My Selfish Best 15: Kaze Edition – No.9 “Aitsu”

🎸 Kaze Best15 – No.9 “Aitsu”

No.9 is “Aitsu.”

“Aitsu” is a song that quietly portrays snowy winter scenery and the subtle shifts in a three-person relationship.
The story follows what happens after a male friend returns to the mountains: how that event affects the two people left behind, and how its aftereffects spread as the seasons slowly change.

The lyrics never spell out the situation directly, yet many listeners read it as a story where “the man who went back to the winter mountains may never return.”
From the way the narrator speaks to the woman who remains, many people also sense a quiet affection he feels for her, and that fragile distance between them gives the whole song its depth.

Quick outline

A male friend of the narrator goes back to the snowy mountains and never returns, leaving a heavy atmosphere hanging over everyone.
The woman left behind spends her days in turmoil, while the narrator tries to comfort her, secretly holding a quiet affection in his heart.
As the seasons change and spring approaches, the relationships among the three gradually settle into the past.
The story depicts how hard it is to face a suddenly lost presence, and how those who remain slowly prepare themselves to step into a new everyday life.

First, watch the official video

✅ Official video credit
Title: Aitsu (2021 Remaster)
Artist: Kaze
Label: PANAM (NIPPON CROWN label)
Words & Music: Shōzō Ise
© PANAM / NIPPON CROWN CO., LTD.
YouTube info: Official Audio (legitimate upload from the label)
📝 Short comment
This is a newly remastered official track based on 1970s recordings from the PANAM era, using the original master tapes.
The 2021 remaster lets you fully enjoy Kaze’s gentle acoustic sound and Shōzō Ise’s introspective lyrics.

Basic song information

Release & album

“Aitsu” is included on Kaze’s debut album “Kaze First Album,” released on June 5, 1975.
It’s the starting point of Kaze, formed by Shōzō Ise and Kazuhisa Ōkubo, and gathers songs that retain the texture of folk while adding strong storytelling drama.

Within that album, “Aitsu” stands out as a song where scenery and psychology are tightly bound together: the snowy landscape and the mountains bring the characters’ feelings into focus.
It can be seen as an early peak in Ise’s narrative songwriting, which later leads to many of his signature tracks.

In 2021, the PANAM-era recordings were compiled on the collection “The World of Shōzō Ise – The PANAM Years,” where the tracks were newly remastered from the original master tapes for a clearer sound.
The “2021 Remaster” uploaded to the official YouTube channel belongs to this series of releases.

Charts and background

Around 1975, after the breakup of Kaguya-hime, Shōzō Ise was exploring new forms of expression and helping to bridge Japanese folk and what would later be called “New Music.”
Rather than pushing strong social messages, it was a time when “lyrical folk” that carefully描写ed personal feelings and landscapes carried a lot of weight.

Although “Aitsu” was never released as a single, it is always mentioned when people discuss the album as a whole, and is highly regarded as a deep, shadowy story-song.
There are no big hooks or showy climaxes, but the emotions layered into its quiet narration are what keep listeners coming back decades later.

Themes and worldview

The outline of three people

At the center of the story are these three people:

• The male friend who goes back to the mountains
• The woman who still longs for him
• The narrator, who supports and watches over her

On the surface, the narrator is simply “comforting his friend’s girlfriend.”
But his choice of words—calling her “such a lovely person”—makes it clear how precious she is to him.

Even so, he keeps a certain distance and avoids stepping too deeply into her heart right after she has lost someone important.
This tension between “wanting to support her” and “not being able to cross the line” gives their triangle a unique, fragile feel.

A story that begins in the snow

The lyrics open with a striking scene: “A man walks off alone into the snowy mountains.”
We only see his back as he leaves and the gaze of those watching him; nothing is said about what happens afterwards.

Next, the song mentions the words he left behind, only to say they are drowned out by the sound of melting snow and water.
Rather than a clear message, only fragments remain in memory—like something that might have been important, but can no longer be recalled exactly.

At this point, his fate is still not stated outright.
All we have is a quiet anxiety—“maybe we’ll never see him again”—floating over the silent snow-covered scenery.
This becomes the foundation for the later interpretation that he may be “someone who never came back.”

