In the Distance (Lost Japanese Single by Yasuko Endo)
Jan 4, 2020 19:49:45 GMT
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Post by Sakura Stardust on Jan 4, 2020 19:49:45 GMT
Hello everyone, I have a bit of obscure lost media I have been looking for info on by myself (all the information I have so far is provided at the bottom of this post) and was hoping to shed more light on it,and possibly get others interested in the search.
I've been looking for information on a lost song titled "In the Distance" by the Japanese actress/model Yasuko Endo. The wong was meant to be released as a single in May of 1986, but unfortunately, Endo ended her own life at the age of 17 in March of 1986 (2 months before the single's intended release) and Pony Canyon, the record label, made the decision to not release the single and destroy the copies in their possession due to the scandal. Here is the Lost Media Wiki article on Endo's single, though not a lot of info is provided through it: lostmediawiki.com/Yasuko_Endo_%27In_the_Distance%27_(lost_unreleased_single_from_Japanese_actress;_1986)
I feel like Yasuko Endo's only recorded music deserves to be heard, and that copies of it definately exist out in the wild.
Proof of this exists in the fact that reviews of the single where confirmed to be published in various magazines, and plenty of copies, on formats such as vinyl, cassette, and cd, must have been printed at that point. Not all of them could have been successfully destroyed.
While finding this lost media could be tricky, there are definitely ways to go about finding it, or having it finally released to the public:
1) Contacting Pony Canyon (known as Conyon Records in 1986) directly. It's a long shot, but definitely wouldn't hurt to attempt it. If there is anyone here, or anyone any of you guys know, who can read and write Japanese, then then this part would be easier to accomplish.
2) Another person to contact would definitely be Tetsuo Sakurai. He was the producer of Endo's single, and covered In the Distance in 1986. Theres also Oricon (Japan's equivalent of the Hot 100), the people who actually reviewed her single for the publications (trying to track those down), and radio stations that played new music at the time that my have a copy they intended to play on-air.
3) Finding the Catalog Number. Being so close to release, a catalog number for this single definately exists. Whether this is within a magazine, or on file in a database somewhere, it could help locate some details on the song, maybe even the cover of the single, or others that can be contacted who may possess the unreleased single.
4) Looking at entertainment magazines of the period is the best way to discover contacts, I think. Looking at any Japanese publications that reviewed or advertised In the Distance at some point may have been sent a copy and have it archived. Ive found idol music reviews in entertainment, fashion, and shoujo manga magizines. Scans of the magazines can sometimes be found online. I will be in Tokyo in a month and plan to visit some vintage magazine stores, as well as record stores. Please let me know of you are familiar with any on that area.
This lost media search is one that relies on contacting a lot of people, but a lot of lost media has been recovered by doing this. This is something I really want to find, and I would appreciate any help in order to find anything on this.
If theres anyone here who can understand and write in Japanese, then contacting these places and people would likely be more productive, though sending emails in English would not hurt the search at all.
Anyways, thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I would really love to hear this song someday, and I feel it could be possible. It's been over 30 years since the song was meant to be released, and I feel it deserves to be out there. Thanks again!
***I will provide all the info I've dug up so far below:
***Here are some links provided by the user DurableNapkin on the Citypop Subreddit. They confirm that the master disc was created, and they where already printing copies of the single. It also confirms that promitional posters and single covers where printed as well. There is quite a bit of info here, and the names of a lot of people involved are in here as well. Theres a good chance of some potential leads in here, and here are the links:
www.idol-forever.jp/%E3%82%BB%E3%83%94%E3%82%A2%E8%89%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%81%B2%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4-%E7%9B%AE%E6%AC%A1/
www.idol-forever.jp/%E3%82%BB%E3%83%94%E3%82%A2%E8%89%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%81%B2%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4/%E7%AC%AC%EF%BC%95%E7%AB%A0/
(Keep in mind that these articles are in Japanese. If we could find someone to provide an accurate translation or summary of whats discussed, that would be an amazing help. I've been able to get bit and pieces from it so far, but there is a lot of info here)
Update 1/4/20: Here is my reddit post in r/citypop that yielded a little bit of info as well https://www.reddit.com/r/citypop/comments/ejd2cq/need_help_finding_lost_japanese_single_from_1986/
***With the help of the user Zioncat on r/translator, I was able to get the name of the recording company that had the original master of the single in their possession. The company name is "リバスター音楽産業" or Livester Music.
