is the fourth single by Japanese entertainer

Akina Nakamori is a Japanese Singing, singer and Actor, actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show ''Star Tanjō!''. Her debut single "Slow M ...

. Written by

Masao Urino is a Japanese lyricist, script writer, and film director. He has written lyrics for many musical groups and individual artists, sometimes under the pseudonym . After graduating from Tochigi Prefectural Ashikaga High School, he graduated in 197 ...

and Yoshiyuki Ohsawa, the single was released on February 23, 1983, by

Warner Pioneer Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

through the

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

label. It was also the lead single from her first

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' Best Akina Memoires''.

Background

"½ no Shinwa" was originally titled , but

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

executives insisted to have the title changed under the network's strict broadcasting regulations. Lyricist Urino was dissatisfied with the title change, as he felt it hindered the impact of the song. Composer Ohsawa self-covered "½ no Shinwa" on his 1994 album ''Collage''. Nakamori has re-recorded the song for the 2006 compilation ''

Best Finger 25th Anniversary Selection is a compilation album by Japanese entertainer Akina Nakamori, released through Utahime Records and Universal Sigma on January 11, 2006 to commemorate Nakamori's 25th anniversary. The album consists of the singles " Akai Hana", " Hajimete Deatta ...

''. In 2010, she re-recorded the song for the pachinko machine .

Chart performance

"½ no Shinwa" became Nakamori's second No. 1 on

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 and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

's weekly singles chart and sold over 573,100 copies.

Track listing

All music is arranged by Mitsuo Hagita.

Charts

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:1/2 no Shinwa 1983 singles 1983 songs Akina Nakamori songs Japanese-language songs Songs with lyrics by Masao Urino Warner Music Japan singles Reprise Records singles Oricon Weekly number-one singles