Yumi Matsutoya facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yumi Matsutoya
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Matsutoya in 1989
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Yumi Arai |
| Also known as | Yuming, Yumi Arai, Karuho Kureta |
| Born | January 19, 1954 Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan |
| Origin | Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | |
Yumi Matsutoya (松任谷 由実, Matsutōya Yumi, born January 19, 1954), known to her fans as Yuming (ユーミン, Yūmin), is a famous Japanese singer, composer, and pianist. She usually writes both the words and music for her songs. Yuming is known for her unique voice and amazing live shows. She is one of the most important people in the history of Japanese popular music.
Yuming has sold over 42 million records, which is a huge success! In 1990, her album The Gates of Heaven was the first album in Japan to sell over two million copies. She has had twenty-one albums reach number one on the Oricon charts, which track music sales in Japan. She is also the only artist to have a number-one album every year for 18 years in a row.
Before becoming a singer, she worked as a session musician (playing music for other artists). She started her singing career in 1972. In her early days, she used her birth name, Yumi Arai (荒井 由実, Arai Yumi). In 1975, she became well-known for writing "Ichigo Hakusho wo Mou Ichido," a hit song for the folk duo BanBan. That same year, her song "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai" became her first number-one hit as a singer. Other popular songs include "Haru-yo, Koi" and "Sweet, Bitter Sweet."
Yumi Matsutoya also uses the name Kureta Karuho (呉田軽穂) when she writes songs for other musicians. This name comes from the famous Swedish movie star Greta Garbo.
Experts say that Yuming brought new sounds to Japanese music. She mixed progressive rock and European pop music. Her album Cobalt Hour is often seen as one of the first albums to show this new style. Her albums like The 14th Moon, Cobalt Hour, Yuming Brand, and Hikōki-gumo (all from 1976) have many songs that are now considered early classics of the J-pop style.
In 1976, Yumi Arai married Masataka Matsutoya, who also worked on her music. After that, she started recording under her married name, Yumi Matsutoya. Throughout the 1980s, her music was often used in commercials for Mitsubishi Motors cars in Japan. She had many hit singles and albums, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Contents
About Yumi Matsutoya
Her Early Life
Yumi Arai was born in 1954 in Hachiōji, Tokyo. She grew up with three brothers and one sister. Her family owned a fabric shop called Arai Gofukuten. When she was in junior high, she often visited an Italian restaurant called Chianti. Many famous people went there, including director Akira Kurosawa and artist Taro Okamoto. One of her first music producers, Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu, also went there.
Her nickname "Yuming" was given to her by Sy Chen, a Chinese bassist she liked when she was 13. She started her music journey very young. At 14, she worked as a musician for the first time. She also wrote many songs. When she was 17, her first song, "Ai wa Totsuzen ni," was released. It was sung by Katsumi Kahashi.
In April 1972, Yumi started studying at Tama Art University. At the same time, she signed with a music company called Alfa. She first wanted to be a songwriter. But the company's founder, Kunihiko Murai, encouraged her to become a singer-songwriter.
Music Career Highlights
Starting as Yumi Arai
On July 5, 1972, Yumi released her first single, "Henji wa Iranai." It was produced by Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu. This first song only sold about 300 copies. Later, a new version of it appeared on her first full album.
Her first album, Hikō-ki Gumo, came out in November 1973. She recorded it with a band called Caramel Mama (later known as Tin Pan Alley). The main song from this album was later used as the theme song for the movie The Wind Rises (2013). For her next album, MISSLIM (1974), Masataka Matsutoya arranged all her songs. Her third album, Cobalt Hour (1975), includes her famous song "Sotsugyō Shashin." This song was covered by many Japanese artists and became a classic pop song. In the same year, the folk duo BanBan had a number-one hit with her song "Ichigo Hakusho o Mou Ichido." This made her famous as a songwriter.
Yumi had good success with her fifth single, Rouge no Dengon ("Rouge Message"). This upbeat song is seen as an early J-Pop classic. She even appeared on TV singing it with the popular girl group Candies. Many artists have covered this song over the years.
