Matsuken Samba II is one of a song series named Matsuken Samba performed by a Japanese taiga drama

Taiga drama

is the name NHK gives to the annual, year-long historical fiction television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white Hana no Shōgai, starring kabuki actor Onoe Shōroku and Takarazuka star Awashima Chikage, the network has hired a producer, director, writer, music...

 actor and singer Ken Matsudaira

Ken Matsudaira

is a Japanese actor from Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. His real name is Sueshichi Suzuki .- Career :Active both in television and on stage, he also sings. Matsudaira is most widely known for jidaigeki roles, having made his debut with Shintaro Katsu in an episode of the television series Zatoichi...

 who is popular in Japan.

Overview

The song was made in 1994 and is performed in theaters since then. He sings the song in an appearance of a person in Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 with florid golden kimono

Kimono

The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...

, dancing with steps of samba

Samba

Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...

 and hip swaying, and with many male and female backup dancer

Backup dancer

A backup dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements provide a visual symmetry and rhythm to accompany the music....

s around also in figures of the period.

Because he plays a serious shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

as an actor on television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 in the first place and had been performing the song only in theaters, the performance amazed people who did not know it upon being introduced on television in 2004.

The song became the best hit in the Matsuken Samba series. All songs of the series combine traditional-style Japanese vocals with a slight Latino flair from the Brazilian samba music and the inclusion of several Brazilian Portuguese words and phrases in the lyrics, although Matsuken Samba II has a word "bongo" which is a musical instrument not used in samba. The performances of the songs have a very glitzy, showy production value trademarked by his glittery appearance.

The Matsuken in the title is a shortened version of the singer's name, a combination of Matsu from Matsudaira and his given name Ken.

History

The first single of the line was this Matsuken Samba II, released on July 7, 2004. The song was officially a sequel to Matsuken Samba I that he had been performing at the close of his concerts prior to 2004, which was not released on CDs until it was added as one of the b-sides to Matsuken Samba II.

Upon release, the song was a modest hit, mostly among Matsudaira's fanbase of primarily middle-aged women. But a gradual increase in media coverage and an affectionate parody of the song and dance by Katsuken on the popular idol group SMAP

SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...

's television show SMAP×SMAP made the song a certified hit. The single remained on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 Top 100 chart for over a year, and spawned two additional single releases: Matsuken Samba II: Ole! EP, a CD of remixes of the original single, and Matsuken Samba III, a follow-up single that borrowed liberally from its predecessor.

There are related songs such as , , , and .

External links

• Ken Matsudaira / Matsuken Samba II - Official Website (in Japanese).