Toilet no Kamisama
Encyclopedia
is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Kana Uemura
, recounting her thoughts about her late grandmother. It was the leading track from her extended play
Watashi no Kakera-tachi, released on March 10, 2010. The song was re-recorded with Kotaro Oshio
, and used as a promotional track fro Uemura's self-cover album, Kana: My Favorite Things, later in September 2010.
The song was popular enough to boost Uemura's popularity, being downloaded more than 250,000 times to cellphones and 250,000 times to PCs and boosting the sales of Watashi no Kakera-tachi, giving Uemura her first gold-certified album. The song inspired several other media, such as an autobiographical book by Uemura, as well as a special drama to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening of Mainichi Broadcasting System
.
The song was awarded two Japan Record Award
s in 2010, one in the general song category along with 9 other songs, as well as Uemura being awarded the lyricist award for the song.
, eating nanban-style duck noodle soup when they went out shopping, watching videotapes of the comedy program Yoshimoto Shinkigeki and helping her every day. Uemura was not very fond of cleaning toilets, so her grandmother told her that a beautiful goddess lives in the toilet, if she cleaned it every day, this goddess would make her into a beautiful woman. As Uemura grew older, the communication gap between her and her grandmother worsened and the two grew apart. Uemura, feeling resentful, moved away from home with her then boyfriend and rarely came home to visit. Her grandmother later became more ill and was hospitalized two years after Uemura left for Tokyo. Uemura visited her, saying "Grandma, I'm home!" as she used to when she was little, before the two began to fight. Her grandmother could not say much and the next morning died quietly in her sleep. Uemura believes her grandmother was waiting for her, besides being left alone from her all this time. She feels regret for hurting her grandmother and says thank you to her at the end of the song.
The song mentions several words in Kansai dialect, especially in the way the grandmother speaks. She adds to the ends of her sentences, and uses specifically Kansai terms, such as and , instead of standard Japanese and . Uemura thanks her grandmother by saying , as opposed to . While the song is called "Toilet no Kamisama," the word is not used in the song, instead the song talks about a in the toilet.
When Uemura met music producer Yohito Teraoka, her self-introduction featured the story of her grandmother. Teraoka suggested they turn this story into a song.
, on "Hiro T's Morning Jam" on January 7, 2010, and began receiving radio play in the song's full length. The song was released as a free ringtone from February 10, until March 9, when it became a paid ringtone.
Uemura performed at the 61st Kōhaku Uta Gassen
New Years' singing battle. She performed the full-length version of "Toilet no Kamisama." The performance was one of the longest in Kōhaku's history, after Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
's 15 minute performance in 1990. She also performed the song on Yoshimoto Shinkigeki's new years' special during the curtain call, the television show mentioned in Uemura's song.
.
The live action version features Uemura performing the song on guitar on a sunlit river bank, interspersed with scenes of a grandmother and several different actresses portraying the scenes described in the song. The final scenes show the grandmother walking with the adolescent actress along the river bank where Uemura sung the song. The Hashimoto animated version similarly enacts the storyline from the song, featuring drawings of a grandmother and a small girl. The video's artwork is based on the Toilet no Kamisama picture book, illustrated by Mari Torigoe, and released in September 2010.
in September 2010. The version features illustrations by Mari Torigoe.
Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
aired a two hour drama based on the autobiography Toilet no Kamisama on January 5, 2011, on 28 stations including itself, TBS
and CBC
, also on Akita TV on January 8. It was one of the programs for the 60th anniversaty of the opening of MBS. The drama starred Kii Kitano
as Uemura, and Shima Iwashita as her grandmother. The drama's plot is inspired by the events described in Uemura's Toilet no Kamisama autobiography, such as the death of her grandfather and her path to becoming a singer.
Under the influence of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
which occurred on March 11, 2011, MBS aired the drama again on March 16, instead of "Ichi-Hachi Final Special", on 26 stations except TBC and TV U Fukushima.
The drama received the TV Film Prize in the 17th Shanghai TV Festival International Program Contest in May 2011.
Main casts
Staff
Kana Uemura
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, who debuted in 2004. She is best known for her song "Toilet no Kamisama", an acoustic ballad about her grandmother, which became a hit in 2010.- Biography :...
