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)

Kabukicho no Joo
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

蝉の声を聞く度に目に浮かぶ九十九里浜
皺々の祖母の手を離れ独りで訪れた歓楽街

ママは此処の女王様生き写しの様なあたし
誰しもが手を伸べて子供ながらに魅せられた歓楽街

十五に成ったあたしを置いて女王は消えた
毎週金曜日に来ていた男と暮らすのだろう

「一度栄えし者でも必ずや衰えゆく」
その意味を知る時を迎え足を踏み入れたは歓楽街

消えて行った女を憎めど夏は今
女王と云う肩書きを誇らしげに掲げる

女に成ったあたしが売るのは自分だけで
同情を欲したときに全てを失うだろう

JR新宿駅の東口を出たら
其処はあたしの庭大遊戯場歌舞伎町 oh

今夜からは此の町で娘のあたしが女王

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Kabukicho no Joou tell the story of a young girl who leaves her grandmother's wrinkled hand behind to visit the exciting entertainment district of Kabukicho alone. Here, the singer meets the queen of the district, who hypnotizes all the visitors with her charm. When the singer reaches the age of fifteen, the queen disappears, leaving her behind to live with a man who comes to visit every Friday. As she grows up and becomes a woman, the singer understands the meaning of the phrase "even those who have once flourished will inevitably decline" and takes on the title of "queen" herself.

The song explores themes of growing up, independence, and the power dynamics of sex work in Kabukicho. Despite the glamor and excitement of the place, the lyrics suggest that it is a transient and often cruel world. The singer must navigate a dangerous world with no one to guide her, but in time, she becomes the queen herself, proudly proclaiming her status and independence.

Line by Line Meaning

蝉の声を聞く度に目に浮かぶ九十九里浜
Every time I hear the sound of cicadas, I am reminded of Kujukuri Beach.

皺々の祖母の手を離れ独りで訪れた歓楽街
I left my wrinkled grandmother's hand and visited Kabukicho alone.

ママは此処の女王様生き写しの様なあたし
My mother is the queen of this place, and I am her spitting image.

誰しもが手を伸べて子供ながらに魅せられた歓楽街
Everyone reached out to me, and as a child, I was fascinated by the entertainment district.

十五に成ったあたしを置いて女王は消えた
When I turned fifteen, the queen disappeared, leaving me behind.

毎週金曜日に来ていた男と暮らすのだろう
Perhaps she lived with a man who visited her every Friday.

「一度栄えし者でも必ずや衰えゆく」
"Even someone who once prospered will certainly decline."

その意味を知る時を迎え足を踏み入れたは歓楽街
I understood the meaning of this and stepped into the entertainment district.

消えて行った女を憎めど夏は今
Although I hate the woman who disappeared, it is summer now.

女王と云う肩書きを誇らしげに掲げる
I proudly bear the title of queen.

女に成ったあたしが売るのは自分だけで
As a woman, I sell only myself.