Furusato

Furusato
Original Release
12cm Re-release
Single by Morning Musumefrom the album Second Morning
Native title	ふるさと
Released	July 14, 1999
Genre	J-Pop
Format	CD Single, digital download
Length	15:28 (original) 20:58 (rerelease)
Label	zetima
Producer	Tsunku
Morning Musume Singles Chronology
Previous	Manatsu no Kousen 5th Single (1998)
Next	LOVE Machine 7th Single (1999)

Furusato (ふるさと; Hometown) is Morning Musume's sixth single. It was released on July 14, 1999 as an 8 cm CD. The single sold 102.750 copies in it’s first week, and a total of 170.670 copies, charting for 6 weeks, earning them #5 on the Oricon charts. This was their lowest selling and lowest charting single at the time.

In 2004 it was re-released as part of the Morning Musume Early Single Box, a limited edition box set containing their first eight singles reissued on 12cm CDs. In 2005 the singles were released individually, and first press editions of these singles came with a photo card. All the 12 cm cds contain an extra track for each single.

The 4th track on the re-release was recorded on June 6, 1999. Comparing to the single version, Abe’s vocal is somewhat more cheerful. At this stage, there was no chorus part except for the harmonies by members. The single version was recorded later on June 8. As for the single version, the song ends by fading out. However, this version has a clear ending.

Tracklist

File:Morning Musume - Furusato (MV)

Furusato (MV)

Original Edition

1. Furusato
2. Wasurerannai (忘れらんない; Unforgettable)
3. Furusato (Instrumental)

Re-release Edition

1. Furusato
2. Wasurerannai
3. Furusato (Instrumental)
4. Furusato (Early Vocal Version)

Featured Members

Morning Musume promoting single

• 1st Gen: Nakazawa Yuko, Ishiguro Aya, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi
• 2nd Gen: Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, Ichii Sayaka

TV Performances

• [1999.07.15] Utaban
• [1999.07.16] Music Station
• [2006.03.03] Hello Pro Hour #1 (By Abe Natsumi & Takahashi Ai)
• [2006.09.01] Hello Pro Hour #14 (By Yaguchi Mari)

Concert Performances

Furusato

• Morning Musume Summer Event '99
• Hello! Project '99
• Morning Musume Summer-Autumn Event '99
• Hello! Project 2002 ~ONE HAPPY SUMMER DAY~ - Hello! Project (part of a medley)
• Hello! Project 2004 Winter ~C'MON! Dance World~
• Morning Musume Otome Gumi ~Otome Chikku~ - Morning Musume Otome Gumi
• Abe Natsumi First Concert Tour 2004 ~Anata Iro~ - Abe Natsumi
• Morning Musume Concert Tour 2005 Haru ~Dai 6kan Hit Mankai!~ - Takahashi Ai / Niigaki Risa
• Morning Musume Concert Tour 2005 Natsu Aki "Baribari Kyoushitsu ~Koharu-chan Irasshai!~"
• Hello! Project 2007 Summer 10th Anniversary Dai Kanshasai ~Hello☆Pro Natsu Matsuri~ - Kusumi Koharu, Mitsui Aika, Junjun, Linlin
• Abe Natsumi Special Live 2007 Aki ~Acoustic Nacchi~ - Abe Natsumi
• Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Haru ~Single Daizenshuu!!~ - Michishige Sayumi
• Morning Musume Concert Tour 2009 Aki ~Nine Smile~
• Morning Musume Concert Tour 2010 Aki ~Rival Survival~
• Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2013 ~Haru no Koukai Jitsuryoku Shindan Test~ - Ogawa Rena
• Hello! Project 20th Anniversary!! Hello! Project 2018 SUMMER ~ALL FOR ONE~ - Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari (with Morning Musume '18 as chorus)

