“Natsumatsuri” by JITTERIN’ JINN (1990)
I thought it would be fun to do a little series highlighting popular Japanese songs that are essentially unknown in the broader English-speaking world. Enjoy! (or not!) All translations by me unless otherwise noted.
“Natsumatsuri” was released August 29, 1990 and was the fourth single from the band JITTERIN’ JINN. Like “Choo Choo TRAIN”, what’s remarkable about “Natsumatsuri” is not sales or charting but the song’s lengthy afterlife in the public consciousness. Do not underestimate the Japanese cultural love of a seasonal song.
JITTERIN’ JINN (the name doesn’t really mean anything) were formed in 1986 in Nara Prefecture and built a following playing live shows before making their debut in 1989 with the perky “Everyday”. They got a boost after they became the “king” of super popular band competition show Ika-Ten that year and broke through in 1990 with third single “Nichiyoubi” to which “Natsumatsuri” was the follow-up. This was pretty much the peak of their sales/charting era but the band continued on steadily for a decade and then less steadily for the two decades after that but they maintain a loyal fanbase to this day, with videos of their songs uploaded in 2019 (30 years after they debuted) now having millions of views.
In America, in Current Year, the word “ska” mostly likely conjures up the image of a band like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, heavy set men in ill fitting suits (possibly wearing fedoras) trying really hard to be cool. JITTERIN’ JINN are not that kind of ska.* They were more like Japanese roots music… but done with a 2-beat.
Part of the enduring appeal of “Natsumatsuri” lies in those Japanese roots. The music and lyrics (like all of JITTERIN’ JINN’s music) was written by their guitarist Hashi Jinta and the combination of the sweet yearning melody with the story he paints in the lyrics of visiting the festival with the person you like just hits at all of the nation’s nostalgia points.
Natsumatsuri (夏祭り) literally just means summer festival. You get dressed up in a yukata and wander around eating things on sticks, playing carnival games, watching fireworks, and (if you’re of legal age) enjoying a beer. In the lyrics of the song, Hashi name checks it all:
子供みたい金魚すくいに
夢中になって袖がぬれてる
無邪気な横顔がとても可愛いくて
君は好きな綿菓子買って
ご機嫌だけど 少し向こうに
友だち見つけて 離れて歩いた
Scooping goldfish like children
Forgetting yourself your sleeve gets wet
Your innocent face in profile is so cute
You buy your favorite cotton candy
Although we’re having fun, over there
You see your friend and walk away from me
And the chorus which gets EVERYBODY dancing and singing along:
君がいた夏は 遠い夢の中
空に消えてった 打ち上げ花火
Fireworks disappearing from the sky in the middle of faraway dream
That was the summer of you
JITTERIN’ JINN singer Harukawa Reiko has a strong, clear tone that is also still kind of girlish which makes the lyrics just that much more sweet.
But the song’s longevity can really be attributed to the cover by rock band Whiteberry that was released on August 9, 2000. It’s a pretty close remake of the original in feel but the all girl band zazzes it up adding double tracked vocals on the chorus, a breakdown with rocking guitar solo, dreamy keyboards on the verses, and playing up the choruses a lot more. The PV features the girls playing the song dressed in their summer yukata in front of a bank of fireworks. The song was a hit. It didn’t have the most charting or sales that week but 20 years later Whiteberry singer Maeda Yuki is still getting called on sing it at baseball games while the crowd sings along which is proof enough that the song has been cemented into the public’s consciousness.
So learn the lyrics, put on your best yukata, and impress all your Japanese friends at karaoke! KIMI GA ITTA NATSU WA-----!!!!
(And enjoy some summer festival pictures I took in Tokyo in 2016!)
*Apparently the first ska song to be a hit in Japan was the second ending theme song to the anime Chibimaruko-chan sung by my man, Saijo Hideki, king of all genres.