, is a Japanese pop singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from

Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or sometimes "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to: Places * Fukui Domain, a part of the Japanese han system during the Edo period * Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in ...

, Japan. She currently sings under the pseudonym Tiger Fake Fur.

Biography

Early life

Kawamoto grew up hearing her mother playing the piano. Aside from learning piano, she also studied ballet for about two years and joined the boys' and girls'

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

and took flute lessons. Her life was changed upon seeing a rock festival held in the nearby Prefectural Hall in her high school days. Kawamoto entered the

Jin-ai Women's College is a private women's junior college in Fukui, Fukui is the capital city of Fukui Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,217, and a population density of 69.2 persons per km2, in 102,935 households. Its total area ...

music department, piano department and formed a band. After graduating from college, Kawamoto found a job at a company and became a piano teacher. However, since she only received a salary of 40,000 yen, she got fed up with her job and quit. Still, she continued to teach piano in her parents' house. She earned her livelihood working at a wedding hall, during which time she continued to try forming a band. Kawamoto participated in "AIDS against FUKUI" held in Fukui as a band. She wrote the song and made all the members in the hall sing on the pretext of being elected to the executive committee. Because of that, she was invited to

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

’s "Showcase" where amateurs perform live in audition style. Since she was pleased with Tokyo, she saved 1 million yen within half a year, and went to Tokyo at the age of 21. She had a feeling that they liked her performance, but her position was still ambiguous for a while. She worked hard at composition while working part-time in a strange city. Although poor, she lived happily.

Major label days

Because Kawamoto often went to the head office of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, she got to know the staff of the management office, and she signed a contract with them at the age of 22. It was decided that Kawamoto would release a CD from the second production department of Sony. She practised acoustic guitar hard to reproduce the sound of the demo tape of her debut single "Ai no Sainō" which Yasuyuki Okamura produced. She was given the stage name of "Makoto Kawamoto" and made her debut as a singer. She lost weight as the result of pressure from appearing on TV programs or radio programs, and from pressure of composing music. Kawamoto released her 2nd single "DNA", for which she wrote words and music herself, and her 3rd single "1/2" which were tied to popular

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

Rurouni Kenshin is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The story begins during the 11th year of the Meiji period in Japan (1878) and follows a former assassin from the Bakumatsu, known as Hitokiri Battosai. After his wor ...

'', and her first album ''Kawamoto Makoto''. However, she encountered problems when she found it difficult to write songs after that, and she occasionally confined herself in a hotel. She did not agree with the record label's plan for her activities, due to pressure, she got out of shape and went home temporarily. Although she thought she might retire as a musician, she was retained by Sony for two more years, and she returned to Tokyo. However, she came to devote herself to live performances without releasing a new song after she released the single "Blossom" in 2001. She came to find pleasure in her work and began to think that she might continue it for a while. However, after talking it over, she decided not to renew the contract with Sony. In October 2002, she left. In April 2003, her contract with Antinos Records expired and she became a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

Independent music

In 2005, Kawamoto sang the commercial song of Kanebo "ALLIE", which was Maria Anzai's cover song "." However, it is not released at present. In 2005, Kawamoto formed " MihoMihoMakoto" with

Miho Asahi is a feminine Japanese given name and a masculine Croatian name. It can have many different meanings in Japanese depending on the kanji used. Possible Japanese writings Miho can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *実穂, " ...

and Miho Moribayashi, and they performed in the concerts. On January 25, 2006, Kawamoto announced that she finished music activity with "Makoto Kawamoto" name in her

homepage A home page (or homepage) is the main web page of a website. The term may also refer to the start page shown in a web browser when the application first opens. Usually, the home page is located at the root of the website's domain or subdomain. ...

. On April 24, 2006, Kawamoto announced that she changed her name to "Tiger Fake Fur" with her blog. When she appeared on the live by request of her acquaintance before, it was difficult for her to use the name of "Makoto Kawamoto." Under such a circumstance, she could not but use the alias. She introduced herself as "Tiger Carpet" at first, but she said that she felt sorry for a dead tiger, and renamed it to "Tiger Fake Fur." On July 5, 2006, Kawamoto released a CD as time-limited group of 3 chorus unit "MihoMihoMakoto" after an interval of five years, and she resumed musical activities completely. On August 9, 2006, Kawamoto released new 1st single "Yagi-ō no Theme" in the "Tiger Fake Fur" name from HMJM(hamajim) Records. Recently Kawamoto gives a concert in Tokyo and her hometown, Fukui wherever her feet led her, and she enjoys it. In 2009, Kawamoto sang "Hontou no Hanashi" in documentary film "An'nyon Yumika". It is announced that Kawamoto will release her 3rd solo album "" which she produces for herself on February 19, 2010.

