Miyuki Nakajima
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
vocalist, guitarist
, lyricist
, composer
and radio personality
. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter she is often compared to Yumi Matsutoya
, she has released 37 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and whose sales have been estimated at more than 21 million copies.
In the mid 1970s, Nakajima signed to the Canyon Records
and launched her recording career with her debut single "Azami Jo no Lullaby". After rising to fame thanks to the hit "The Parting Song (Wakareuta)" released in 1977, she has enjoyed a successful career as a singer-songwriter, most strikingly in the early 1980s. She has produced four singles that sold more than a million copies in the last two decades, including "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
". She is also well-known for her experimental theatre performances called "Yakai", performed every year-end from 1989 through to 1998. The idiosyncratic acts featured scenarios and songs she wrote but have continued irregularly in recent years.
In addition to her work as a solo artist, Nakajima has written over 90 compositions for numerous other singers, and has produced several chart-toppers. She is also one of the Japanese songwriters who has had the greatest number of cover versions of her songs performed by non-Japanese East Asian singers, especially Taiwanese and Hong Kong ones.
Nakajima is one of the literarily acclaimed Japanese songwriter of modern times, winning a couple of the country's Record Awards for her contributions as a lyricist. She is known as the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.
of Hokkaido. Her grandfather Buichi was a former politician of Hokkaido, and her father, Shinichi, ran a clinic specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. When she was five years old, her family moved from Sapporo to Iwanai, where they lived for six years. Nakajima lived mainly in Obihiro City when she was a teenager. She was one of the most eminent graduates from Obihiro Hakuyou High School, along with singer-songwriter Miwa Yoshida
and television announcer Shinichiro Azumi. She entered the Fuji Women's University
in Sapporo, and graduated in 1974.
When she was a third grade student in high school, she gave her first live performance, playing the self-penned song "Tsugumi no Uta" on stage at the cultural festival. Since then, Nakajima launched participation to be a musician gradually.
In 1972, Nakajima participated in a folk contest held at the Hibiya
Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo
, and then she played a song called "Atashi Tokidoki Omouno". Her songwriting won the prize, and her performance was released as a part of an album which recorded the contest. This became her first recorded material.
After graduating the university, Nakajima continued striving to be a professional musician for nearly a year. Reportedly, she had already written more than a hundred songs before she debuted.
In May 1975, her composition "Kizutsuita Tsubasa (Wings of Love -I Knew Nothing-)" won the prize on the 9th Popular Song Contest (also known by its abbreviation "Popcon"), organised by the Yamaha Music Foundation
. After the contract with the Yamaha and Canyon Records, she debuted with a single "Azami Jo no Lullaby" that was released in September of the same year. In October, Nakajima entered the above mentioned contest with another her song "Jidai (Time Goes Around)", and gained the prize. It also won grand-prix of the 6th World Popular Song Festival, the other awards organised by Yamaha and held in December.
In May 1976, she released the first studio album entitled Watashi no Koe ga Kikoemasuka
. Since then, she has been worked as a prolific recording artist vigorously, producing one album a year. In the same year, Nakajima produced the number-one hit single as a composer for the first time, through "Abayo" which was recorded by Naoko Ken and sold over 700,000 copies. Throughout her over 30-year career, she has been contributing some 90 compositions as a songwriter for other artists, and making some of them huge hits such as "Shiawase Shibai"(recorded by Junko Sakurada
), "Kamome wa Kamome"(a comeback single for Ken, released in 1978), and "If I Could Take to the Sky (Kono Sora wo Tobetara)" (performed by Tokiko Kato
, released in 1978). Nakajima occasionally released retrospective albums which comprised songs written for other artists. The first one, Okaerinasai came out in 1979 has sold more than 500,000 units, and it became one of the best-selling albums for her.
Like the other than popular folk-rock singers in Japan such as Takuro Yoshida
and Yosui Inoue
, she has refused to appear on any kind of television program after she gained popularity, except handful of specials. Still Nakajima promoted her materials on TV in early career, particularly through the Cocky Pop which was sponsored by her management office Yamaha.
Miyuki Nakajima's fifth single "Wakareuta (The Parting Song)
" released in September 1977, became her commercial breakthrough song as a singer. The song reached number-one on the Oricon for only a week in December 1977, knocking "Wanted (Shimei Tehai)
" by Pink Lady
from the top of the hit parade. "The Parting Song" has finally sold more than 700,000 copies and became one of the following year's biggest hits on the Japanese record chart.
Her 4th studio album entitled Aishiteiru to Ittekure
built up her long-lasting popularity as a performer. The album that featured "The Parting Song" also includes the other highlight; a protest song
entitled "Sejou (World's Context)", which became popular after used in the well-known TV drama
Kimpachi Sensei in 1981.
