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Chiisana Koi no Uta

2001 song by Mongol800 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For the film adaptation, see Little Love Song.

"Chiisana Koi no Uta" (Japanese: 小さな恋のうた; lit. A Small Love Song) is a Japanese rock song written and performed by the Japanese punk band Mongol800. It is featured on their second studio album Message which was released in Japan on September 16, 2001. The song's lyrics are about the love between a boy and a girl who have grown up on a small island.

Quick Facts Song by Mongol800, from the album Message ...

Despite not being released as a single, "Chiisana Koi no Uta" became one of Mongol800's most well-known songs and has been covered numerous times, most popularly by Amatsuki in 2016. A cover of the song by Ayane Sakura was used as an insert song for Kase-san and Morning Glories. Rie Takahashi performed the song for Teasing Master Takagi-san in 2018. The song was also performed by Manaka Iwami for The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten in 2023 and by Sumire Uesaka for Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian in 2024.

The song is a popular karaoke song in Japan ranking first in DAM karaoke ranking. It is the second song of the 2000s to accumulate 100 million streams after "Hanabi" by Mr. Children. The music critic Tomonori Shiba [ja] said the song became popular because of its easy to understand lyrics and simple chord progression.

The song inspired the production of a live-action movie of the same name, released in May 2019 by Toei.

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Background and release

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Main article: Message (Mongol800 album)

"Chiisana Koi no Uta" is the third track of the Okinawan band's second album Message which was released on September 16, 2001.[1] The album became the first indie album to reach 1 million sales on Oricon.[2]

Music duo Fuki and Tee, describe the song's genre to be "rock", while Kyu Nakanashi describes it as J-pop.[3][4] The lyrics of the songs were written bassist and vocalist Kiyosaku Uezo while the other band members composed the music.[5] The main key is B major, the time signature is 4
4, and the tempo is 116 Bpm (232 Bpm in double time).[6] Gordon Maeda, who played the role of Shinji Fukumura in the movie, said that the simple and repeating chord progression makes "Chiisana Koi no Uta" easy to learn.[7][8]

In an interview with Rina Sako from Natalie in 2019, Uezo said that he did not know the song's key when he was writing the song commenting that "Chiisana Koi no Uta" starts in a lower key but with a higher chorus.[9] He also said that he did not use the personal pronouns Boku (僕; lit. I) and Kimi (君; lit. You) while writing the song's lyrics as residents of Okinawa do not to use personal language when speaking, adding that at that time he thought that Anata (あなた; lit. You[a]) was more fitting.[9] Music critic Shiba Tomonori stated that the song uses the adjective "Chiisana" (小さな; lit. 'Little') because it "focuses on the relationship with 'you'", rather than bigger things such as wars, nations and the environment.[10]

According to Hasumi Aku from Utaten, the song is about the love between a boy and a girl who have grown up together on a small island until the girl has to leave the island. The song is written from the boy's point of view and shows that his feelings for her will never change.[11] In a 2019 interview, Gordon Maeda said that he initially thought of "Chiisana Koi no Uta" as a love song but after reading and studying the lyrics for his role he realized that the song expresses the feelings of the band towards Okinawa.[12]

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Cover versions

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Yui Aragaki, whose cover was certified gold by RIAJ.

The song has been covered by Japanese artists numerous times. The most commercially successful version was recorded in 2009 by Yui Aragaki and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in the ringtone category.[13] For her cover version, Aragaki invited 3,000 middle and high school students to perform with her.[14]

Amatsuki's cover of the song released on YouTube in May 2016 became a popular hit accumulating over 100 million views; the first cover song to reach 100 million views in Japan.[15] Actress Minami Hamabe released a cover of the song in 2018 which was used in a Line Music campaign. Her cover version charted on the Billboard Japan charts in 2019 when the movie of the same name was released, peaking at 32.[15]

The song was used as an insert song in several episodes of the Japanese dorama series Operation Love, which aired on Japanese television in 2007.[16] The song was also covered by Ayane Sakura as an insert song for the 2018 original video animation Kase-san and Morning Glories, by Rie Takahashi as the fifth ending theme for the 2018 anime Teasing Master Takagi-san, by Manaka Iwami as the ending theme for the 2023 anime The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, and by performed by Sumire Uesaka as the fifth ending theme of the 2024 anime Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian.[17][18][19][20]

