Formed in 1973 as the high-school garage band Invader in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, its original members included vocalist Koji Tamaki, guitarist Yutaka Takezawa and guitarist/keyboardist Toshiya Takezawa, who is also Yutaka's brother. Later, in late 1973, Koji's brother and drummer, Kazuyoshi Tamaki and bassist Takahiro Miyashita joined. In 1977, the band changed its name to Anzen Chitai ("Safety Zone"), and Kazuyoshi Tamaki left the group to be replaced by Ichiji Ohira. By December 1977, Anzen Chitai merged with another band, the Haruyoshi Rokudo Band (六土開正バンド, Rokudō Haruyoshi Bando?), and added three more members: bassist Haruyoshi Rokudo, guitarist Wataru Yahagi, and drummer Yuji Tanaka. By this point, they had expanded to an eight-member group. Within the next three years, Toshiya Takezawa and Takahiro Miyashita would leave. Yuji Tanaka would also leave at this point.
In 1981, they began work as a backup band for singer-songwriter Yōsui Inoue, and released their debut single, "Moegi Iro no Snap" (萌黄色のスナップ, Moegi Iro no Sunappu?) under the Kitty Records in February 1982. However, the final personnel change would occur as Ichiji Ohira would leave, and Yuji Tanaka would return in his place, establishing the current lineup.
Under the guidance of their producer and co-arranger Masaru Hoshi (星 勝, Hoshi Masaru?), lead guitarist and vocalist of the psychedelic rock group The Mops, the band continued to refine their craft in the studio. Their status as a backup band would soon change: in 1984, "Wine Red o Kokoro" (ワインレッドの心, Wain Reddo No Kokoro?, lit. Wine Red Heart) reached No. 1 on the Oricon charts, to be followed by among others, "Kanashimi ni Sayonara" (悲しみにさよなら) and "Suki Sa" (好きさ) (featured on the popular Rumiko Takahashi anime series Maison Ikkoku). "Wine Red no Kokoro" was composed by Koji Tamaki with lyrics by Yōsui Inoue. Koji Tamaki was credited as the sole composer in virtually all of Anzen Chitai's music, with Gorō Matsui being the lyricist frequently. Their popularity in the 1980s culminated in a five-day soldout concert tour at the Nippon Budokan in 1987, which had a total attendance of 60,000.
Despite a couple of hiatuses for the sake of solo careers (July 1988-March 1990, 1993-2001), Anzen Chitai continued to record and tour. A new studio album was released in 2004, titled Anzen Chitai X (their tenth studio album). After their Japanese concert tour in support of the "Anzen Chitai X" album, the band announced at the end of 2004 that they are taking yet another indefinite hiatus.
As of 2006, Koji Tamaki remains active as a solo performer and television actor, with Wataru Yahagi performing in both his solo albums and concerts. Yutaka Takezawa is also active in the music business as a composer, producer, arranger and session guitarist.
On April 28, 2008, fan club members were notified that Tamaki has announced his retirement from music, as well as the closing of the official Koji Tamaki & Anzenchitai fan club, Star. Illness that requires long-term treatment was cited for his decision.
During the second half of 2009, the band held secret meetings and decided to regroup. Similar to their amateur days, band members lodged together to practise and compose music.
On January 2010, the band announced the resumption of their career. Switching back to Universal Music Japan (which has absorbed their former label Kitty Records and is the distributor of their pre-Sony Music Japan catalog) as their record label, a music video for their new single (scheduled for release in early March, 2010) has been released. Along with making apprearance on TV, the band intend to perform in public following the release of their upcoming single.
Their double A-side single "Aoi Bara/Wine Red no Kokoro (2010 version)" was released on March 3, 2010. Tamaki wrote the lyrics and music of "Aoi Bara." The single debuted at #9 on Oricon weekly charts, becoming their first Top 10 single in 21 years 6 months since their single "Hohoemi ni Kanpai" in 1988.
