is a song written by Japanese band
Begin and singer
Ryoko Moriyama
(born January 18, 1948) is a Japanese folk singer and actress. Her father is Hisashi Moriyama, a pioneer of Japanese jazz. Her son Naotarō Moriyama is a singer. Her first cousin Hiroshi Kamayatsu is also a musician.
She is known as the ''Jap ...
. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by
Rimi Natsukawa
is a Japanese singer. She is best known for her 2001 single "Nada Sōsō."
Childhood
Natsukawa was born in Ishigaki, the largest city in the Yaeyama Islands chain. From a young age she enjoyed singing, and wanted to be a singer after hearin ...
in 2001.
Ryoko Moriyama version
The song first appears in Ryoko Moriyama's discography in 1998, as a track on her album ''
Time Is Lonely'', an album which did not even break the top 100
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 ...
albums chart.
Moriyama re-released the song as the second A-side of the single "Satōkibi-batake/Nada Sōsō" in 2001, after Rimi Natsukawa's version had become popular. In 2003, a single featuring a special live version featuring Moriyama, Begin and Natsukawa was released.
Background, writing
Moriyama and Begin met after performing at live events together in the late 1990s. Moriyama asked Begin to write her an Okinawan-style song. The song's title on the demo tape she received was "Nada Sōsō," an
Okinawan language
The Okinawan language (, , , ) or Central Okinawan, is a Northern Ryukyuan languages, Ryukyuan language spoken primarily in the southern half of the Okinawa Island, island of Okinawa, as well as in the surrounding islands of Kerama Islands, Ker ...
phrase meaning "large tears are falling" (to compare, the Japanese phrase would be ). When Moriyama found out the meaning of the phrase, it reminded her of the death of her older brother. She kept the title, and based the lyrics she wrote around these feelings.
The lyrics speak of looking through an old photo-book at pictures of somebody who has died. The protagonist of the song is thankful to them for always encouraging them, and for being happy no matter what. They believe they will meet them again one day, and cries as they send thoughts of sadness and love to that person.
Track listing
Satōkibi-batake/Nada Sōsō
All songs arranged by
Koji Igarashi
is a Japanese video game producer, programmer, writer, and creative director. Often credited as IGA, he began his career by joining Konami in 1990 as a programmer. Over the next ten years, he moved into a senior role within the company, workin ...
.
Special live version
Chart rankings
[ (subscription only)]
Begin version
Begin released a self-cover of the song as the band's 18th single on March 23, 2000. It appears on two 2000 albums by Begin: their
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
n concept album ''
Begin no Shima Uta (Omato-take O)'' and a regular studio album, ''
Begin''. Two versions backed with
sanshin
The is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese (). Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings.
Origins
Its close resemblance in both appearance a ...
appear on ''Begin no Shima Uta (Omato-take O)'' (one in Japanese, one in
Okinawan), while the regular studio version appears on ''Begin'' (and is backed with acoustic guitar and strings).
Begin's version of the song was used as the theme song of
Marvelous Entertainment
(MMV) was a multinational corporation that produced animation, music, video games and television series. MMV is known for its involvement in the ''Story of Seasons'' series. They merged with AQ Interactive in 2011 and became Marvelous AQL; the ...
's
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
game in 2002.
The single features two B-sides: and . "Kariyushi no Yoru" also appears on "
Begin no Shima Uta (Omato-take O)," and "Hana" is a cover of Okinawan folk rock artist
Shoukichi Kina
, is a Japanese rock musician and politician. He, along with his band Champloose, played a large role in the Okinawan home-grown "folk rock" scene in the 1970s and 1980s. His first big hit was " Haisai Ojisan" ("Hey, old man") in 1972, which he wr ...
's song
Track listing
Chart rankings
Rimi Natsukawa version
A year after Begin's version, the song was covered by Okinawan singer
Rimi Natsukawa
is a Japanese singer. She is best known for her 2001 single "Nada Sōsō."
Childhood
Natsukawa was born in Ishigaki, the largest city in the Yaeyama Islands chain. From a young age she enjoyed singing, and wanted to be a singer after hearin ...
as her third single. Her version caused the song to become extremely popular, and is the only version to break the top 10. The song was used in commercials for
Japan Post Holdings
is a Japanese publicly traded Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is mainly engaged in postal and logistics business, financial window business, banking business and life insuran ...
from 2007 onwards.
