Naoko Ken (研ナオコ Ken Naoko) (born July 7, 1953 - ) is a Japanese singer and… Read Full Bio ↴Naoko Ken (研ナオコ Ken Naoko) (born July 7, 1953 - ) is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well-known for her comedy roles featuring idiosyncratic looks, and a string of successful torch songs that gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1971, Ken debuted as an enka-oriented singer with a single "Daitokai no Yasagure On'na". In 1975, after the release of several charted singles, she gained the first outstanding commercial success with a song "Guzu", which was written by Ryudo Uzaki and his wife Yoko Aki. "Abayo", a song written by Miyuki Nakajima became the most successful single for Ken, selling more than 600,000 copies. In 1976, the prize-winning song reached number-one spot on the Oricon, Japan's most eminent chart.

In addition to the success as a musician, she also obtained popularity as a tarento in the mid 1970s, through her comical actings on the multiple TV shows including Kakkurakin Daihousou!!.

After the temporary hiatus of its career in 1977, she returned to the Japanese entertainment industry with a hit tune "Kamome wa Kamome". The melancholic ballad written by Nakajima became known as one of her signature songs, finally sold in excess of 300,000 units.

In 1982, she gained huge commercial success as a singer again with a cover version of the Southern All Stars' song "Natsu wo Akiramete", winning several Japanese music prizes. The song is her last top-ten hit solo single so far.

Through her long-term career as a comedic TV personality, she has released several novelty singles with other performers such as Ken Shimura. The song "Natsuzakari Ho no Ji Gumi" recorded with an idol singer Toshihiko Tahara is the last top-40 hit single for Ken on the Japanese record charts.

一年草
研ナオコ Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

時の谷間に咲く三色すみれ
プリズムのように季節をうつす
好きな花はみな一年草
ビロードの花べん見つめながら
遠い昔を重ねてみるの

街の花屋で見る忘れな草は
うすくれないに私を染める

好きな花はみな一年草
一人言の癖つき始めて
足を早める夕暮れの中

頬が冷たい秋コスモスの花
風に揺れてる心が一つ
好きな花はみな一年草
そう言って去ったあなたのこと
思い出すのも今は辛いの

「好きな花はみな一年草」

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to 研ナオコ's song 一年草 praise the beauty of various types of flowers while also exploring themes of nostalgia and lost love. The first verse specifically mentions the three-colored violets that bloom in the valley of time, using them as a metaphor to describe how they represent the changing of the seasons like a prism. The singer then goes on to state that she loves all types of flowers that only last for one year, such as the velvet flowers she often gazes at. She uses this image to reminisce about the past, wondering what it would be like to stack those memories together.

In the second verse, the singer talks about how she is often struck by nostalgia when she sees the flowers being sold at the local flower shop. She mentions how the flowers seem to color her and how her love for one-year flowers has become a habit. She then picks up the pace as she walks home, trying to outrun her own thoughts.

The final verse mentions the autumn cosmos flowers that sway in the wind, with the singer's heart joining them in movement. She recalls how someone she loved once said that they loved all one-year flowers, just like she does. However, she finishes the song by saying that it's now difficult to even think about that person.

Overall, the song showcases the beauty and transience of nature, using flowers as a symbol of the passage of time and the bittersweet emotions that come with it.

Line by Line Meaning

時の谷間に咲く三色すみれ
In the valley of time, blooming tricolored violets; a beautiful reminder of the transience of all things.

プリズムのように季節をうつす
Like a prism, reflecting the changing seasons that come and go;

好きな花はみな一年草
Her favorite flowers are all annuals, beautiful but fleeting;

ビロードの花べん見つめながら
While she gazes at the velvety petal flowers;

遠い昔を重ねてみるの
Reminiscing about the distant past;

街の花屋で見る忘れな草は
The forget-me-nots she sees at the florist's in town;

うすくれないに私を染める
Coloring her heart with indelible memories;

好きな花はみな一年草
Her chosen flowers are all annuals, a symbol of fleeting beauty;

一人言の癖つき始めて
The habit of talking to herself is starting to form;

足を早める夕暮れの中
She quickens her pace as dusk sets in;

頬が冷たい秋コスモスの花
The cool cheeks in the autumn cosmos flowers;