During a special event in the Gunma Prefecture held on June 2, 2024, the song was played simultaneously by 1,000 musicians. The line-up consisted of 200 each vocalists and bassists, 500 guitarists, and 100 drummers from all over Japan who were invited to perform the song.[21][22]

The following is a list of some artists who have covered "Chiisana Koi no Uta":

More information Year, Artist ...
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Media usage

The chords of the song were published in a school book for 3rd graders.[44] "Chiisana Koi no Uta" was used as one of the themes in the second volume of the Sutopi Toraberā Hanami (ストピトラベラー花美), a music novel series written by Rinako Shibano for preschoolers which was published on December 19, 2023.[45][46]

In May 2018, it was announced that a live-action film based on the song was in production.[16] The movie premiered in Japanese cinemas on May 24, 2019. The theme song, a cover of "Chiisana Koi no Uta", was performed by the Chiisana Koi no Uta Band.[47] The members of Mongol800 cameo-ed in the movie.[48][49] The film was written by Kenya Hirata [ja], directed by Kojiro Hashimoto [ja] and starred Hayato Sano [ja] as Ryota Maeshiro. It was distributed by Toei.[50][51] Hirata also wrote a novelization of the film which was published by Kodansha on March 15, 2019.

Commercial performance

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Since its release in 2001, the song has become very popular as a karaoke song in Japan.[10] In the DAM rankings compiled by Daiichi Kosho Company, the song ranked first in the most-sung song by a male artist category as well as ranking second in the most popular karaoke song on the DAM Heisei Karaoke Ranking behind "Hanabi" by Mr. Chicken.[15][47] RealSound stated that it is the "most popular song" by a male artist in the Heisei era.[52] The song placed in the top 30 for Oricon's Year End Karaoke charts for eight years straight.[53] It was ranked 3rd in 2013, 7th in 2014, 10th in 2016, 8th in 2017, 4th in 2018, and 9th in 2019.[54][55] The song ranked fifth for the first half of 2019 on Karaoke Joysound's ranking.[56] According to JASRAC "Chiisana Koi no Uta" generated the fourth-highest revenue in ringtone sales in Japan in 2002.[57] According to music critic Tomonori Shiba [ja], the song remained popular even after the commercial success of the band's album Message had died down, commenting that the song "got out of hand" and "stands for itself."[58] Shiba wrote that the song's popularity lies in a simple melody and the straightforward lyrics in sentences that are easy to understand.[59] The song ranked 25th and 38th place in the Oricon Digital Songs and Streaming charts, respectively.[60]

In December 2021, Billboard Japan reported that the song had accumulated 100 million streams and became the second song of the 2000s – after "Hanabi" by Mr. Children – to reach this milestone.[15] According to Oricon, The song was the third most-listened song of the 2000s on Spotify in Japan, behind "Zenryoku Shōnen [ja]" by Sukima Switch and "Hanabi" by Mr. Children.[61] In July 2022, the song was one of the featured songs in FNS Song Festival by Fuji TV.[62]

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Accolades

"Chiisana Koi no Uta" was announced to be eligible for a nomination in the categories Best Japanese Song and Best J-Rock Song at the inaugural Music Awards Japan but received no nominations.[63][64] In 2019, the song was awarded the Silver Prize at the 3rd NexTone Awards for amassing the second-highest revenue in royalties during the fiscal year of 2018.[65]

Charts

More information Charts, Peak position ...

Live performances

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The following are some of the live performances that features "Chiisana Koi no Uta"

More information Year, Performed by ...
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Notes

  1. "Anata" is a more formal way of saying "You". (See Japanese pronouns)
  2. Stylized in all-caps
  3. Including 13 other people

Work cited

  • Shiba Tomonori (2021), Heisei no hitto-kyoku 平成のヒット曲, Shinchō shinsho, 929 (in Japanese), Shinjuku: Shinchōsha, ISBN 978-4-10-610929-4

References

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