Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 2001: The iPod Debuts, "Sha-mail" Photos, and Spirited Away, USJ and Mini Moni
In 2001, the animated film Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, was a huge hit. In Osaka, Universal Studios Japan (USJ), where you can step into the worlds of films, opened, and in Chiba, so did Tokyo DisneySea.
In music, albums by Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki were released on the same day and became a talking point. In autumn, the music player “iPod,” which lets you carry many songs on a single device, was also unveiled.
Distance and A BEST Released the Same Day: Two New Albums Side by Side in the Store
On March 28, Hikaru Utada’s Distance and Ayumi Hamasaki’s A BEST were released. Distance was a new album, and A BEST a best-of collecting her representative songs to date. Universal Music (in Japanese) / Avex (in Japanese)
Distance
- A new album
- Fresh songs fans had waited for
A BEST
- A best-of collection
- Her representative songs to date
The weekly ranking results became a topic of their own.
Because the two release dates overlapped, reports comparing how they sold drew attention. Distance went on to sell a cumulative 4.472 million copies, fourth among albums of the Heisei era on Oricon’s ranking. Bunshun Online (in Japanese) / ORICON NEWS (in Japanese)
At the year-end Japan Record Awards, the grand prize went to Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Dearest.” Best New Artist went to w-inds. and the Best Album Award to The Gospellers’ Love Notes. Japan Composers Association (in Japanese)
Singers Discovered Through Auditions, Bands Discovered Through One Song
On March 7, CHEMISTRY debuted with “PIECES OF A DREAM.” The duo of Yoshikuni Dochin and Kaname Kawabata came out of an audition on the TV program ASAYAN. Sony Music (in Japanese)
“Point of No Return,” released in June, also took No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly ranking. ORICON NEWS (in Japanese)
The band BUMP OF CHICKEN released “Tentai Kansoku” (“Stargazing”) in March and became known to many people. The official activity record also preserves their TV music show appearances and their tours of live venues across the country. BUMP OF CHICKEN official site (in Japanese)
- March 7CHEMISTRY, "PIECES OF A DREAM"
- The debut single of a duo born from an audition on the TV show ASAYAN.
- MarchBUMP OF CHICKEN, "Tentai Kansoku"
- The song that made the band widely known.
Mini Moni Makes Its CD Debut: Watching Your Oshi in a Small Unit Too
On January 17, Mini Moni made their CD debut with “Mini Moni Janken Pyon! / Shunkashuto Daisukki!” The four-member group consisted of Mari Yaguchi, Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago, along with Mika of Coconut Musume. Tsunku official site (in Japanese)
Morning Musume themselves released “The Peace!” on July 25. On this song, Rika Ishikawa took the center position for the first time. Hello! Project (in Japanese)
Seeing Spirited Away in the Theater, Remembering It Through the Theme Song
On July 20, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away opened. It tells the story of a girl, Chihiro, who wanders into a strange world and works at a bathhouse while trying to save her parents. Studio Ghibli (in Japanese)
In the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan’s 2001 materials, it ranked No. 1 among Japanese films at ¥30.4 billion in box-office revenue (roughly $203 million). That is the total of admission fees paid at theaters. Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (in Japanese)
- ¥30.4B
- Box-office revenue
The theme song “Itsumo Nando Demo” won a Gold Prize at that year’s Japan Record Awards. Japan Composers Association (in Japanese)
USJ and Tokyo DisneySea Open: Going Out to Experience the Story
In March, USJ opened in Konohana Ward, Osaka. It is a permanent theme park where you can experience rides and shows based on films. USJ official site (in Japanese)
On September 4, Tokyo DisneySea opened in Urayasu, Chiba. It is the second park of Tokyo Disney Resort, themed on stories and adventures connected with the sea. Oriental Land (in Japanese)
- MarchUniversal Studios Japan
- Opened in Konohana Ward, Osaka, with attractions and shows based on films.
- September 4Tokyo DisneySea
- Opened in Urayasu, Chiba, as the second park at Tokyo Disney Resort.
That same year, the summer Comic Market 60 drew a combined 480,000 people over three days. That was 50,000 more than the combined 430,000 of the previous summer. Comic Market Preparation Committee (in Japanese)
The iPod and “Sha-mail”: Carrying Songs and Trading Photos
On October 23, Apple unveiled the first iPod. It was a music player onto which you transferred music stored on your Mac by cable, to take it outside. It was advertised as able to hold about 1,000 songs. Apple
It stored music on a 5 GB hard drive and could take in a whole CD in under 10 seconds. On a full charge it played for up to 10 hours. Apple
On mobile phones, J-PHONE’s “Sha-mail” became a topic. It was a service for taking a photo and sending it by email, and the clipped nickname sha-me spread. At the time, passing photos between different carriers could be difficult. KDDI (in Japanese)
Ichiro Stars in the Majors: Following Games Overseas
Ichiro played the Major League season with the Seattle Mariners and won both Rookie of the Year and American League MVP. He recorded a .350 average, 242 hits and 56 stolen bases. He was only the second player to win both awards in the same year, after Fred Lynn in 1975. Full-Count (in Japanese)
- .350
- Batting average
- 242
- Hits
- 56
- Stolen bases
Rookie of the Year and American League MVP in the same year.
