Song Introduction (Hikouki Gumo)

Song Title: Hikouki Gumo / Hikōki Gumo (Title Meaning: Contrail)
Artist: Yumi Arai (now Yumi Matsutoya)
Lyrics & Composition: Yumi Arai (now Yumi Matsutoya)
Label: EMI Music Japan
Overview:

This song was Released as the B-side track of her second single “Kitto Ieru” on November 5 in 1973.
And “Hikouki Gumo” was also included as the title track on her debut album, Hikōki Gumo, released on November 20 of the same year.
In 2013, the song was featured as the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki’s film The Wind Rises.
It was re-released as a digital single, topping both the RecoChoku Singles Daily Ranking and the iTunes Top Songs chart that year.

Source of Article:
“Yumi Matsutoya” – Wikipedia
“Hikouki Gumo (Yumi Arai’s Song)” – Wikipedia

About the Song

This song, written by Yumi Arai (now Yumi Matsutoya), was inspired by a boy from her elementary school who passed away from muscular dystrophy.

Four years after graduating from elementary school, she attended his funeral, and seeing his portrait as a high school student deeply impacted her, leading her to write this song.

When you read the lyrics, which include lines like “Yearning for the sky, soaring into the sky, that child’s life is like a vapor trail,” it feels as though she is questioning whether the boy, who died young from illness and whom everyone pitied, might have actually lived his life as freely as a vapor trail ascending to the heavens.

To me, this song does not sound like a requiem but rather a message for his journey onward.

It is a deeply moving and comforting masterpiece.

Song Video

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Artist Introduction (Yumi Matsutoya)

Artist: Yumi Matsutoya (Formerly: Yumi Arai)
Date of Birth: January 19, 1954
Place of Birth: Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan
Official Website: Yumi Matsutoya Official Website

Artist Trails

Yumi Matsutoya (Formerly: Yumi Arai) is a female singer-songwriter who has been active in the Japanese music scene since the 1970s.

Her music portrays the joys and sorrows of youth, the pleasures and pains of love, and resonates deeply with listeners.

She started playing the piano at the age of six, growing up in an environment where she was surrounded by music.
This early musical experience greatly influenced her later career.

During high school, she was strongly influenced by music such as pipe organ and Procol Harum.
She was also deeply impressed by the works of poets like Arthur Rimbaud and Jacques Prévert, which refined her artistic sensibilities.

In 1971, a demo tape she made as a high school senior attracted attention in the music industry, leading her to start her career as a composer at the age of 17.

She debuted in 1972 under the name Yumi Arai with the single “Henji wa Iranai,” but her early works did not receive much attention.

Her first album, “Hikouki Gumo,” released in 1973, gradually gained recognition, and her name started to become known.

The album’s title track “Hikōki Gumo” and the following year’s single “Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta Nara” became hits and established themselves as her signature songs.

Her music had a unique world view, setting it apart from the folk and rock music of the time.

In 1975, the song “Ichigo Hakusho o Mō Ichido,” which she provided for the folk group BanBan, became a huge hit, and her own single “Ano Hi ni Kaeritai” also topped the Oricon charts in Japan.
This solidified Yumi Arai’s position as a leading singer-songwriter of the era.

In 1976, she married Masataka Matsutoya and changed her stage name to Yumi Matsutoya, continuing her musical activities.
After the name change, she faced a temporary slump, but her 1981 single “Mamotte Agetai” was a big hit, marking the start of her second wave of popularity.

Subsequently, her albums consistently topped the Oricon charts, and her popularity soared again.

Her 1988 album “Delight Slight Light KISS” sold 1.58 million copies, becoming her first album to rank number one in the annual album rankings.

Following this, her albums “LOVE WARS” (1989) and “Tengoku no Door” (1990) also consecutively topped the annual rankings, making her music representative of the so-called bubble era in Japan.

During this period, hit songs such as “Koibito ga Santa Claus,” “Shinju no Pierisu,” and “Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo” were born, and she also established a new style of concerts held in resort areas.

Her concerts were always innovative, featuring large-scale productions with elephants, fountains, and giant dragons, which became a talking point.

Even in the 1990s, her music remained popular.
In 1993, her single “Manatsu no Yo no Yume” became her first million-seller, followed by consecutive million-sellers “Hello, my friend” and “Haru yo, Koi” in 1994.

Her 1998 best-of album “Neue Musik” sold 3.8 million copies, becoming the biggest hit of her career.
In 1999, she held a concert titled “Shangri-La” in collaboration with a Russian circus team, and this grand project continued until 2007.

Even in the 2000s, she continued to revolutionize the Japanese music scene, influencing many people, and her music remains timeless, loved by many listeners.