Her first big hit as a singer was her sixth single, "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai." In August 1975, it became the theme song for a TV drama. Two months later, it was released as a single and reached number one on the Oricon chart. The 14th Moon (1976) was her last album as Yumi Arai. Masataka Matsutoya has produced all her albums since then. She sees her nickname "Yuming" as a symbol of her partnership with her husband. "The 14th Moon" was her first album to reach number one. By the end of 1976, three of her albums were in the top 10. She quickly became a dominant force in Japanese music.
In 1989, her songs "Rouge no Dengon" and "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumaretanara" were used in the famous film Kiki's Delivery Service. These songs are now known as some of her most important early works. Yumi's music was influenced by Western artists like Joni Mitchell and Carole King. She was a pioneer who blended Western and Japanese pop music, leaving a big mark on Japanese music.
Becoming Yumi Matsutoya
After marrying Masataka Matsutoya in November 1976, she thought about stopping her music career. But she decided to continue under her married name. In 1978, her first album as Yumi Matsutoya, Benisuzume, was released. In the late 1970s and early 80s, she released two albums every year. While these albums were not as big as her earlier ones, she still wrote many well-known songs, and her albums reached the top 10.
Her tenth album, Surf and Snow (1980), changed things for her. It didn't sell well at first. But in 1986, "Koibito ga Santa Claus" from the album became popular as the theme song for the hit movie Take Me out to the Snowland. The album then sold over 400,000 copies. In 1981, she returned to the top of Japanese pop music. Her husband wrote music for the movie Nerawareta Gakuen. She wrote "Mamotte Agetai" as the movie's theme song. This single reached number two on Oricon and sold nearly 700,000 copies. After this success, her eleventh album Sakuban Oaishimasho (1981) became her second number-one album. From that year until 1997, 17 of her studio albums in a row reached number one on the Oricon charts.
Yumi Matsutoya also published an autobiography called Rouge no Dengon in 1982. She is also known for her amazing and detailed concert sets. She uses advanced visual technology on stage, which can cost a lot of money.
Peak Success and Later Years
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Yuming's albums featured modern electronic sounds and famous musicians from the West Coast. Her album Before the Diamond Dust Fades.... (1987) sold more copies than any of her previous albums. Her record sales grew even more in the late 1980s. Delight Slight Light KISS (1988) was her first album to sell over a million copies. From this album until Kathmandu in 1995, she released eight studio albums, and all of them sold over a million copies. Two of these, The Gates of Heaven (1990) and The Dancing Sun (1994), sold over two million copies each. The Gates of Heaven was the first album in Japan to sell over two million copies. Her album Dawn Purple (1991) sold over a million copies in just one week!
Her albums from this time, like The Gates of Heaven, showed the hopeful mood in Japan during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She was often called the "Charisma of Youth" or "The Enthusiastic Leader of Love." To encourage people to buy albums, she stopped releasing physical singles for about four years in the early 1990s. Her albums The Gates of Heaven, Dawn Purple, and Tears And Reasons did very well. However, in autumn 1993, she released "Manatsu no Yo no Yume," her first physical single in four years. It sold over 1.4 million copies and became her most successful single.
The next year, she had two more million-selling singles: "Hello, My Friend" and "Haru-yo, Koi." Both were used in TV dramas. "Haru-yo, Koi" is especially famous as one of her classic songs. These songs were also on her album The Dancing Sun, which became her second album to sell over two million copies.
In August 1996, about twenty years after her marriage, Yumi Matsutoya performed as Yumi Arai again for three days in Tokyo. Parts of these live shows were released on video and CD. She had released studio albums every year until 1995, but her popularity started to slow down around 1996.
In 1998, she released a double album called Neue Musik: Yumi Matsutoya Complete Best Vol. 1. It had 28 old songs and two new ones. Some songs were chosen by her fans' votes. This album became her biggest seller and her last album to sell over four million copies.
Recent Years
After her successful compilation album, Yuming decided to make the music she truly wanted. Since 1999, she has released eight more studio albums.
In 2013, it was announced that her song Hikouki Gumo would be the closing theme for the Studio Ghibli film The Wind Rises.
