2008年12月9日 星期二

Minoru Endo

Minoru Endo (遠藤実・えんどうみのる)

遠藤実

出典: フリー百科事典『ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』

遠藤 実(えんどう みのる、1932年7月6日 - 2008年12月6日)は戦後歌謡界を代表する日本の作曲家である。
代表曲に『北国の春』(唄:千昌夫)がある。

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 人物

東京府東京市向島区(現在の東京都墨田区向島)に生まれ、第二次世界大戦時に新潟県西蒲原郡内野町(現在の新潟市西区内野)にて疎開生活を送っていた。
1949年、17歳の時上京。ギターを携えて流しの演歌師になる。
1956年日本マーキュリーレコードより、『お月さん今晩わ』にて作曲家としてデビュー。それ以後、現在に至るまで世に送り出した楽曲は5000曲以上(その大部分は演歌)と言われ舟木一夫、千昌夫、森昌子など多くの歌手を育てた。

また自らの名をつけたレコード会社・ミノルフォン(現:徳間ジャパンコミュニケーションズ)を創業し、1960年には専務、1968年には同社社長になる。
1988年ハワイで心臓のバイパス手術を受ける。
2003年、歌謡界から初めて文化功労者に選出された。
2008年12月6日10時54分、急性心筋梗塞のため東京都内の病院で逝去。76歳没。

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Showa Era recedes with death of songwriter

2008/12/9
When I visited the Kunlun mountains in western China about 20 years ago, I sought a night's lodging in a military barracks in a remote area. As I gazed at the desolate expanse in the gathering dusk, I heard someone playing the flute. Straining my ears to make out the melody, I soon realized it was "Kitaguni no Haru" (Spring in the northern country), a Japanese pop number composed by Minoru Endo. I was inadvertently gripped with nostalgia. Endo died on Dec. 6 at the age of 76.
The haunting melody, popularized throughout Asia, plucks at one's heartstrings like many of Endo's creations.
It is as if melancholy has given way to light-heartedness, but the melancholy lurks in that light-heartedness. The bitter-sweet tune has always made me think of the sort of life Endo lived.
Born poor, Endo started working as an apprentice factory hand as soon as he finished primary school. According to "Namida no Kawa o Wataru-toki" (Crossing the river of tears), his autobiography, Endo bought junior high correspondence course textbooks that came with a badge resembling a school pin. He wore the pin on his cap to console himself over the fact he was unable to attend school.
Later in life, his "'Koko Sannen-sei" (Third-year high school students) became a huge hit, although he had never experienced high school life. Endo described the song as a "paean to his own lost youth." This probably explains why I always sensed a faint note of melancholy in the cheery tune.
Endo's other hits included "Karatachi Nikki" (Trifoliate orange blossom diary), "Sensei" (Teacher) and "Kuchinashi no Hana" (Gardenia blossoms). All these works were representative of the Showa Era (1926-1989), and Endo's passing last week pushed that era further back into history.
It was 19 years after the end of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) that poet Nakamura Kusatao (1901-1983) penned this famous haiku: "The falling snow/ Meiji has receded/ Far into the past.
We are now in the 20th year of the Heisei Era, and my sense that the Showa Era has indeed receded into the past is more acute than ever.
Endo's wife, Setsuko, who shared all his joys and sorrows, died 15 years ago. The grief-stricken Endo said at the time, "I wanted the skies to open, the snow to fall, and heaven itself to weep."
I should like to believe that the couple are now reunited in heaven, and fondly reminiscing those Showa years they had raced through together.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 8(IHT/Asahi: December 9,2008)

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