Key lyrics and interpretation

Hints that he may never return

The lyrics of “Aitsu” never use explicit words like “death” or “disappearance.”
Yet many listeners still feel that the friend is someone who never came back, because several details point in that direction.

First, there is the image of a man going back alone into snowy mountains.
Choosing such a harsh natural environment already gives the situation a sense of danger.

Then there is the scene where his last words are swallowed by the sound of the thawing snow.
The final conversation doesn’t survive in a clear form; time passes without anyone being able to confirm what he really meant.

Finally, the narrator says:

「あいつにすれば　精一杯の愛だったんだね」

This line shows that the friend’s actions are being accepted as “his own clumsy way of loving.”
Putting all these hints together, it feels natural to read the story as one in which the friend is no longer in this world.

Even so, the lyrics never state a conclusion outright.
That ambiguity invites each listener to project their own experiences and values onto the story and think about the weight of what happened.

The narrator’s heart as he supports her

The narrator tells the woman—who used to be his friend’s lover—“You should just forget about a guy like that.”
In that single line you can feel two different wishes:

• He wants to free her from endless grief.
• He also wants to come to terms with the fact that he himself has lost a friend.

On top of that, there is another key line:

「こんなかわいい人を残して　一人でゆくなんて」

Here he openly acknowledges how charming she is, while at the same time regretting his friend’s choice.
The lyrics never clearly say so, but from this, many listeners sense the narrator’s quiet affection for her.

Even so, he never tries to act on that feeling.
He puts her recovery first, wanting her to regain her everyday life, and hides his own emotions deep inside.
That suppressed emotion is what gives the whole song its slightly tense atmosphere.

Sound & vocal performance

Arrangement: quiet sounds that carry the scenery

The arrangement of “Aitsu” is simple, centered on acoustic guitar with just a few supporting instruments.
There are no big dynamics or flashy breaks; the song moves forward at a steady tempo and volume from start to finish.

• The coldness of the snowy landscape
• The fading presence of the person who left
• The feeling that time is moving slowly

These images are supported by the guitar strumming and the understated rhythm section.

In particular, the restrained low end keeps the track from becoming heavy while still maintaining tension.
It works like a gentle push from behind, supporting the snowy scenery描写ed in the lyrics.

Shōzō Ise’s vocal interpretation

Shōzō Ise’s voice always carries both brightness and shadow.
On this track, that balance works beautifully: instead of over-dramatizing the emotions, he sings as a
“narrator who calmly tells the story from beginning to end.”

He rarely stretches phrases dramatically or adds large vibrato to heighten emotion.
Instead, he controls word accents and breath very carefully, letting the narrator’s hesitation and his feelings for the woman seep out little by little.

Because of this understated style, listeners can naturally choose which part of the story to overlay with their own experiences.

Why I ranked it No.9

A story of a lost presence and those left behind

Kaze has many songs about parting and the changing seasons, but “Aitsu” is one of the clearest examples of a song that “deepens its story by not描写ing too much.”

• The friend’s fate is never clearly stated.
• The narrator’s feelings are kept between the lines.
• We are never told what choices the woman will make in the future.

Even so, the outline of the three characters is sharply描写ed, and their figures stay in your mind long after the song ends.
This “less-is-more” approach to information is a big part of what makes “Aitsu” so compelling.

A line that makes you want to revisit the song

Toward the end of the track, the narrator says:

「春が来たら　去年と同じように　また山でむかえよう」

This line is highly symbolic.
Taken literally, it sounds like a promise: “Let’s meet again in the mountains next spring, just like last year.”
But considering everything that has happened up to that point, it can also be heard as:

• He may never come back.
• Even so, we will remember his song and go up to the mountains again.

It feels almost like a prayer, or a quiet vow.

Because of this, “Aitsu” is not just a breakup song; it becomes a story about starting to walk again after loss.

For these reasons, I placed “Aitsu” at No.9 in my ranking.
Among Kaze’s early works, it is a song where the richness of the story and the depth of the character描写 really stand out.

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