When people from other prefectures start living on Ishigaki Island, they are often surprised.
"Sashimi shops" are one of them. Fish shops on the mainland are called "fresh fish shops" or "sashimi shops" on the island, and locals affectionately call them "sashimi shops." Most of the shops are run by the families or relatives of fishermen, and there are thought to be more than 30 of them. However, there are many shops without signs, which can be a problem for first-time immigrants.
In February 2017, Touma moved from Saitama Prefecture to Ishigaki Island. An acquaintance told him, "There's a good sashimi restaurant here," and he went there many times with high hopes, but it was closed. The restaurant hadn't given up on business, but it was a place he couldn't get to.
When he started thinking about writing this song, those words were the first thing that came to mind. The opening line, "Next to Hoshino Shoten, next to Kamiyaki Elementary School, there is a sashimi shop with no signboard," was a phrase he had heard from an acquaintance who recommended the shop, and he used it exactly as it was.
The familiar melody and the somewhat melancholic tune. Lyrics such as "You're munching on some sashimi, smiling and drinking island sake, you must be having a good time" evoke the image of a real person, making one wonder if the singer had a bitter romantic experience in the past. However, that part is fiction. This song is a "song of everyday life" born from the writer's bittersweet real experiences and imagination.
Before moving to the island, Touma had been performing live in Tokyo, Saitama, and other places. As he continued to perform live on the island, he experienced the difference in the reactions of the audience, and the desire to "write a song that would please the people of the island and that would resonate with them" began to grow. That desire eventually grew into a song.
SONG INFO
"Sashimi restaurant"
2017 Lyrics and composition: Toman
Words by
Arrogant / Toman
His real name is Nobuo Sato. Born in 1963 in Saitama Prefecture. Moved to Ishigaki Island in February 2017. Since that year, he has held a solo live show once a month at "Takashi's Store", and as of August 2024, he has performed a total of 88 times. In 2020 and 2021, he released the mini albums "Ishigaki Island Song 1" and "Ishigaki Island Song 2". "Ishigaki Island Song 3" is scheduled to be released in October this year. He is the representative of the tour guide "Tulip Mind".
