Japonism (album)

Japonism is the fourteenth studio album of the Japanese idol group Arashi. The album was released on October 21, 2015 under their record label J Storm in three editions: a first press/limited edition, a Yoitoko limited edition, and a regular edition.[1] The first press edition comes with an 84-page photo lyrics booklet and bonus DVD with the music video and making-of for the album's lead track, "Kokoro no Sora". The Yoitoko limited edition comes with a 32-page lyrics booklet, and the regular edition comes with a 36-page lyrics booklet. The album sold over 820,000 copies in its first week and topped the Oricon charts for two consecutive weeks.[2][3][4] With more than 1,000,000 copies sold, the album was certified for Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[5][6] On December 23, 2015, Oricon ranked Japonism as the best-selling album of 2015 in Japan.[7][8] On February 27, 2016, Japonism was awarded Album of the Year in the 2016 Japan Gold Disc Awards.[9]

Japonism
Studio album by
Arashi
ReleasedOctober 21, 2015 (2015-10-21)
Recorded2014–2015
Genre
Length86:37 (Regular Edition)
69:39 (Limited Edition)
121:10 (Yoitoko Limited Edition)
Language
  • Japanese
  • English
LabelJ Storm
ProducerJulie K.
Arashi chronology
The Digitalian
(2014)		 Japonism
(2015)		 Are You Happy?
(2016)
Singles from Japonism
  1. "Sakura"
    Released: February 25, 2015
  2. "Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari"
    Released: May 13, 2015

It was released digitally on February 7, 2020.[10][11]

Album information

The first press edition contains a CD with sixteen tracks and the Yoitoko edition contains a CD with seventeen tracks. The regular edition contains a CD with twenty tracks. The first press edition comes with an 84-page photo lyrics booklet and a bonus DVD with the music video and making of for "Kokoro no Sora", while the Yoitoko limited edition comes with a 32-page lyrics booklet, a bonus track, and an original talk track "Arajapo Talk". The regular edition comes with a 36-page lyrics booklet and four bonus tracks. The album jacket cover for the Yoitoko and regular editions are the same. The first press edition has a different jacket cover.

Songs

In Japonism, Arashi expresses their interpretations of the "wonderfulness of Japan". The album showcases Arashi's ambitious challenging spirit and continuous evolution. The lead track "Kokoro no Sora" was composed by Tomoyasu Hotei, who is based in London, with the theme "Japan seen from the outside" in mind. Described as a "passionate and manly song", Arashi sings to a fast-paced Hotei sound, where a battle between Arashi, Hotei, and Japanese instruments take place.[12] The album includes a cover of Shonentai's "Nihon Yoitoko Maka Fushigi".

Japonism includes two of the group's previously released singles: "Sakura" and "Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari". This album also includes fourteen new songs plus five of each member's solo songs. It also includes their previously unreleased song "Furusato" which they have sung regularly since 2010.

"Sakura" was used as the theme song for the drama Ouroborous,[13] starring actors Toma Ikuta and Shun Oguri. This is the first time Arashi has provided a theme song for a drama that did not star one of its members.[14] "Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari" was used as the theme song for the drama Yokoso, Wagaya E,[15] which stars Arashi member Masaki Aiba.[16]

Promotion

To support their new album, Arashi performed a live tour, ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2015 Japonism, performing at all the major dome stadiums in Japan. They had 17 performances beginning on November 6 at the Nagoya Dome, followed by Sapporo Dome on November 8, Kyocera Osaka Dome on November 26, Fukuoka Dome on December 17, and Tokyo Dome on December 23, 2015.[17]

Track listing
CD 1
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Sakura"eltvoeltvoHirofumi Sasaki4:39
2."Kokoro no Sora" (心の空)
HoteiHotei4:33
3."Kimi e no Omoi" (君への想い)
  • wonder note
  • Macoto56
  • Sakurai
wonder noteTomoki Ishizuka4:53
4."Don't You Love Me?" (Jun Matsumoto solo)
  • wonder note
  • paddy
  • wonder note
  • takarot
Ishizuka4:00
5."Miyabi-night"
  • Macoto56
  • AKJ & ASIL
AKJ & ASILA.K.Janeway4:37
6."Mikazuki" (三日月)youth caseA-beeA-bee4:30
7."Bolero!"SakraSakraSlice of Life3:38
8."Mr. Funk" (Masaki Aiba solo)
  • youth case
  • Shigeo
  • Ricky Hanley
  • Daniel Sherman
metropolitan digital clique4:45
9."Akatsuki" (暁, Satoshi Ohno solo)s-TnkKazumi MitomeMitome4:13
10."Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari" (青空の下、キミのとなり)
  • wonder note
  • s-Tnk
  • Gigi
  • wonder note
metropolitan digital clique4:04
11."Rolling Days" (Sho Sakurai solo)
  • Octobar
  • Sakurai
Octobarpieni tonttu5:05
12."In the Room" (イン・ザ・ルーム)
  • Takashi Ogawa
  • Sakurai
Jeremy HammondHammond3:18
13."Masquerade" (マスカレード)HydrantHydrantMotoki Funayama4:50
14."Music" (Kazunari Ninomiya solo)AkiraTakahiro FurukawaTaku Yoshioka3:38
15."Tsutaetai Koto" (伝えたいこと)
  • ASIL
  • s-Tnk
pieni tonttu4:39
16."Japonesque"
  • MiNE
  • R.P.P.
  • sk-etch
  • MiNE
  • ha-j
  • sk-etch
4:11
CD 2: Regular edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Bokura ga Tsunaideiku" (僕らがつないでいく)
  • SQUAREF
  • John World
  • Pippi Svensson
  • Josef Melin
BJ Khan4:25
2."The Deep End"100+
A.K.Janeway3:27
3."Make a Wish"Sachiko Inamura
  • sk-etch
  • Shu Kanematsu
  • BEAT
  • ROLF
Sasaki4:24
4."Furusato" (ふるさと)Kundō Koyamayouth caseSachiko Miyano4:41
Total length:86:37
CD 2 Yoitoko limited edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Nihon Yoitoko Makafushigi" (日本よいとこ摩訶不思議, Shonentai cover)Yoshio NomuraNomuraSasaki2:55
2."Arajapo Talk" (アラジャポ・トーク, Original Talk Track)   48:36
Total length:121:10
DVD limited edition
No.TitleLength
1."Kokoro no Sora (video clip + making)" (心の空（ビデオ・クリップ＋メイキング）) 