In addition to the career as a recording artist, Nakajima has been known for the working as a personality of radio programs. Most eminent is All Night Nippon
which has been one of the longest lasting programs aired by the Nippon Broadcasting System
, which she participated as a host from April 1979 through March 1987. Instead of TV appearances, she fostered her popularity through the witty and somewhat manic talking on the program.
Most of her compositions came out in the 1970s and 1980s are featuring lyrics which exposed grief or hatred explicitly. Sometimes such her works gained mixed reputations. Particularly, her 1980 album Ikiteitemo Iidesuka
(it stands for "May I Live?" in Japanese
), and its lead-off track "Urami Masu" (it features haunting lyric which means "I'll continue having a grudge against you 'til I die", and vocals like sobbing) brought about controversy because of their extreme titles.
As a composer and lyricist, Nakajima continued to write for other artists and gained success. "Suzume (Sparrow)", the first solo single for ex-Pink Lady
Keiko Masuda
whom was not successful at that time, led the performer to the top-10 spot again. In 1983, Nakajima won the 25th Japan Record Award
for her songwriting on "Haru Nanoni", a song sung by then teenage pop icon Yoshie Kashiwabara
.
She continued career as a recording artist regularly during the mid 1980s, though subsequent releases were commercially less successful compared with previous materials. A string of her efforts that came out at that era has featured harder-edged sounds, because she came to introduce digital recording radically.
"Cold Farewell (Tsumetai Wakare)" released as a single in 1985 was the first song she produced in countries outside Japan. A top-ten charting song features lengthy harmonica solo performed by Stevie Wonder
. He also played the synthesizer on Nakajima's subsequent single "Atai no Natsuyasumi", released in the following year.
In 1987, Nakajima contributed lyrics for the composition by Tsugutoshi Goto, a bassist and a record producer who had been one of long-term collaborators for her.
The song entitled "Fu-Ji-Tsu" was released as a second single for a teen idol Shizuka Kudo
who has also well-known as ex-member of Onyanko Club
. During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Nakajima and Goto wrote 17 songs for Kudo and some of them topped the chart, including "Dokoku (I Cried All Night)" released in 1993 and certified quadruple platinum by the RIAJ for shipments of in excess of a million copies. Songwriting partnership with Goto was ended in 1993, but Nakajima has been continuing to write several songs for Kudo in later years.
Enlisting a new collaborator, Nakajima launched the experimental musical Yakai at the Bunkamura
Theatre Cocoon, Shibuya, Tokyo. Yakai has composed of intricate story lines she newly wrote, and it was initially started as a sort of jukebox musical mainly comprising her songs that were previously issued. Her idiosyncratic efforts gradually became the famous stage performances which were held in every December for 10 years. Since the 7th act which was entitled 2/2 in 1995, Yakai came to be composed of new songs she specially composed. Most of those performances have been released on DVDs.
From 1993 through 2000, Nakajima also continuingly appeared TV advertisements of the Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
. Those commercials (most of them were featuring a new rendition of her early song "Time Goes Around" recorded in 1993) were aired during the Bon Festival and holiday seasons in Japan.
"Asai Nemuri (Shallow Sleep)", a theme song Nakajima wrote for the drama Shin'ai Naru Mono e was released as a single and gained massive success, selling more than a million copies and peaked at the number-two on the chart. It was included on her studio album East Asia released in October 1992. The album also features "Ito (Tapestry)", which is one of her songs that many artists covered, especially famous for the interpretation by Kazutoshi Sakurai
and Takeshi Kobayashi's charity supergroup Bank Band.
In the middle of the decade, she wrote a couple of theme songs for Ienakiko, the TV drama
series starring Yumi Adachi
and which was aired on the NTV. The first one, a song entitled "Sora to Kimi no Aida ni (Between the Sky and You)" was released as a single in May 1994, and debuted at the number-one on the Japanese Singles Chart. The song became her most commercially successful record to date, selling in excess of 1.4 million copies. The other her composition "Wanderers Song" was featured on the sequel of the drama series aired in the following year, and it also gained similar success, reaching the number-one on the chart and selling over a million units.
Daiginjo
, her compilation which was brought out in March 1996 provided her with last number-one spot on the albums chart, making her the oldest female artist who has produced number-one album on the Japanese music chart at that time (the record was overtaken by Yumi Matsutoya and Mariya Takeuchi
in later years).
However, each of her studio albums released in the 1990s were commercially lackluster, and some of them failed to reach the top-10 on the chart. Tsuki; Wings and Hi; Wings released in 1999 are the worst selling albums for her, both of them has sold less than 50,000 copies.
Lyrics written by Nakajima has been acclaimed literarily and educationally. She is known as the first and the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.
label and moved to newly founded Yamaha Music Communications. Then she released a double A-side single "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
"/"Headlight Taillight", which later became her most well-known songs. She wrote them for the theme songs for Project X; Chousensha Tachi, the acclaimed television documentary program which was premiered on the NHK
in March 2000. The single was debuted at the number 15 on the Oricon in July 2000, and it kept on charting for over 2 years. To express thanks for the unexpected commercial success of the theme songs of Project X, Nakajima decided to appear the 53rd annual music program Kōhaku Uta Gassen
aired by the NHK on New Year's Eve of 2002. It gained public attention because it was her first live performance on TV since the late 1970s.
