椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö")… Read Full Bio ↴椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö"), born November 25, 1978 in Saitama and raised in Fukuoka, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. Her family name is Shiina (椎名) and she chose to perform as Ringo instead of her birth name Yumiko (裕美子) because - as a shy child - her cheeks would blush red like an apple (the fruit being 'ringo' in Japanese).

After quitting school to enter a musical contest, Shiina was quickly signed to EMI, then promptly left Japan to avoid the trappings of contract work. After returning, she quickly released a series of singles and albums, all self-penned (a relative rarity for Japanese pop artists), and all meeting with great success on the Japanese charts. A hiatus to start a family followed, itself followed (after a divorce) by both a new album and a new side project, the band 東京事変. (Tokyo Jihen - or Tokyo Incidents)

After more success with the band, Shiina returned to a solo career in 2006 as the Music Director for the film 「さくらん」(Sakuran), quickly taking the number one slot on the Oricon charts with the album Heisei Fuuzoku released in tandem with a major soundtrack project. Following was a B-sides album which peaked quickly at the number one Oricon slot. In the years proceeding this, she spent most of her time dedicated to Tokyo Jihen occasionally revisiting her solo work.

Despite being involved in the main Japanese pop scene, Shiina has created a niche for herself based on a much wider musical range than most artists. Where most pop singers develop a basic sound based on contemporary pop aesthetics and throwaway lyrical matter, Shiina builds on a base of jazz, rock, Motown, and even French chanson equally well (the chanson works especially well with her trademark nasal delivery), infusing her projects with a very different aesthetic, and gaining a fan base separate from the core constituents of the Japanese pop apparatus.

Despite the release of album 三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) in 2019, released after a myriad of singles being majorly included in aforementioned work. In 2020, Ringo and band Tokyo Jihen turned their backs to their past, doing a major reunion, with the drop of a few projects, such as sixth studio album 音楽.

Discography

Singles

幸福論 (Koufukuron)（1998）
歌舞伎町の女王（1998）
ここでキスして。 (Koko de kisu shite)（1999）
本能（1999）
幸福論（1999）
ギブス (Gibs)（2000）
罪と罰（2000）
真夜中は純潔（2001）
絶頂集（2000）
茎（STEM）～大名遊ビ編～（2003）
りんごのうた (Ringo no Uta)（2003）
この世の限り (Kono Yo no Kagiri) (2007） (With Saitou Neko and her brother Shiina Junpei)
ありあまる富 (Ariamaru Tomi)（2009）
カーネーション (Carnation)（2011）
自由へ道連 (Traveling Companion to Freedom) (2012)
いろはにほへと (Les Couleurs Chantent) (2013)
孤独のあかつき (The Solitude of Dawn) (2013)
NIPPON (2014)
至上の人生 (A Life Supreme) (2015)
最果てが見たい (2015)
長く短い祭 (2015)
神様、仏様 (2015)
ジユーダム (2016)
目抜き通り (2017)
獣ゆく細道 (2018)

Albums

無罪モラトリアム (Muzai Moratorium) (1999)
勝訴ストリップ (Shouso Strip)（2000)
加爾基精液栗ノ花（Karuki Za-men Kuri no Hana）(2003)
平成風俗 (Heisei Fuuzoku) (2007) (with Neiko Sato)
三文ゴシップ (Sanmon Gossip) (2009)
日出処 (Hi Izuru Tokoro) (2014)
三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) (2019)

Covers Album

唄ひ手冥利～其ノ壱～ (Utaitemyori Sonoichi)（2002）
逆輸入～港湾局～ (Reimports Vol.1) (2014)
逆輸入〜航空局〜 (Reimport Vol.2 -Civil Bureau Aviation) (2017)

Compilations

私と放電 (Me & Electric Discharge) (2008) - (B-Sides)
ニュートンの林檎 (Apple of Universal Gravity) (2019) - (Overview)

Chiisana Konomi
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

小さな手のひらにひとつ
古ぼけた木の実にぎりしめ
小さなあしあとがひとつ
草原の中を馳けてゆく

パパとふたりで拾った
大切な木の実にぎりしめ
ことしまた秋の丘を

少年はひとり馳けてゆく

小さな心にいつでも
しあわせな秋はあふれてる
風と良く晴れた空と
あたたかいパパの思い出と

坊や強く生きるんだ
広いこの世界お前のもの

ことしまた秋がくると
木の実はささやくパパの言葉

Overall Meaning

These lyrics describe a tender and nostalgic experience between a father and his son. The first two lines depict the son holding a worn-out wooden fruit in his small palm. This symbolizes a precious memory or something of value that the father and son picked together. The following two lines indicate that the son is running through a grassy field, leaving behind his small footprints, symbolizing the innocence and joy of childhood.

The third paragraph reveals that the father and son picked a special wooden fruit together. The son holds onto it tightly, showing its importance to him. The next line suggests that the boy is running alone through an autumn hill this year, which hints at the passage of time and the child growing older.

The fourth paragraph portrays the son's small heart always overflowing with happiness during autumn. The lyrics mention the presence of wind, a clear sky, and warm memories of the father, suggesting that these elements contribute to the son's contentment during this season.

The final paragraph addresses the boy directly, encouraging him to live strongly in this wide world and reminding him that autumn will come again. This emphasizes the fleeting nature of time and the father's desire for his son to seize opportunities and make the most of his life. The line about the wooden fruit whispering the father's words adds a touch of sentimentality, indicating that the son carries the father's guidance and love with him wherever he goes.

Line by Line Meaning

小さな手のひらにひとつ
In the palm of my small hand, there is one

古ぼけた木の実にぎりしめ
I tightly grip a worn-out fruit from a tree

小さなあしあとがひとつ
There is one small footprint

草原の中を馳けてゆく
Running through the meadow

パパとふたりで拾った
Picked it up with Papa, just the two of us

大切な木の実にぎりしめ
Tightly gripping a precious fruit

ことしまた秋の丘を
Once again this year, on the autumn hill

少年はひとり馳けてゆく
The boy runs alone

小さな心にいつでも
In my small heart, always

しあわせな秋はあふれてる
Happiness of autumn overflows

風と良く晴れた空と
The wind and clear sky