, recounting her thoughts about her late grandmother. It was the leading track from her extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Watashi no Kakera-tachi, released on March 10, 2010. The song was re-recorded with Kotaro Oshio
Kotaro Oshio
is an acoustic guitarist from Japan. Born in Osaka Prefecture, on February 1, 1968, he is best known for his work on the steel string guitar. Oshio is a part of Sony Music Japan's SME Records division.- Oshio's music :...
, and used as a promotional track fro Uemura's self-cover album, Kana: My Favorite Things, later in September 2010.
The song was popular enough to boost Uemura's popularity, being downloaded more than 250,000 times to cellphones and 250,000 times to PCs and boosting the sales of Watashi no Kakera-tachi, giving Uemura her first gold-certified album. The song inspired several other media, such as an autobiographical book by Uemura, as well as a special drama to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening of Mainichi Broadcasting System
Mainichi Broadcasting System
is a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...
.
The song was awarded two Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award
for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.- Categories :The Japan Record Award are four awards which are not restricted by genre....
s in 2010, one in the general song category along with 9 other songs, as well as Uemura being awarded the lyricist award for the song.
Writing
The song is a ballad, beginning with a simple guitar-based arrangement, however later expanding to a band and orchestra arrangement. The song's lyrics are an extended narrative that tell the story of Uemura and her grandmother. When she was a 3rd grader (8 years old), she lived at her grandmother's house next door to her parents, playing gomokuGomoku
Gomoku is an abstract strategy board game. Also called Gobang or Five in a Row, it is traditionally played with go pieces on a go board ; however, because once placed, pieces are not moved or removed from the board, gomoku may also be played as a paper and pencil game...
, eating nanban-style duck noodle soup when they went out shopping, watching videotapes of the comedy program Yoshimoto Shinkigeki and helping her every day. Uemura was not very fond of cleaning toilets, so her grandmother told her that a beautiful goddess lives in the toilet, if she cleaned it every day, this goddess would make her into a beautiful woman. As Uemura grew older, the communication gap between her and her grandmother worsened and the two grew apart. Uemura, feeling resentful, moved away from home with her then boyfriend and rarely came home to visit. Her grandmother later became more ill and was hospitalized two years after Uemura left for Tokyo. Uemura visited her, saying "Grandma, I'm home!" as she used to when she was little, before the two began to fight. Her grandmother could not say much and the next morning died quietly in her sleep. Uemura believes her grandmother was waiting for her, besides being left alone from her all this time. She feels regret for hurting her grandmother and says thank you to her at the end of the song.
The song mentions several words in Kansai dialect, especially in the way the grandmother speaks. She adds to the ends of her sentences, and uses specifically Kansai terms, such as and , instead of standard Japanese and . Uemura thanks her grandmother by saying , as opposed to . While the song is called "Toilet no Kamisama," the word is not used in the song, instead the song talks about a in the toilet.
When Uemura met music producer Yohito Teraoka, her self-introduction featured the story of her grandmother. Teraoka suggested they turn this story into a song.
Promotion
The song was first aired at FM802FM802
is a commercial radio station based at Daiwa Building in Tenjimbashi Nichome, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan, broadcasting on 80.2 FM from Mount Iimori to Kansai region. As a late comer to the radio broadcasting market, it was a focal point for FM802 to differentiate from existing stations...
, on "Hiro T's Morning Jam" on January 7, 2010, and began receiving radio play in the song's full length. The song was released as a free ringtone from February 10, until March 9, when it became a paid ringtone.
Uemura performed at the 61st Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...
New Years' singing battle. She performed the full-length version of "Toilet no Kamisama." The performance was one of the longest in Kōhaku's history, after Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music.As a musician, he has sold more than 20 million records worldwide, and has appeared in various movies and television dramas...
's 15 minute performance in 1990. She also performed the song on Yoshimoto Shinkigeki's new years' special during the curtain call, the television show mentioned in Uemura's song.
Music videos
Two music videos were produced for the song: a live action version directed by Tatsuaki, which was shot on January 23, 2010, and an animated version by Daisuke Hashimoto, set to the version from Kana: My Favorite Things featuring Kotaro OshioKotaro Oshio
is an acoustic guitarist from Japan. Born in Osaka Prefecture, on February 1, 1968, he is best known for his work on the steel string guitar. Oshio is a part of Sony Music Japan's SME Records division.- Oshio's music :...
.