In 2006, Nakajima wrote the song called "Sorafune (Ship in the Air)" for the boy band
Tokio
. The song was used as the closing theme for My Boss, My Hero, the TV drama starring the group's frontman Tomoya Nagase
. It became the second most commercially successful materials for them which followed their debut single, remaining on the Oricon chart for more than a year and selling approximately 480,000 copies. "Ship in the Air" was also the first chart-topper that Nakajima contributed both lyric and melody for other artist in 30 years, since "Abayo" recorded by Naoko Ken in 1976. After a month from the release of her studio album Lullaby Singer that features her own interpretation of "Ship in the Air", her contribution for the Tokio won the "best lyrics" of the 48th Japan Record Award
.
Her latest studio album entitled I Love You, Do You Hear Me?
was released on October 3, 2007. The album debuted at the number-four on the Oricon with in excess of 39,000 copies sold in its first week of release, and its provided Nakajima with the 34th top-ten hits on the Japanese albums charts.
.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
vocalist, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter she is often compared to Yumi Matsutoya
Yumi Matsutoya
', nicknamed , is an influential Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....
, she has released 37 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and whose sales have been estimated at more than 21 million copies.
In the mid 1970s, Nakajima signed to the Canyon Records
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
and launched her recording career with her debut single "Azami Jo no Lullaby". After rising to fame thanks to the hit "The Parting Song (Wakareuta)" released in 1977, she has enjoyed a successful career as a singer-songwriter, most strikingly in the early 1980s. She has produced four singles that sold more than a million copies in the last two decades, including "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
is a song that Japanese musician Miyuki Nakajima composed and recorded for the country's acclaimed television documentary program Project X -Chōsenshatachi-, which aired on NHK during the first half of 2000s...
". She is also well-known for her experimental theatre performances called "Yakai", performed every year-end from 1989 through to 1998. The idiosyncratic acts featured scenarios and songs she wrote but have continued irregularly in recent years.
In addition to her work as a solo artist, Nakajima has written over 90 compositions for numerous other singers, and has produced several chart-toppers. She is also one of the Japanese songwriters who has had the greatest number of cover versions of her songs performed by non-Japanese East Asian singers, especially Taiwanese and Hong Kong ones.
Nakajima is one of the literarily acclaimed Japanese songwriter of modern times, winning a couple of the country's Record Awards for her contributions as a lyricist. She is known as the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.
Early life
In February 1952, was born in Sapporo, the capital cityCapital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
of Hokkaido. Her grandfather Buichi was a former politician of Hokkaido, and her father, Shinichi, ran a clinic specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. When she was five years old, her family moved from Sapporo to Iwanai, where they lived for six years. Nakajima lived mainly in Obihiro City when she was a teenager. She was one of the most eminent graduates from Obihiro Hakuyou High School, along with singer-songwriter Miwa Yoshida
Miwa Yoshida
is a Japanese musician, and the lead singer for the band Dreams Come True.Yoshida also fronts a Dreams Come True side-project called "Funk the Peanuts", and has released two solo albums, Beauty and Harmony and Beauty and Harmony 2...
and television announcer Shinichiro Azumi. She entered the Fuji Women's University
Fuji Women's University
is a private university at Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1925, and it was chartered as a university in 1961.-External links:*...
in Sapporo, and graduated in 1974.
When she was a third grade student in high school, she gave her first live performance, playing the self-penned song "Tsugumi no Uta" on stage at the cultural festival. Since then, Nakajima launched participation to be a musician gradually.
In 1972, Nakajima participated in a folk contest held at the Hibiya
Hibiya
is a geographic name covering a part of Chiyoda ward . The zone along the Hibiya Street from Yūrakuchō to Uchisaiwaichō is Hibiya district. There are many residence indications, but some indications using this word, Hibiya, like Hibiya Park and Hibiya Station...
Open-Air Concert Hall in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and then she played a song called "Atashi Tokidoki Omouno". Her songwriting won the prize, and her performance was released as a part of an album which recorded the contest. This became her first recorded material.
After graduating the university, Nakajima continued striving to be a professional musician for nearly a year. Reportedly, she had already written more than a hundred songs before she debuted.
Early career (1975-1980)
Yamaha Music Foundation
The Yamaha Music Foundation is an organization established by the authority of the Japanese Ministry of Education for the purpose of promoting music education and music popularization...
. After the contract with the Yamaha and Canyon Records, she debuted with a single "Azami Jo no Lullaby" that was released in September of the same year. In October, Nakajima entered the above mentioned contest with another her song "Jidai (Time Goes Around)", and gained the prize. It also won grand-prix of the 6th World Popular Song Festival, the other awards organised by Yamaha and held in December.