Natsukawa first heard the song from the broadcast of the
26th G8 summit held in Okinawa, where Begin had sung the song, and found she could not get the melody out of her head. She requested she cover the song backstage at a Begin concert, to which the band composed the song "Anata no Kaze" for her. She still preferred Nada Sōsō, however, and released both songs her third single.
Due to the song's popularity, it became the focus of the "Nada Sōsō Project" by Japanese television company
TBS. The project consists of two dramas released in 2005, "
Hiroshima Showa 20 nen 8 Gatsu Muika" and , and a film "
Nada Sōsō
is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001.
Ryoko Moriyama version
The song first appears in Ryo ...
" in 2006. Natsukawa's version was used for "Hiroshima Showa 20 nen 8 Gatsu Muika" and "Nada Sōsō," while Moriyama's was used for "Nada Sōsō Kono Ai ni Ikite".
Two B-sides feature on the single. The first, , was also written by Begin. The second, , is an acoustic version of her previous single. A special version of the single, limited to 30,000 copies, was released in 2004, collecting the four main versions of the song (standard, Okinawan language version, special Moriyama/Begin/Natsukawa live version, instrumental track).
The Rimi Natsukawa version of the song has been certified as a triple platinum ringtone by the
RIAJ
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 Association, and adopted its current name in 1969.
The RIAJ's activities include p ...
, as well as a platinum cellphone download.
Track listing
Standard edition (2001)
Special edition (2004)
Chart Rankings
The single is one of the slowest and steadiest selling singles in Japanese history. It began charting in late May 2002, and charted constantly until November 2007. it broke the top 50 in June 2002, and the top 20 in July. From there, it charted between #20-#50 until January 2003. After a performance at the 53rd
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...
, the song reached #8. It stayed within the top 40 until June. The single charted steadily until next year's Kōhaku Uta Gassen, where Natsukawa, Begin and Ryoko Moriyama performed the song together. The single reached #8 again, and stayed within the top 40 until March. The single still continued to chart slowly, between #50 and #200 before breaking the top 50 once again in 2006, after the release of the
Nada Sōsō
is a song written by Japanese band Begin and singer Ryoko Moriyama. It was first released by Moriyama in 1998, but achieved popularity through the cover version by Rimi Natsukawa in 2001.
Ryoko Moriyama version
The song first appears in Ryo ...
film.
Other cover versions
The song has become a
standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
for Okinawan folk music,
Enka
is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...
,
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
and instrumental musicians. The song has been recorded in
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
,
erhu
The ''erhu'' (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a ''Southern Fiddle'', and is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-s ...
,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
,
harp
The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
koto
Koto may refer to:
* Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group
* Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument
* Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana
* Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women
* K ...
,
music box
A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...
,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
and
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
versions, amongst others. It has also been covered by Yonashiro Sho 【The Leader of the Japanese boys group (JO1)】‹Pre-Debut cover› and also overseas artists, such as
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
an
Kealiʻi Reichel
Carleton Lewis Kealiinaniaimokuokalani Reichel (born June 26, 1962) popularly known as Kealii Reichel, is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from Hawaii. He has spent ...
(as "Ka Nohona Pili Kai" in
Hawaiian) and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
er
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, ''Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million c ...
, who sung a
classical crossover
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...
rendition in English, and Korean singer
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
(Maeng Yu Na 맹유나), (as Nunmulee Naeyo (눈물이 나요) in Korean). Two versions in Chinese exist: one by
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
ese
Huang Pin-Yuan (as "Bai Lu Si ( ''White Heron'')" in
Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
), and one by
Joi Chua
Joi Chua (, born 3 August 1978) is a Singaporean female pop singer. Her most famous songs are "Waiting for a Sunny Day" (《等一个晴天》), "Watching the Sunrise With Me" (《陪我看日出》), the Chinese version of " Nada Soso" and "Wi ...
(as "Pei Wo Kan Ri Chu (陪我看日出 ''Watching the Sunrise with Me'')" in
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
). In Cambodia, this song covered in
Khmer by
Sokun Nisa
Sokun Nisa ( km, ; born 1 May 1983) is a Cambodian singer and actress. In 2003, she started her career as a singer with Rasmey Steung Sangke Production. Currently she is a singer under Rasmey Hang Meas Production.
