Asagaya, Tokyo, 1979. Four of Nakamine Masaya (born 1957), a university student from Ishigaki Island, came to visit his apartment.
We decided to go out for drinks and went to a bar called Jongara in front of the station.
Katsuji Miyara (born 1956), who works at the restaurant, was fascinated by the accent of the people sitting at the counter. Miyara, who is originally from Iriomote Island, moved to Tokyo after graduating from high school and was training to become a chef at Kappo and Jongara, restaurants run by the owner of the restaurant.
At the time, Miyara didn't have any Okinawans around him, so hearing the island's dialect for the first time in a long time brought about a feeling of nostalgia and he couldn't help but speak to them.
Nakamine-san looks back on that time.
"After work, Miyara-san invited me to his apartment for a drink after we left the izakaya. It was a four-and-a-half-tatami-mat apartment under an overpass. Songs like "Okinawa wa Ainoko" and "Umi Dorobo" by Yutaka Sadoyama were playing on the radio cassette player.
In the midst of all this, I suddenly turned to Miyara and declared that I was going to write a song for her."
After returning home, the two men worked as high school teachers at Yaeyama High School, while Miyara worked at a major resort hotel in the city, including as head chef.
Regarding "Mr. Crab," which was created more than 40 years ago and is modeled after himself, Miyara said, "It was walking around on its own, without me knowing. It's like watching my child grow up."
♪We can't be natives forever, we'll always be Okinawans♪ This phrase really touches my heart.
SONG INFO
"Mr. Crab"
1979 Lyrics and composition: Masaya Nakamine
Words and Music by
Masaya Nakamine
Born in Ishigaki City. Former high school teacher. Held 400 performances of "Ma-sensei's Friday Live" with Hirotaka Ishigaki at the city's live house "CITY JACK". Currently, he continues his music career at his own pace, and has released three self-produced CD albums, mini albums, and singles.