Topics

In the 1990s, she often went to various Southeast Asian countries, especially to Philippines, and made her music videos there. According to her, she traveled to Southeast Asia especially Philippines many times during the 1990s, to absorb "fashionable atmospheres". For this reason, her music videos often contain those landscapes and people.

Discography

Singles

Ai no Sainō

is Makoto Kawamoto's 1st single released on May 2, 1996. The English title is "sense of love."

DNA

DNA is Makoto Kawamoto's 2nd single released on September 2, 1996.

1/2

is Makoto Kawamoto's 3rd single released on March 21, 1997.

Sakura

is Makoto Kawamoto's 4th single released on April 1, 1998.

Pika Pika

is Makoto Kawamoto's 5th single released on April 1, 1999.

Binetsu

is Makoto Kawamoto's 6th single released on January 21, 2000.

Fragile

Fragile is Makoto Kawamoto's 7th single released on April 26, 2000.

Gimmeshelter

Gimmeshelter is Makoto Kawamoto's 8th single released on March 3, 2001.

Blossom

Blossom is Makoto Kawamoto's 9th single released on September 30, 2001.

Yagi-ō no Theme

is Makoto Kawamoto's 10th single released on August 9, 2006, and is also the 1st single under ''Tiger Fake Fur'' name. This song was written for the musical "" which Kawamoto wrote herself and she also played a role in.

Fairy Tunes

is Makoto Kawamoto's 11th single released on June 22, 2011, under the name of "Makoto Kawamoto feat. Tiger Fake Fur".

Albums

Kawamoto Makoto

Kawamoto Makoto is Makoto Kawamoto's 1st album released on June 26, 1997. All songs written by Makoto Kawamoto without No. 2.

gobbledygook

gobbledygook is Makoto Kawamoto's 2nd album released on March 3, 2001. All songs written by Makoto Kawamoto without No. 5, #7.

Ongaku no Sekai e Youkoso

Ongaku no Sekai e Youkoso is Makoto Kawamoto's 3rd album released on February 19, 2010, by My Best Records. All songs written and produced by Makoto Kawamoto.

The Complete Singles Collection 1996～2001

The Complete Singles Collection 1996～2001 is Makoto Kawamoto's

Greatest hits 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 ...

album released on February 19, 2010, by SMDR GT Music (Sony Music Direct).

Collaborations

MihoMihoMakoto

is the time-limited music group which Miho Asahi, Miho Moribayashi and Makoto Kawamoto formed, and is their 1st album's title released on July 5, 2006.

Guest appearance

; Sparks Go Go : – B side song of Sparks Go Go's single released on March 1, 1998. Kawamoto participated in it as a background vocalist. ;Jiro Miwa : – From his album ''Sour Lemon'' released on June 2, 2010. Kawamoto participated in it as a background vocalist and also appeared on the music clip. ; Chappie : Welcoming Morning (March 9, 1999) – as a background vocalist : Happyending Soulwriter's Council Band (October 10, 1999) – words： pal@pop, music： Makoto Kawamoto, arrangement： pal@pop & Makoto Kawamoto

CM songs

* – Kanebo "ALLIE" (2005) * ~song for boys –

Fancl E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase FANCL is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''FANCL'' gene. Function The clinical phenotype of mutational defects in all Fanconi anemia (FA) complementation groups is similar. This phenotype is characteriz ...

"Calolimit" (2010)

Non-recording

; Namida no Taiyō : (2005) is a cover song and a song in adverts of the cosmetics "Allie" of Kanebo.

VHS / DVD

Wasuresōdatta

is a video album ( VHS) released on July 21, 1997, by Sony record.

Sōtai

is a concert tour video (VHS) released on December 12, 1997, by Sony record.

ten.cut.plus.clip 1996–2001

ten.cut.plus.clip 1996–2001 is a video album (DVD) released on March 6, 2002, by Epic Record Japan. DVD contains music clips and special videos.

Tie-ins

* "Ai no Sainō":

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

( TBS) the ending theme * "DNA":

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ ''Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ'' was a Japanese music variety show on Fuji Television hosted by the comedy duo Downtown, which consists of Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. It is a very popular show with comical hosts who like to pick on the ...

(

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

) the ending theme (October to December 1996). * "1/2":

(Fuji Television) 2nd opening theme (

Anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series) * "Binetsu": Koi no Kami-sama (TBS) theme song (TV drama)

References

External links

Official page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kawamoto, Makoto 1974 births Living people Actors from Fukui Prefecture Japanese women pop singers Japanese-language singers Japanese multi-instrumentalists Japanese women singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Musicians from Fukui Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers