is the seventh single by Japanese entertainer

Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and 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 Motion" was relea ...

. Written by

Chinfa Kan (born June 24, 1953) is Japanese lyricist of Korean descent. Biography Chinfa Kan was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan as a second-generation Zainichi. He graduated from Shizuoka Prefectural Hamamatsu-Nishi Senior and Junior High Schools. W ...

and

Tetsuji Hayashi Tetsuji Hayashi (林哲司, ''Hayashi Tetsuji''; born on August 20, 1949) is a Japanese composer, singer-songwriter, and arranger. Hayashi got his start after he was influenced by American pop music when he was kid. He started to compose and arra ...

, the single was released on January 1, 1984, 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 fifth studio album ''

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

''.

Background

Nakamori approached songwriters Kan and Hayashi after listening to Omega Tribe's 1983 single " Summer Suspicion". During the songwriting process, proposed titles included and before Nakamori settled with "Kita Wing", which she revealed was influenced by

Yumi Matsutoya , nicknamed , is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. Generally the writer of both the lyrics and the music in her songs, she is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice and live performances, and is one of the most prominent figures ...

's . "Kita Wing" refers to the north wing of

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

's Terminal 1, with the lyrics referencing

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

Flight 401 flying to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

via

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. Nakamori, Kan, and Hayashi collaborated again on a sequel song titled , which was featured on Nakamori's sixth studio album ''

Possibility Possibility is the condition or fact of being possible. Latin origins of the word hint at ability. Possibility may refer to: * Probability, the measure of the likelihood that an event will occur * Epistemic possibility, a topic in philosophy ...

''. Nakamori has re-recorded "Kita Wing" for the 2002 self-cover compilation '' Utahime Double Decade'' and 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

"Kita Wing" peaked at No. 2 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 614,200 copies.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by

, except where indicated; all music is composed and arranged by

Charts

Cover versions

* Kream covered the song on their 1996 album ''Time Machine ni Onegai''. * Chinephile covered the song on their 2003 cover album ''Kayomania''. *

Akiko Matsumoto is a Japanese TV personality and actress. Films * (1996), cashier * ''Udon'' (2006) * (2007), Saeko Hasegawa
Retrieved on 26 February 2009 < ...

covered the song on her 2013 compilation album ''King of Pops 2''. *

Penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

covered the song as the B-side of their 2014 single "Sol". *

Sora Amamiya is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Tokyo, Japan. She is affiliated with the talent agency Music Ray'n. After passing an audition held by Music Ray'n, she made her voice acting debut in 2012. She played her first main role as Kaori Fuji ...

covered the song on her 2021 cover album ''Covers: Sora Amamiya Favorite Songs''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kita Wing 1984 singles 1984 songs Akina Nakamori songs Japanese-language songs Songs with lyrics by Chinfa Kan Songs written by Tetsuji Hayashi Warner Music Japan singles Reprise Records singles