is a song by Japanese singer/songwriter

Chisato Moritaka (born 11 April 1969) is a Japanese pop singer who also is notable as a songwriter. She is affiliated with Up-Front Create, a subsidiary of the Up-Front Group.

, from her 1990 studio album ''

Kokon Tozai is the fifth studio album by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka, released on October 17, 1990 by Warner Music Group, Warner Pioneer. A limited edition release included a 32-page photo book. ''Kokon Tozai'' became Moritaka's first and onl ...

''. The lyrics were written by Moritaka and the music was composed by Hideo Saitō. The "Home Version" of the song was released as the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of Moritaka's 1991 single "

Benkyō no Uta is the 12th single by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. The lyrics were written by Moritaka and the music was composed by Hideo Saitō, the single was released alongside " Kono Machi (Home Mix)" by Warner Pioneer on February 10, 1991. ...

". The song was used in a

Glico , commonly known as just Glico, is a Japanese multinational food processing company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. It does business across 30 countries, in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Overview Ezaki Glico's primary b ...

Pocky is a Japanese sweet snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico food company. Pocky was first sold in 1966, and was invented by Yoshiaki Koma. It consists of coated biscuit sticks. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoeic word , which is suppos ...

commercial featuring Moritaka.

Background

Moritaka wrote the song as an homage to her home town of

Kumamoto is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a population of 1,461,000, ...

; hence the use of the Kumamoto dialect in the lyrics. The song mentions the , which is not in the Kumamoto Prefecture. During her 1998 ''

Sava Sava is the 13th studio album by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka, released on September 9, 1998, by Up-Front Group, zetima. The album is unique for containing a 22-page photo book and a fold-out poster featuring the same head shot of Morita ...

'' tour, Moritaka explained that Tomari River is a reference to

Tomari, Hokkaido is a village located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the village had a population of 1,750, and a density of 21 persons per km2. The total area is . Etymology The name of the town originates from the word "Hem ...

, the hometown of songwriter and collaborator Yuichi Takahashi. The song introduced the "Kono Machi wave", with Moritaka directing the audience to raise their right arms in a clockwise motion with their index fingers pointing upwards before waving them left to right. During the Kumamoto show of the ''

Kono Machi Tour 2019 is a live video by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. Recorded live at the Kumamoto-jō Hall in Kumamoto on December 8, 2019, the video was released on August 26, 2020 by Warner Music Japan on Blu-ray and DVD formats. A limited edition b ...

'',

Kumamon Kumamon is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign created to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, an ...

made a guest appearance to do the "Kono Machi wave" with the crowd.

Other versions

Aside from the album and Home Version mixes, a third version was included in the 1991 remix album ''

The Moritaka ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. Moritaka re-recorded the song and uploaded the video on her

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel on November 1, 2013. This version is also included in Moritaka's 2014 self-covers DVD album ''Love Vol. 6''.

Cute version

The Japanese female

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

group

Cute Cuteness is a subjective term describing a type of attractiveness commonly associated with youth and appearance, as well as a scientific concept and analytical model in ethology, first introduced by Konrad Lorenz. Lorenz proposed the concept ...

released their cover of "Kono Machi" as their 20th

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on February 6, 2013.

Background

The single was released in five versions: Regular Edition and Limited Editions A, B, C, and D. The Regular Edition and the limited edition B and D are CD-only. The limited editions A and C include a DVD and feature covers of other Moritaka songs. All the limited editions were shipped sealed and included a serial-numbered entry card for the lottery to win a ticket to one of the single's launch events.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by

Chisato Moritaka (born 11 April 1969) is a Japanese pop singer who also is notable as a songwriter. She is affiliated with Up-Front Create, a subsidiary of the Up-Front Group.

Regular Edition

Limited Editions A, B

Limited Editions C, D

Bonus

Sealed into all the limited editions: * Event ticket lottery card with a serial number

Charts

* First week sales according to

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 ...

: 24,361 copies

References

External links

;Chisato Moritaka * ;Cute *
Special site dedicated to the release of the single "Kono Machi"

{{authority control 1990 songs 2013 singles Japanese-language songs Chisato Moritaka songs Cute (Japanese idol group) songs Song recordings produced by Tsunku Songs with lyrics by Chisato Moritaka Songs with music by Hideo Saitō (musician, born 1958) Warner Music Japan singles Zetima Records singles