Update 1/5/20: Got a little more info on r/japanesemusic, particularly the suggestion of searching Endo's name on Mercari Japan. Here's my post: https://www.reddit.com/r/japanesemusic/comments/ekkvor/looking_for_lost_japanese_single_in_the_distance/
The most popular auction sites in Japan are Yahoo Auctions and Mercari, though you will need a Japanese phone number to sign up for the latter of the two. Searching Yasuko Endo (in the original Kanji and romanji) via Yahoo Auction might just yield ads for the single in magazines, and we may be able to see what the cover was intended to look like.
Update 1/6/20: Thanks to the help of u/oshaberigaijin on r/japanesemusic, who translated parts of the second Idol Forever article, we where able to find out that Yasuko Endo preformed "In the Distance" at the 20th anniversary party for a club in Ginza. It's unknown if this club is still around, but if anyone is able to find information on a club (likely a jazz club?) located in Ginza, Tokyo that was opened in 1966 (20 years after 1986. Possibly even 1965.) then this may be another possible lead.
Update 1/15/20: The title of the recording company can be translated directly as "Livester," but I have found accounts where it is referred to as "RIV.STAR Music."
I am also looking into locating the catalog number for the master on Discogs. It is most likely somewhere in the pending submissions for Canyon records, and has the title written in Katakana as "イン・ザー・ディスタンス" though its possible for the title to be in English as well. I'm busy with school, so I will look as much as can in my spare time.
UPDATE (11/17/2020)
I created a video on Japanese lost media where I discuss In the Distance. Here is the link of anyone would like to check that out! youtu.be/HLeM3ydaEG0
I've been looking for information on a lost song titled "In the Distance" by the Japanese actress/model Yasuko Endo. The wong was meant to be released as a single in May of 1986, but unfortunately, Endo ended her own life at the age of 17 in March of 1986 (2 months before the single's intended release) and Pony Canyon, the record label, made the decision to not release the single and destroy the copies in their possession due to the scandal. Here is the Lost Media Wiki article on Endo's single, though not a lot of info is provided through it: lostmediawiki.com/Yasuko_Endo_%27In_the_Distance%27_(lost_unreleased_single_from_Japanese_actress;_1986)
I feel like Yasuko Endo's only recorded music deserves to be heard, and that copies of it definately exist out in the wild.
Proof of this exists in the fact that reviews of the single where confirmed to be published in various magazines, and plenty of copies, on formats such as vinyl, cassette, and cd, must have been printed at that point. Not all of them could have been successfully destroyed.
While finding this lost media could be tricky, there are definitely ways to go about finding it, or having it finally released to the public:
1) Contacting Pony Canyon (known as Conyon Records in 1986) directly. It's a long shot, but definitely wouldn't hurt to attempt it. If there is anyone here, or anyone any of you guys know, who can read and write Japanese, then then this part would be easier to accomplish.
2) Another person to contact would definitely be Tetsuo Sakurai. He was the producer of Endo's single, and covered In the Distance in 1986. Theres also Oricon (Japan's equivalent of the Hot 100), the people who actually reviewed her single for the publications (trying to track those down), and radio stations that played new music at the time that my have a copy they intended to play on-air.
3) Finding the Catalog Number. Being so close to release, a catalog number for this single definately exists. Whether this is within a magazine, or on file in a database somewhere, it could help locate some details on the song, maybe even the cover of the single, or others that can be contacted who may possess the unreleased single.
