We are so thankful for
your contribution to the album
“2+0+2+1+3+1+1= 10 years 10 songs.”
We were able to raise the total of
\42,021,006.
On Nov. 18, 2022, we have donated the total of ¥37,021,006 to the following local authorities:
Shizuoka Prefecture (for natural disaster caused by typhoon Talas 2022)
Misato City, Miyazaki Prefecture (for natural disaster caused by typhoon Nanmadol 2022)
(As reported earlier, ¥5,000,000 was donated to Japan Red Cross on April 13, 2022.)
This concludes our donation from "2+0+2+1+3+1+1= 10 years 10 songs" album charity.
We are deeply thankful for your generosity.
-Itoshiki-
March 13th, 2011
My head’s almost bursting in anger against my pettiness.
What is going on?
Just thinking doesn’t make the world move a single inch, so I’ve decided to move.
From what I’ve heard everywhere, there are lots of people out there all alone and worrying throughout Japan. Myself included.
So many people are feeling irritated, wanting to do something but not knowing what, overwhelmed by their own powerlessness.
If we gather all those feelings into one, it will become a massive lump.
Let’s throw that whole lump into the disaster area.
To do so, I will open a website.
First, I will gather messages.
Right now, most of the disaster victims don’t have access to media such as the internet or TV.
In order to deliver words to them, I will collect messages into this website, and deliver them to the area.
I am preparing to post them on actual bulletin boards at each disaster area.
Send the words that you weren’t sure who to say to.
Next, I will collect donations.
Whatever money is gathered will be delivered to the victims with responsibility.
Details will be announced on the new website.
PS
Right now, I’m making arrangements to put up the website as soon as possible.
Until the website will be set up, I’ll be collecting messages in the comment section here.
Once the website is open, we’ll relocate there.
The Website is now open
March 15th, 2011
-Itoshiki-
I think that what the disaster victims need right away is safety confirmation, water, food, electricity, blankets, heating, and medical care.
Maybe not money or words.
But there will be a time when those will be needed. This website was made under this belief.
I hope that everyone can stand in the middle of the four emotions as they should.
I hope that they can see the world from the middle of joy, anger, sorrow, and fun.
April 12th, 2011 The Zettai Enmei tour kicked off with the Hakodate gig, which was originally not supposed to be the first stop. The tour finished its 27-city/37-show run, including the postponed Tohoku gigs, with the finale at Zepp Sendai on August 3rd.
Donation boxes were put out during the tour, and supportive fans made donations.
“Hakujitsu”
March 11th, 2012
We finished a new song today.
Today is exactly a year after that day, and thinking all the time about how to face this day made me want to record this song no matter what, so I hit up the other band members yesterday afternoon.
I just wanted to play and sing on this day.
The song was finished just now.
Born on March 11th, 2012. Name: “Hakujitsu”.
It’s very rough and awkward, but there’s no doubt that it’s our new precious child.
This song will be put up on YouTube.
Listen to it in its newborn form.
The video was filmed by the Qotorifilm team led by Daisuke Shimada.
Despite being suddenly asked to shoot last night, he stayed up all night and produced the video with loving care, taking until just now to finish it.
He put up with my selfishness.
Just as he did a year ago.
Thanks, Dai-chan.
The same goes for Sugai-san, the recording engineer. I asked him to record our new song yesterday, and despite it already being the day of recording, he readily accepted.
He was making the finishing touches until just now.
I can only express my gratitude. There’re no bounds to how nice he is.
Thanks for the fantastic sound.
Since the song was born, it was arranged, recorded, filmed, and released in the shortest time ever in RADWIMPS history.
I thank everybody who did their best to make it possible from the bottom of my heart.
Last but not least, my prayers go out to everybody who lost their lives in last year’s earthquake.
“Buriki”
March 11th, 2013
A new song is finished.
It’s name is “Buriki”.
After all, there’s nothing else that we can do or want to do.
Please give it a listen.
How much has changed since last year?