Chart performance

The album debuted at number one on the Oricon daily album chart selling 412,826 copies upon its release and selling over 820,000 copies by the end of the week, topping the Oricon weekly album chart.[18][3] The album maintained its number-one spot on the Oricon weekly album chart selling 56,890 copies in its second week and stayed in the top ten for six consecutive weeks.[4] The album placed second on Billboard Japan's yearly top albums list and first on Oricon's yearly album chart, making it the best-selling album of 2015 in Japan.[19][7][8] This makes Arashi the first and only solo or group artist to reach number one five times on the yearly charts, beating Hikaru Utada's 2004 record of four number one albums on the yearly charts.

"Japonism" sold 3,513 copies in its twelfth week which pushed the overall sales for the album past the one million mark, making "Japonism" Arashi's third million-selling album after All the Best! 1999–2009 and Boku no Miteiru Fūkei. It also marks the first time in three years and seven months a male artist has sold over one million copies of their album (since Mr Children's Mr. Children 2001–2005 ＜micro＞ in 2012).[20] With more than 1,000,000 copies sold, "Japonism" was certified for Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[5][6]

Charts and certifications

Awards

Release history
Country Release date Label Format Catalog
Japan October 21, 2015 J Storm CD+DVD JACA-5480-5481
2CD JACA-5482-5483
2CD JACA-5484-5485
South Korea November 11, 2015 S.M. Entertainment CD+DVD SMKJT0593/B
2CD SMKJT0594
2CD SMKJT0595
Taiwan November 11, 2015 Avex Asia CD+DVD JAJCD26025/A
2CD JAJCD26025/B
2CD JAJCD26025/6

Footnotes
  1. Position was taken from 2015 week 47.

References
  1. "【通常盤はオンライン期間限定ポイント10倍】嵐、ニュー・アルバム『Japonism』10月21日発売" (in Japanese). Tower Records. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. "2015年10月度月間ランキング1位〜10位" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. "【オリコン】嵐、"12年"連続アルバム首位 自己最高初動82万枚" (in Japanese). Oricon. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. "【オリコン】嵐、最新アルバム2週連続首位 累積売上87.7万枚" (in Japanese). Oricon. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  5. "「第30回 日本ゴールドディスク大賞」受賞作品・アーティスト発表！" (in Japanese). RIAJ. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  6. "2015年 ミリオン以上 認定作品一覧" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  7. "年間 CDアルバムランキング2015年度" (in Japanese). Oricon. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  8. "2015年 年間音楽ランキングを発表！" (in Japanese). Oricon. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  9. "THE JAPAN GOLD DISC AWARD 2016" (in Japanese). RIAJ. 27 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  10. "旧譜オリジナル・アルバム（全16タイトル）デジタルリリース決定". Johnny's net (in Japanese). February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  11. "嵐のオリジナルアルバム16作品256曲、明後日デジタル配信スタート". natalie.mu (in Japanese). February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on February 5, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  12. "嵐14枚目のアルバム「Japonism」の発売が10月21日(水)に決定致しました。" (in Japanese). J Storm. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  13. "2015年2月25日 J Storm ARASHIニューシングル「Sakura」" (in Japanese). J Storm. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  14. "嵐、今年第1弾シングルは生田主演『ウロボロス』主題歌" (in Japanese). Oricon. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  15. "2015年5月13日 J Storm ARASHIニューシングル「青空の下､キミのとなり」" (in Japanese). J Storm. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  16. "嵐、ニューシングルは相葉雅紀主演月9主題歌" (in Japanese). natalie. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  17. "嵐、4年連続の5大ドームツアー開催！今年は17公演実施" (in Japanese). natalie. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  18. "嵐『Japonism』、初日41万枚でまた前作超え!! 布袋寅泰も「鳥肌の連続」「貴重な経験」" (in Japanese). Cyzo. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  19. "Billboard JAPAN Hot Albums of the Year 2015". Billboard. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  20. "【オリコン】嵐『Japonism』がミリオン達成 男性歌手3年7ヶ月ぶり快挙" (in Japanese). Oricon. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  21. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  22. "Billboard Japan Top Album Sales" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  23. "2015년 47주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  24. "2015년 47주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  25. "G-Music J-Pop Chart" (in Chinese). G-Music. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  26. "週間 CDアルバムランキング2016年01月18日付" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  27. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  28. "Billboard Japan Top Album Sales" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  29. "Japan Hot Albums 2015" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  30. "G-Music 2016 Annual Sales Chart". G-Music. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  31. "Japanese album certifications – Arashi – Japonism" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. October 2015. Select 2015年10月 on the drop-down menu
  32. オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree'] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  33. "The Japan Gold Disc Award 2016" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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