Eurobeat and Kaitai Shinsho

Recently, my youngest child seems to have gotten into Snow Man, so I've had more opportunities to hear their music at home.
Among them, I've listened to "Kari-Sumax," which has been popular since last year, quite a bit, but honestly, I was a little puzzled as to why modern idols are doing Eurobeat and Para Para.

However, for the older generation like me, who have been exposed to various genres of music along with the times since we were young, there is a certain nostalgia to it, and it's actually quite good in its own way.
And if it's novel and strikes a chord with the younger generation, then it must be a masterpiece that can be enjoyed across generations.
Snow Man, they're actually pretty good.
I only know a few of the members, though.

So, when I listened to some of their recent songs, I found they have a really wide range, from mainstream pop that reminds me of Arashi, to ballads like KinKi Kids, and even LDH-style vocal and dance music.
Moreover, with their own unique touch, these songs stand as sophisticated tracks sung by modern idols.

Looking into it further, I found that the title of Snow Man's latest album is "Onkochishin" (Learning from the Past).

The term "Onkochishin" originates from the "Weizheng" chapter of the Chinese classic "The Analects."
It is a word born from the passage taught by Confucius: "Reviewing the old and learning the new, one can become a teacher (if you cherish the past and can gain new knowledge from it, you can become a teacher who teaches others)."
It is a well-known four-character idiom that I often wrote in calligraphy as well.

I didn't listen to Snow Man's "Onkochishin" with that in mind, but the impression I got from the few songs I heard before knowing the album title was likely the very intention and sentiment they put into the music.
I think that's why it came across so naturally.

I have always felt something about popular music.
The songs that make it onto the hit charts these days are all overwhelmingly cooler than they used to be.

Is it what you call a sense of groove?
Finely chopped beats, tempos that change freely, electronic sounds that you can't even tell what they are, and ultra-high-speed rhythms that seem difficult to reproduce.
Lyrics are even placed on the off-beats, and the English pronunciation is like that of a native speaker.

On the other hand, for the older generation like me, it feels really comfortable to listen to old-fashioned popular songs with beautiful melodies, or classic rock with a solid 8-beat rhythm from drums and bass, and that signature guitar interlude sound.

Surely, there is music that is more familiar to generations even older than mine, such as classical music, blues, jazz, hard rock, and enka.
Perhaps musicians who can become top stars accepted by all generations are those who touch upon music inherited from the past, feel something from it, and then create new music after thinking about it.

After all, an approach that only traces the latest trends might not have much depth.

"Reviewing the old and learning the new."

As I start to feel that I am stepping into the "old" myself, I think I must not forget this spirit in my work.

Medicine in the Heisei, Showa, and wartime eras, medicine in the Meiji and Taisho eras, and medicine in the Edo period.
Looking back, there were doctors in every era, and they faced the problems of the human body, which is a heartless natural phenomenon, while making the most of the knowledge and resources available at that time.
There must have been thoughts about human life, family, and friends that would not change much even if the times changed.
I think that without knowing that, modern medicine cannot exist.

Recently, I had the opportunity to pick up and look at a copy of the "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Book of Anatomy), which Sugita Genpaku and Maeno Ryotaku created by translating the Dutch anatomy book "Ontleedkundige Tafelen" during the Edo period.
Seeing the cover and anatomical drawings that I had seen in textbooks right in front of me, I felt deeply moved.

What did the doctors of over 250 years ago think about the human body when they looked at those anatomical drawings?
If I could understand even a little of the thoughts they had at that time.
And if I could know the thoughts that have been passed down in the medical industry from the Edo period to the Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei eras.
I am sure that we will be able to develop new medicine into something with more depth for the future.

It is truly "Onkochishin."

I am already in the older category myself, but I still want to keep "Onkochishin" in mind and continue to provide the latest medicine suited to the current era.

Changing the subject, it seems my middle child actually prefers SixTONES over Snow Man.
I think I'll try listening to them next time.
I heard they have a song in collaboration with YOSHIKI of X.
That also seems like it would resonate with the older generation.