’ in the lyric card of Takizawa’s last single ‘Sunday Park’ 1982

Emiru: I’m often asked about that phantom second album “BOY,” but we had the audio source normally at home. It was playing normally in our house (laughs). “Kanashiki Fireman” is also an interesting song with presence.

—What? You had the audio source? I completely thought it was an album that went missing after being shelved.

Emiru: Yes, we have it normally. I don’t know if it’s cassette or what, but it was more popular in our house than “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI,” and I prefer this one (laughs). I’m wondering if we could somehow reveal it.

There’s a song called “Ichimai no Shashin” (One Photograph) on that album, which is my favorite. We still have a recording of my father and me singing together over the karaoke version of this song. If there’s an opportunity to release this album, I think my mother would want that too. For my father’s honor, I’d love to get it out to the world on CD or streaming.

—That would be a memorial to your father too.

Emiru: Really, yes. For the sake of the musicians who participated too, we want people to hear this.

—Tatsuro Yamashita once said on radio that “songs are not guilty.” Even if there were adult circumstances preventing release, even if there were relationship troubles, songs are not guilty. I’ll definitely help you make this public.

Emiru: Thank you. If everyone could hear it, I think my father would rest in peace.

—Finally, let me ask: Did your father ever talk during his lifetime about his own musical style?

Emiru: Since he was writing songs for famous singers before and after I was born, I have almost no memory of that. However, I think my father had an inferiority complex. Now there are people listening like this, but he felt his songs didn’t sell, that they weren’t wanted by the world. So he didn’t talk about it openly and had an inferiority complex about “not being a hit composer.”

Now I think that being able to create that many songs means he was selling compared to people who never got a single song out (laughs).

I think it was different from the trends of the time, and my father said so himself. It wasn’t that he lacked talent, but that he was “not suited to the times.” Timing is difficult.

So I think he didn’t take pride in being a composer. His own sense and the world’s evaluation were far apart. That’s probably why he didn’t talk much about his past work with me either.

—It was surprising to hear that he didn’t take pride in being a singer-songwriter and composer. If the phantom second album comes out now, your father might be happy in heaven too. Thank you for all the valuable stories today.

---

After the interview ended, Emiru’s brother (the eldest son) arrived at the coffee shop and enthusiastically explained how high the quality of the unreleased album “BOY” was, also saying his favorite song was “Ichimai no Shashin.”

So we took a “photograph” of the three – eldest daughter, eldest son, and grandson – in the streets of Shimokitazawa, the place of memories with their father.

How is their father watching over his greatly grown children and grandchildren from heaven? And what does he think of his children who still listen to his music and speak of its charm?

The Path to CD Release of the Second Album “BOY” That Remained Postponed for About 40 Years

The phantom second album “BOY” that appeared in the interview with the eldest daughter in the previous section.

While its release was announced for July 25, 1982, it was postponed due to various circumstances and remains unreleased to this day.

Its existence was revealed by a small “Album Release Notice” in the lyric booklet of Takizawa’s last single “Sunday Park” (released June 25, 1982). “BOY” was supposed to be in stores one month after this last single was released.

According to the family, in early 1982, they conducted a residential recording camp at the famous “Izu Studio” (Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture), Japan’s first resort studio, where Takizawa, participating musicians, the director from Warner Pioneer (now Warner Music Japan), and engineers stayed together for about 10 days to complete it.

However, “BOY” became a phantom album when it failed selection at an internal sales meeting held just before release, compounded by circumstances including the person in charge changing jobs.

The Existing Phantom Multi-Master Tape

What is the current status of this album’s master audio source? And is it possible to release this audio source on CD now? When I asked Toshikazu Kanazawa, who worked hard for the first CD release of the masterpiece “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI,” there was a surprising response:

“Regarding the phantom second album ‘BOY,’ I actually received an email from Takizawa’s family quite a while ago and exchanged correspondence.

After ‘LEONIDS NO KANATA NI’ came out, there was actually someone working toward CD release. This is someone who continues to work on various analog audio source reissues.

I immediately contacted him, and he said the existence of ‘BOY’s’ multi-master tape and label copy has already been confirmed.

However, the 2ch mix master tape that was reportedly created afterward is not preserved.”

Surprisingly, the multi-master tape exists. However, the master tape mixed down from it is missing. Since mixdown requires time and money, that mixed tape is necessary for commercialization.