In May 1976, she released the first studio album entitled Watashi no Koe ga Kikoemasuka
Watashi no Koe ga Kikoemasuka
is the first studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in April 1976. The album features another renditions of her most early singles, "Azami Jo no Lullaby" and "Time Goes Around". -Track listing:...
. Since then, she has been worked as a prolific recording artist vigorously, producing one album a year. In the same year, Nakajima produced the number-one hit single as a composer for the first time, through "Abayo" which was recorded by Naoko Ken and sold over 700,000 copies. Throughout her over 30-year career, she has been contributing some 90 compositions as a songwriter for other artists, and making some of them huge hits such as "Shiawase Shibai"(recorded by Junko Sakurada
Junko Sakurada
is a Japanese singer and actress. She was part of a music trio in 1973, which included Momoe Yamaguchi and Masako Mori. Sakurada then became successful in a solo music career. In 1979 Sakurada appeared in a film made by the production company Toho, and became popular as an actress...
), "Kamome wa Kamome"(a comeback single for Ken, released in 1978), and "If I Could Take to the Sky (Kono Sora wo Tobetara)" (performed by Tokiko Kato
Tokiko Kato
, is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist, and actress. She graduated from the University of Tokyo, and worked as a visiting professor at Josai International University.- Filmography :# Izakaya Chōji .... Shigeko...
, released in 1978). Nakajima occasionally released retrospective albums which comprised songs written for other artists. The first one, Okaerinasai came out in 1979 has sold more than 500,000 units, and it became one of the best-selling albums for her.
Like the other than popular folk-rock singers in Japan such as Takuro Yoshida
Takuro Yoshida
is a Japanese male singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946 in Okuchi, Kagoshima and raised in Hiroshima. He made his debut with the single "Imeji no Uta / Maku II" on June 1, 1970...
and Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, guitarist and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music. He is renowned for his unique tone, eccentric lyrics, and dark sunglasses which he always wears....
, she has refused to appear on any kind of television program after she gained popularity, except handful of specials. Still Nakajima promoted her materials on TV in early career, particularly through the Cocky Pop which was sponsored by her management office Yamaha.
Miyuki Nakajima's fifth single "Wakareuta (The Parting Song)
The Parting Song
is a song composed and performed by a Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released as her fifth single in September 1977."The Parting Song" topped Japanese Oricon chart three months after the release, pulling down Pink Lady's "Wanted " from the pinnacle.A song was also appeared on her...
" released in September 1977, became her commercial breakthrough song as a singer. The song reached number-one on the Oricon for only a week in December 1977, knocking "Wanted (Shimei Tehai)
Wanted (Shimei Tehai)
"Wanted" is the fifth single released by Pink Lady, on September 5, 1977. The single topped the Japan charts at number one, having sold 1,650,000 copies, and spent twelve weeks at the top....
" by Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
from the top of the hit parade. "The Parting Song" has finally sold more than 700,000 copies and became one of the following year's biggest hits on the Japanese record chart.
Her 4th studio album entitled Aishiteiru to Ittekure
Aishiteiru to Ittekure
is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in April 1978.Five months before the album came out, she topped on the Oricon singles chart with a song "The Parting Song ", which was released as her fifth single in September 1977. The album features her commercial...
built up her long-lasting popularity as a performer. The album that featured "The Parting Song" also includes the other highlight; a protest song
Protest song
A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...
entitled "Sejou (World's Context)", which became popular after used in the well-known TV drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
Kimpachi Sensei in 1981.
In addition to the career as a recording artist, Nakajima has been known for the working as a personality of radio programs. Most eminent is All Night Nippon
All Night Nippon
All Night Nippon is a Japanese radio program broadcast by Nippon Broadcasting System and other radio stations from 1–5 am . It preempts broadcasts from TBS Radio's programming.The highest ratings were achieved on the night of October 1, 1967.-DJs:...
which has been one of the longest lasting programs aired by the Nippon Broadcasting System
Nippon Broadcasting System
, or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station in Tokyo. Together with Nippon Cultural Broadcasting it is a flagship station of the National Radio Network...
, which she participated as a host from April 1979 through March 1987. Instead of TV appearances, she fostered her popularity through the witty and somewhat manic talking on the program.
Most of her compositions came out in the 1970s and 1980s are featuring lyrics which exposed grief or hatred explicitly. Sometimes such her works gained mixed reputations. Particularly, her 1980 album Ikiteitemo Iidesuka
Ikiteitemo Iidesuka
is a seventh studio album by a Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in April 1980.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Miyuki Nakajima, except an untitled interlude composed by Tsugutoshi Goto.-Side one:...
(it stands for "May I Live?" in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
), and its lead-off track "Urami Masu" (it features haunting lyric which means "I'll continue having a grudge against you 'til I die", and vocals like sobbing) brought about controversy because of their extreme titles.
