NHK announced that they will publish a song entitled “Hana wa Saku" [trans: Flowers are Blooming], composed by Kanno, with lyrics by Shunji Iwai. As many would remember, a strong earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan last year, and affected the home town of Yoko Kanno. They will be publishing this song as the first year commemoration of the earthquake, and the proceeds of the song will go to the rehabilitation of the affected areas.
Cover:
Shunji Iwai is also from the Miyagi Prefecture. Singing for this piece are singers, actors, actresses, and sports figures who come from Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima:
- Iwate Prefecture: Chikaco Sawada, Masao Sen,
Sayaka Nakaya (AKB48), Kenji Niinuma, Hiroaki Murakami, Erika Yamakawa
- Miyagi Prefecture: Shizuka Arakawa, Hiroshi Ikushima, ikemen’s,
Karen Iwata (AKB48), Kohei Otomo, Eiko Kano, Caoli Cano, Ikumi Kumagai, Muneyuki Sato, Sandwichman, Mayo Suzukaze, Kyōka Suzuki, Masatoshi Nakamura, Katsuya Nomura, Miyuki Hatakeyama, Maggy Shinji, Kumiko Mori, Keaki Mori, Mimori Yusa
- Fukushima Prefecture: Kumiko Akiyoshi, Tomio Umezawa, Cha Kato, Yuki Kadokura, B-saku Sato, Toshiyuki Nishida, Naoyuki Harada, Takeshi Honda
They said that the music recording is done, and they are currently in the process of recording the vocals. There will also be a music video with the singers, directed by Shunji Iwai, the lyricist who is also a director.
OriconCD/DVD Release:
1. Hana wa Saku (Sang by the Hana wa Saku Project)
2. Hana wa Saku (Sang by AKB48′s Karen Iwata)
3. Hana wa Saku (Sang by Members from The Little Singers of Tokyo)
4. Hana wa Saku (Instrumental)
DVD First Press Bonus:
1. Hana wa Saku (Original Full Version)
2. Hana wa Saku with AKB48′s Karen Iwata singing
3. Photos and Videos of “Hana wa Saku”
Order:
CDJapan - RegularCDJapan - CD+DVD LE