Ihojin (Japanese: 異邦人) (English: "Stranger"[1] or "Foreigner")[2] is a song[3] written and composed by Saki Kubota,[4] and first performed by her. The song was first released as a single on 1 October 1979.[5][6] That recording sold more than 1.4 million copies[7] and reached number 1 in the Japanese singles chart.[8][9] The song was used in the "Silk Road" television commercial for Sanyo.[10][11][12]
The version released on 12/7/2006 was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan in May 2019.[13]
A cover version[14] of the song by Tak Matsumoto, featuring Zard, reached number 3 in the Oricon Singles Chart in 2003.[4]
TV Tokyo included the song in a collection of one hundred songs that are so well known that anyone could recognise them in three seconds.[15] In 2022, it was among the most popular 1970s Japanese songs on Spotify.[16]
Lyrics
The lyrics of the song refer to children playing in an open space adjacent to the railway tracks, as seen by a passenger from the window of a railway train travelling on the Chuo Line.[17][18][19][20] The lyrics of "Ihojin" include the motif of time travel that previously appeared in the Shinji Harada song "Taimu Toraberu" (Japanese: タイム・トラベル) (1978).[21]
Saki Kubota
| "Ihojin" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Saki Kubota | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| B-side | "Yumehiko" | |||
| Released | 1 October 1979 | |||
| Length | 3:41 | |||
| Label | CBS/Sony | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Saki Kubota | |||
| Producer(s) | Masatoshi Sakai | |||
| Saki Kubota singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The single released by Saki Kubota was a hit song[22] and reached number 1 in The Best Ten chart,[23] the Oricon Singles Chart,[6] the Music Labo singles chart,[8] and the Cash Box of Japan 45s chart.[9]
The single spent three consecutive weeks at the top of The Best Ten chart.[24][25] The single spent 12 consecutive weeks in The Best Ten.[22] The single spent seven consecutive weeks at the top of the Oricon chart,[26] and spent 25 weeks in the Oricon chart.[6]
The single was number 2 in the Oricon annual singles chart for 1980.[27]
The recording of the song released as a single in 1979 is included in the album Yumegatari. The album Saudade, released in 1980, included a new acoustic version of the song recorded in Lisbon in Portugal.[28][29][30]
The 1979 single was released on a 7-inch 45rpm vinyl record. The subtitle of the song "Ihojin" is "Shiruku Rōdo No Tēma" (Japanese: シルクロードのテーマ) which means "Silk Road Theme". The duration of "Ihojin" is 3 minutes and 41 seconds. The song "Yumehiko" (Japanese: 夢飛行) is on the B side of the single. The duration of "Yumehiko" is 4 minutes and 11 seconds.[31] The song "Ihojin" was arranged by Mitsuo Hagita[32][33][34][35] and produced by Masatoshi Sakai.[36]
The song uses the lament bass as a bridge passage.[37]
Makaino said the arrangement is full of exoticism ("ikoku jōcho", Japanese: 異国情緒, the mood of a foreign country).[27][38]
An animated music video was created by Harune Sato and Kohei Saito from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2021.[3]
There are karaoke versions of both the Yumegatari version, and the (Portuguese recording) Saudade version, of "Ihojin" on the album Golden Best Saki Kubota.[39] The song has appeared in the Joysound karaoke annual rankings by age group.[40][41][42]
According to ITmedia, in 2024, "Ihojin" was the most popular song from 1980 to 1982 amongst Japanese people in their 50s and 60s.[11][43] It was the fourth most popular for people in their 30s and 40s,[44] and also ranked highly for women.[45]
Cover versions
Tak Matsumoto, featuring Zard
| "Ihojin" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Tak Matsumoto featuring Zard | |
| Language | Japanese |
| B-side | "Ame No Machi Wo" |
| Released | 27 August 2003[14] |
| Label | Vermillion Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Saki Kubota |
This single spent 16 weeks in the Oricon chart.[46]
The song on the B side is a cover version of Yuming's "Ame No Machi Wo" (Japanese: 雨の街を) by Tak Matsumoto, featuring Akiko Matsuda.[14] The song "Ihojin" was included in the Tak Matsumoto album The Hit Parade.
Other
There are cover versions by Hiroko Kasahara (1990),[47] Yukana Nogami (1997),[48] Akina Nakamori (2002),[49] Tatsuya Ishii (2003), Yuki Koyanagi (2003),[50] Hideaki Tokunaga (2005),[51] the 12 Girls Band (2005),[52] Acid Black Cherry (2007),[53] Yōko Oginome and Junichi Inagaki (2010),[54] Jun Shibata (2012),[55][56] Ego-Wrappin' (2013),[57][58] Misaki Iwasa (2014),[59] Kazuya Yoshii (2015),[60] Penicillin (2015),[61] Tomoyo Harada (2016),[62][63] Keisuke Kuwata (2019),[64] Hiroji Miyamoto (2020),[65][66] Mone Kamishiraishi (2020),[67][68][69] Sora Amamiya (2021),[70] May J. (2022),[71] Juju (2023),[72][73] and Yūko Miyamura (2023).[74]
A cover version in Cantonese was released under the title "Hang Zhong Bu Yao Wen" (Cantonese: 行踪不要問 or 行蹤不要問 or 行踪不要问) by Paula Tsui in 1980.[75] A cover version in Mandarin was released under the title "Yìxiāngrén" (Mandarin: 異郷人) by Ai Jing in 1998.[76]
See also
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
