Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 2000: DVDs on the PS2, Photos by Phone, and the Arrival of Shuffle Units and Summer Fests
In 2000, the PlayStation 2 (PS2) went on sale. The console played DVD movies and concert videos as well as games. In autumn, a mobile phone that could send the photos you took by email appeared.
In music, Southern All Stars’ “TSUNAMI” was a hit, and a limited-time set of units drawn from Morning Musume and other groups became a talking point.
Buy a PS2 and Enjoy Both Games and DVDs
The PS2 went on sale on March 4. Its maker announced that it sold 980,000 units in the first three days, a figure that included internet orders for later delivery (Sony Computer Entertainment, in Japanese).
- 980,000
- Units sold
- 3 days
- From launch, March 4
Source: Sony Computer Entertainment
Besides game shops, the PS2 was sold at about 18,500 convenience stores nationwide. In all, about 26,400 stores carried it (Sony Computer Entertainment, in Japanese).
In theaters, the double bill that included Pokémon the Movie: Spell of the Unown (Gekijoban Pocket Monsters: Kesshoto no Teio) took No. 1 among Japanese films for annual box-office revenue, at ¥4.85 billion (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, in Japanese).
“TSUNAMI” Hits, and Ayumi Hamasaki and Mai Kuraki Albums Sell
Southern All Stars released “TSUNAMI” on January 26 and won the year-end Japan Record Award. For a band that had been active for a long time, it was their first grand prize (Southern All Stars official site, Japan Composers Association, both in Japanese).
Among albums, Mai Kuraki’s delicious way ranked No. 1 on Oricon’s annual chart. It was the first album she released, about half a year after her Japan debut at the end of 1999 (ORICON NEWS, in Japanese).
Kuraki’s “Secret of my heart” also became an ending theme of the anime Detective Conan that year. She went on singing Conan themes, and in 2017 the number of them was recognized as a Guinness World Record (Mai Kuraki official site, in Japanese).
Ayumi Hamasaki released Duty on September 27 and won the Japan Record Award’s Album Grand Prize and Lyrics Award. It was a year when the lyrics she wrote herself were recognized, along with her songs and voice (ORICON NEWS on Duty and the Japan Composers Association, both in Japanese).
Hello! Project’s 16 Members Become 3 Units: Cheering an Unusual Combination
On March 8, three Hello! Project shuffle units, temporary groups that mix members from different acts, released singles on the same day. The project drew 16 members in total from Morning Musume, Michiyo Heike, Taiyo to Ciscomoon and Coconut Musume (Tsunku official site, in Japanese).
16 membersSplit into three units
- Morning MusumeMembers joined the units
- Michiyo HeikeA member joined a unit
- Taiyo to CiscomoonMembers joined the units
- Coconut MusumeMembers joined the units
The three units cut across the members' usual affiliations.
Aka-gumi 4
Four members sing "Akai Nikkicho" ("Red Diary").
Kiiro 5
Five members sing "Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM" ("BOOM BOOM BOOM in the Yellow Sky").
Ao-iro 7
Seven members sing "Aoi Sports Car no Otoko" ("The Man in the Blue Sports Car").
In April, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago joined Morning Musume itself. “Happy Summer Wedding” and “Ren’ai Revolution 21” are songs where you can see singing and dancing that include the new members (ORICON NEWS, Crank-In!, both in Japanese).
Summer Sonic and Rock in Japan Begin: Seeing Multiple Bands on the Same Day
In August, two new music festivals began. Unlike a solo show by one act, these were events where many artists performed.
- SUMMER SONIC
- Held at Fuji-Q Highland in Yamanashi and the WTC Open Air Stadium in Osaka, with performers moving between the two venues.
- ROCK IN JAPAN
- Held at the national Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki. Performers included Dragon Ash, Quruli and Spitz.
ROCK IN JAPAN drew 60,490 people over its two days. SUMMER SONIC started out with two stages. SUMMER SONIC official site (in Japanese) / ROCK IN JAPAN official site (in Japanese)
Camera Phones: Take a Photo and Send It by Email
In November, the carrier J-Phone released Sharp’s “J-SH04,” a mobile phone with a built-in camera that could send the photos it took by email. The camera was 110,000 pixels, handling far smaller images than today’s smartphones (Sharp, in Japanese).
- 110,000
- Camera pixels
Source: Sharp
i-mode, which had started the year before, passed 10 million subscriptions in August. The original target had been 10 million subscriptions in three years; it took about a year and a half (ITmedia report from the time, in Japanese).
- Augusti-mode reaches 10 million subscriptions
- The original goal was 10 million in three years. It took about a year and a half.
- NovemberThe J-SH04 goes on sale
- A Sharp handset for J-Phone with a built-in 110,000-pixel camera. Photos could be sent by email.
Reading Novels on Personal Sites, and Using ADSL at Home
In October, Yoshi began serializing Deep Love on a personal homepage. It was read on mobile phones too, and later became the work that represented the “cell phone novel” (keitai shosetsu). It was published as a book in 2002 (interview with those involved, bizSPA!, in Japanese).
In December, NTT East and West began offering “FLET’S ADSL.” ADSL is a high-speed internet connection over the home phone line. It was a flat-rate service that let you stay connected, though the areas covered at launch were limited (NTT East announcement from the time, in Japanese).
