Ikimono-gakari
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The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
duo from
Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...
, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and
Kiyoe Yoshioka is a Japanese singer and vocalist. She is best known for being the lead vocalist of the band Ikimonogakari since its founding in 1999. She has also been active as a solo singer, releasing her first album ''Utairo'' in 2018. In 2022 her song "Dek ...
. The group started in February 1999 with Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, who had known each other since they were six years old, and was joined by vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in November of the same year. The group's name is a reference to , a group of children who are responsible for looking after plants and animals in Japanese elementary schools. In 2006, the group released its first single on
Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...
's
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
label. Several of their albums have reached number one on the Oricon weekly rankings, and their songs have been featured on various media: from TV commercials, anime shows such as ''
Naruto Shippuden ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. Th ...
'', Japanese TV Dramas such as , live action movies such as , the 2012 Olympic broadcast theme song for
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 ...
, and the set piece for a national junior high music competition. Their official fan club is named いきものがかり. a) as stated in the Japanese wiki. b) All support members listed on the band's Japanese wiki. いきものがかり Mizuno has the most composed songs among them, while Yamashita ranks second. Yoshioka has contributed lyrics to a few songs, but ''Namida ga Kieru Nara'' is the only song on which the three of them have collaborated. In June 2021, it was announced that Hotaka Yamashita was leaving the band which would continue as a duo.


History


Formation and trials, 1999-2003

In 1989, Mizuno and Yamashita met by chance while they were in the first grade; they were both put in charge of being , who are caretakers of the school's plants and animals. Yamashita later noted that he really wanted to be a "blackboard monitor". Yamashita and Mizuno formed their band on February 1, 1999, and began performing live on the street; not taking it too seriously, they named it "ikimono-gakari" after their shared experience in first grade. At first, they did covers of
Masayoshi Yamazaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter who plays guitar-driven blues, rock, and pop music, though he has also recorded piano ballads. Though he primarily plays the guitar, he has played the drums, piano, percussion, saxophone, and glockenspiel on so ...
. On November 3, 1999, Yoshioka joined the band. In those days, Mizuno and Yamashita planned to make a group with a female lead vocalist, which would be an unusual sound for the street performances they were doing. Yoshioka was the younger sister of one of their classmates; she entered as the main singer and the band took on its present-day form. As they were then performing with three members, the band did a cover of Yuzu's single, ."Sakusaku", a music variety show on tvk In September 2000, they suspended the band to focus on college entrance examinations for Yamashita and Mizuno. By March 2003, Yoshioka recovered from a slump where she had almost thought of not singing anymore; she saw this as a second chance to grow as a person. Again, the band re-formed, but then, they were performing with the intent of supporting their increasing fame. As their style of music was moving more towards an acoustic focus, they planned to expand their scope to cover not only street performances but live house concerts as well. Moreover, they made a greater effort to compose more original music and rely less on covers.


Rise to fame, 2003-2008

In April 2003, the band resumed playing with a street show in front of the
Hon-Atsugi Station is a major passenger railway station located in the city of Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. Lines Hon-Atsugi Station is served by the Odakyu Odawara Line and is from the line's termi ...
on the
Odakyū Odawara Line The is the main line of Japanese private railway operator Odakyu Electric Railway. It extends 82.5 km from Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara, the gateway to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is ...
. In June, they did a one-band show at the Thunder Snake Atsugi live venue for the first time. A person who happened to be attending this performance ended up becoming their manager; this became the impetus for them to launch a major road tour. On August 25, they released their first indie album, ''Makoto ni Senetsu Nagara First Album wo Koshirae Mashita...''. On March 26, 2005, the band held a show in the small hall at the Atsugi City Culture Building (Atsugishi Bunka Kaikan); this was the first time the band had ever done a single-band show in a hall. On March 15, 2006, the band released their first single,
SAKURA A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of Prunus, genus ''Prunus'' or Prunus subg. Cerasus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especia ...
, produced by Masanori Shimada. This was their major label debut with Epic Records Japan of Sony. Their second single "Hanabi" was released on May 31, 2006, earning the band their first appearance on 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 Nov ...
top 10 chart with a number 5 debut. Between November 10 and 30, they held their first live tour, called "Ikimonogakari no Minna-san, Konni-Tour! 2006". They released their first full-length studio album on March 7, 2007, entitled ''
Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari , also known as ''The Story of Town Where Cherry Blossoms Bloom'', is the debut album of Japanese pop music trio Ikimono-gakari. It was released in Japan on March 7, 2007 under the label Epic. The album peaked at number four on the Oricon weekly ...
'', debuting at number 4 on the Oricon weekly album charts. Between May 24 to June 14, they went on a live tour to support this album. Their second major studio album, ''
Life Album ''Life Album'' is Ikimono-gakari The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yo ...
'', came out on February 13, 2008, debuting at number 2 on the Oricon weekly album charts. This album's live tour was from March 30 to May 23. On July 7, they came out with their tenth single, "Bluebird", which also became an opening song for the ''
Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...
'' anime, and the group's first to crack the Top 3 in Oricon Singles. On December 24, they released their third studio album, ''
My Song Your Song ''My Song Your Song'' is the third studio album by Ikimono-gakari, released in Japan on December 24, 2008. The song, "Blue Bird", was known for the third opening sequence in ''Naruto: Shippuden''. Track listing Oricon Chart (Japan) External l ...
''. This album topped the Oricon weekly charts, becoming their first work to achieve a first ranking on any chart. On December 31, they debuted in the
59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", was aired on December 31, 2008 from NHK Hall in Japan. The music show on New Year's Eve is broadcast on both television and radio, and divides the most popular music artists of the year into competing te ...
festival which gave them considerable national exposure.