In 2017, she made her actin ...
and it's called "ចិត្តស្មោះក្នុងខ្លួនមនុស្សក្បត់" (a kindness inside my betrayed lover) in 2007 and 2008. It also performed by Saori Kawabata, Narumi Ii, Kenta Tanahara, Taiki Tokuda and Cambodian musicians whose jointed perform this song at night as its original Japanese song during CJCC (Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center) Kizuna Festival in 2014.
*
Hiroshi Miyama
is a Japanese enka singer. His real name is .
Miyama's voice gives people a sense of security and vitality ανδ is called .
Discography Studio albums
Compilation albums
Cover albums
Singles
Videography
Filmography Television
NHK K ...
(2021, album "Kokoro no Uta~ Miyama Hiroshi Jojoka wo Utau")
*
Hiroaki Kato (2017, album "Hiroaki Kato")
*
Against the Current (2015, album "Gravity" (Japan edition))
*
Alan
Alan may refer to:
People
*Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname
* Alan (given name), an English given name
**List of people with given name Alan
''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.''
*A ...
(2009, album "My Life" DVD)
*
Tsutomu Aragaki
is a Japanese tenor.
He was born in Yomitan, Okinawa Prefecture. He was blinded shortly after birth when a midwife put overly-strong drops in his eyes. When he was a year old, his parents divorced and his Mexican-American father went back to the ...
(2005, album "Nuchi du Takara, Okinawa no Kokoro, Heiwa no Inori")
*
Teresa Bright (2007, album "Hawaiinawa")
*
Cao Xuejing (2003, album "Shima Uta Erhu")
*
Joi Chua
Joi Chua (, born 3 August 1978) is a Singaporean female pop singer. Her most famous songs are "Waiting for a Sunny Day" (《等一个晴天》), "Watching the Sunrise With Me" (《陪我看日出》), the Chinese version of " Nada Soso" and "Wi ...
(2004, album "Sunrise")
*
Marié Digby
Marié Christina Digby ( ; born April 16, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's "Umbrella", which was posted on YouTube in 2007 (and has since been viewed over 22 million ...
(2009, album "
Second Home
Second Home is Marié Digby's second album and first Japanese studio album, released on March 4, 2009.
Track list
Marié Digby albums
2009 albums
{{2000s-pop-rock-album-stub ...
")
*
Taimane Gardner
Taimane Tauiliili Bobby Gardner, (born February 13, 1989) who often performs under the mononym Taimane, is an American ukulele virtuoso and composer. In 2019, she won a Nā Hōkū Hanohano award, for Favorite Entertainer of the Year. In 2019, ...
(2005, album "Loco Princess")
*
Naoki Gushiken (
B-SHOP) (2003, Begin tribute album "Let's Begin!: Omoto-take O Songs")
*
Huang Pin-Yuan (2002, album "Jian Dian Qing Ge")
*
Infinix (2005, album "Relaxation Asia III: Chikyū no Nami")
*
Hiroshi Itsuki
is a Japanese singer and composer. As of 1987, he had sold 20 million singles and 4 million LP albums.
Itsuki is usually regarded as an ''enka'' singer, but he has also released a cover version of Southern All Stars' J-pop song "Tsunami".
Care ...
(2003, album "Cover & Self Collection: Ofukuro no Komoriuta")
*
Ji Ma Ma (2006, album "Kazedayori")
*
Juleps (2008, album "Tabidatsu Hi")
*
Tokiko Katō (2003, album "Okinawa Jōka")
*
Mirei Kitahara (2004, "Love Songs")
*
Yōko Masaki (2003, album "Yōko Masaki Zenkyokushū")
*
Takeshi Matsubara (2006, album "Sakurabashi kara")
*
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
(2008, EP "She Dreamed that She Was Flying Like a Bird")
*
Kanako Minami (2006, album "Kanako no Hajimete no Album")
*
Akemi Misawa
Akemi is a unisex Japanese given name.
Possible writings
Akemi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
*, "bright, beauty"
*, "bright, fruit"
*, "bright, sea"
*, "bright, sign of the snake (Chinese zodiac)"
*, "vermilion, b ...
(2003, single "Tsumugi Koi Uta" B-side)
*
Nozomi Miyanishi (2003, album "Chotto Hitori Koto")
*
Kaori Mizumori
(born 31 August 1973, Kita, Tokyo) is a Japanese enka singer with Tokuma Japan Communications
is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’ ...
