Kiroro

Overview

Kiroro (キロロ) is a Japanese female pop duo from Yomitan, Okinawa. The members are vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro and pianist/keyboardist Ayano Kinjo. They are managed by Victor Music Arts and signed to Victor Entertainment. After an independent debut in 1996, they made their major debut in January 1998 with "Nagai Aida". That year they won the Music Newcomer Award at the 36th Golden Arrow Awards, and they appeared on NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1998, 1999 and 2001. Their music, known for pure melodies, has also been covered by singers in Korea and Taiwan.

Name origin

When Tamashiro was in primary school, she visited Ikeda, Hokkaido, on a regional exchange program, and the Ainu language left a deep impression on her. The duo took the name from the Ainu words "kiroru" (a wide, well-trodden path) and "kiroro-an" (resilient, healthy, strong). The name had been registered in 1981 to Yamaha for the Kiroro Resort in Akaigawa Village, Hokkaido, so Victor Entertainment reached an agreement with Yamaha to use it.

Career

• Formation and indie days: Tamashiro and Kinjo were classmates at Okinawa Prefectural Yomitan High School. In 1995 the duo began when Kinjo accompanied Tamashiro as she sang her original songs a cappella in the school music room after class. Tamashiro went on to Nagasaki Wesleyan junior college and Kinjo to a medical-administration school, and they made their indie debut in 1996 while still students. Their Okinawa-only debut single "Nagai Aida" was used in a local moving-company TV commercial and sold more than 10,000 copies in the prefecture.
• Major debut and peak years: "Nagai Aida" was released nationally on January 21, 1998, followed by "Mirai e" in June. Singles such as "Fuyu no Uta" (1998), "Ao no Jumon" (1999), "Saigo no Kiss" (1999), "Suki na Hito" (1999), "Himawari" (2000) and "Best Friend" (2001) followed. Albums included Nagai Aida Kiroro no Mori (1998), Kinjo's solo album Hiruyasumi (1999), Suki na Hito Kiroro no Sora (1999), the concept album Nanairo (2000), Tree of Life (2001), Kiroro no Uta 1 (2002), Four Leaves Clover (2002), Diary (2004), the Okinawa-themed mini album Kaeru Basho (2005) and Wonderful Days (2005). Tree of Life was the first of their albums released in Taiwan before Japan.
• Tie-ups: "Best Friend" was the theme of NHK's morning drama Churasan. A newly rerecorded "Mother Earth version" became the ending theme of the Japanese dub of Disney-Pixar's The Good Dinosaur. Other tie-ups include "Haru no Kaze" (TBS drama theme), "Bokura no Message" (NHK anime opening), "Mou Sukoshi" (ending theme of TV Asahi's Saturday Wide Theater), "Beni-imo Musume" (NHK Minna no Uta), "Ikitekoso" (Mushiking opening, 2005) and "Minna Anata wo Aishiteru" (ending theme of the Keroro Gunso film, 2009).
• Mid-2000s onward: In October 2004 they began the community FM program "hot pot Kiroro". In January 2005 Tamashiro announced her engagement and married on April 17; Kinjo married in May. In September 2005 they held a "four person concert" in Okinawa, ending with "Wasurenaide", before going on maternity leave. Kinjo had a daughter in November 2005, a son in March 2009 and another son in March 2011; Tamashiro had a son in February 2006, a daughter in September 2007 and another daughter in September 2009. The duo became known for alternating pregnancies and regular pauses in activity. Releases in this period included the best-of album Kiroro no Ichiban Ii Uta Atsumemashita (March 2006), the lullaby album Kiroro no Hōra, Naki Yanda! played by Ayano and a 10th Anniversary Edition of the best-of (both March 2007), and the single "Shiawase no Tane Winter version" (December 2008).
• Solo and side activities: Tamashiro gave her first solo concert at Hamarikyu Asahi Hall on August 7, 2011, released her solo debut single "Kamisama" on October 19, and her first album Brand New Days on November 23. Kinjo announced her divorce in April 2013. In 2015 Tamashiro formed the unit Sango with Izumi Nakasone of HY; their debut "Inochi no Relay" became the theme of NHK Okinawa's 70th-anniversary-of-war's-end campaign. In 2016 the duo provided "Kimi to Issho ni", the song of the month on NHK E-Tele's Okaasan to Issho, and released Kodomo to Issho ni Kikitai Kiroro no Uta in March.
• Revival: For their 20th anniversary, on January 24, 2018, they released their seventh original album Aihaberu, their first in twelve years, alongside a remastered best-of. A five-city tour from May marked their full-scale return, and they moved to Victor's in-house label Colourful Records. Kinjo hosted FM Okinawa's "Kiroro Ayano no Mama de Iiyo!" from May 2019 and TOKYO FM's "Kiroro Ayano no Mirai e no Tegami" from October 2020. On January 1, 2023, she announced her remarriage to guitarist Yoshimi Katayama of the band Kata-Kana. In January 2024 Tamashiro appeared as a traveler in the JNN program "Kyodo Baiten no Uta".

Musical style

Songwriting is handled mainly by vocalist Tamashiro. Gifted at lyrics and melody but not a strong pianist, she wrote notes in a kind of code that pianist Kinjo deciphered and played, which is how the duo started. Over time Kinjo also wrote songs, and some were written by Tamashiro with music by Kinjo. Centered on piano and pure, simple melodies, their music is classified as J-pop and kayokyoku.