In December 2005, the group debuted in the theatre with only 20 girls, later known as Team A. A new audition was announced, this audition was held in cooperation with Japanese telecom company NTT DoCoMo. It was the first audition ever where the applicants had to send in their audition video with their mobile phones. 19 of the 11,892 applicants were chosen to join AKB48, but in the end, only 18 girls joined the group to become Team K in April 2006.
Their debut single dropped in February 2006, which made it to #10 on Oricon charts and sold 22,011 units in its first week. By far, all title songs released as a single has been made a tie-up song for a tv show, a movie or for a commercial. On December 31, 2007, 46 members of AKB48 appeared on the 58th Annual Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time. They sang as part of the Akihabara performance, they became the most number of people in a single group to be on stage at one time.
AKB48's 13th single '10年桜' (Junen Sakura) which was released on March 04 2009, made into number three of Oricon chart in the first week, becoming the first single for AKB48 to sell over 100,000 copies. AKB48's latest single 'ポニーテールとシュシュ' (Ponytail and Chou Chou or Ponytail to Shushu) was first on Oricon weekly singles sales and has sold over 600,000 copies so far.
AKB48 has several spin-off groups, including DiVA, ノースリーブス (No Sleeves), 渡り廊下走り隊 7 (Watarirouka Hashiritai 7), Not yet and フレンチ・キス (French Kiss). AKB48 also have "temporary" spin-off groups, including AKBアイドリング!!! (AKBIdolling!!!), Queen & Elizabeth and ナットウエンジェル (Nattou Angels).
AKB48 also have the sister groups SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48. There also a group called OJS48. But in 2011 it was announced 3 new groups: HKT48 (in Fokuoka, Japan), JKT48 (the first 48 group outside of Japan, in Jakarta - Indonesia) and SNH48 (second 48 group outside of Japan, in Shanghai-China)
桜の栞
AKB48 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
どこからか吹き
通い慣れた道
彩りを着替える
喜びも悲しみも
過ぎ去った季節
新しい道
桜の花は
別れの栞
ひらひらと手を振った
友の顔が浮かぶ
桜の花は
涙の栞
大切なこの瞬間(とき)を
いつまでも忘れぬように…
空を見上げれば
その大きさに
果てしなく続く
道の長さを知った
晴れの日も雨の日も
明日は来るから
微笑みながら
一歩 踏み出す
桜の花は
未来の栞
いつか見たその夢を
思い出せるように…
桜の花は
希望の栞
あきらめてしまうより
このページ 開いてみよう
桜の花は
心の栞
輝いた青春の
木漏れ日が眩しい
桜の花は
あの日の栞
人はみな 満開に
咲いた夢 忘れはしない
The lyrics to AKB48's song 桜の栞 (Sakura no Shiori) talk about the changing seasons, new beginnings, and the importance of memories. The gentle spring breeze brings about a change in the familiar paths, symbolized by the changing colors. The past seasons of joy and sorrow have passed, and a new path has been embarked upon.
The cherry blossoms, which symbolize the fleeting nature of life, serve as bookmarks of sorts, connecting the past, present, and future. They bring back memories of sweet goodbyes and tears shed over beautiful moments that will forever be treasured in one's heart. Looking up at the endless expanse of the sky, one becomes aware of the vastness of life's journey and the importance of taking that one step forward with a smile, come rain or shine.
The cherry blossoms also represent hope and the future, reminding us that the dreams we once had are still within our reach, and that we should never give up or lose sight of them. They serve as bookmarks for the heart, connecting us to the bright and shining moments of our youth.
Overall, the lyrics of 桜の栞 serve as a beautiful reminder to cherish the memories and moments that make up a life and to always hold hope for a bright and beautiful future.
Line by Line Meaning
春のそよ風がどこからか吹き通い慣れた道彩りを着替える
The gentle spring breeze blows from somewhere, making the familiar path change its attire.
喜びも悲しみも過ぎ去った季節新しい道歩き始める
The seasons of joy and sadness have passed, but a new path is starting to be walked.
桜の花は別れの栞ひらひらと手を振った友の顔が浮かぶ桜の花は涙の栞大切なこの瞬間(とき)をいつまでも忘れぬように…
Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of farewell - waving their hands flutteringly, the faces of friends appear in mind. Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of tears - to never forget this precious moment forever...
空を見上げればその大きさに果てしなく続く道の長さを知った
Looking up at the sky, I realized the endless length of the road ahead of me.
晴れの日も雨の日も明日は来るから微笑みながら一歩 踏み出す
On clear days and rainy days, tomorrow will come, so while smiling, step forward.
桜の花は未来の栞いつか見たその夢を思い出せるように…桜の花は希望の栞あきらめてしまうよりこのページ 開いてみよう
Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of the future - so that someday, I can remember the dreams I once had... Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of hope - instead of giving up, let's open this page.
桜の花は心の栞輝いた青春の木漏れ日が眩しい桜の花はあの日の栞人はみな 満開に咲いた夢 忘れはしない
Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of the heart - the dazzling sunlight filtering through the youthful tree canopy. Cherry blossoms are bookmarks of that day - everyone remembers the dreams they bloomed into, in full bloom.
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ink5875
2:02
春のそよ風がどこからか吹き
通い慣れた道 彩りを着替える
喜びも悲しみも過ぎ去った季節
新しい道歩き始める
2:38
桜の花は別れの栞
ひらひらと手を振った友の顔が浮かぶ
桜の花は涙の栞
大切なこの瞬間をいつまでも忘れぬように…
3:27
空を見上げればその大きさに
果てしなく続く道の長さを知った
晴れの日も雨の日も明日は来るから
微笑みながら一歩 踏み出す
4:03
桜の花は未来の栞
いつか見たその夢を思い出せるように…
桜の花は希望の栞
あきらめてしまうより
このページ 開いてみよう
4:55
桜の花は心の栞
輝いた青春の木漏れ日が眩しい
桜の花はあの日の栞
人はみな 満開に咲いた夢 忘れはしない
@__latte_
桜の木になろう、桜の花びらたち、桜の栞...AKBは桜が似合う🌸良い歌ばかりで、ずっと大好き。
@fukutaichou1903
this is one of akb's top songs tbh. it perfectly captures the moment where all of them were so young and all of them dreaming and going forward.. now most of them are graduated but that memory is immortalized by this very song. i miss this era of akb. acchan mariko yuko sayaka...
@amirulasyraf9511
yeah...totally agree....
@lilykranjcar5854
Jennylovesdog Everyone always forget to mention Takamina :/
@fukutaichou1903
when I wrote that, I think I was referring to graduated members ^_^ takamina was still very steady in the group so i guess I missed to mention her lol
@arthurjohnson9135
Jennylovesdog Beautifully expressed. "Sakura no shiori" is a fine example of what singing and songwriting is capable of achieving in its best moments.
@kevinthepigeonisstillbabe9635
Since you mentioned yuko can we just for a minute think of her visuals in uza
@WindiaNata
I miss all of them now.
@martin8159
Happy 13.6M visit AKB48 🎉💐❤❤❤
@bendailey6070
I heard this for the first time on Pandora radio, and thought it was a very beautiful song. Even without understanding all of the words, I can appreciate the musical talents of the composer and performers.