Photo/Illutration Singer-songwriter Shinji Tanimura (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Singer-songwriter Shinji Tanimura, who died on Oct. 8 at age 74, wrote most of the lyrics for the hit songs of folk-rock band Alice, of which he was a member.

Tanimura once said in an interview, “I have been a guardian of words.” By that, he meant he’d taken on the task of ensuring the continued growth of “large trees,” which were songs written by the artists who had gone before him.

“I want people to see my lyrics as works of ‘Tanimura Literature,’” he added.

Probably the most outstanding example of that was “Subaru” (the Pleiades), his iconic solo masterpiece.

Inspired by Ishikawa Takuboku’s (1886-1912) poem “Kanashiki Gangu” (Sad toys) that goes to the effect, “I close my eyes/ My heart registers nothing/ With sadness I open my eyes again,” Tanimura reimagined these words to make them his own.

Put to majestic music, the song is still being sung overseas today.

Tanimura’s future was set when he was in junior high school.

A neighborhood Japanese musical instruments dealer happened to have a used guitar for sale in a showcase. The young Tanimura bought it and brought it home, where he played records of Western music over and over to mimic the sound, note by note, on his guitar.

Perhaps because of this, Tanimura later recalled that whenever he composed music as an Alice member, he aimed to make the melody easy enough for guitar novices to play.

Keep it simple. It’s easy to make something difficult. “That’s what ‘standard music,’ which transcends eras, is all about,” wrote Tanimura in his autobiographical book titled “Musoryoku” (Ability to create dreams).

Looking back on my own childhood, I remember the first time I ever felt what is called “otoko no iroke” (the male sex appeal) was when I heard a Tanimura song. He was powerful and deeply melancholic at times.

He has passed away, leaving us inimitable masterpieces, including “Toku de Kiteki wo Kikinagara” (Listening to a faraway train whistle) and “Iihi Tabidachi” (Good day, good departure).

Around this season, the stars Subaru (the Pleiades) culminate in the middle of the night. It is said they look pale blue and blurry because a sorrowful celestial maiden is weeping.

“I’ll go onwards, bidding farewell to the Subaru,” goes the concluding line of “Subaru.”

One shooting star is no more.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 18

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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