Folk-mania

First, hypnotized by her voice.

Then, touched by the lyrics.

Now, seduced by her performance.

I'm in love with Hajime Chitose!

ワダツミの木 (Wood of Sea God)

I first heard this song in my Modern Japanese Culture class in Rikkyo where we learnt the culture through movies, books and songs. This song was picked by the Prof. At that time we only discussed about lyrics and not the singing style.

ワダツミの木
赤く錆びた月の夜に
小さな船をうかべましょう
うすい透明な風は
二人を遠く遠くに流しました

どこまでもまっすぐに進んで
同じ所をぐるぐる廻って

星もない暗闇で
さまよう二人が歌うたう
波よ もし 聞こえるなら
少し 今声をひそめて

私の足が海の底を捉えて砂にふれたころ
長い髪は枝となって
やがて大きな花をつけました

ここにいるよ あなたが迷わぬように
ここにいるよ あなたが探さぬよう

星に花は照らされて
伸びゆく木は水の上
波よ もし 聞こえるなら
少し 今声をひそめて
優しく揺れた水面に
映る赤い花の島
波よ もし 聞こえるなら
少し 今声をひそめて

Woo… Woo… Woo…

Actually this is a folk song. Click here for the original version with traditional instrument. This lady's voice is also as perfect as Chitose's for Japanese folk song.

This is how the Korean copied this song. The singer's voice is not bad but the music is a bit noisy.

Click here for the spoof of her MV by a comedian.

Who is Hajime Chitose?

With her powerful voice and distinct singing style, this song is one of my favorites among the Prof's picks. I just found out that she's a gifted folk song singer from Amami Oshima which belonged to the Ryuku Kingdom before annexed by Daimyo of Satsuma in 1624. She sings in a particular style to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. Because of this, it is said that her voice has a relaxing effect that has been observed in electroencephalograms taken from the brains of people listening to her singing. This song (Wadatsu no ki) was released in 2002 and ranked as the 3rd most selling single only after the divas Utada Hikaru & Ayumi Hamasaki.

ハイヌミカゼ

Another favorite song of mine is from her first major album Haizumikaze released 1 year after Wadatsu no ki single. This album sold 800,000 copies, charted for 57 weeks, and was the 16th highest selling album of the year. I love the rap part in the end. It's better than some J-Pop singers' raps. Hip Hop & Rap are not very matured in Japan, but I'm surprised by this folk song singer's rap.

コトノハ

This one was released before Wadatsumi no ki. I like her dance & the lighting which matches with the dance.

語り継ぐこと

The ending song of Blood+ 1. Her original MV is here.

Here are her other nice songs:
青のレクイエム The theme song of the film Hatsukoi.
死んだ女の子 About a girl died due to Atomic Bomb in WW2.

Source: Wikipedia