It seems like a lot has changed, but I also feel that nothing has.
Living life day by day, updating yourself and the world, is important,
but I think that it’s OK as well to live today as a day to just remember.
Hooray to this crazy world.
I’ll love it nonetheless.
I brought in the same people as last year to record and film the song.
Thanks so much to the engineer Sugai-san and the Qotorifilm team.
Like last year, the video was done just in time.
Thanks a lot to Dai-chan and Sojiro for working so hard to the last minute.
The sky in the video is today’s sky. Today’s sunset. Today’s blue.
I’m glad it was sunny. Maybe it was easier to deliver many feelings above the sky.
Last but not least, my prayers go out to all the lives lost in the earthquake two years ago,
and the hearts of everybody who is still suffering from the disaster.
September 15th, 2013 Michinoku Lakewood National Government Park, Miyagi Prefecture
RADWIMPS’ first outdoor gig Ao to Mememe was held
A grand piano that was flooded by tsunamis at a kindergarten in Ishinomaki
underwent two months of repairs at Sarukoya Gakki in the same city.
“Breath” being played on that piano, resonating like a prayer.
“Hotaru” cleansing the heart and soul.
These became the most impressive scenes of this outdoor gig.
This piano was later contributed to an elementary school in Miyagi Prefecture.
“Kaiko”
March 11th, 2014
Once again this year, we will release a new song today.
It’s titled “Kaiko”.
While I’m not sure if it’s suitable for today, it was born because of the event three years ago. Please give it a listen.
It’s been exactly three years since that day. Already three years, Finally three years. Only three years.
I think it is the people living today that can make a change.
Giving meaning to that event. Or pretending it never happened.
If these seeds were sown with such pain, I’d rather make them bloom as they should to compensate.
For recording and filming, I brought in Mr. Masayoshi Sugai and the Qotorifilm team respectively as I do every year. Thank you.
Dai-chan, I made you stay up all night again this year. Thanks so much.
And thank you to those who participated in the video by sending pictures of candles.
I hope we can reach out to the souls who aren’t here with us anymore.
This year again, the sky in the video is today’s sky.
It was clear and boundless.
Even if three years have passed, the sky is still blue as it was.
I hope this sky will stay the same.
I protest against the severe delay in the nation’s reconstruction support towards disaster victims and areas, and public assistance measures for those living in temporary housing.
What should be done must be done now.
Last but not least, my prayers go out to all lives lost in the earthquake three years ago,
and the hearts of everybody who is still suffering from the disaster.
“Aitowa”
March 11th, 2015
Once again this year, we’ve made a song today.
It’s titled “Aitowa”. Please give it a listen.
It’s been four years since the earthquake.
Those who never want to recall that day again.
Those who don’t want to forget their beloved ones.
Those still waiting for their beloved ones to come home.
Those heading to a new life.
Those coming back and forth in between.
None of them are wrong, and I think that such decisions can only be made by themselves.
No matter how hard I try to understand, I never will, and neither do I want to pretend I do.
Try as I may to reach out, I can never go to their side, so at least I want to keep on facing that day’s events, and the events I’m witnessing, from my own standing point.
The video shows today’s sky in Rikuzen Takata. The blizzard made me worry on our way, but the sky cleared at sunrise. It was a beautiful sky. Sorry for bothering.
Mr. Masayoshi Sugai did the recording. Thanks for a heartfelt mix.
The strings were arranged by Mr. Seigen Tokuzawa. Thanks for showing your best in such a limited timeframe.
Daisuke Shimada from Qotorifilms did the video once again. Thanks for braving the cold and sleepiness. It’s because of Dai-chan that we can always do this. Love you.
Ms. Emi Shinozaki from edenworks provided the flowers. Thanks for the many lovely flowers even though we reached out suddenly.
Ms. Chie from Meltcandle provided the candles. Thanks for the heartwarming handmade candles.
Thanks to Ms. Asumi Ebina a.k.a. Ebi-chan for preparing and arranging everything.