Recognition and ongoing success, 2009-2017

On March 4, 2009, their first-ever collection of video works, "Tottemo Ēzō", was released. That year, Mizuno was put in charge of writing the song "Yell" as the set piece for the junior high division of the 76th annual NHK Nationwide School Music Contest. Their 15th single "Yell / Joyful" came out September 23, taking the No. 1 single spot for the Oricon daily charts and the number 2 spot for the weekly chart, the highest rankings so far for any of their singles. The band won one of the Gold Artist awards at the 2009 Best Hit Song Festival (November 26), their first time winning one of the show's prizes. They followed that up with their fourth studio album ''
Hajimari no Uta is the fourth studio album by Ikimonogakari, released in Japan on December 23, 2009. A limited edition version included a bonus DVD with footage from their concert "Ikimono Gakari no Minasan, Konni Tour!! 2009 - My song Your song -" performance on ...
'', released on December 23, and debuting as the number 1 album on the Oricon weekly charts. On New Year's Eve, the band appeared again in the
60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku", was aired on December 31, 2009 from NHK Hall in Japan. Performers The singers, announced on November 23, 2009, are ordered below according to the gojūon. Names in bold letters did not perform in the pre ...
festival. On June 9, 2012, Japanese television network NHK announced that the theme song for its Olympic broadcasts would be performed by Ikimonogakari. The song was titled "Kaze ga fuiteiru" (Wind is blowing). The three members wrote the song and said that its lyrics would hopefully encourage Japan's athletes like a strong wind. During the Olympics, the band made live appearances in Great Britain on NHK. On March 15, 2016, the day of their 10th anniversary, they released a new album, "Cho-Ikimonogakari~Temnenkinen Members' Best Selection~" and got the number one in music chart. On January 5, 2017, Ikimonogakari announced an end to its group activities, referring to the forthcoming time as a "grazing period", aiming to extend the possibilities of each member at their own pace for refreshment. It was also referred to as an indefinite hiatus, leaving scope for a future return.


Resumption of activities, 2018-present

After a period of rest from group activities during which members were able to pursue individual goals, the group announced a resumption of their activities, including a tour planned for early 2019. The official resumption of music activity was taken to commence from November 3, 2018, on the 19th anniversary of their original foundation. The 2019 tour took the group to eleven venues across Japan from March to May 2019, and was available only to fan club members, the first such tour in eight years. The tour was followed by various television and music festival appearances. The group's hiatus did nothing to reduce their popularity, as an annual ranking by a prominent entertainment magazine showed them placed at the 12th rank among popular Japanese music acts for 2019. In early 2021, Ikimonogakari released their ninth studio album ''Who?''. The track "Baku" from that album is used for the 8th opening of the anime series ''" Boruto: Naruto Next Generations"''.


Members


Current members


Kiyoe Yoshioka

sings vocals. The daughter of farmers, she was born in the city of Shizuoka, and later moved to Atsugi, Kanagawa when she was five years old. She went to City Minami Mouri Atsugi for primary school, Ebina high school in Kanagawa Prefecture, and graduated from Showa University College of Music. Her brother was a high school classmate of Mizuno and Yamashita. She became one of the hosts of ''
All Night Nippon is a Japanese radio program broadcast by Nippon Broadcasting System and other radio stations from 1–5 am (JST). It preempts broadcasts from TBS Radio's programming heard on stations under both JRN and NRN (TBC Radio, CBC Radio, etc.). D ...
'' from 2009 to 2010. She debuted in a voice role as ''Eevee'' in the animated movie '' Pokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened'', on which their song "Egao" was featured as an ending song. She has contributed lyrics to some of their songs like ''Kimi ga Iru'' and ''GOLDEN GIRL'', which are A-side songs, "Mirai Wakusei" (from "Hajimari no Uta" album), ''Tokyo'' (from ''I'' album), and ''Shiroi Diary'' (from ''NEWTRAL'' album). Following the release of her first solo single in April 2018, Yoshioka released her first solo album ''Utairo'' (うたいろ) in October the same year. In September 2018 it was announced that she would be singing "
World in Union "World in Union" is a theme song for the Rugby World Cup. Its melody is "Thaxted (tune), Thaxted", from the middle section of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity", a movement (music), movement from Gustav Holst's ''The Planets'', and was originally a ...
", the official song for the
2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
, being held in Japan. As the Rugby World Cup commenced in Japan, Yoshioka's performance of the song led to international recognition. On August 1, 2020, it was announced that Kiyoe Yoshioka, had married a man who has no connection with the media industry.