Use shifted from watching the call charges every time you connected to opening pages whenever you needed them.
Kashima’s Domestic Treble, and Nagashima and Oh Face Off as Managers
In soccer, the Kashima Antlers won the league, the Nabisco Cup and the Emperor’s Cup in the 2000 season. It was the first domestic treble by a J.League club, and the Emperor’s Cup final was played on New Year’s Day 2001 (J.League, in Japanese).
In the Championship that decided the annual title, they beat Yokohama F. Marinos 3-0 on aggregate over two legs. It was their third league title, the most of any club at the time (J.League, in Japanese).
In the Japan Series, the Giants’ manager Shigeo Nagashima and the Daiei manager Sadaharu Oh faced each other, and the Giants won four games to two to become Japan champions. It was the “ON showdown,” two great players who had once played together for the Giants now leading different clubs (Nippon Professional Baseball, in Japanese).
The Giants lost the first two games at Tokyo Dome, then won four straight to take the title.
Key Events of the Year
- Jan. 7Aya Ishiguro graduates from Morning Musume.Idols
- Jan. 26Southern All Stars release "TSUNAMI"Music
- Mar. 4PlayStation 2 released, able to play DVD videos tooGames
- Mar. 8Three shuffle units release singles on the same dayIdols
- Mar.Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King opens (box office of ¥3.05 billion)Anime
- Apr. 2Digimon Adventure 02 begins airing (Fuji TV network)Anime
- Apr.Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago join Morning Musume.Idols
- May 17Morning Musume. release "Happy Summer Wedding"Idols
- Jul.Pokémon: Spell of the Unown (Kesshoto no Teio) opens (box office of ¥4.85 billion)Anime
- Aug. 5–6First SUMMER SONIC, held in Yamanashi and OsakaMusic
- Aug. 11–13Comic Market 58 (430,000 total visits over three days)Fan works
- Aug. 12–13First ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL, held in HitachinakaMusic
- Sep. 27Ayumi Hamasaki releases DutyMusic
- Oct.Yoshi's Deep Love begins serialization on a personal homepageMedia
- Oct.Japan Series: the Giants beat Daiei 4 games to 2 to become Japan championsSports
- Nov.J-SH04 released, a mobile phone that can email the photos it takesMedia
- Dec. 13Morning Musume. release "Ren'ai Revolution 21"Idols
- Dec. 26NTT East starts FLET'S ADSL in some areasTelecom
- Dec. 3142nd Japan Record Awards: "TSUNAMI" wins the Grand PrixMusic
- TSUNAMISouthern All Stars' hit
- PS2 goes on sale980,000 in three days
- Three shuffle unitsHello! Project's 16 members
- Two new festivalsSUMMER SONIC and ROCK IN JAPAN
- Deep Love serializedOn a personal homepage
- First camera phoneJ-Phone's J-SH04
- FLET'S ADSLFlat-rate home internet
What you watch with and how you share it both changed.
The Year’s Buzzword Awards
- Grand PrizeOhha~ (a cheerful morning greeting, short for "ohayo")
- Shingo Mama (Shingo Katori's character)
- Grand PrizeIT kakumei ("IT revolution")
- Hitoshi Kinoshita
- Special AwardSaiko de kin, saitei demo kin ("Gold at best, and gold at the very least")
- Ryoko Tamura
- Top 10Q-chan (nickname of marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi)
- Naoko Takahashi, Yoshio Koide
- Top 10Jikochu ("self-centered bug," a self-absorbed person)
- Mutsuo Terao
- Top 10Juhichi-sai (seventeen-year-olds)
- —
- Top 10Para para (a group dance with synchronized hand movements)
- Noboru Koda
- Top 10Meccha kuyashii~ ("I'm so frustrated~")
- Yasuko Tajima
- Top 10Watashi-teki ni wa... ("Personally, I...")
- Ai Iijima
- Top 10"Kan" tai "min" ("officials" versus "the people")
- Akio Fukuda
The grand prizes were “Oha-” and “IT revolution.” The jury picked the greeting of the TV character “Shingo Mama” and a phrase for the way information technology was changing society. The top ten also included “para para,” a dance done with synchronized choreography (Jiyu Kokuminsha, in Japanese).
In 2001, Spirited Away opened. It is also the year the iPod, a device for carrying your music, appeared.
FAQ
What won the Japan Record Award in 2000?
Southern All Stars' "TSUNAMI" won, the band's first grand prize since their debut. Best New Artist went to Kiyoshi Hikawa, and Ayumi Hamasaki won the Album Grand Prize and the Lyrics Award.
What was the best-selling album of 2000?
Mai Kuraki's first album, *delicious way*. It took No. 1 on Oricon's 2000 annual album ranking, a little over half a year after her debut.
What were Morning Musume's shuffle units?
It was a project that reshuffled 16 members from four groups into three units, "Aka-gumi 4," "Kiiro 5" and "Ao-iro 7," which released singles on the same day, March 8, 2000.
When did camera phones appear?
The "J-SH04," released in November 2000, was a camera phone that could send the photos it took by email. It was developed by Sharp and sold by J-Phone.
When did cell phone novels begin?
The origin was Yoshi's *Deep Love*, which began serialization on the author's personal website in October 2000. It was published as a book in 2002, and the four-volume series has sold a combined 2.7 million copies.
