My Showa Kayou8 　　High school senior 1967

Japanese Title "Koukou 3 nennsei"

My late uncle was such a big fan of Kazuo Funaki
that he would put up posters of him.
This is the 60th anniversary of his career.

My aunt's husband was a true man of the Showa era, who passed away 11 years ago.

He was born in Beppu, Oita, but I never heard him speak with a regional accent. He was extremely principled and incredibly humorous.

The singer he liked was Kazuo Funaki.

I found out when I visited and saw Kazuo Funaki's posters on the wall. The smiling posters were illuminated as if by a spotlight, standing out like a goal or slogan.

He passed away before I could ask why he liked Funaki so much or what he liked about him.

Kazuo Funaki attempted suicide several times and had a tough family life. However, he took good care of his own family. That's about all I know.

Now, Funaki is celebrating his 60th anniversary and still performing concerts at the age of 78. That's quite an achievement.

He sang "High School Senior" at the age of 18, even appearing on NHK’s New Year's Eve show Kouhaku in a school uniform. That’s the most memorable image of him—a youth star.

The song was composed by Minoru Endo. For a school-themed song, it’s a rhythmic enka. The intro has a female chorus, which I always found amusing.

Its lively tune made me hum along. The intro goes like "chan-cha-ka-cha-cha-chaaan-cha," and I'd hum along robustly.

♪ The red sunset dyes the school building ♪

In the first verse, I thought "classmates" was "暮らす仲間 (kurasu nakama)," meaning "living companions" (laughs).

Does the term "classmates" exist?

"My husband says the term 'classmate' wasn’t widespread back then." Is that so?

Nowadays, lyrics are displayed on screens, but back then, we'd gather at school and sing together, comparing notes to get the lyrics right. As long as the melody was correct, it was fine. We learned the songs together.

Speaking of which, my husband thought "Tachibana Kaoru" in the song "Koinobori" was a person’s name until quite late.

The real lyrics are: "The orange blossom fragrance in the morning wind, the carp streamers swim high." Sorry, but "Tachibana Kaoru" doesn’t swim.

So, "living companions" isn’t that bad.

After my uncle passed away, hearing "High School Senior" makes me think of him more than my own memories.

The song was released in 1963. The high school enrollment rate in Japan was below 60% for both boys and girls in the 1950s, but it rose to nearly 80% in the 1960s, over 90% in the 1970s, and exceeded 95% in the 1990s.

It probably struck a chord with many young people.

I was still in elementary school then.

I cannot read or write in English.
This text has been translated by ChatGPT.
I haven't edited it, so there may be some strange parts.

【Reference Video】

【Japanese Version of the Article】