KOBUKURO

Overview

KOBUKURO (コブクロ) is a Japanese music duo made up of Kentarō Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda. Formed in 1998, they made their major debut on March 22, 2001 with the single "YELL Eール" on Warner Music Japan. The name combines the duo's family names, Kobuchi and Kuroda. They are managed by Minosuke Office Kobukuro, which has a business partnership with Kenon. Their fans are called "Kobufami," a name coined by FM802 DJ Hiro Terahira.

Members

• Kentarō Kobuchi (b. March 13, 1977): guitar, vocals and occasionally other instruments such as blues harp; writes the majority of the duo's songs.
• Shunsuke Kuroda (b. March 18, 1977): main vocals; stands over 193 cm (6 ft 4 in). The pair are visually striking for their height difference and known for their harmonies.

Career

Formation and indie years (1998–2000)

In May 1998, Kobuchi, a salesman who played street concerts every Saturday, met Kuroda, a street musician, on a shopping street in Sakai, near Osaka. That September Kobuchi offered Kuroda a song; because Kuroda was not a skilled guitarist, Kobuchi took up guitar and backing vocals, and Kuroda proposed they team up. The duo formed on September 8. The song Kobuchi first gave Kuroda became "Sakura," released as a single in 2005. The name began as a songwriting credit, reportedly inspired by admiration for Lennon–McCartney. In December 1998, while performing at Ebisubashi in Osaka, they met Minosuke Sakata, now chairman of their office.

Kobuchi left his job of four years in January 1999, and in March the duo made their first TV appearance. They released the indie albums "Saturday 8:pm" (July 1999), "Root of my mind" (March 2000) and "ANSWER" (December 2000). In 2000 they played their first one-man hall concert in Umeda and opened for THE BOOM in Osaka.

Major debut and rise (2001–2005)

Their debut single "YELL Eール/Bell" (March 2001) reached number 4 on the Oricon chart. The first major album, "Roadmade," followed in August 2001, and they held a countdown live at Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium on December 31. In March 2002 they won New Artist of the Year at the 16th Japan Gold Disc Awards; the album "grapefruits" followed, and in December they played their first Osaka-jo Hall show. In 2003 they released "Takarajima," "blue blue" and the album "STRAIGHT."

In 2004 came "DOOR," the only single written solely by Kuroda, and a side unit with TV personality George Tokoro, "Tokobukuro." From the October 2004 single "Eien ni Tomo ni / Million Films" they began self-producing, and the album "MUSIC MAN SHIP" gave them their first Oricon top-three placement. In 2005 they released "Koko ni Shika Sakanai Hana" and "Sakura," and in December the album "NAMELESS WORLD" became their first Oricon number one and first million seller. "Sakura" won a Gold Prize at the 47th Japan Record Awards, and they made their first appearance on the 56th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31.

Breakthrough years (2006–2010)

In May 2006 they played their first Nippon Budokan concert. The greatest hits album "ALL SINGLES BEST" (September 27, 2006) topped the Oricon weekly chart for four consecutive weeks, breaking a 14-year-old record held by CHAGE and ASKA for a male vocal duo; it placed third and "NAMELESS WORLD" ninth on the 2006 annual album chart. On March 21, 2007 they released "Tsubomi," their first Oricon number-one single; guitarist Marty Friedman noted its simple arrangement did away with Western musical influence. It won the Grand Prix at the 49th Japan Record Awards in December 2007, and its parent album "5296" also topped the weekly chart. On the 2009 album "Calling," Kobuchi wrote "Sayonara Hero" in memory of Kiyoshiro Imawano. In March 2010 they released a cover of "Layla" as an iTunes digital single, and on May 17, 2010 "ALL SINGLES BEST" passed 3,000,000 copies, the first album to do so in 7 years and 10 months. "5296" and "ALL SINGLES BEST" were also officially released in South Korea in February 2009.

Hiatus and return (2011 onward)

In September 2011, due to Kobuchi's vocal cord problems and Kuroda's chronic back pain and voice issues, the duo took a six-month break. They resumed activity in 2012 and released "ALL SINGLES BEST2" on September 5.

Their 2014 tour included their first overseas concert, in Taiwan, where they are popular partly thanks to TV drama theme songs. In 2019 they became Osaka–Shanghai Exchange Goodwill Ambassadors and, on that year's tour, played Taiwan for the first time in five years and made their first Shanghai appearance. On January 1, 2021 they launched the YouTube series "Kobuchi to Kuroda" on their official channel, sharing their natural side and activities irregularly.

Recent activity (2022–present)

They released "Days" in March 2022 and "Kono Chikyu no Tsuzuki o" in July 2022, followed by "Envelope" in January 2023. The seasonal "Seasons Selection" albums (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) came out from February to November 2023, then "ALL SEASONS BEST" in March 2024. In 2024 they also released "Amatsubu to Hanabi" (July), "RAISE THE ANCHOR" (August) and the album "QUARTER CENTURY" (September 4). In July 2025 they released the single "THIS IS MY HOMETOWN."

Musical style

KOBUKURO is a pop/folk-rooted duo whose hallmark is close vocal harmony. Almost all original songs are written by the members, mostly by Kobuchi. Since 2004 they have self-produced, and Kobuchi handles most arrangements himself, including drum patterns, intros and string lines. He often writes lyrics first. Kuroda's last solo-written song was "Tearless" on 2016's "TIMELESS WORLD," while key songs such as "ANSWER," "Toki no Ashioto," "Sotsugyo" and "Kono Chikyu no Tsuzuki o" have involved collaboration.