Motohiro Hata

Overview

Motohiro Hata (秦 基博, born 11 October 1980) is a Japanese singer-songwriter born in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture and raised in Aoba-ku, Yokohama. He is managed by Office Augusta and releases through Universal Music. He made his major debut in 2006 with the single "Synchro" and is widely known for "Himawari no Yakusoku," the theme song of the film Stand by Me Doraemon. Throughout his career he has remained devoted to acoustic-guitar singing and songwriting.

Career

Early years

The youngest of three brothers, Hata moved to Yokohama in 1988. Around age 12 he first played a guitar his eldest brother had obtained cheaply, began writing songs in junior high, and pursued songwriting seriously from high school. Around university age he started performing at the Yokohama live house F.A.D YOKOHAMA, and played solo acoustic shows in Yokohama, Shibuya and Shimokitazawa. On 20 January 2004 he released the independent mini-album Orange no Haikei no Akai Seibutsu.

Major debut and early success

After a staff member from Office Augusta noticed him at a live house in late 2005, he joined the agency in March 2006 and opened Augusta Camp 2006 in July. He debuted on 8 November 2006 with "Synchro," which set a record for FM power plays at 43 stations. His first album Contrast came out on 26 September 2007, followed by his first national tour, which drew about 10,000 people, and a homecoming show at F.A.D YOKOHAMA in December. His 2008 single "Kimi, Meguru, Boku," the opening theme of the anime Itazura na Kiss, reached No. 15 on the Oricon chart as his first top-20 hit. In March 2008 his video for "Uroko -Director's Cut Ver.-" won Best Male Video at the Space Shower Music Video Awards. He has since had six top-20 singles and two top-10 albums.

2009–2015

Hata played his first solo Nippon Budokan concert on 6 March 2009 and launched his first solo acoustic tour, GREEN MIND 2009, with 21 shows that May. That year he also announced his marriage. In 2010 Documentary won a runner-up grand prize at the CD Shop Awards, and "Tōmei Datta Sekai" opened the seventh season of Naruto: Shippuden. In 2012 he performed "Altair" as "Motohiro Hata meets Sakamichi no Apollon" for the ending of Kids on the Slope, and "Goodbye Isaac" served as the fourth ending of Space Brothers. In 2013 his cover of Senri Oe's "Rain" featured as the ending of Makoto Shinkai's The Garden of Words, and he released the self-selected album Hitomi Mimi Bore on 16 October. "Himawari no Yakusoku," the theme of Stand by Me Doraemon, was released as a single on 6 August 2014, and his acoustic best album evergreen (29 October) won the Planning Award at the 56th Japan Record Awards. In 2015 he was appointed an Aomori Jomon ambassador, and "Himawari no Yakusoku" topped JOYSOUND's annual ranking and won an ISUM Bridal Music Award.

10th anniversary and late 2010s

From November 2016 Hata held his first national arena tour, All The Pieces, for his 10th anniversary. In April 2017 he sang "Ao" at the Yokohama DeNA BayStars home-opener ceremony, and on 4 May he played his first outdoor solo concert at Yokohama Stadium for 25,000 people. "Girl" was re-cut as his first re-release single that day, and his first all-time best album, All Time Best Hata Motohiro, followed on 14 June. On 11 December 2019 he released the original album Copernicus, his first in four years since Ao no Kokei.

2020s

The 2020 Copernicus tour was cancelled after repeated postponements due to COVID-19. Hata held his first no-audience concert at F.A.D YOKOHAMA on 27 August 2020 and streamed the tour in a no-audience recording on 19 November. evergreen2 followed on 17 March 2021, along with GREEN MIND 2021, his first acoustic tour in nine years. In November he celebrated his 15th anniversary at Yokohama Arena and Osaka-jo Hall, and on 26 December performed Philharmonic Night at the Nippon Budokan with a string orchestra and piano. He released "Trick me (English ver.)" and a TCTS remix in 2022, the AUTUMN PLAYLIST 2022 and WINTER PLAYLIST 2022 albums, the single "Icarus" (イカロス) in February 2023, and the album Paint Like a Child in March 2023. In November 2024 he released "ringo," a collaboration with Masamune Kusano, and the collaboration album HATA EXPO -The Collaboration Album- on 20 November; the "ringo" video features actress Anna Yamada as an apple fairy. He followed with "Zutto Tsukurikake no Love Song" and "Stellar Days" in 2025, the album HATA MOTOHIRO "Animation Songs" on 14 November 2025, and the single "Pocket ni Mahō wo Irete" in January 2026.

Musical style

Hata writes his own lyrics and music, mainly composing on guitar. His work is rooted in acoustic-guitar singing, expanded through band and orchestral performances and collaborations, and he is closely associated with anime theme songs. He has cited Western artists such as Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Taylor Swift among his influences.