Sailorfuku to Kikanju is the debut single released by Yakushimaru Hiroko.
It was released as the theme song of the 1981 movie Sailor Fuku to Kikanju in which Yakushimaru played the lead protagonist.
It is Yakushimaru's biggest hit to date, selling over 865,000 copies, and it was the second-highest selling song of 1982.
Single Information[]
- Catalog Number: 7DK 7020
- Composition: Kisugi Takao
- Arrangement: Hoshi Katsu
- Lyrics: Kisugi Etsuko (track one), Ogura Kei (track two)
Tracklist[]
- Sailorfuku to Kikanju (セーラー服と機関銃; Sailor Clothes and a Machine Gun)
- Atarimae no Niji (あたりまえの虹; Obvious Rainbow)
Oricon Chart Positions[]
- #1 (Weekly)
- #2 (Oricon Annual Charts 1982)
Trivia[]
- The song was originally supposed to be sung by its composer Kisugi Takao under the name Yume no Tochuu. However, Kadokawa movie executives believed that the song would sell better if sung by the actress playing the movie's heroine, and the record label he belonged to, Kitty Records, agreed. The song was hastily rearranged and then re-recorded by Yakushimaru at the last minute, unknowingly using a draft version of the lyrics. This action enraged the lyricist Kisugi Etsuko, who is also Kisugi Takao's older sister, to threaten to leave the label for CBS/Sony and have an exclusive contract with them. To satiate her, an agreement was made to also release Kisugi's original version around the same time. However, the two songs are technically not the same due to Yakushimaru's version having one line of different lyrics due to using the draft.
- In early printings of the single, the title is Sailorfuku to Kikanju (Yume no Tochuu) (セーラー服と機関銃 (夢の途中)).
- Yakushimaru refused to sing before the release of this single because she disliked singing. However, her voice was so favored by the public, studio musicians, and even the composer (who originally had doubts about her singing it correctly), that she would subsequently become a singer.
- Although the blood seen on Yakushimaru's face on the album art is fake, it is modeled after an incident during filming Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu in which a glass prop exploded and actually cut Yakushimaru's face. Despite the injury, the scenes were left in the movie and became a signature part of Yakushimaru's look, promoting both the movie and song.