Ikimonogakari

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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 child who is responsible for looking after plants and animals in a Japanese elementary school.

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', an experience which later became the basis for the band's name. Yamashita later noted that he really wanted to be a "blackboard monitor".

On February 1, 1999, Yamashita and Mizuno formed a music group 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, 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, "Natsu-iro" (The Colors of Summer).^[1]

In September 2000, they suspended the band to focus on college entrance examination for Yamashita and Mizuno. After attending Meiji University while waiting to get into a better school, Mizuno was admitted to Hitotsubashi University. Meanwhile, Yamashita got into Hosei University.

In March 2002, the band came back together and resumed playing; however, Yoshioka experienced frustration and discouragement for a while because of the strict rehearsals required for her music school. Because of her emotional condition, she stopped having the will to perform with the band. Mizuno dedicated himself to persuading Yoshioka, and went through a difficult journey meeting each of these challenges head-on.

By March 2003, overcoming many hardships, Yoshioka recovered emotionally, and was determined to take this second chance to revive and grow as a person. Again, the band members re-formed, and now they were performing to support their increasing fame as their musical style was moving 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.

In April 2003, the band resumed playing with a live street performance in front of the Hon-Atsugi Station on the Odakyu Odawara Line. In June, they did a one-man-live performance at the Thunder Snake Atsugi live venue for the first time. A person who happened to be attending this performance became their manager, and this became the impetus to launch a major road tour.^[1] On August 25, they released their first indie album, Makoto ni Senetsu Nagara First Album wo Koshirae Mashita.... In March 26, 2005, for the first time doing a one-man-live show in a hall, the band held a show in the small hall at the Atsugi City Culture Building (Atsugishi Bunka Kaikan).

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 #5 debut. Between November 10 to November 30, their first live tour was held, entitled "Ikimonogakari no Minna-san, Konni-Tour! 2006".

On March 7, 2007, they released their first full-length studio album, Sakura Saku Machi Monogatari, debuting at #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 #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 #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 #1 single spot for the Oricon daily charts and the #2 spot for the weekly chart, the highest rankings so far for any of their singles. On December 23, they released their fourth studio album Hajimari no Uta, debuting as the #1 album on the Oricon weekly charts.

On November 26, the band won one of the Gold Artist awards at the 2009 Best Hit Song Festival, their first time winning one of the show's prizes, and on December 31, the band appeared again in the 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen festival.

Ikimono-gakari's musical style stems from their original lounge rock style found on their first indie albums. Their primary instruments were the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, and the harmonica. Their indie 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". They also began to songs with faster tempo, such as "Ryūsei Miracle" and "Hinageshi".

With their second and third albums, Life Album and My Song Your Song, Ikimono-gakari then began to shift to a more mainstream pop sound. 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.

• Kiyoe Yoshioka (吉岡 聖恵, Yoshioka Kiyoe) (born 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 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 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.

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

• 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.

• 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!

• "Hanabi" – used as the seventh ending theme for Bleach.
• "Seishun Line" – used as the second opening theme for Ookiku Furikabutte.
• "Kaeritaku Natta yo" – used as the theme song for the movie Sunadokei.
• "Bluebird" – used as the third title opening for Naruto: Shippuden.
• "Ryūsei Miracle" – used as a title opening for the first 12 episodes of 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 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.^[4]
• "Naku Monka" - used as the theme song for the eponymous movie Naku Monka.
• "Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo" was the insert song and "Nostalgia" was the ending theme for the 2010 movie adaptation of the novel Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo otherwise known as Girl Who Leapt Through Time
• "Arigatou" - used as theme song for TV drama "Gegege no Nyobo".

Template:Translation/Ref

• Official site Template:Ja icon
• Sony Music Online Japan: Ikimonogakari Template:Ja icon
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