Yoshimi Tendo (天童よしみ, real name: 吉田芳美 Yoshimi Yoshida) is a singer from Ya… Read Full Bio ↴Yoshimi Tendo (天童よしみ, real name: 吉田芳美 Yoshimi Yoshida) is a singer from Yao, Osaka, Japan. Her main genre is enka, but she also performs oldies, general pop music and Japanese Disney songs. Before adopting her current stage name, Tendo released a single using a variation of her birthname, Yoshimi Yoshida (吉田よしみ), to record the opening theme and first ending theme for the animated television series Inakappe Taisho in 1970. She released her début single, "Kaze ga Fuku" (「風が吹く」) in 1972. Her greatest hit so far is 1996's "Chindo monogatari" (「珍島物語」), which also garnered fame due to the included figurine keyring. Her most current single is the triple A-side "Hana-enka"/"Nakahen wa"/"Anata ni arigatō" (「花艶歌」/「泣かへんわ」/「あなたにありがとう」). Fellow singer Daisuke Ohi (おおい大輔) works as Tendo's personal assistant.

積丹半島
天童よしみ Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

春が来たから鰊がくると
騒ぎ始める半島かもめ
こゝは積丹(シャコタン)神恵内(カモエナイ)
漁を仕掛ける角網に
男銀次郎血が通う
ドッコイ度胸の日本海

舟をだしたら一心不乱

海は稼ぎ場男の世界
こゝは積丹神恵内
獲れた鰊を始末する
浜じゃ元気な女子衆
ドッコイ繁昌の花が咲く

漁師冥利は荒波勝負
舟は鰊の宝の山だ
こゝは積丹神恵内
今日も稼いだ喜びに

大漁目出度い漁師町
ドッコイ笑顔の夫婦酒

Overall Meaning

The song 積丹半島 by 天童よしみ talks about the life and livelihood of the people living in Shakotan, a peninsula located in the northern part of Japan. The lyrics describe the arrival of spring, which heralds the arrival of herring, a popular fish for the people living in the region, and the excitement and hustle-bustle it creates, especially among the seagulls. The singer of the song, Ginjiro, is a fisherman who takes great pride in his work and loves catching herring using the traditional method of angling with a net. He is courageous and unafraid of the rough waters of the Sea of Japan.

The next few lines talk about the fishermen's world where the boat is their office and the sea is their source of livelihood. The third stanza describes the bustling fishing village of Shakotan, where the energetic womenfolk work tirelessly to process the freshly-caught herring while flowers bloom all around them. The final stanza talks about the joy of a good catch, where the hard work pays off and the fishermen and their families celebrate with a glass of sake.

Overall, the song celebrates the beauty and bounty of the Shakotan peninsula and the hardworking and resilient people who call it home.

Line by Line Meaning

春が来たから鰊がくると
The arrival of spring brings the arrival of herring

騒ぎ始める半島かもめ
Seagulls around the peninsula start to make noise

こゝは積丹(シャコタン)神恵内(カモエナイ)
This is Shakotan, Kamoenai

漁を仕掛ける角網に
Fishing operations are set up with luw nets

男銀次郎血が通う
Man's blood pulsing through the veins of Ginjiro

ドッコイ度胸の日本海
Courageous Japan Sea

舟をだしたら一心不乱
Once the boat is in the water, full concentration sets in

海は稼ぎ場男の世界
The sea is a place of work and a man's world

浜じゃ元気な女子衆
Cheerful girls can be found on the shore

ドッコイ繁昌の花が咲く
Flowers of prosperity are in full bloom