"Chiisana Koi no Uta" (Japanese:小さな恋のうた;lit. A Small Love Song) is a Japaneserock song written and performed by the Japanese punk bandMongol800. It is featured on their second studio albumMessage which was released in Japan on September 16, 2001. The song's lyrics are about the love between a boy and a girl who have grown up on a small island.
The song is a popularkaraoke song inJapan, ranking first in the DAM karaoke ranking. It is the second song of the 2000s to accumulate 100 million streams after "Hanabi" byMr. Children. Music criticTomonori Shiba [ja] said the song became popular because of its easy to understand lyrics and simplechord progression.
"Chiisana Koi no Uta" is the third track of the Okinawan band's second albumMessage which was released on September 16, 2001.[1] The album became the firstindie album to reach 1 million sales onOricon.[2]
Music duo Fuki and Tee describe the song's genre to be "rock", while Kyu Nakanashi describes it as "J-pop".[3][4] The lyrics of the songs were writtenbassist andvocalist Kiyosaku Uezo while the other band members composed the music.[5] The main key isB major, thetime signature is4 4, and thetempo is 116Bpm.[6]Gordon Maeda, who played the role of Shinji Fukumura in the movie, said that the simple and repeatingchord progression makes "Chiisana Koi no Uta" easy to learn.[7][8]
In an interview with Rina Sako fromNatalie in 2019, Uezo said that he did not know the song's key when he was writing the song, commenting that "Chiisana Koi no Uta" starts in a lowerkey but with a higherchorus.[9] He also said that he did not use the personal pronounsBoku (僕;lit. I) andKimi (君;lit. You) while writing the song's lyrics as residents of Okinawa do not to use personal language when speaking, adding that at that time he thought thatAnata (あなた;lit. You[a]) was more fitting.[9] Music critic Shiba Tomonori stated that the song uses the adjective"Chiisana" (小さな;lit.'Little') because it "focuses on the relationship with 'you'", rather than bigger things such as wars, nations, and the environment.[10] In a 2019 interview, Gordon Maeda said that he initially thought of "Chiisana Koi no Uta" as a love song but after reading and studying the lyrics for his role he realized that the song expresses the feelings of the band towardsOkinawa.[11]
Yui Aragaki, whose cover was certified gold by RIAJ
The song has been covered by Japanese artists numerous times. The most commercially successful version was recorded in 2009 byYui Aragaki and was certified Gold by theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in the ringtone category.[12] For her cover version, Aragaki invited 3,000 middle and high school students to perform with her.[13]
Amatsuki's cover of the song released onYouTube in May 2016 became a popular hit accumulating over 100 million views; the first cover song to reach 100 million views in Japan.[14] ActressMinami Hamabe released a cover of the song in 2018 which was used in aLine Music campaign. Her cover version charted on theBillboard Japan charts in 2019 when the movie of the same name was released, peaking at 32.[14]
During a special event in theGunma Prefecture held on June 1, 2024, the song was played simultaneously by 1,000 musicians. The line-up consisted of 200 vocalists, 200 bassists, 500 guitarists, and 100 drummers from all over Japan who were invited to perform the song.[20][21]
The following is a list of some artists who have covered "Chiisana Koi no Uta":
"Chiisana Koi no Uta" was used as one of the themes in the second volume of theSutopi Toraberā Hanami (ストピトラベラー花美), a music novel series written by Rinako Shibano for preschoolers which was published on December 19, 2023.[43][44]
In May 2018, it was announced that alive-action film based on the song was in production.[15] The movie premiered in Japanese cinemas on May 24, 2019. The theme song, a cover of "Chiisana Koi no Uta", was performed by the Chiisana Koi no Uta Band.[45] The members of Mongol800 cameo-ed in the movie.[46][47] The film was written byKenya Hirata [ja], directed byKojiro Hashimoto [ja] and starredHayato Sano [ja] as Ryota Maeshiro. It was distributed byToei.[48] Hirata also wrote a novelization of the film which was published byKodansha on March 15, 2019.[49]
Since its release in 2001, the song has become very popular as akaraoke song inJapan.[10] In theDaiichikosho Amusement Multimedia [ja] (DAM) rankings compiled byDaiichi Kosho Company, the song ranked first in the most-sung song by a male artist category as well as ranking second in the most popular karaoke song on the DAMHeisei Karaoke Ranking behind "Hanabi" by Mr. Chicken.[14][45] RealSound stated that it is the "most popular song" by a male artist in theHeisei era.[50] The song placed in the top 30 forOricon's Year End Karaoke charts for eight years.[51] It was ranked 3rd in 2013, 7th in 2014, 10th in 2016, 8th in 2017, 4th in 2018, and 9th in 2019.[52][53] The song ranked fifth for the first half of 2019 onKaraoke Joysound's ranking.[54] According toJASRAC, "Chiisana Koi no Uta" generated the fourth-highest revenue in ringtone sales in Japan in 2002.[55] According to music criticTomonori Shiba [ja], the song remained popular even after the commercial success of the band's albumMessage had died down, commenting that the song "got out of hand" and "stands for itself."[56] Shiba wrote that the song's popularity lies in a simple melody and the straightforward lyrics in sentences that are easy to understand.[57] The song ranked 25th and 38th place in the Oricon Digital Songs and Streaming charts, respectively.[58]
In December 2021,Billboard Japan reported that the song had accumulated 100 million streams and became the second song of the 2000s – after "Hanabi [ja]" byMr. Children – to reach this milestone.[14] According to Oricon, the song was the third most-listened song of the 2000s onSpotify in Japan, behind "Zenryoku Shōnen [ja]" bySukima Switch and "Hanabi" by Mr. Children.[59] In July 2022, the song was one of the featured songs in FNS Song Festival byFuji TV.[60]
"Chiisana Koi no Uta" was announced to be eligible for a nomination in the categoriesBest Japanese Song andBest J-Rock Song at theinauguralMusic Awards Japan, but received no nominations.[61][62] In 2019, the song was awarded the Silver Prize at the 3rdNexTone Awards for amassing the second-highest revenue in royalties during the fiscal year of 2018.[63]
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