The princess of the Shima uta, a traditional style from the archipelagoes in southern Japan, comes from a small island lost between Okinawa and Kyuushuu; here name: Hajime Chitose. Mastering and surpassing the root frame, she highlighted her birthplace of Amami in the Japanese charts and then through her collaborations with several foreign artists and her participation in events promoting peace.
Hajime Chitose (元 ちとせ)
Peaceful Voice from the Ancient Kingdom
Hajime Chitose (元 ちとせ) was born on the 5th of January 1979 on the main island of the Amami archipelago (奄美), Ôshima (大島).
Amami is not a very well known archipelago which forms a line between the 2 big touristic spots of Kyûshû, the southest of the main Japanese islands, and Okinawa archipelago with which it has constituted until the Edo era (17th century) the independent Ryûkyû Islands Kingdom (琉球王国). The kingdom is then invaded by a samurai clan from Kyûshû who annex formally Amami, while the Shogun granted some autonomy to Okinawa because of its mediator role in trade with China. This last part is then formally annexed during the Meiji Restauration (19th century) with the creation of the Okinawa prefecture, while Amami stays linked to the one of Kagoshima on Kyûshû.These islands thus developed a culture, language and a folk song style close to Okinawa, influenced by both China and Japan, the Shima uta ("song of the islands"), characterized by a kind of strong vibrato (melisma) and the use of a particular kind of shamisen, the sanshin.
Hajime Chitose learns this style during her childhood and gets noticed during songs contests which make her travel until the main island of Honshû. Several management agencies and Majors approach her in 1996-1997 after she released on her own some covers of traditional songs in the local language, but she prefers to go on studying in beautician and cosmetology, like her older sister. She leaves for Osaka but appears to be allergic to some cosmetics, which makes up her mind.
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| Album Heiwa Gannen, 2015 |
She releases a 2nd album, more confidential, Nomad Soul, in 2003 then makes a break for her marriage and 1st child.
She comes back in the spotlights in 2005 with singles used as anime songs like Kataritsugu Koto dans Blood+ (arranged by Tokita from the famous duet Sukimaswitch, belonging to the same agency) or Haru no Katami in Ayakashi, and in movies like Ao no Requiem (Hatsukoi)...
But she gets noticed rather through her cover of a pacifist Turkish poem in her style with a composition from the great composer Sakamoto Ryûichi : Shinda Onna no Ko, for the 60-year ceremony of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, a song she is regularly invited to sing again (she appeared in 2014 in the Concert for Peace of NHK World for example). She takes her role of peace ambassador very seriously indeed and was back in Hiroshima for a festival in August 2015.
The tracks of this period are in the album Hanadairo (ハナダイロ) released in May 2006 (version CD+DVD to get Shinda Onna no Ko in bonus track).
From 2007 on, she collaborates with several foreign artists like the Irish traditional band The Chieftains, the Jamaican duet Sly & Robbie or the new-age French of Deep Forest, which leads her to release a concept of 2 albums in 2010, Orient (covers of Japanese songs) and Occident (covers of English-speaking songs). Meanwhile in 2008, a new original album is released, Cassini, including in particular Hotaruboshi from the movie Climber's high, composed by Tokita from Sukimaswitch.
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Since the release of a Best of and a tour for her 10th year in Major in 2012-2013, she slowed down a little her activities and goes on living on her birthplace island. She regularly tours with another male singer from Amami, a bit less known but talented too, Atari Kôsuke (中 孝介), under the name of Ochûgen (お中元, combination and alternative reading of their names' kanjis) in smaller stages, and partipates from time to time in TV shows.
Since her arrival in Office Augusta, she is a member of the informal bandformed by the agency's artists, in a quite family mood, 福耳 (Fukumimi), which in all discretion includes other celebrities such as Sukimaswitch, Yamazaki Masayoshi or Hata Motohiro ! This band is mainly the occasion to make live collaborations during the festival organized by the agency (Augusta Camps) but they release sometimes CD like the single of the 20th anniversary of the agency, "Love and Live Letter" in 2012.
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| Fukumimi |
Chibi-review
The style Shima uta, in her most strict meaning impies a strong vibrato, close to the Enka and to the minyô of the rest of Japan, which may not be liked by everybody. It is nevertheless a technic hard to masterize, which underlines even more the talent of Hajime Chitose who manages to bring it out of the traditional frame without betraying it.
Her commitment for peace and her simplicity make her a nice personality. As an example, her album of 2015 was released specially for the 70 years of the end of World War 2: "平和元年 (Heiwa gannen)" and contains covers in Japanese of international songs. She regularly put her Shinda Onna no Ko to download around August and gives a part of the revenue to charities.
She can be considered as an "ambassador voice" of Japan, and more particularly of Amami.
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| Atari Kôsuke and Hajime Chitose in the center, in 2017. |
Similar Artists
Japan: Atari Kôsuke, Kizuki Minami, Ikue Asazaki, The Boom (on some tracks)...
World: The Chieftains, Alan Stivell...
Great Standards
First performer:
- Wadatsumi no Ki
- Kataritsugu Koto
...
- Wadatsumi no Ki
- Kataritsugu Koto
...
Discography (selection) :
Affiliated links to CDJapan, with audio samples. Thank you for allowing cookies if you enjoyed the article to support the site m(_ _)m.
2010: reedition of the 2nd indies album of 2001; includes Ryûgû no tsukai (animation movie of 2010 Planzet)...
07/2002: 1st Major album; includes Wadatsumi no Ki, Kimi wo omou...
Hanadairo [Regular Edition] / Chitose Hajime
05/2006: includes Kataritsugu Koto (anime BLOOD+), Ao no requiem, Shinda Onna no Ko (vers. CD+DVD)...
10/2012: 1er Best of; includes Wadatsumi no Ki, Kataritsugu Koto, Hotaruboshi, Ao no requiem, Nagoriyuki with Hata Motohiro...
07/2015: album of covers in Japanese of foreign songs for the 70 years of the end of WWII; includes Lili Marleen, Che Sara (Qui Saura), Shinda Onna no Ko...
Fukumimi + All Stars
03/2011: Maxi single of Ochûgen; includes Haru no Yukôdo
Links
Other sources: wikipedia JP, reportages TV, Asahi Shinbun...
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