Awards and Honors
Yumi Matsutoya received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon in 2013. This medal is given to people who have made great contributions in arts, academics, or sports. In 2022, she was named a Person of Cultural Merit.
Working with Other Artists
Songwriter for Others
Yumi Matsutoya has written hundreds of songs for many other artists. Some of these became big hits, like "Ichigo Hakusho o Mou Ichido" (for Banban, 1975) and "Machibuse" (for Seiko Miki and Hitomi Ishikawa). She wrote many hit songs for the idol singer Seiko Matsuda, including "Akai Sweet Pea" and "Nagisa no Balcony." When she writes songs for other musicians, she often uses the fake name Kureta Karuho.
Collaborations
On her early albums, famous Japanese singer-songwriters like Tatsuro Yamashita and Akiko Yano sang as backing vocalists before they became famous themselves. Yuming has also sung duets with many singers, including Takao Kisugi and Toshinobu Kubota.
In 1985, she released the song "Imadakara" with Kazumasa Oda and Kazuo Zaitsu. In 1986, she co-wrote "Kissin' Christmas" with Keisuke Kuwata, the leader of Southern All Stars. This song was a collaboration between two of Japan's most successful songwriters, but it was only shown on TV and never officially released.
In 1992, Yuming worked with Karl Smokey Ishii on the single "Ai no Wave." She wrote this song and the B-side "Roman no Dengon" with him. The single became a hit.
In 2005, Matsutoya formed a group called "Yumi Matsutoya and Friends of Love the Earth" with four artists from other East Asian countries: Dick Lee (Singapore), Lim Hyung Joo (South Korea), amin (China), and Xu Ke (China). Matsutoya wrote the song "Smile Again" for this new group. They performed it at the Expo 2005 concert and on the TV show Kohaku Uta Gassen.
In 2006, she wrote "Still Crazy for You" for Crazy Cats, a Japanese comedy team. She sang a duet with Kei Tani. This song reached number 14 on the Oricon chart, which was their highest chart position ever.
In 2012, Yumi went to London to record "A Whiter Shade of Pale" with Procol Harum, a band that inspired her. She sang a duet with Gary Brooker on this new version of the classic 1967 song. Yumi and Procol Harum then played concerts in Japan.
Discography
Studio albums
- Hikō-ki Gumo (1973) (as "Yumi Arai")
- Misslim (1974) (as "Yumi Arai")
- Cobalt Hour (1975) (as "Yumi Arai")
- 14-banme no Tsuki (The 14th Moon) (1976) (as "Yumi Arai")
- Benisuzume (1978)
- Ryūsenkei '80 (1978)
- Olive (1979)
- Kanashii Hodo Otenki (The Gallery in My Heart) (1979)
- Toki no Nai Hotel (1980)
- Surf and Snow Volume One (1980)
- Mizu no Naka no Asia e (1981)
- Sakuban Oaishimashō (1981)
- Pearl Pierce (1982)
- Reincarnation (1983)
- Voyager (1983)
- No Side (1984)
- Da-Di-Da (1985)
- Alarm à la mode (1986)
- Diamond Dust ga Kienumani (Before the Diamond Dust Fades...) (1987)
- Delight Slight Light Kiss (1988)
- Love Wars (1989)
- Tengoku no Door (The Gates of Heaven) (1990)
- Dawn Purple (1991)
- Tears and Reasons (1992)
- U-miz (1993)
- The Dancing Sun (1994)
- Kathmandu (1995)
- Cowgirl Dreamin' (1997)
- Suyua no Nami (The Wave of Zuvuya) (1997)
- Frozen Roses (1999)
- Acacia (2001)
- Wings of Winter, Shades of Summer (2002)
- Yuming Compositions: Faces (2003)
- Viva! 6×7 (2004)
- A Girl in Summer (2006)
- Soshite Mouichido Yumemiru Darou (And I Will Dream Again...) (2009)
- Road Show (2011)
- Pop Classico (2013)
- Uchū Toshokan (Universal Library) (2016)
- Shinkai no Machi (2020)
See also
- List of best-selling music artists in Japan