Thanks to Mamoru Tajima a.k.a. Taji for driving the distance despite being tired. Your hard work is much appreciated.
Even now, more than 50,000 people are living in temporary housing.
It is said that a total of more than 220,000 people are living in evacuation away from where they used to live. I hope their “ordinary lives” are restored soon.
My prayers go out to those who lost their lives in the earthquake four years ago, those still suffering from the disaster, and all lives unreasonably lost around the world.
“Shuntou”
March 11th, 2016
Once again this year, it is the day.
Five years have passed.
It feels like both a long time and a short while.
Those who were junior high freshmen are now high school seniors, and those who were one year old are now first graders.
I, who was 25 years old back then, am now 30.
In the timespan of five years, the gap in the extent of “reconstruction” is widening between regions.
The Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant accident still hasn’t settled yet. It’s out of control.
Many areas have had their evacuation orders lifted, their towns are now taken care of, and they are starting to move on.
On the other hand, many people haven’t returned to their hometowns yet.
While there are people living in temporary housing waiting for the day to go home,
there are also many people who have given up going home, restarting lives in a new place.
There are still people passing away from aftereffects of the earthquake.
Regarding whether nuclear power plants are necessary or not, many different things are said and the discussion is becoming more complex.
However, certainly there would have been less inequality in reconstruction than there is now,
and less people would have given up going home if it was just an earthquake and tsunami.
No areas would have been denied mere entrance.
How many more years will it take until the sound of the word “Fukushima”
returns to what it was before March 11th, 2011.
As before, I can do nothing but just worry and keep praying for restoration, so I made a song again.
It’s titled “Shuntou”.
Please give it a listen.
I don’ know if I’ll keep making songs next year onwards. Maybe I will as if natural.
However, there is a growing discomfort against making a piece of work by cutting out only the sadness of March 11th.
It’s because that seems to be included in every song I’ve made.
At the same time, there’s been horrific incidents, accidents, tremendous joys, and many other things even within the past five years.
I’m always under the influence of those when making music.
Everything blends together to make up my music as I live “today”.
We shall never forget that gigantic experience.
By preventing even just a bit of the damage of the next major disaster, whenever it may come, we can change the meaning of that day’s earthquake.
Looking around the world,
I feel that tragedies keep on happening, be it man-made or natural.
The world is so hectic that my feelings can’t keep up.
I almost give up, but it is because of this that I realize how much potential humans have.
If possible, I’d like to turn my eyes to the light. I want to live hand in hand with others.
I want to keep playing meaningful music, even in such a world.
The Qotorifilm team filmed the video this year again.
I couldn’t attend the shooting because of recording, so this year the entire Qotorifilm staff was at work.
The sky is of Minamisoma. Thanks so much year after year.
Have a safe drive home.
Mr. Sugai handled the recording as he has every year, too. Thank you.
I’d also like to thank everyone who sent in their messages and videos.
I was on the verge of tears just reading them one by one.
May the souls of those who lost their lives in the earthquake rest in peace.
May peaceful days come to those who are still suffering.
My prayers go out to all lives taken by unreasonable forces.
April 14th, 2016 The Kumamoto earthquakes struck
April 28th, 2016 “By My Side”, a duet featuring Taka(ONE OK ROCK), was released digitally.
An aid project was set up to entirely donate the song’s streaming profits to the Kumamoto earthquakes’ disaster areas.
“Soramado”
April 8th, 2018
Seven years have passed since that day.
This year once again I’ve made a song.
While I didn’t make it in time for March 11th, I will release it today.
It’s titled “Soramado”.
Last year, Fukushima Prefectural Namie High School was closed on March 31st.
I received a message from the last graduating students of the school.
This year, I wrote the lyrics based on that.
Thinking about the feelings at the time the earthquake struck, the feelings of people living away from their families, of seeing people stay or leave, seven years is such an enormous amount of time for teenagers.
Since I didn’t experience that, I can only imagine.