1980s; Commercial peak and decline
The first half of the 1980s was commercial heyday for a singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima. Seven of her studio albums that were released during that era (from Ikiteitemo Iidesuka to miss M.) reached the number-one on the Oricon Charts successively. "Akujo", a more accessible tune than her previous material, was released as a single in autumn 1981. The song became one of the biggest JP hits of the following year, providing her with the first number-one spot on the Oricon singles chart since "The Parting Song" released in 1977. Kansuigyo, her eighth studio album that featured another interpretation of "Akujo" is the most commercially successful long-playing work of hers. The album peaked at the number one spot on the Oricon for six weeks, and also reached the top of the Japanese year-end albums chart of 1982. In the same year, she also produced a couple of top-3 charting singles; "Yuwaku" and "Unrequited Love".As a composer and lyricist, Nakajima continued to write for other artists and gained success. "Suzume (Sparrow)", the first solo single for ex-Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
Keiko Masuda
Keiko Masuda
Keiko Masuda is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She is better known by her nickname Kei, and was one half of Pink Lady, the top idol group of Japan in the 1970s...
whom was not successful at that time, led the performer to the top-10 spot again. In 1983, Nakajima won the 25th Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award
for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.- Categories :The Japan Record Award are four awards which are not restricted by genre....
for her songwriting on "Haru Nanoni", a song sung by then teenage pop icon Yoshie Kashiwabara
Yoshie Kashiwabara
is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, model, movie, television and stage actress.- Biography :Born in Osaka, she rose to fame in 1980 as a teen idol, making her debut with the song "No.1". Other hits include: "Karin" and "Haru nanoni"...
.
She continued career as a recording artist regularly during the mid 1980s, though subsequent releases were commercially less successful compared with previous materials. A string of her efforts that came out at that era has featured harder-edged sounds, because she came to introduce digital recording radically.
"Cold Farewell (Tsumetai Wakare)" released as a single in 1985 was the first song she produced in countries outside Japan. A top-ten charting song features lengthy harmonica solo performed by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
. He also played the synthesizer on Nakajima's subsequent single "Atai no Natsuyasumi", released in the following year.
In 1987, Nakajima contributed lyrics for the composition by Tsugutoshi Goto, a bassist and a record producer who had been one of long-term collaborators for her.
The song entitled "Fu-Ji-Tsu" was released as a second single for a teen idol Shizuka Kudo
Shizuka Kudo
is a Japanese singer and pop idol born in Hamura, Tokyo. She debuted as member no. 38 of the Onyanko Club in May 1986 and went on to a successful solo career with 11 no.1 hits.-Biography:...
who has also well-known as ex-member of Onyanko Club
Onyanko Club
was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members...
. During the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Nakajima and Goto wrote 17 songs for Kudo and some of them topped the chart, including "Dokoku (I Cried All Night)" released in 1993 and certified quadruple platinum by the RIAJ for shipments of in excess of a million copies. Songwriting partnership with Goto was ended in 1993, but Nakajima has been continuing to write several songs for Kudo in later years.
Project with Ichizo Seo and Yakai
Goodbye Girl released in 1988 was the album which she worked with a long-term co-record producer Ichizo Seo for the first time.Nakajima, who was highly satisfied with the recording of the album, considered Seo to the most appropriate musical partner for her. She has been working with him since the end of the 1980s.Enlisting a new collaborator, Nakajima launched the experimental musical Yakai at the Bunkamura
Bunkamura
The Bunkamura is a concert hall, theater and museum located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by Tokyu Group.- Venues :The four main venues are:*Orchard Hall: 2,150 seats*Theatre Cocoon: 747 seats*The Museum - Changing art exhibits...
Theatre Cocoon, Shibuya, Tokyo. Yakai has composed of intricate story lines she newly wrote, and it was initially started as a sort of jukebox musical mainly comprising her songs that were previously issued. Her idiosyncratic efforts gradually became the famous stage performances which were held in every December for 10 years. Since the 7th act which was entitled 2/2 in 1995, Yakai came to be composed of new songs she specially composed. Most of those performances have been released on DVDs.
1990s
Since the 1990s, Nakajima gradually came to appear several television programs and advertisements, though she continuingly rejected to turn up on the pop music television shows. In 1992, Nakajima appeared the television drama Shin'ai Naru Mono e (its title was named after her 1979 studio album), and played the acting as a doctor on the first and the last episode.From 1993 through 2000, Nakajima also continuingly appeared TV advertisements of the Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Japan)
The was one of the ministries in the Japanese government. In 2001, the ministry was merged with other ministries to form the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications....
. Those commercials (most of them were featuring a new rendition of her early song "Time Goes Around" recorded in 1993) were aired during the Bon Festival and holiday seasons in Japan.
