The Japanese like to invent micro-memorial days. The 29th day of every month is the ‘day of meat’ because 29 can be read in the same way as the Japanese word for meat. 22 November is ‘good couple day’ for similar reasons. For some, 21 March is ‘Niagara day’. This has nothing to do with the waterfall on the border of Canada and the United States, but refers to the lucky day of singer-songwriter Ōtaki Eiichi, whose surname means ‘big fall’ in Japanese.

On 21 March 1981, Ōtaki, who was a member of the legendary folk rock band Happy End before he went solo in 1969, released his first commercially successful and most famous album, A Long Vacation. From then on, all future albums and compilations, including posthumous ones, were to be released on that day.

• Tags: Issue 21, Japan, Lawrence Li, Ōtaki Eiichi