I wanted to put the feelings I received from their words into sound, nothing more and nothing less.
Please give it a listen.
This year once again, Qotorifilm shot the video.
The sky is from March 11th, 2018. It was a peculiar sky.
This year, I asked Mr. Sawamoto, who has worked with Mr. Sugai for a long time, to handle the recording.
I hope that peaceful times will come soon to those who are still forced into inconvenience under the earthquake’s influence.
My prayers go out to all lives lost in the earthquake.
“Yoru no Fuchi”
March 11th, 2019
I’ve made a song again this year.
It’s titled “Yoru no Fuchi”.
Eight years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Within these eight years, many disasters and tragedies have hit this country.
Especially last year, more disasters happened than usual, such as the earthquakes in Hokkaido and Kansai, and the heavy rain in west Japan.
The night that one of the earthquakes struck, I received many voices on social media waiting for morning to come, fighting against fear in the darkness brought by a blackout.
Irritated by myself for still being unable to do anything.
I made this song hoping it would serve as a lullaby and provide even a tiny bit of peace of mind.
I added lyrics, arranged it, and recorded for today.
We only realize how happy our daily lives are when we are in inconvenience.
We notice how invaluable and happy it is to have a single light, a warm room, a family that is there as always, a bath, a meal.
It hits us that we are living every day for every single one of those seemingly trifle things.
Returning to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
There are still many people yet to be found.
There are families waiting for them to come home.
There are people who can’t go back to where they used to be.
There are many people working to repair or decommission the nuclear power plant.
While the Olympic Games are a good thing, I’m kind of concerned about ignoring a lot of things going on, pretending that nothing happened and just holding a festival.
Eight years have passed, and new generations who don’t know about the earthquake are being born. Unfortunately, earthquakes and disasters will hit us on a regular basis no matter what.
They will steal our everyday lives.
I wish from the bottom of my heart that every that happens, our people can think about each other, feel each other, and come together as one.
Last but not least, my prayers go out to all lives lost in the earthquake, and all those still suffering.
“Sekai no Hate”
March 11th, 2020
It’s been nine years, and I’ve made a song again.
Unexpectedly, as of March 11th, 2020, the world is caught up in a social crisis in the form of a virus.
We’re flooded with information, and it seems that we’re also flooded with negative emotions.
There are times when I feel that people are more threatening to us than viruses.
There is a tension that one small misstep will make everything tumble down.
Even so, or even more so, I wanted to look back at that March 11th this year as usual, and make a song blending in the atmosphere of “today”.
I made it straightforward, just the way I felt, and the result is this song I made for this year.
Even though there was a sense of despair, I felt it was somewhat nostalgic and gentle.
I’m sure there will be many opinions on the song, but I hope you will receive it.
Memories fading year by year.
Wounds remaining unhealed nonetheless.
New disasters emerging.
Maybe we’re living in an era where our hearts can never keep up if we properly face every pain.
I want to live keeping in mind to turn my eyes towards small happy things in everyday life.
As usual, Mr. Sugai handled the recording and Mr. Shimada filmed the video. Thanks.
Next year will mark 10 years from the earthquake. It’s a turning point of sorts.
I think the year will also be one of self-questioning towards ourselves as we’ve become 10 years older in this country.
“How have we lived since then?” I want to live so that I can answer such a question looking in the eye.
My prayers go out to all lives lost in the Great East Japan Earthquake nine years ago, and all those still suffering.
“Aitai”
“Aitai”
March 11th, 2021
Today marks a decade since Great East Japan Earthquake March 11th, 2011. And I’ve made a song again; the title is “Aitai.” Unexpectedly, the lyrics spun in my head as I thought about the disaster and the countless lives torn apart echo the feelings of many of us living in this pandemic.
Though I can only imagine, for the disaster victims, for those who lost their loved ones, and for those whose lives were changed forever, a decade must be just a sign, a number. The band members and I were spared the worst on that day, but even for us the past decade has been a struggle to make sense of the enormity of this disaster. That’s why we’ve been taking the liberty of making and sharing a song each year since the earthquake, which is after all the only thing we can do.
