was a Japanese pop music
idol group named after the character
Hikaru Genji
is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel '' The Tale of Genji''. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civili ...
of ''
The Tale of Genji''. They were managed by Japanese talent agency
Johnny & Associates
is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male Japanese idol, entertainers known as .
History 1962–1989
In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa ...
from 1987 to 1995.
History
Until the appearance of another pop group represented by Johnny & Associates (
Hey! Say! 7
Hey! Say! JUMP (HSJ or JUMP) is an eight-member Japanese boy band under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. The group is split into two sub-groups: Hey! Say! BEST and Hey! Say! 7. In Japan they sold more than 10 million physical co ...
) in 2007, Hikaru Genji held the record for the youngest male group to top the
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 N ...
singles charts. In 1988, Hikaru Genji became the second artist in history to monopolize the top three spots on the Oricon singles chart and the third artist in history to dominate the top two spots on the charts. They also won the Japan Record Award in the
30th Japan Record Awards
The 30th Japan Record Awards were held on December 31, 1988, and were broadcast live on TBS.
Award winners
*Japan Record Award:
**Hikaru Genji for "Paradise Ginga"
*Best Vocalist:
** Chiyoko Shimakura
*Best New Artist:
** Otokogumi
*Best Album:
...
for their song "Paradise Ginga" that same year,
making them the second Johnny's artist to win the award after
Masahiko Kondo and the last before Johnny & Associates established a policy that would decline all future nominations of awards from organizations such as the Japan Record Awards and the
Japan Academy Awards.
In 1994, Mikio Osawa and Hiroyuki Sato left the group and the remaining members formed Hikaru Genji Super 5, which disbanded a year later. Of these five, Kazumi Morohoshi and Junichi Yamamoto have since left the company. Only Atsuhiro Sato and Kohji Uchiumi currently remain with Johnny & Associates as Akira Akasaka was arrested for possession of
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Meth ...
on October 28, 2007 and was subsequently fired.
Members
Hikaru
*: Leader
*: Vocal
Genji
*: Center
*: Vocal
*: Main Vocal
*: Vocal
*: Vocal
Hikaru Genji Discography
Singles
# "Star Light"
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
# "Little Birthday"
# "Co Co Ro"
#
#
#
# "Winning Run"
# "Growing Up"
# "Take Off"
#
# "Meet Me"
#
#
#
# "Boys in August"
#
#
#
# "Try to Remember"
Albums
#
# ''Hi!''
# ''Hey! Say!''
# ''Hello... I Love You''
#
# ''Cool Summer''
#
# ''333 Thank You''
#
# ''Victory''
# ''Best Friends''
#
# ''Dream Passport''
# ''Speedy Age''
# ''Welcome''
#
# ''Heart'n Hearts''
# ''Forever Yours''
# ''Super Best Try to Remember''
# ''See You Again''
Hikaru Genji Super 5 Discography
Singles
# "Melody Five"
#
# "Bye-Bye"
Album
# ''Someone Special''
Awards
Japan Record Awards
, -
, 1988
, "Paradise Ginga"
,
Japan Record Award
is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST ...
,
, -
Japan Gold Disc Awards
Hikaru Genji won fifteen awards from
Recording Industry Association of Japan's annual music awards ceremony, the
Japan Gold Disc Award
The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Associ ...
s.
, -
, rowspan="5", 1988
, rowspan="2", Hikaru Genji
, New Artist Award
,
, -
, Best 5 New Artist Award
,
, -
, "Glass no Jūdai"
, rowspan="2" , Singles Award
,
, -
, "Starlight"
,
, -
, ''Hikaru Genji''
, Album Award
,
, -
, rowspan="6", 1989
, Hikaru Genji
, Best 5 Artists
,
, -
, rowspan="2", "Paradise Ginga"
, Grand Prix Singles Award
,
, -
, rowspan="3", Best 5 Singles Award
,
, -
, "Diamond Hurricane"
,
, -
, "Tsurugi no Mai"
,
, -
, ''Hi!''
, Album Award
,
, -
, 1990
, "Taiyō ga Ippai"
, Best 5 Singles Award
,
, -
, 1991
, ''Furikaette Tomorrow''
, rowspan="3", Album Award
,
, -
, 1992
, ''333 Thank You''
,
, -
, 1993
, ''Best Friends''
,
References
{{Authority control
Japanese idol groups
Japanese pop music groups
Japanese boy bands
Johnny & Associates