Ikimonogakari

Ikimono-gakari いきものがかり
Origin	Atsugi and Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Genres	Soft rock, pop rock
Years active	1998 (1998)–2000 2002 (2002)-present
Labels	Cubit Club Epic Records
Members	Kiyoe Yoshioka (Vocals) Hotaka Yamashita (Guitar and harmonica) Yoshiki Mizuno (Guitar and vocals)
Website	www.ikimonogakari.com

Ikimono-gakari (いきものがかり) is a Japanese pop rock band that debuted in 1998. They record on Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Epic Records label.

The band was formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in February 1999 by Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, and was later joined by lead vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in December the same year. Ikimono-gakari (生き物係) refers to a group of children who are responsible for looking after plants and animals in a Japanese elementary school.

History

Formation and trials

In 1989, Mizuno and Yamashita met by chance while they were in the first grade; they were both put in charge of being ikimono-gakari. Yamashita later noted that he really wanted to be a "blackboard monitor". Yamashita and Mizuno formed their band on February 1, 1999, and began performing live on the street; not taking it too seriously, they named it 'ikimono-gakari' after their shared experience in first grade. At first, they did covers of Masayoshi Yamazaki.

In December 1999, Yoshioka joined the band. In those days, Mizuno and Yamashita planned to make a group with a female lead vocalist, which would be an unusual sound for the street performances they were doing. Yoshioka was the younger sister of one of their classmates; she entered as the main singer and the band took on its present-day form. Now performing with three members, the band did a cover of Yuzu's single, "Natsuiro" (夏色, "The Colors of Summer").

In September 2000, they suspended the band to focus on college entrance examinations for Yamashita and Mizuno. After attending Meiji University and hoping to transfer to a better school, Mizuno was admitted to Hitotsubashi University. Meanwhile, Yamashita got into Hosei University. In March 2002, the band resumed playing together; however, Yoshioka became discouraged for a while due to the strict regimen of rehearsals required by her music school. However, Mizuno dedicated himself to persuading Yoshioka, and to meeting the emotional challenges she faced.

By March 2003, after a difficult journey, Yoshioka recovered; she saw this as a second chance to grow as a person. Again, the band re-formed, but now, they were performing with the intent of supporting their increasing fame. As their style of music was moving more towards an acoustic focus, they planned to expand their scope to cover not only street performances but live house concerts as well. Moreover, they made a greater effort to compose more original music and rely less on covers.

Rise to fame

In April 2003, the band resumed playing with a street show in front of the Hon-Atsugi Station on the Odakyū Odawara Line. In June, they did a one-band show at the Thunder Snake Atsugi live venue for the first time. A person who happened to be attending this performance ended up becoming their manager; this became the impetus for them to launch a major road tour. On August 25, they released their first indie album, Makoto ni Senetsu Nagara First Album wo Koshirae Mashita.... On March 26, 2005, the band held a show in the small hall at the Atsugi City Culture Building (Atsugishi Bunka Kaikan); this was the first time the band had ever done a single-band show in a hall.

On March 15, 2006, the band released their first single, "Sakura", produced by Masanori Shimada. This was their major label debut with Epic Records Japan of Sony. Their second single "Hanabi" was released on May 31, 2006, earning the band their first appearance on the Oricon top 10 chart with a No. 5 debut. Between November 10 and November 30, they held their first live tour, called "Ikimonogakari no Minna-san, Konni-Tour! 2006". They released their first full-length studio album on March 7, 2007, entitled Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari, debuting at No. 4 on the Oricon weekly album charts. Between May 24 to June 14, they went on a live tour to support this album. Their second major studio album, Life Album, came out on February 13, 2008, debuting at No. 2 on the Oricon weekly album charts. This album's live tour was from March 30 to May 23. On July 7, they came out with their tenth single, "Bluebird", cracking the Top 3 Oricon ranking for the first time with a No. 3 debut. On December 24, they released their third studio album, My Song Your Song. This album topped the Oricon weekly charts, becoming their first work to achieve a first ranking on any chart. On December 31, they debuted in the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen festival.