MEMBERS:
* Koji Tamaki (玉置 浩二, Tamaki Kōji?) - Vocals, Guitars & Percussion (1973-present)
* Yutaka Takezawa (武沢 豊, Takezawa Yutaka?) - Guitars (1973-present)
* Wataru Yahagi (矢萩 渉, Yahagi Wataru?) - Guitars (1977-present)
* Haruyoshi Rokudo (六土 開正, Rokudō Haruyoshi?) Bass, Piano & Keyboards (1977-present)
* Yuji Tanaka (田中 裕二, Tanaka Yūji?) - Drums (1977-1978, 1982-present)
PAST MEMBERS
* Toshiya Takezawa (武沢 俊也, Takezawa Toshiya?) - Guitars, Keyboards (1973-1981)
* Takahiro Miyashita (宮下 隆宏, Miyashita Takahiro?) - Bass (1973-1978)
* Kazuyoshi Tamaki (玉置 一芳, Tamaki Kazuyoshi?) - Drums (1973-1977)
* Ichiji Ohira (大平 市治, Ōhira Ichiji?) - Drums (1977-1982)
Origin: Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan
Genres: Japanese rock
Years active: 1973-1992, 2002-2004, 2009-present
Labels : Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Kitty Records, Universal Music Group
Associated acts : Yōsui Inoue
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Anzenchitai Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
かまいやしない
世界の誰にも
迷惑じゃない
好きだなんて言えなくたって
気にしなくていい
思いはそれでも
※なにもかもまちがいじゃないのに
でもなんでなんだろう
僕だって正しいわけじゃないのに
でもなんでなんだろう
なぜさみしくなるんだろう※
世の中に尽くそうなんて
思わなくても
みんな自然に
感じてんじゃない
愛や友情が大事だなんて
言わなくたって
みんな本当は
わかってんじゃない
なにもかもまちがいじゃないのに
でもなんでなんだろう
僕だって違うのかもしれないのに
でもなんでなんだろう
なぜ悲しくなるんだろう
(※くり返し)
The song is titled "Anata ni Aete Yokatta" by Anzenchitai, which roughly translates to "I'm glad I met you." The lyrics are about not being afraid to express your feelings and thoughts, even if they are not perfect or may not be well-received by others. The first verse talks about how it's okay if you can't say hello or express your feelings to someone because it doesn't inconvenience anyone else in the world. The second verse talks about how you don't need to explicitly say that love and friendship are important because most people already understand that. The chorus repeats the line "Why do I feel lonely?" implying a sense of confusion and frustration with being unable to understand why one might feel lonely despite everything seemingly being okay.
The song is about the need for emotional connection and communication even when things seem fine on the surface. It challenges the idea that we need to constantly strive to be productive or meet societal expectations and instead focuses on the importance of being vulnerable and expressing oneself authentically. The lyrics also suggest that feelings of loneliness are universal and that it's okay to feel this way even if you don't fully understand why.
Line by Line Meaning
挨拶ができなくたって かまいやしない
Even if I can't say hello, it doesn't matter.
世界の誰にも 迷惑じゃない
Nobody in the world is bothered by it.
好きだなんて言えなくたって 気にしなくていい
Even if I can't say I love you, I don't have to worry.
思いはそれでも 通じてんじゃない
My feelings can still get across.
※なにもかもまちがいじゃないのに
Even though everything seems fine,
でもなんでなんだろう
Why do I feel this way?
僕だって正しいわけじゃないのに
Even though I'm not right either,
でもなんでなんだろう
Why do I feel this way?
なぜさみしくなるんだろう※
Why do I feel so lonely?
世の中に尽くそうなんて 思わなくても
I don't have to try to save the world,
みんな自然に 感じてんじゃない
Everyone can feel it naturally.
愛や友情が大事だなんて 言わなくたって
Even if I don't say that love and friendship are important,
みんな本当は わかってんじゃない
Everyone knows deep down.
なにもかもまちがいじゃないのに
Even though everything seems fine,
でもなんでなんだろう
Why do I feel this way?
僕だって違うのかもしれないのに
Even though I might be different,
でもなんでなんだろう
Why do I feel this way?
なぜ悲しくなるんだろう
Why do I feel sad?
Contributed by Joseph F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.