When I later asked the family about this, they said, “I’ve never seen the tape, but data that appears to be from a master after mixdown remains on Takizawa’s PC.” This data still exists, and it was this audio source data that the eldest daughter said the family had been listening to.

Obstacles and a Ray of Hope

Is it possible to make a CD from this data? After receiving the audio source data from the family, I immediately contacted someone through Kanazawa who works as an external producer at Warner.

“Is CD production possible from this audio source data?”

Yoshikazu Ozawa from Warner Music Japan International Strategic Japanese Music Division is someone who has worked on numerous masterpiece CD reissues over the years. He had been investigating master tape locations and rights for “BOY’s” CD release about two years ago. His response was as follows:

“This is probably from a 2ch mix tape dubbed to cassette, but the hiss noise is noticeable and it cannot become a CD master as is.”

However, it would be possible to re-mix from the existing multi-master tape while using this mix audio as reference.

There are four multi-master tapes, and even if all of these were mixed down, including mastering costs, a CD master audio source could be created for a not very expensive amount.

The second album release that the family had wished for for many years was realized on December 18, 2024. A full 42 years from the original release date of July 25, 1982. The second album “BOY,” into which 32-year-old Takizawa poured all his energy as a singer-songwriter, packed with memories and dreams from his childhood overseas life, is once again preparing to cross the ocean.

[Note: “BOY” was actually first released on CD and analog record on December 18, 2024. Please refer to the linked article for the long journey and circumstances leading to its release.]

The distributor is “Magmag Inc.,” the company that operates the news site “MAG2 NEWS” where this article is published, and a special sales page was also opened on BASE.

The single’s jacket features an illustration by Eizin Suzuki, the illustrator familiar from City Pop albums like Tatsuro Yamashita’s “FOR YOU,” titled “Endless Summer.”

Epilogue: Another “CITY BIRD” Soaring High in the Sky

At the time of Beat Takeshi’s “CITY BIRD,” there existed “another ‘City Bird.'”

A song recorded on the B-side of Takizawa’s last single “Sunday Park” released in 1982 – its name was “City Bird.” The release was June 25, 1982, just four days after Takeshi’s album “Ore ni Utawasetero.”

Yes, in fact, “CITY BIRD” was a “competitive work” released almost simultaneously by Beat Takeshi and Takizawa. And this work was also scheduled to be included on the phantom second album “BOY” that remained postponed.

Takizawa’s “City Bird” was included as a bonus track on the first CD release of “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI” in 2015, seeing daylight for the first time in 33 years.

After that, Beat Takeshi continued his busy flight through the domestic and international “sky” as a TV personality and film director Takeshi Kitano, continuing to be active as one of Japan’s representative artists.

And in the global “City Pop” boom, composer Yoichi Takizawa is also looking up at the high blue sky 15 years after his death, with the numerous masterpieces he left behind as wings.

“City Bird” Embracing Dreams and Taking Flight

On a sunny Sunday near the anniversary of his death, I accompanied the family to visit Takizawa’s grave at a certain location in Tokyo. He now sleeps quietly on a hill with his beloved cat that died a year after him.

On that gravestone, there are no words like “Takizawa Family” or “Ancestral Grave,” only a picture of a tennis ball and racket from his lifetime hobby, and these words:

 

“CITY BIRD” rests wings…peaceful.

 

For Takizawa, the song with special meaning and the words that represented himself: “CITY BIRD.”

His wife chose these words without hesitation to be carved on the gravestone where he sleeps.

And the many songs he said were “not suited to the times” during his lifetime are now beginning to spread their wings wide.

The “city bird” soaring high in the sky might not be resting its wings at all, but finally beginning to fly toward the ends of the universe.

Toward that high and distant “LEONIDS NO KANATA NI.”

“Yes I live in Tokyo

Looking up at the sky,

speaking of dreams Embracing them,

I take flight Someday high, far away”

(Yoichi Takizawa “City Bird” Lyrics: Yoichi Takizawa, Keisuke Yamakawa)

Interview Cooperation: Emiru Mutsuki Koki Ito Hiroshi Shinkawa Motoaki Makino Kuriko Araki (Koki Ito office) Toshikazu Kanazawa Ryohei Matsunaga Yoshikazu Ozawa Mr. T (In no particular order, titles omitted)

Special thanks to: The Takizawa Family

 

This article is dedicated to the great musician, “CITY BIRD” Yoichi Takizawa

 

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