On March 4, 2009, their first-ever collection of video works, "Tottemo Ēzō", was released. That year, Mizuno was put in charge of writing the song "Yell" as the set piece for the junior high division of the 76th annual NHK Nationwide School Music Contest. Their 15th single "Yell / Joyful" came out September 23, taking the No. 1 single spot for the Oricon daily charts and the No. 2 spot for the weekly chart, the highest rankings so far for any of their singles. The band won one of the Gold Artist awards at the 2009 Best Hit Song Festival (November 26), their first time winning one of the show's prizes. They followed that up with their fourth studio album Hajimari no Uta, released on December 23, and debuting as the No. 1 album on the Oricon weekly charts. On New Year's Eve, the band appeared again in the 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen festival.

Musical style

Ikimono-gakari's musical style stems from their original lounge rock style found on their first three mini albums under Cubit Club. Their primary instruments were the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, and the harmonica. Their initial music was considerably slower; "Natsu Koi" on Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari is considerably faster in tempo compared to the same song on Makoto ni Senetsu Nagara First Album wo Koshirae Mashita.... Guitarist and band leader Yoshiki Mizuno also sang considerably more on their indie albums.

With the release of their first major-label album, Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari, their style changed to a more conventional rock style, but still keeping with their traditional guitar-harmonica combination. They also began to add other elements to their songs, such as strings and tambourines, as evidenced by "Sakura" and "Kira Kira Train". Additionally, they recorded songs with faster tempos, such as "Ryūsei Miracle" and "Hinageshi".

Ikimono-gakari began to shift to a more mainstream pop sound with their second and third albums, Life Album and My Song Your Song. Songs like "Kimagure Romantic" differed greatly from their songs during the Sakura Saku era. Life Album saw the revival of a couple of songs from their indie albums; "Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi" from Makoto ni Senetsu... and "Chikoku Shichau yo" from Jinsei Sugoroku Dabe. "Kuchidzuke", also from Jinsei Sugoroku Dabe. was revived on My Song Your Song.

Members

• Kiyoe Yoshioka (吉岡 聖恵, Yoshioka Kiyoe) (born (1984-02-29) February 29, 1984) is the vocalist. She was born in the city of Shizuoka, and later moved to Atsugi, Kanagawa when she was five years old. Nicknamed "Kiyoe", "Kiyo-chan" "Se-Ki", "Las Kiyo", and "Ponyo Megumi". Education: Primary Education City Minami Mouri Atsugi, high school Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, Graduate School Musical courses Showa University College of Music (now four-year) graduation. Her brother was a high school classmate of Mizuno and Yamashita.

• Yoshiki Mizuno (水野 良樹, Mizuno Yoshiki) (born (1982-12-17) December 17, 1982) is the band's lead member and guitarist. He primarily uses the electric guitar. Born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, he moved to the city Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, at an early age. Education: Junior High School Otani Sugikubo City Ebina, high school Prefectural Atsugi, Kanagawa. After Ronin mask in Economics, Politics, Meiji University, graduated from Department of Sociology, Hitotsubashi University.

• Hotaka Yamashita (山下 穂尊, Yamashita Hotaka) (born (1982-08-27) August 27, 1982) is the guitarist and harmonicist of the band. He was born in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Education: Junior High School Otani Sugikubo Ebina City, schools of higher Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture, graduated from Department of Sociology, Hosei University.

Support members

• Takashi Adachi (安達 貴史, Adachi Takashi) (born (1982-12-27) December 27, 1982).

Discography

Indie albums

Year	Information
2003	Makoto ni Senetsu Nagara First Album o Koshirae Mashita... (誠に僭越ながらファーストアルバムを拵えました・・・) Released: 25 August 2003 Label: Cubit Club (TSR-001)
2004	Shichishoku Konnyaku (七色こんにゃく) Released: 28 August 2004 Label: Cubit Club (QBIX-11)
2005	Jinsei Sugoroku Dabe. (人生すごろくだべ。) Released: 25 May 2005 Label: Cubit Club (QBIX-15)

Studio albums

Year	Information	Peak position	Sales
2007	Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari Released: March 7, 2007 Label: Epic Records (ESCL-2910)	4	260,684
2008	Life Album Released: February 13, 2008 Label: Epic Records (ESCL-3046)	2	252,599
	My Song Your Song Released: December 24, 2008 Label: Epic Records (ESCL-3146)	1	466,120
2009	Hajimari no Uta Released: December 23, 2009 Label: Epic Records (ESCL-3354, ESCL-3355, ESCL-3356)	1	561,957