"Asai Nemuri (Shallow Sleep)", a theme song Nakajima wrote for the drama Shin'ai Naru Mono e was released as a single and gained massive success, selling more than a million copies and peaked at the number-two on the chart. It was included on her studio album East Asia released in October 1992. The album also features "Ito (Tapestry)", which is one of her songs that many artists covered, especially famous for the interpretation by Kazutoshi Sakurai
Kazutoshi Sakurai
is a Japanese musician and entrepreneur. He composes and writes almost all of the songs for his band Mr. Children, in addition to writing lyrics and singing for his solo project group Bank Band. In 2006, Sakurai ranked #8 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time" and in 2007 was voted #4...
and Takeshi Kobayashi's charity supergroup Bank Band.
In the middle of the decade, she wrote a couple of theme songs for Ienakiko, the TV drama
Japanese television drama
, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
series starring Yumi Adachi
Yumi Adachi
Yumi Adachi is a Japanese actress, model and singer. Her artistic surname Adachi corresponds to her mother's maiden name. Yuri Adachi, born in 1957, had been a model and actress in her own right.Yumi was born in Taito, Tokyo, Japan...
and which was aired on the NTV. The first one, a song entitled "Sora to Kimi no Aida ni (Between the Sky and You)" was released as a single in May 1994, and debuted at the number-one on the Japanese Singles Chart. The song became her most commercially successful record to date, selling in excess of 1.4 million copies. The other her composition "Wanderers Song" was featured on the sequel of the drama series aired in the following year, and it also gained similar success, reaching the number-one on the chart and selling over a million units.
Daiginjo
Daiginjo
is the compilation album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in March 1996. The album features her most commercially successful singles "Between the Sky and You ", "Shallow Sleep ", "Wanderer's Song ", and "Bad Girl ", and mainly consists of her singles that came out during the...
, her compilation which was brought out in March 1996 provided her with last number-one spot on the albums chart, making her the oldest female artist who has produced number-one album on the Japanese music chart at that time (the record was overtaken by Yumi Matsutoya and Mariya Takeuchi
Mariya Takeuchi
is a Japanese singer-songwriter.Takeuchi was born in Taisha city in the Hikawa district of Shimane Prefecture. She spent a year studying in the United States while she was at high school. Her musical career started in 1978 while she was studying at Keio University, with the single "Modotte-Oide,...
in later years).
However, each of her studio albums released in the 1990s were commercially lackluster, and some of them failed to reach the top-10 on the chart. Tsuki; Wings and Hi; Wings released in 1999 are the worst selling albums for her, both of them has sold less than 50,000 copies.
Lyrics written by Nakajima has been acclaimed literarily and educationally. She is known as the first and the sole musician whom was a participants of the National Language Council of Japan, took part in the late 1990s.
2000s
A quarter of a century later from her debut, Miyuki Nakajima left longtime Pony CanyonPony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
label and moved to newly founded Yamaha Music Communications. Then she released a double A-side single "Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
Earthly Stars (Unsung Heroes)
is a song that Japanese musician Miyuki Nakajima composed and recorded for the country's acclaimed television documentary program Project X -Chōsenshatachi-, which aired on NHK during the first half of 2000s...
"/"Headlight Taillight", which later became her most well-known songs. She wrote them for the theme songs for Project X; Chousensha Tachi, the acclaimed television documentary program which was premiered on the NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
in March 2000. The single was debuted at the number 15 on the Oricon in July 2000, and it kept on charting for over 2 years. To express thanks for the unexpected commercial success of the theme songs of Project X, Nakajima decided to appear the 53rd annual music program Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...
aired by the NHK on New Year's Eve of 2002. It gained public attention because it was her first live performance on TV since the late 1970s.
In 2006, Nakajima wrote the song called "Sorafune (Ship in the Air)" for the boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
Tokio
Tokio (band)
Tokio is a Japanese rock/pop band formed by Johnny & Associates that debuted in 1994. It is made up of five men who were signed with Sony Music Entertainment from 1994 to 2001, with Universal Music Japan from 2001 to 2008, and are now signed under J Storm, a label owned by Johnny & Associates...
. The song was used as the closing theme for My Boss, My Hero, the TV drama starring the group's frontman Tomoya Nagase
Tomoya Nagase
is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a member of Tokio, a Johnny & Associates musical group. He is the primary vocalist, in addition to playing the guitar alongside Tokio's leader, Shigeru Joshima.- As an artist :...
. It became the second most commercially successful materials for them which followed their debut single, remaining on the Oricon chart for more than a year and selling approximately 480,000 copies. "Ship in the Air" was also the first chart-topper that Nakajima contributed both lyric and melody for other artist in 30 years, since "Abayo" recorded by Naoko Ken in 1976. After a month from the release of her studio album Lullaby Singer that features her own interpretation of "Ship in the Air", her contribution for the Tokio won the "best lyrics" of the 48th Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award
for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.- Categories :The Japan Record Award are four awards which are not restricted by genre....
.
Her latest studio album entitled I Love You, Do You Hear Me?