Single Information

Lyrics and Composition: Tsunku

Furusato

• Arrangement: Konishi Takao
• Dance Choreographer: Natsu Mayumi

Wasurerannai

• Arrangement: Konishi Takao & Shitamachi Kyodai

Notable Covers

• [2001.11.29] FOLK SONGS (album by Ichii Sayaka with Nakazawa Yuko, Track #7)
• [2002.06.26] Morning Musume Single Medley ~Hawaiian~ (single by Takagi Boo, Morning Musume, Coconuts Musume, Fujimoto Miki, & Ishii Rika, Track #2 "Furusato (Hawaiian Version)"; also featured in Hawaiian de Kiku Morning Musume Single Collection, track #9 "Furusato (Album Version)")
• [2002.10.30] CLUB Hello! TRANCE REMIX (#7 Furusato (TRANCEREMIX) - Morning Musume
• [2004.02.04] Hitoribocchi (album by Abe Natsumi, Track #9 "Furusato (Abe Version)")
• [2004.02.18] Morning Musume Best Shot Vol.1 (performed by Yaguchi Mari)
• [2004.05.28] Morning Musume Best Shot Vol.2 (performed by Tsuji Nozomi)
• [2004.07.22] Dai Nishou ~Tsuyogari~ (album by Nakazawa Yuko, Track #12 "Furusato (Nakazawa Version)")
• [2004.09.14] Morning Musume Best Shot Vol.3 (performed by Takahashi Ai)
• [2004.12.04] Morning Musume Best Shot Vol.4 (performed by Niigaki Risa)
• [2005.05.01] Hello! Morning #257 (performed by Kusumi Koharu (Audition Song))
• [2006.03.03] Hello! Pro Hour #1 (performed by Abe Natsumi & Takahashi Ai)
• [2009.12.06] Morning Musume Concert Tour 2009 Aki ~Nine Smile~ (performed by Kusumi Koharu (Graduation Song))
• [2010.12.08] Hello Cover (Kamei Eri's digital album, Track #2)
• [2010.12.15] Morning Musume Concert Tour 2010 Aki ~Rival Survival~ (performed by Junjun (Graduation Song))
• [2011.01.26] Furusato (Niigaki Risa's digital single; also featured in Hello Cover as track #2)
• [2011.02.16] Furusato (Suzuki Airi's digital single)
• [2011.03.02] Furusato (Natsuyaki Miyabi's digital single)
• [2011.03.30] Furusato (Takahashi Ai's digital single)
• [2011.03.30] Furusato (Okai Chisato's digital single)
• [2013.03.26] Hello! Project Station #8 (performed by Sayashi Riho)

Trivia

• 1st Generation member Abe Natsumi gives a comment about the single on YouTube.
• Abe is the only member to receive solo lines for Furusato, and other members only sing in harmony with her during non-solo lines.
• This was the first music video to have images and clips of the member's childhood.
• This was Morning Musume's lowest selling single until Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima.
• This is the first release where Tsunku referred to himself as Tsunku ♂.

Oricon Chart Positions

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Week Rank	Sales
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	102,750
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	27,380
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	16,160
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	36	10,650
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	37	9,130
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	56	4,600

Total Reported Sales: 170,670

Comments

I was actually thinking about releasing “Furusato” on July 7. On July 7 with 7 members, and on September 9 with 9 members.

Morning Musume was just like my band, Sharan Q. At the age of 23, we’ve moved to Tokyo from Osaka. We were all around the same age, from the same hometown, with the commo hopes and dreams… It took a while for us to be noticed and become popular, and we were struggling everyday in order to make our common dreams come true. By then, we were the grown-ups, but we still felt loneliness as well as sadness. I remember we felt homesick too.

There are a lot more members in Morning Musume than Sharan Q, but the girls are from different hometowns in Japan, different ages, and different background experience in the industry…And that’s how Morning Musume is formed. They seldom complain in front of me, bu I’m sure some of them feel homesick, and some might feel lonely and depressed. I really think they’ve done well. After concerts, some immediate families come and visit the girls in green room, and I’ve seen some girls burst into tears. And I felt how tough it must have been for those young girls.

I came up with the idea of the song based on I just mentioned above. I think this is the best suited song for Morning Musume. And because it is Morning Musume’s song, I have faith in their performance. Maybe this song can only be sung by Morning Musume. And because I am a producer of Morning Musume, I was able to create such a wonderful song like this. I feel blessed to have met such wonderful and talented girls.

External Links

• Discography: Hello! Project, UP-FRONT WORKS, Tsunku.net
• Wikipedia: Japanese, English
• Lyrics: Furusato, Wasurerannai