The original lyrics describe, in dialect, a vessel running before and against the wind, raising its sail or in a zigzag manner to position its sail diagonal to the wind. The song portrays how Shimotsui is a fine port and easy to sail in any wind. If this was all, it would be an uninteresting song. However, there is said to be a hidden meaning behind the quite simple lyrics.
Paper shade lamps were hung both in the front and back gates of a Shimotsui brothel. When there were fewer vessels at port, the lamp at the back gate was lit to invite local men free of charge. Those men left quietly with their kimono hems raised up to their shoulders. Therefore, Shimotsui brothels were easy to come and go. The leaving men resemble vessels sailing before the wind. Another interpretation is that this song describes a dishonest man fleeing from his woman. (An expression "hanging a sail on his behind" means "fleeing" in Japanese.)
In any case, this is a song said to be sung by boatmen of Kitamae vessels and
passed down to women at brothels. The lyrics cannot be interpreted as it is written.
That is how Shimotsui-Bushi gets its depth and moodiness.
In August, 1929, talks of making the Shimotsui-Bushi into a record came up.
However, the lyrics then were more vulgar, conspicuous, and inconsistent. A contest
to collect lyrics from the public drew little attention and the judges ended
up choosing songs submitted by themselves. Yukio Takagi, in charge of the tourism
bureau at Shimotsui City Hall, was a central figure among the judges. Out of
the eleven versions that were chosen, seven were written or corrected by him.
Shimotsui-Bushi chosen in this manner was recorded in Osaka in September of that
year. In 1939, it was aired on the radio. It was chosen and introduced nationwide
by NHK Okayama Network as a folk song that represents Okayama Prefecture. Since
then, Shimotsui-Bushi has been sung by over thirty singers and sold more than
thirty albums.