Source: Full-Count (in Japanese)
At home, Yakult and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes won their league titles. Nippon Professional Baseball: Central League (in Japanese) / Pacific League (in Japanese)
Key Events of the Year
- Jan. 17Mini Moni. makes its CD debutIdols
- Mar. 7CHEMISTRY debuts with "PIECES OF A DREAM"Music
- Mar. 14BUMP OF CHICKEN releases "Tentai Kansoku"Music
- Mar. 25Final episode of Digimon Adventure 02Anime
- Mar. 28Hikaru Utada's "Distance" and Ayumi Hamasaki's "A BEST" are released on the same dayMusic
- Mar.Universal Studios Japan opens in OsakaTheme parks
- Apr.Ichiro makes his major league debut with the Seattle MarinersSports
- Apr. 26The Junichiro Koizumi cabinet is formedSociety
- June 6CHEMISTRY releases "Point of No Return"Music
- JulyThe Pokemon movie "Celebi: A Timeless Encounter" opens (box office of 3.9 billion yen)Anime
- July 20"Spirited Away" opens (box office of 30.4 billion yen in the data of the time)Anime
- July 25Morning Musume. releases "The Peace!"Idols
- Aug. 10–12Comic Market 60 (480,000 total visits over 3 days)Fan works
- Sept. 4Tokyo DisneySea opensEntertainment
- Sept. 11The coordinated terrorist attacks occur in the United StatesSociety
- Oct."Onmyoji" opens (box office of 3.01 billion yen)Film
- Oct. 23Apple unveils the iPod, which carries your music with youTelecom
- Nov.Ichiro wins both Rookie of the Year and American League MVPSports
- Dec. 29–30Comic Market 61 (360,000 total visits over 2 days)Fan works
- Dec. 31The 43rd Japan Record Awards; Ayumi Hamasaki's "Dearest" wins the Grand PrixMusic
- During the yearNintendo releases the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCubeGames
- Mini Moni's debutA four-member unit
- Distance and A BESTReleased the same day
- USJ opensIn Osaka
- Spirited AwayOpens in theaters
- Tokyo DisneySeaOpens in Chiba
- First iPodAbout 1,000 songs
You could go into a story, carry your music and share photos of it.
The Year’s Buzzword Awards
- Grand PrizeKome hyappyo / Seiiki naki kaikaku / Osorezu hirumazu torawarezu / Honebuto no hoshin / Waidosho naikaku / Kaikaku no "itami" ("one hundred sacks of rice," "reform without sanctuary," "fearless, unflinching, unbound," "robust policy," "wide-show cabinet," the "pain" of reform)
- Junichiro Koizumi (Prime Minister)
- Top 10Ashita ga aru sa ("Tomorrow will come," a song revived by Re:Japan)
- Masatoshi Hamada and Re:Japan
- Top 10e-Politics (e-poritikusu)
- Tokiko Amano (representative of a citizens' group)
- Top 10Kyogyubyo (mad cow disease)
- Kunio Ichinose (head of Pepper Food Service)
- Top 10Shioji ("Grandpa Shio," nickname of the finance minister)
- Masajuro Shiokawa (Minister of Finance)
- Top 10Show the flag (a U.S. demand that Japan visibly contribute)
- No recipient
- Top 10Biological weapons (BC weapons)
- Keiichi Tsuneishi (professor at Kanagawa University)
- Top 10Teiko seiryoku ("resistance forces" opposing Koizumi's reforms)
- No recipient
- Top 10Domestic violence (DV)
- DV Research Association
- Top 10Broadband
- Masayoshi Son (head of SoftBank)
- Top 10Ya da ettara, ya da ne ("If you don't like it, then no")
- Kiyoshi Hikawa (enka singer)
The grand prizes went to phrases from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, such as “Kome hyappyo” and “Seiiki naki kaikaku.” The top ten also included “broadband,” meaning a high-speed internet connection, and “Yadane ttara, yadane,” known from Kiyoshi Hikawa’s song. Jiyu Kokuminsha (in Japanese)
Next comes 2002, the year of the soccer World Cup co-hosted by Japan and South Korea. On mobile phones, chaku-uta, ringtones that use the singer’s own recorded voice, also begin.
FAQ
What happened on March 28, 2001?
Hikaru Utada's album *Distance* and Ayumi Hamasaki's best-of album *A BEST* were released on the same day. New releases from both artists lined up in stores at once, and how they would sell drew great attention.
What was the highest-grossing Japanese film of 2001?
*Spirited Away*, at ¥30.4 billion. It opened on July 20, distributed by Toho. In the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan's 2001 release, it ranks No. 1 among Japanese films.
When did "Sha-mail" begin?
J-PHONE launched the service in November 2000. au released a model with a built-in camera in April 2002, so J-PHONE was ahead as of 2001.
How did Ichiro do in 2001?
With the Seattle Mariners he played 157 games with 242 hits, a .350 average and 56 stolen bases. He won both Rookie of the Year and American League MVP in the same year, the second player to do so since Fred Lynn in 1975.
How big was Comic Market in 2001?
The August Comic Market 60 had 35,000 circles, a combined 480,000 attendees and 71 corporate booths; the December 61st had 23,000 circles, a combined 360,000 attendees and 80 corporate booths. Summer's attendance rose from the previous year's combined 430,000.
What were the Buzzword of the Year winners in 2001?
The grand prizes were filled by phrases from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's speeches, such as "Kome hyappyo" (a hundred sacks of rice) and "Seiiki naki kaikaku" (reform with no sacred cows). The top ten included "broadband" and Kiyoshi Hikawa's "Yadane ttara, yadane."