The live action version features Uemura performing the song on guitar on a sunlit river bank, interspersed with scenes of a grandmother and several different actresses portraying the scenes described in the song. The final scenes show the grandmother walking with the adolescent actress along the river bank where Uemura sung the song. The Hashimoto animated version similarly enacts the storyline from the song, featuring drawings of a grandmother and a small girl. The video's artwork is based on the Toilet no Kamisama picture book, illustrated by Mari Torigoe, and released in September 2010.
Adaptations
The song inspired two books by Uemura, both with the same title. The first is an autobiography released in July 2010 through Takarajimasha, telling anecdotes about her grandmother and the process of making the song. The second is a picture book version, published through KodanshaKodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in September 2010. The version features illustrations by Mari Torigoe.
Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Mainichi Broadcasting System
is a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...
aired a two hour drama based on the autobiography Toilet no Kamisama on January 5, 2011, on 28 stations including itself, TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
and CBC
Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting
is a regional radio and television service serving Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Its radio service is affiliated with the Japan Radio Network and its television service affiliated with the Japan News Network and the TBS Network.-Radio:Frequency...
, also on Akita TV on January 8. It was one of the programs for the 60th anniversaty of the opening of MBS. The drama starred Kii Kitano
Kii Kitano
is a singer, gravure idol and an actress in Japan. She is signed with the Foster agency. Kitano is a former member of the celebrity girls futsal team Miss Magazine. In 2005, Kitano won a Miss Magazine Award, becoming the youngest to receive that award. In 2007, Kitano was chosen for the first time...
as Uemura, and Shima Iwashita as her grandmother. The drama's plot is inspired by the events described in Uemura's Toilet no Kamisama autobiography, such as the death of her grandfather and her path to becoming a singer.
Under the influence of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
which occurred on March 11, 2011, MBS aired the drama again on March 16, instead of "Ichi-Hachi Final Special", on 26 stations except TBC and TV U Fukushima.
The drama received the TV Film Prize in the 17th Shanghai TV Festival International Program Contest in May 2011.
Main casts and staff in drama
(from MBS drama Toilet no Kamisama website)Main casts
- Kana Uemura: Mana AshidaMana Ashidais a Japanese child actress, Tarento and singer from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. She is currently represented by JobbyKids.Mana Ashida first acted Asahi Broadcasting Corporation's ABC Short Movie 2, though she rose to prominence only after she starred in the popular television drama Mother...
(in her childhood) / Kii Kitano (after growing up) - Waka Uemura (Kana's grandmother): Shima Iwashita
- Yoko Uemura (Kana's mother): Yui NatsukawaYui Natsukawais a Japanese entertainer. She was born on June 1, 1968 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan. She is a left-hander . She was given a Best New Talent award at the 1995 Yokohama Film Festival for her role in Yoru ga mata kuru.-Drama:...
- Shunji Uemura (Kana's grandfather): Nenji KobayashiNenji Kobayashiis a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize for Poppoya.-Filmography:* Captain Ultra * The Doberman Cop * Hokuriku Proxy War * Message from Space...
- Daisuke (Kana's boyfriend in her high school days): Shohei Miura
Staff
- Dramawriter: Shizuka Oki
- Producers: Yasuo Yagi (TBS), Hajime Takezono (MBS), Hiroaki Kamei (MBS-Planning Corp.)
- Director: Hajime Takezono (MBS)
- Procuction cooperated by MBS-Planning Corporation
- Copywrited by Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc.
Track listing
Chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Adult Contemporary Airplay |
6 |
| Billboard Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
1 |
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... daily singles |
1 |
| Oricon weekly singles | 1 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... weekly top 100 |
1 |
RIAJ Digital Track Chart weekly top 100
|
45 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart yearly top 100 | 37 |
Sales and certifications
| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| Oricon physical sales | 137,000 |
| RIAJ physical shipping certification | Gold (100,000+) |
| RIAJ full-length cellphone downloads | Platinum (250,000+) |
| RIAJ PC downloads | Platinum (250,000+) |
Personnel
- Hiroshi Hiranuma - recording engineer
- Haruki Mino - acoustic piano, celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
- Eiji Shimamura - drums
- Masatsugu Shinozaki - string section arranger
- Shinozaki Strings - string instruments
- Kenji Takamizu - bass
- Yohito Teraoka - arranger, producer, recording engineer
- Kana Uemura - acoustic guitar, lyrics, music, vocals
- Hiroshi Yamada - additional lyrics
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Radio debut | |
| Ringtone | ||
| Cellphone download | ||
| PC download | ||
| CD single, rental CD |