(2003, album "Kayōkikō II: Tottori Sakyū")
*
Shinichi Mori
known professionally as is a Japanese male enka singer and composer, who also sings folk and pop music. He has sold more than 90 million records, making him one of the best selling Japanese musicians.
Mori has been married and divorced twice, ...
(2009, album "Love Music")
*
Haruko Nakamura (2003, album "Haruko")
*
Shōhei Naruse (2003, album "Shōhei no Omoroi Uta no Sekai")
*
Takashi Obara (2003, album "Takashi Obara Best")
*
Kealiʻi Reichel
Carleton Lewis Kealiinaniaimokuokalani Reichel (born June 26, 1962) popularly known as Kealii Reichel, is a popular and bestselling singer, songwriter, choreographer, dancer, chanter, scholar, teacher, and personality from Hawaii. He has spent ...
(2005, album "Scent of the Islands, Scent of Memories")
*
Fuyumi Sakamoto
is a Japanese female enka singer under EMI Music Japan.
Career
Having won a singing contest in early 1986, and after receiving about 11 months of vocal training, Sakamoto debuted as an enka recording singer with the single "Abare Daiko" in March ...
(2004, album "Yōko Masaki Zenkyokushū")
*
Yōko Sei (2004, album "Hana to Hoshi to Ai to: Kokoro Furueru Uta")
*
Yoshio Tabata
was a Japanese ''ryūkōka'' and ''enka'' singer, songwriter, and electric guitarist. His debut song was released in 1939. Along with enka-shi Haruo Oka's 1939 debut, his debut had a big impact on Japanese popular music because Japanese popular ...
(2003, album "Shima Uta 2: Yoshio Tabata")
*
Chisako Takashima
is a Japanese ''tarento'' and violinist represented by J-two.
Filmography TV and radio series
Advertisements
Films
Discography Singles
Albums
CD extras
Awards
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takashima, Chisako
J ...
(2003, album "Around the World")
*
Yoshimi Tendo
, better known as , is a Japanese enka
is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in ...
(2005, album "Smile")
*
Atsuko Tenma (2005, album "Nemu no Ki no Komoriuta")
*
Hideaki Tokunaga
is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter and actor.
Although Tokunaga failed to pass the test of ''Star Tanjō!'' in 1982, he debuted as a recording singer in 1986. After he released hit songs such as " Yume o Shinjite" (the first ending theme of t ...
(2005, album "Vocalist")
*
Twelve Girls Band
12 Girls Band (, sometimes abbreviated to 女樂 or 女乐) are an all female Chinese musical group that initially consisted of twelve members before the addition of a thirteenth. Twelve Girls Band use traditional Chinese instruments to play both ...
(2005, album "The Best of Covers")
*
Kiyoshi Hikawa
is a Japanese enka singer who was born on September 6, 1977 in Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.[Hikawa Kiyoshi: Pro ...](_blank)
(2006)
*
Naori Uchida (2005, album "Stylish: Love & Favourite Songs")
*
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, ''Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million c ...
(2007, album "
Hayley sings Japanese Songs")
*
Yanawaraba (2008, album "Nagi Uta")
*
Kazuha Yasuda (2003, compilation album "Yūsen Enka Best 16")
*
Yilana (2005, album "Birei-teki Ōsōgen")
*
Tōru Yohana (2003, compilation album "Ryūkyū Shika")
*
Sokun Nisa
Sokun Nisa ( km, ; born 1 May 1983) is a Cambodian singer and actress. In 2003, she started her career as a singer with Rasmey Steung Sangke Production. Currently she is a singer under Rasmey Hang Meas Production.
In 2017, she made her actin ...
(2008, Khmer Version in album "RHM CD VOL 342")
*
Dr. Metal Factory (2009, album "Cover Metal Now")
*
Arina Mocca and Hiroaki Kato (2017, Indonesian Version)
*
Solar (2018, Korean version in album "Solar Sensitivity pt.6")
*
MAMAMOO
Mamamoo (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote ...
(2019, album "4colors")
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nada Soso
2000 singles
2001 singles
2003 singles
2004 singles
Japanese film songs
Japanese television drama theme songs
Japanese-language songs
2000 songs