by Were there roots on the other side of the earth?
“Sazae-san Family” is familiar as the ending song of the anime “Sazae-san” (original: Machiko Hasegawa). At the beginning of the music and the end, when the Isono family suddenly starts running and is housed in the same house, there is a “Kang” sound. What exactly is that sound that marks the end of Sazae-san and has served for decades as a reminder of the end of the holidays?
After researching it, I discovered that this is the sound of a percussion instrument used in Latin music called “timbales.” Timbales change sound depending on where you hit the stick. If you hit the head (membrane) and the rim (ring at the end) at the same time with a bar called a “rim shot,” you’ll get that familiar “knock.”
In addition, did you know that this ending song has (supposedly) original music? It is a song called “Bubblegum World” recorded in the debut album of the American band “1910 Fruitgum Company,” released in 1968, one year before the anime broadcast started. Listening to the intro… it’s shockingly similar.
“If you look at the big sky…”, it’s likely to start. Going back even further, the song “Bubblegum World” is said to have been influenced by the Brazilian folk music “Bayon.” I reached the other side of the earth in a blink of an eye by connecting the beads. I don’t know how much the composer Kyohei Tsutsumi was conscious of it, but I didn’t expect that “Sazae-san,” which seems to be a symbol of Japan, had a Latin groove… I think the end of Sunday will be a little more fun.
