[2025] Masterpieces Themed on Ehime: From Local Songs to Municipal Anthems

OhanahanChieko Baisho

Ohana-san

It goes back quite a while, but this is the theme song from an NHK morning serial drama that aired from April 1966 to April 1967.

The story follows a woman in the Meiji era who marries a military officer and has a child, but then loses her husband.

Raising her child alone, she overcomes numerous hardships, and the theme song sings of the way of life of such an “Ohana-han.”

Uwajima Farewell WavesKaori Mizumori

Uwajima Wakare-nami (1 chorus) Kaori Mizumori

For a song by the queen of local tunes, it feels a bit lacking in place names, doesn’t it? Still, it promotes Uwajima quite well.

The terraced fields are the Yusu Mizugaura stone terraces, offering a stunning landscape, and the Uwa Sea’s deeply indented ria coastline provides an ideal environment for pearl cultivation—one of Uwajima’s specialties.

It’s a beautiful song that links parting with the pearl rafts.

Uwajima Counting SongYoshiyama Miki & Daba Misa

It’s a hometown pride song from Uwajima, and just by listening, you get a sense of what the area is like.

It mentions local specialties like mandarins, pearls, and bullfighting—things you can figure out with a bit of research on Uwajima.

But from the tone of the song, it seems women are strong there, and the line about “men who are henpecked” might not be unique to Uwajima.

Setouchi BluesKiyoshi Hikawa

Setouchi Blues Karaoke by Kiyoshi Hikawa

There’s the Setouchi Sea Line that connects Hiroshima Prefecture and Ehime Prefecture across the Seto Inland Sea, and in Takamatsu it’s the Shikoku Ferry, right? In the third verse, the place reached is Matsuyama Port in Ehime Prefecture, and although it’s a travel song about searching for a woman he longs to see, this time Kiyoshi Hikawa’s style feels more like mood kayō rather than full-on enka.

On “Uta no Natsu Matsuri,” Hikawa collaborated with Yuzu on ‘Eikō no Kakehashi’ and received rave reviews, and he’s been taking on challenges without being bound by genre.

Yearning for MatsuyamaLove Santos

Matsuyama Yearning (audio only)

Isn’t this a classic mood kayō set in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture? The essence of mood kayō, after all, is a male vocalist with a sweet voice that carries a slightly nasal, sensual allure.

Tsukasa Higuchi, the vocalist of Love Santos, is no exception—his voice is full of allure.

Kurushima StraitIchiro Toba

Kurushima Strait ~ Osaka Bay.wmv

Located off the coast of Imabari City in Ehime Prefecture, the Kurushima Strait has long been known as one of the most treacherous parts of the sea—first Kurushima, second Naruto, and third Kanmon.

This song likens its swift currents to a man’s way of life.

Although Raymund Matsuya also has a song with the same title, it is a completely different piece.

To the island of white fragranceVocaloid version

To the Island of White Fragrance — Fuyumi Sakamoto

This is a song released in 1989 as the image song for Nakajima Town in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture.

Due to a later municipal merger, it actually refers to the former Nakajima Town.

I’ve heard that this song is played on the ships of Nakajima Kisen, which operates routes connecting Mitsuhama Port and Takahama Port in Matsuyama with the Kutsuna Islands.

It’s a relaxed and lovely song, and Fuyumi Sakamoto sings it so sweetly with restrained vibrato that you wouldn’t immediately think it’s her.