4) Looking at entertainment magazines of the period is the best way to discover contacts, I think. Looking at any Japanese publications that reviewed or advertised In the Distance at some point may have been sent a copy and have it archived. Ive found idol music reviews in entertainment, fashion, and shoujo manga magizines. Scans of the magazines can sometimes be found online. I will be in Tokyo in a month and plan to visit some vintage magazine stores, as well as record stores. Please let me know of you are familiar with any on that area.
This lost media search is one that relies on contacting a lot of people, but a lot of lost media has been recovered by doing this. This is something I really want to find, and I would appreciate any help in order to find anything on this.
If theres anyone here who can understand and write in Japanese, then contacting these places and people would likely be more productive, though sending emails in English would not hurt the search at all.
Anyways, thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I would really love to hear this song someday, and I feel it could be possible. It's been over 30 years since the song was meant to be released, and I feel it deserves to be out there. Thanks again!
***I will provide all the info I've dug up so far below:
***Here are some links provided by the user DurableNapkin on the Citypop Subreddit. They confirm that the master disc was created, and they where already printing copies of the single. It also confirms that promitional posters and single covers where printed as well. There is quite a bit of info here, and the names of a lot of people involved are in here as well. Theres a good chance of some potential leads in here, and here are the links:
www.idol-forever.jp/%E3%82%BB%E3%83%94%E3%82%A2%E8%89%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%81%B2%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4-%E7%9B%AE%E6%AC%A1/
www.idol-forever.jp/%E3%82%BB%E3%83%94%E3%82%A2%E8%89%B2%E3%81%AE%E3%81%B2%E3%81%BF%E3%81%A4/%E7%AC%AC%EF%BC%95%E7%AB%A0/
(Keep in mind that these articles are in Japanese. If we could find someone to provide an accurate translation or summary of whats discussed, that would be an amazing help. I've been able to get bit and pieces from it so far, but there is a lot of info here)
Update 1/4/20: Here is my reddit post in r/citypop that yielded a little bit of info as well https://www.reddit.com/r/citypop/comments/ejd2cq/need_help_finding_lost_japanese_single_from_1986/
***With the help of the user Zioncat on r/translator, I was able to get the name of the recording company that had the original master of the single in their possession. The company name is "リバスター音楽産業" or Livester Music.
Update 1/5/20: Got a little more info on r/japanesemusic, particularly the suggestion of searching Endo's name on Mercari Japan. Here's my post: https://www.reddit.com/r/japanesemusic/comments/ekkvor/looking_for_lost_japanese_single_in_the_distance/
The most popular auction sites in Japan are Yahoo Auctions and Mercari, though you will need a Japanese phone number to sign up for the latter of the two. Searching Yasuko Endo (in the original Kanji and romanji) via Yahoo Auction might just yield ads for the single in magazines, and we may be able to see what the cover was intended to look like.
Update 1/6/20: Thanks to the help of u/oshaberigaijin on r/japanesemusic, who translated parts of the second Idol Forever article, we where able to find out that Yasuko Endo preformed "In the Distance" at the 20th anniversary party for a club in Ginza. It's unknown if this club is still around, but if anyone is able to find information on a club (likely a jazz club?) located in Ginza, Tokyo that was opened in 1966 (20 years after 1986. Possibly even 1965.) then this may be another possible lead.
Update 1/15/20: The title of the recording company can be translated directly as "Livester," but I have found accounts where it is referred to as "RIV.STAR Music."
I am also looking into locating the catalog number for the master on Discogs. It is most likely somewhere in the pending submissions for Canyon records, and has the title written in Katakana as "イン・ザー・ディスタンス" though its possible for the title to be in English as well. I'm busy with school, so I will look as much as can in my spare time.
UPDATE (11/17/2020)
I created a video on Japanese lost media where I discuss In the Distance. Here is the link of anyone would like to check that out! youtu.be/HLeM3ydaEG0