I Love You, Do You Hear Me?
is the 35th studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 2007.The albums features a smash hit single "Once in a Lifetime" and its B-Side "Here Comes the Ancient Rain", both songs were used in the documentary program entitled Sekai Ururun Taizaiki; Renaissance...
was released on October 3, 2007. The album debuted at the number-four on the Oricon with in excess of 39,000 copies sold in its first week of release, and its provided Nakajima with the 34th top-ten hits on the Japanese albums charts.
Honors
In November 2009, Nakajima was awarded with a Medal of Honour with purple ribbon by the Government of JapanGovernment of Japan
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...
.
Studio albums
(1976) (1976) (1977) (1978) (1979) (1979) (1980)" (1981) (1982) (1983) (1984) (1985)- miss M.Miss M. (Miyuki Nakajima album)miss M. is the 13th studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in November 1985.-Side one:All songs arranged by Tsugutoshi Gotō #"" – 3:15#"" – 3:39#"" – 3:00#"" – 5:35...
(1985) - 36.5°C36.5°C-Personnel:*Miyuki Nakajima – Lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar*Masaki Matsubara – Guitar*Kenji Kitajima – Guitar*Fujimal Yoshino – Guitar*Tsugutoshi Goto – Bass guitar*Chiharu Mikuzuki – Bass guitar...
(1986) (1988) (1988) - KaikinetsuKaikinetsu-Personnel:*Hideo Yamaki - drums*Eiji Shimamura - drums*Jun Aoyama - drums*Yūichi Tokashiki - drums*Chiharu Mikuzuki - bass guitar*Kenji Takamizu - bass guitar*Tsugutoshi Goto - bass guitar*Yasuo Arakawa - wood bass*Tsuyoshi Kon - electric guitar...
(1989) (1990) (1991) - East AsiaEast Asia (album)East Asia is the 20th studio album recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 1992.The album features "Shallow Sleep ", a hit single released in July 1992. Nakajima wrote the song as a theme for Shin'ai Naru Mono e, a television drama that she made guest appearance...
(1992) (1993) - Love or NothingLove or NothingLove or Nothing is the 22nd studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 1994.Lead-off track of the album is another rendition of "Between the Sky and You" arranged by David Campbell, her biggest hit single which reached number-one on the Japanese Oricon chart...
(1994) - 10 Wings10 Wings10 Wings is the album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 1995.The album consists of new studio recordings of the songs which she wrote for annual experimental theatres entitled , premiered in November 1989. Some songs already appeared on her previous studio albums...
(1995) (1996) (1998) (1999) - Moon: WingsMoon: Wingsis the 27th studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima.In November 1999, it was simultaneously released with another album Sun: Wings which have similar concept...
(1999) (2000) (2001) (2002) (2003 (2004) (2005) (2006) (2007) - Drama! (2009) (2010) (2011)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Yousei Florence | Fairy Musica (voice) |
| 1997 | Tokyo Biyori | Bar hostess |
| 2005 | Sayonara Color | Doctor Iwaodake |
| 2005 | Glass no Tsukai (Dreaming of Light) | Itoko, the Fortune-teller |
| 2006 | The Mamiya Brothers Mamiya kyodai is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Japanese director Yoshimitsu Morita, based on a novel by Kaori Ekuni. The film follows two eccentric brothers, who are also each other's best friend, as they try to find love.... |
Junko Mamiya |
Tours
- 1977 Spring Concert
- 1977 Autumn Concert
- 1978 Spring Tour
- 1978 Autumn Tour
- 1979 Spring Tour
- 1979 Autumn Tour
- Miyuki Nakajima Concert (1980 Autumn Tour) (1981) (1982) (1982–83)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert (1982–83)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '84 (1984)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '84 (1984–85)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '85 (1985)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '85 Page 85" (1985)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '86 " (1986)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert '86 Page 86 " " (1986)
- Miyuki Nakajima Concert '87 "Suppin Vol.1" (1987)
- Nakajima Miyuki Concert 1989 " (1989)
- Concert Tour '90 "Night Wings" (1990)
- Concert "Carnival 1992" (1992)
- Concert Tour '93 "East Asia" (1993)
- Concert '95 "Love or Nothing" (1995)
- Concert Tour '97 "Paradise Cafe" (1997)
- Concert Tour '98 (1998)
- XXIc. 1st. (2001)
- Concert Tour 2005
- Concert Tour 2007
Yakai
- Yakai (1989)
- Yakai 1990 (1990)
- Yakai Vol.3 Kan-Tan (1991)
- Yakai Vol.4 Kinkanshoku (1992)
- Yakai Vol.5 "Hana no Iro wa Utsuri ni keri na Itazura ni Waga Mi Yo ni Furu Nagame Seshi Ma ni" (1993)
- Yakai Vol.6 Shangri-La (1994)
- Yakai Vol.7 2/2 (1995)
- Yakai Vol.8 Tou Onna (1996)