Yoshiki Mizuno

plays guitar. He was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, but he later moved to the city Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, at an early age. Education: Junior High School Otani Sugikubo in Ebina; Atsugi Prefectural High School in Ebina, Kanagawa. After he dropped out of Economics, Politics in Meiji University, he graduated from the Department of Sociology in Hitotsubashi University. It was announced that he registered his marriage on August 17, 2013, to a woman who has no connection to the media industry. He has released no further information about her identity.


Former members


Hotaka Yamashita

played guitar and harmonica. He also played the piano, which he had learned to do from his third grade in elementary school. He was born in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Education: Junior High School Otani Sugikubo Ebina City; Atsugi Prefectural High School in Ebina, Kanagawa. He graduated from Department of Sociology, Hosei University. Yamashita left the group and retired from the entertainment industry after their June 10–11, 2021 performance.


Supporting musicians

* Takashi Adachi – bass guitar * Akimitsu Honma – keyboard * Naoki Hayashibe – guitar * Tomu Tamada – drums


Discography

;Studio albums * 2007: ''
Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari , also known as ''The Story of Town Where Cherry Blossoms Bloom'', is the debut album of Japanese pop music trio Ikimono-gakari. It was released in Japan on March 7, 2007 under the label Epic. The album peaked at number four on the Oricon weekly ...
'' * 2008: ''
Life Album ''Life Album'' is Ikimono-gakari The romanization of the group's name does not have the hyphen according to Sony's websites for their albums. is a Japanese pop rock duo from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan consisting of Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yo ...
'' * 2008: ''
My Song Your Song ''My Song Your Song'' is the third studio album by Ikimono-gakari, released in Japan on December 24, 2008. The song, "Blue Bird", was known for the third opening sequence in ''Naruto: Shippuden''. Track listing Oricon Chart (Japan) External l ...
'' * 2009: ''
Hajimari no Uta is the fourth studio album by Ikimonogakari, released in Japan on December 23, 2009. A limited edition version included a bonus DVD with footage from their concert "Ikimono Gakari no Minasan, Konni Tour!! 2009 - My song Your song -" performance on ...
'' * 2012: ''
Newtral ''Newtral'' is the fifth studio album by Ikimono-gakari, released in Japan on February 29, 2012. It has reached number one on the Oricon Weekly charts, and became the group's fourth consecutive number-one album. Release The album was released i ...
'' * 2013: '' I'' * 2014: ''
Fun! Fun! Fanfare! ''Fun! Fun! Fanfare!'' (stylized as ''FUN! FUN! FANFARE!'') is the seventh album by the Japanese pop-rock band Ikimono-gakari. It was released on December 24, 2014, and reached number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number ...
'' * 2019: ''We Do'' * 2021: ''Who?'' ;Compilation albums * 2010: '' Ikimonobakari: Members Best Selection'' * 2012: ''
Barādon is the first ballad greatest hits album released by Japanese people, Japanese pop rock band (music), band Ikimono-gakari. It was released on December 19, 2012 and contains twelve previously released tracks plus a version of the single "Kaze ga Fui ...
'' * 2016: ''Chō Ikimonobakari: Ten-nen Kinen Members BEST Selection''


Awards and nominations


Japan Record Awards

The
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 a ...
s is a major music awards show held annually in Japan by the
Japan Composer's Association The Japan Composer's Association, or JACOMPA (日本作曲家協会 in Japanese) is an organization of Japanese composers, established in 1959. Among its members are some of Japan's most renowned composers of contemporary classical music. Presiden ...
. , - , 2010 , ''
Hajimari no Uta is the fourth studio album by Ikimonogakari, released in Japan on December 23, 2009. A limited edition version included a bonus DVD with footage from their concert "Ikimono Gakari no Minasan, Konni Tour!! 2009 - My song Your song -" performance on ...
'' , Best Album Award ,


References


External links

*
Sony Music Online Japan: Ikimonogakari



Excite Music: Ikimonogakari Blog

Ikimonogakari Yoshioka Kiyoe no All Night Nippon
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikimono-Gakari Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Japanese rock music groups Japanese pop rock music groups Japanese co-ed groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2017 1999 establishments in Japan Musical groups from Kanagawa Prefecture Female-fronted musical groups Male–female musical duos