As we have come to an important juncture, I’ve been increasingly asked: what made me keep creating and sharing music each year for the past ten years? In fact, I’ve asked the same question myself, but I can’t seem to find a clear answer at all. Maybe because I don’t want to forget that tremendously harrowing experience and I don’t want to let those memories fade away. Perhaps because I want to stay as close to those who are affected by the disaster as I possibly can and I hope my music will remind people to prepare for the next big earthquake that we all know will happen but just don’t know when. Or maybe because I just want to entertain myself and feel a sense of satisfaction. Every answer seems right, and they all seem wrong.
I think there’s no reason to love someone. You can list as many reasons as come to you why you love the person you love and every one of them sounds perfectly plausible. But that is probably hindsight. Touching the heart of someone you care about often goes beyond logic or reason.
In a sense, all these songs I wrote over the past ten years are perhaps love letters. I’ve been writing love letters to someone I don’t expect will ever write back. Every year, as March 11th draws near, I just picked up my guitar or sat down at my piano, reminiscing about people and communities devastated on that day, and wrote lyrics and created music together with the band members, staff, and Shimada-san. In this creative process, my emotions swung between sorrow, love, and at times, frustration and despair. But for better or worse, human emotions don’t stay the same. I will try my best to remain hopeful because of that, and it is my fervent wish that we all keep hope alive in our hearts.
What kind of future awaits us after we come out of the COVID-19 tunnel? As with catastrophic natural disasters like the March 11th earthquake, a big crisis can split the nation and strain human relations. Sometimes conflict and division will arise and reveal who we really are. I cannot but feel today the whole world is creaking and tipping over gradually, and we need to hold each other’s hands and stand together like never before.
This year we release an album of ten songs which includes two new songs, “Aitai” and “Hide and seek,” along with the others I wrote in the past decade. As I listened to these songs again while I was creating this album, I was reflecting over these years: “what kind of life have I lived since that day?” “What have I done to deserve the life I fortunately lived over the past decade?” I keep asking myself these unanswerable questions. And I will continue to live in limbo struggling to find an answer that seems plausible but only fleetingly.
I truly hope that listening to this album will encourage you to look back at the past decade and think about the future, and make you a little more hopeful.
Last but not certainly least, my thoughts and prayers go out to all those lives lost in the earthquake as well as all those who are still suffering by the disaster.
※The profits of this album will be fully donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society and local governments and will be used for various activities such as disaster relief.
(Donations will be made from the sales earned by December 31st, 2021.)
Special Interview With Daisuke Shimada,
Filmmaker for “2+0+2+1+3+1+1= 10 years 10 songs”
Read
※The profits of this album will be fully donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society and local governments and will be used for various activities such as disaster relief.
(Donations will be made from the sales earned by December 31st, 2021.)
We are so thankful for your contribution to the album.
We were able to raise the total of \42,021,006.
On Nov. 18, 2022, we have donated the total of ¥37,021,006 to the following local authorities:
Shizuoka Prefecture (for natural disaster caused by typhoon Talas 2022)
Misato City, Miyazaki Prefecture (for natural disaster caused by typhoon Nanmadol 2022)
(As reported earlier, ¥5,000,000 was donated to Japan Red Cross on April 13, 2022.)
This concludes our donation from "2+0+2+1+3+1+1= 10 years 10 songs" album charity.
We are deeply thankful for your generosity.
CD Tracks
01: Hakujitsu -10 years ver.-
02: Buriki
03: Kaiko
04: Aitowa
05: Shuntou
06: Soramado
07: Yoru no Fuchi
08: Sekai no Hate
09: Hide and seek
10: Aitai
DVD/Blu-ray Tracks
・Hakujitsu
・Buriki
・Kaiko
・Aitowa
・Shuntou
・Soramado
・Yoru no Fuchi
・Sekai no Hate
・Aitai