- Yakai Vol.9 2/2 (1997)
- Yakai Vol.10 Kaishou (1998)
- Yakai Vol.11 Winter Garden (2000)
- Yakai Vol.12 Winter Garden (2002)
- Yakai Vol.13 24-ji Chaku 0-ji Hatsu (2004)
- Yakai Vol.14 24-ji Chaku 00-ji Hatsu (2006)
- Yakai Vol.15 Ganso Konbanya (2008–09)
Awards
| Japan Record Awards | |||
| Year | Title | Category | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 (18th) | "Abayo" | Vocal Performance | (Performer: Naoko Ken Naoko Ken is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well-known for her comedy roles featuring idiosyncratic looks, and a string of successful torch songs that gained popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s.- Biography :... / Composer and lyricist: Nakajima / Arranger: Kuni Kawauchi) |
| 1978 (20th) | "Shiawase Shibai" | Gold Prize | (Performer: Junko Sakurada Junko Sakurada is a Japanese singer and actress. She was part of a music trio in 1973, which included Momoe Yamaguchi and Masako Mori. Sakurada then became successful in a solo music career. In 1979 Sakurada appeared in a film made by the production company Toho, and became popular as an actress... / Composer and lyricist: Nakajima / Arranger: Kei Wakakusa) |
| 1981 (23rd) | Month of Parturition Month of Parturition is the eighth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in March 1981.The album features "Hitori Jouzu", a song released as a lead single in October 1980 and became her second top-ten hit on the Japanese Oricon .Month of Parturition topped the Japanese albums chart for... (Ringetsu) |
Best 10 Albums | (Performer, composer, lyricist and producer: Nakajima / Arrangers: Katz Hoshi, Hiromi Yasuda, Mitsuo Hagita, Masataka Matsutoya) |
| 1982 (24th) | Kansuigyo Kansuigyo is the ninth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in March 1982. The term ”Kansuigyo" ,which means opposite of , is Nakajima's neologism.... |
Best Albums/Best 10 Albums | (Performer, composer, lyricist and producer: Nakajima / Arrangers: Nozomi Aoki, Masataka Matsutoya, Tsugutoshi Goto) |
| 1983 (25th) | "Haru Nanoni" | Best Songwriting | (Lyricist and producer: Nakajima / Performer: Yoshie Kashiwabara / Arranger: Katsuhisa Hattori) |
| 1984 (26th) | "Saiai" | Gold Prize | (Performer: Yoshie Kashiwabara / Lyricist and composer: Nakajima / arranger: Nobuo Kurata) |
| 1988 (30th) | "Mugo, n... Iroppoi" | Gold Prize | (Performer: Shizuka Kudo Shizuka Kudo is a Japanese singer and pop idol born in Hamura, Tokyo. She debuted as member no. 38 of the Onyanko Club in May 1986 and went on to a successful solo career with 11 no.1 hits.-Biography:... / Lyricist: Nakajima / Composer, producer and arranger: Tsugutoshi Goto) |
| 1992 (34th) | East Asia East Asia (album) East Asia is the 20th studio album recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima, released in October 1992.The album features "Shallow Sleep ", a hit single released in July 1992. Nakajima wrote the song as a theme for Shin'ai Naru Mono e, a television drama that she made guest appearance... |
Best 10 Albums | (Performer, composer, lyricist and producer: Nakajima / Co-producer and arranger: Ichizo Seo) |
| 2006 (48th) | "Ship in the Air (Sorafune)" | Best Lyrics | (Performer: Tokio Tokio (band) Tokio is a Japanese rock/pop band formed by Johnny & Associates that debuted in 1994. It is made up of five men who were signed with Sony Music Entertainment from 1994 to 2001, with Universal Music Japan from 2001 to 2008, and are now signed under J Storm, a label owned by Johnny & Associates... / Lyricist and composer: Nakajima / Arranger and producer: Motoki Funayama) |
| Japan Gold Disc Award Japan Gold Disc Award The Japan Gold Disc Awards for Music sales in the Recording Industry Association of Japan, is major music awards held annually in Japan also released as a CD.- List of the Artists of the Year :************... |
|||
| Year | Song | Category | Personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 (4th) | "Kousa ni Fukarete" | Five Best-selling Singles of year | (Performer: Shizuka Kudo Shizuka Kudo is a Japanese singer and pop idol born in Hamura, Tokyo. She debuted as member no. 38 of the Onyanko Club in May 1986 and went on to a successful solo career with 11 no.1 hits.-Biography:... / Lyricist: Nakajima / Composer, producer and arranger: Tsugutoshi Goto) |
| 1994 (9th) | "Between the Sky and You (Sora to Kimi no Aida ni)"/"Fight!" | Five Best-selling Singles of year | (Performer, composer, lyricist and producer: Nakajima / Co-producer and arranger: Ichizo Seo, Takayuki Inoue) |
External links
- Official Site (JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
) - Nippop Profile | Miyuki Nakajima
- Miyuki Nakajima at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...