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🎸 [Kaze] Series – No.2: “Kaigan-doori”
No.2 is “Kaigan-doori.”
“Kaigan-dori” literally means “Seaside Street,” referring to a coastal road in a port town—an everyday place that quietly frames the song’s farewell scene.
This song quietly overlays the scenery of a port town with the emotions left behind there, making it one of the most narrative-rich works in Kaze’s catalog. There are no flashy developments or forceful words, yet the feelings of a woman witnessing a moment of parting are carefully portrayed as time flows on.
Although set against the open landscape of the sea, what this song gazes upon is deeply personal emotion. The one who leaves and the one who remains—the quiet distance created by their differing positions shapes the song’s overall atmosphere.
Ultra-short summary
This song tells a story from the perspective of a woman seeing her lover off in a port town. While she tries to understand the path he has chosen, she cannot fully accept the separation in her heart. As he departs by ship and she remains on shore, the widening distance leads her to quietly layer memories of their past with the reality of the present. At the center of the story is not the farewell itself, but the time spent trying to accept it.
First, please watch the official video.
✅ Official video credit
Song: Kaze “Kaigan-doori (2021 Remaster)”
Provided by: NIPPON CROWN CO., LTD.
Lyrics & Music: Shozo Ise
*This is the official audio remastered in 2021 from the original master tapes.
📝 Two-line note
A beloved folk classic released in 1975 and long cherished as one of Kaze’s representative songs. This remaster preserves the song’s quiet emotional expression while adjusting the sound quality for modern listening.
Basic information
Release / included album
“Kaigan-doori” is included on Kaze’s first album, “Kaze,” released in 1975. Although it was not promoted as a lead single, the song gradually stood out within the album’s overall flow and eventually came to be recognized as one of the group’s signature works.
At the time, it gained appreciation through careful listening on radio and albums. While not flashy, it has long been supported among folk music fans.
Charts and historical context
In the mid-1970s, folk songs began shifting their focus from social messages to personal emotions. Rather than grand ideals or strong assertions, more works started depicting close relationships and inner feelings, and “Kaigan-dori” was born within that flow.
The farewell depicted in this song is not dramatic. Precisely because of that, young listeners at the time could easily overlap it with their own experiences, and the song quietly gathered empathy.
Themes and worldview
Background of the protagonist
The protagonist of “Kaigan-dori” is a woman living in a port town. She is not placed in any extraordinary circumstances, but is portrayed as an ordinary woman who has shared everyday life with her lover and those close to her. What matters in this story is that she herself did not choose the separation.
The other person decides, of his own will, to leave. She can neither deny that choice nor stop him, and is left standing on the side of acceptance. As she tries to understand why he came to that decision, she faces her own emotions.
“Maybe it would have been better to remain your little sister” suggests a relationship in which she was not chosen as a lover. To him, she may have been someone to protect, but not someone to share his life with. She quietly tries to accept that reality.
How the story begins
The story opens with a seaside landscape: the harbor, the dusk, and a ship slowly moving farther away. Time never stops, and the protagonist stands there, watching his figure grow smaller in the distance.
What is portrayed here is not the words of farewell themselves, but the time spent seeing him off. She does not take action; she simply accepts the scene before her, sensing her emotions gradually being整理されていく.
This quiet opening allows the listener to understand early on that this is not a song of clashing emotions at parting. “Kaigan-dori” does not build toward an emotional surge in the latter half. Instead, it maintains a steady emotional temperature, and the woman’s inner world shifts as time passes. That direction is carefully established in this first section.
The core of the lyrics and interpretation
Symbolic phrases
The most symbolic line in “Kaigan-dori” is undoubtedly “The ship carrying you grows smaller and smaller”. This phrase expresses not only the physical widening of distance, but also the realization that their relationship has entered a stage from which it cannot return. The ship functions not merely as a means of transportation, but as a symbol of the life he has chosen.
“Maybe it would have been better to remain your little sister” is a crucial phrase that defines the relationship in this song. The protagonist is confronted with the reality that, if not as a lover, she might have stayed by his side only as someone to be protected. The pain in this line comes from understanding the reason she was not chosen.
The protagonist’s psychological shift
In the first half of the song, the protagonist is still trying to understand his choice. As the lyrics progress, however, her awareness gradually turns toward “what if.” Rather than regret over being unable to stop the separation, the focus becomes a quiet self-questioning: “Maybe the nature of our relationship itself was mistaken.”
Even so, she never directs her emotions toward him. By watching him until the ship disappears and by noticing the waves that remain on the same sea, she layers past and present. This inner transition is portrayed not as an emotional outburst, but as a movement toward understanding and acceptance.
The appeal of the sound and vocals
Characteristics of the arrangement
The sound of “Kaigan-dori” is extremely simple as a folk composition. Centered on acoustic guitar, it moves forward with the minimum necessary number of sounds. This restrained arrangement presents the emotions of the lyrics without excessive decoration.
Because the performance never pushes itself forward, the listener naturally focuses on the lyrics. The steady, wave-like rhythm evokes the harbor scenery and the passage of time, functioning as the stage upon which the story unfolds.
Why I chose it as Best15 No.2
What sets it apart from other songs
Kaze has several songs that depict gentle partings, but what makes “Kaigan-dori” stand out is its thorough focus on the perspective of the one who is left behind, rather than the one who leaves. Moreover, it maintains that viewpoint consistently through the inner world of a female protagonist.
It does not over-explain emotions or dramatize events. Instead, it carefully traces the process by which the heart is quietly整理されていく through time and scenery. That is what makes this song so distinctive.
A line that makes you want to listen again
When I try to put into words why I love this song, it always becomes a little difficult.
The balance between melody and lyrics is certainly exquisite, but what lingers even more is the indescribable atmosphere that drifts through the entire song.
A quiet, youthful melancholy gently touches the depths of the heart and remains, no matter how many times you listen.
“Kaigan-dori” is a song that stirs emotion before logic.
Even if specific memories from that time do not clearly return, it somehow leaves a feeling of nostalgia.
I believe that inexpressible sensation is precisely why this song draws you back again and again.
That is why I truly love “Kaigan-dori.”
I feel certain that I will continue to be drawn back to that wistful atmosphere that never fades, even as time passes.
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