Compilation albums

Year	Information	Peak position	Sales
2010	Ikimonobakari: Members Best Selection Released: November 3, 2010 Label: Epic Records (ESCL-3525, ESCL-3526, ESCL-3527, ESCL-3528, ESCL-3529)	1	1,200,523

Singles

Year	Title	Release	Peak position	Sales
2006	Sakura	March 15, 2006	17	59,758
	Hanabi	May 31, 2006	5	56,584
	Koisuru Otome (コイスルオトメ)	October, 18 2006	15	15,226
	Ryūsei Miracle (流星ミラクル)	December 6, 2006	22	20,195
2007	Uruwashiki Hito / Seishun no Tobira (うるわしきひと / 青春のとびら)	February 14, 2007	17	18,695
	Natsuzora Graffiti / Seishun Line (夏空グラフィティ / 青春ライン)	August 8, 2007	10	37,754
	Akaneiro no Yakusoku (茜色の約束)	October 24, 2007	7	45,872
2008	Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi (花は桜 君は美し)	January 30, 2008	7	33,631
	Kaeritaku Natta yo (帰りたくなったよ)	April 16, 2008	7	59,975
	Blue Bird (ブルーバード)	July 9, 2008	3	90,267
	Planetarium (プラネタリウム)	October 15, 2008	5	36,287
	Kimagure Romantic (気まぐれロマンティック)	December 3, 2008	4	44,790
2009	Futari (ふたり)	May 27, 2009	7	58,180
	Hotaru no Hikari (ホタルノヒカリ)	July 15, 2009	5	47,964
	Yell/Joyful (YELL/じょいふる)	September 23, 2009	2	141,446
	Nakumonka (なくもんか)	November 11, 2009	6	39,132
2010	Nostalgia (ノスタルジア)	March 10, 2010	3	46,902
	Arigatō (ありがとう)	May 5, 2010	2	198,278
	Kimi ga Iru (キミがいる)	August 4, 2010	4	65,287
2011	Warattetainda/New World Music (笑ってたいんだ/NEW WORLD MUSIC)	July 20, 2011	5	40,579

Unreleased tracks

• Futari no Ai land (ふたりの愛ランド) (Online sales was started on 1 August 2006 by Sony Music Online Japan) - It is a cover version of a song by Yūko Ishikawa (石川優子, Ishikawa Yūko) and Chage.

Other

• 14 Princess: Princess Princess Children (14プリンセス～Princess Princess Children～) (released on 8 March 2006 on SME Records): #10 Get Crazy!

Theme songs and tie-ins

• "Hanabi" – used as the seventh ending theme for the anime Bleach.
• "Seishun Line" – used as the second opening theme for the anime Ookiku Furikabutte.
• "Kaeritaku Natta yo" – used as the theme song for the movie Sunadokei.
• "Blue Bird" – used as the third title opening for the anime Naruto: Shippuden.
• "Ryūsei Miracle" – used as a title opening for the first 12 episodes of the anime Ayakashi Ayashi.
• "Nokori Kaze" – main theme for the Nintendo DS video game Bleach: The 3rd Phantom.
• "Planetarium" – used as the ending theme in the drama adaption of the manga Cat Street.
• "Kimagure Romantic" – used as the ending theme in the drama Celeb and Poor Taro (セレブと貧乏太郎, Serebu to Binbotarō).
• "Futari" – used as the theme song for the drama series Boku no Imouto.
• "Hotaru no Hikari" – used as the fifth title opening of Naruto: Shippuden.
• "Joyful" - used as CM song for Glico Pocky.
• "Nakumonka" - used as the theme song for the eponymous movie Nakumonka.
• "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" was the insert song and "Nostalgia" was the ending theme for the 2010 movie adaptation of the novel Toki o Kakeru Shōjo otherwise known as Girl Who Leapt Through Time
• "Arigatō" - used as theme song for TV drama Gegege no Nyōbō.
• "Kimi ga Iru" - used as theme song for TV romantic comedy Hotaru no Hikari 2.

External links

• Official site Template:Ja icon
• Sony Music Online Japan: Ikimonogakari Template:Ja icon
• CUBE Group: Ikimonogakari Template:Ja icon
• Excite Music: Ikimonogakari Blog Template:Ja icon
• Ikimonogakari Yoshioka Kiyoe no All Night Nippon Template:Ja icon
• Ikimono World Ikimonogakari forum & fansite
• Ikimonogakari at AllMusic
• Glow of the Fireflies | MangaUK Blog