is a 2011 song written by

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

music producer , utilizing the

Vocaloid 2 Vocaloid 2 is a singing voice synthesizer and the successor to the Vocaloid voice synthesizer application by Yamaha. Unlike the first engine, Vocaloid 2 based its output on vocal samples, rather than voice analysis. The synthesis engine and the us ...

voicebank

Hatsune Miku , also called Miku Hatsune, and officially code-named CV01, is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media and its official moe anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise bu ...

. First posted onto video sharing site Niconico, on , the song quickly became

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

and inspired multiple

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

and other derivative works.

Release and reception

"Senbonzakura" was first posted onto Niconico on 17 September 2011 by Kurousa-P. Accompanied by a fast rock-inspired beat, the lyrics reference the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

and the

Taishō era The was a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of ...

. The accompanying music video, illustrated by , similarly draws inspiration from the same time period and features Hatsune Miku in a military-esque uniform. After its release on Niconico, the music video became viral and broke one million views in 42 days (by 29 October). The song is also very popular among

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

singers. Joysound, a karaoke store chain, reported that "Senbonzakura" was the third most-sung song in 2012, behind

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

's "

Heavy Rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...

" and

Golden Bomber is a Japanese visual kei "air" rock band formed in 2004 and signed to the independent label Euclid Agency (sublabel ''Zany Zap''). Despite not actually performing the instruments themselves during concerts, they have gained popularity through ...

's "

Memeshikute "Memeshikute" (女々しくて, It's feminine) is the fourth single of Golden Bomber and released on October 21, 2009. It also released as a double A-side single as "Memeshikute/Nemutakute" (女々しくて/眠たくて) on August 24, 2011. Abstra ...

". The song was performed by

Sachiko Kobayashi , born in Niigata, Japan, is a female Japanese enka singer and occasional voice actress and voice provider of VOCALOID 4 Sachiko developed by YAMAHA co. She previously worked alongside the Pokémon Company, under the alias " Garura Kobayashi". ...

on the ''

66th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 66th edition of NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2015, live from NHK Hall from 19:15 (JST) to 23:45 (JST), with a 5-minute break for latest news. This is the 27th Heisei Era edition. Broadcasting time was announced on Sep ...

''. Hatsune Miku also regularly performs "Senbonzakura" during her concerts.

Wagakki Band version

Wagakki Band is a Japanese band that combines rock music with ''wagakki'' (traditional Japanese musical instruments) and ''shigin'' (Japanese poems reciting art). Their early songs were adapted from Vocaloid recordings but they have since written their own ...

covered "Senbonzakura" and released their music video on

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 ...

on 31 January 2014. The video was shot at Nakoso no Seki in

Iwaki, Fukushima is a city located in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. , Iwaki had a population of 337,765 in 143,500 households, and population density of 270 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the largest city in the prefecture and the 10th ...

. The cover introduced the world to the band's style of mixing

traditional Japanese musical instruments Traditional Japanese musical instruments, known as in Japanese, are musical instruments used in the traditional folk music of Japan. They comprise a range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. Percussion instruments *; also spelled – cl ...

(''wagakki'') with heavy metal, and it has been their most well-known song in their discography. In 2019, the video broke 100 million views.

Other derivative works

To celebrate the video's first anniversary, on 12 September 2012, an album titled ''All That Senbonzakura!'' was released by

Dwango The Dial-up Wide-Area Network Game Operation, better known by the acronym DWANGO, was an early online gaming service based in the United States. Launched in 1994, it was originally known for its compatibility with ''Doom'', for which it function ...

. The album only contained "Senbonzakura"

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by different instruments, including

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 ...

yangqin The trapezoidal yangqin () is a Chinese hammered dulcimer, likely derived from the Iranian santur or the European dulcimer. It used to be written with the characters 洋琴 (lit. "foreign zither"), but over time the first character changed ...

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, and

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

. Other solo artists have also released their own covers of the song. The music video's illustrator, Ittomaru, went on to release several works adapted from the song. On 9 March 2013, Ittomaru released a

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series based on the song published by

ASCII Media Works ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...

. The novel is set in a dystopian world where the Taishō era continued for a hundred years and features Hatsune Miku as the main protagonist. The first volume topped

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 novel sales chart and was also the thirteenth bestselling book for the month. The same month, Niconico hosted a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

based on the novel's storyline and featured

members

Haruka Ishida is a Japanese actress, voice actress and a former member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. She has been a co-host on the variety show ''Dream Creator'' on TV Tokyo. and has voiced on a handful of anime shows, including ''Nobunaga the Fool'' ...

Maho Tomita Maho may refer to: Term * Maho, tropical hibiscus tree common throughout the Caribbean (thespesia populnea, Hibiscus elatus, or Hibiscus Tilaceus) * Maho, a West Indian Caribbean slang term for a man who spends too much time drinking beer and fishi ...

, and

Miori Ichikawa is Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol groups AKB48 and NMB48. She is known for her "Fresh Lemon" character and is the Hiroshima Lemon Ambassador since 2014. Biography Ichikawa debuted in the entertainment industry under Star ...

as well as actor

Kazuki Kato is a Japanese actor, voice actor and singer from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. He is best known for his role as Daisuke Kazama, also known as Kamen Rider Drake, in ''Kamen Rider Kabuto'' and Keigo Atobe in ''The Prince of Tennis'' musicals. In 201 ...

Charts

References

External links

"Senbonzakura" on Niconico
{{Authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Vocaloid songs Wagakki Band Songs about cherry blossom