Single Review: Fujii Kaze - Hachikō

I’ve not been too hot on Fujii Kaze’s singles over the past couple of years. Not because the singles have been bad. But because each single felt like it belonged to Love All Serve All at a point I was hoping we’d move on from that album.

This can be a common thing in Japanese music. Not long after an album release, an act will release a couple of brand new singles which sound like they belong to the album they had just released — which is why I’m usually not a big fan of singles which come so soon after an album. And this is largely why I think album re-releases in Japan should be far more of a thing. Because a Love All Serve All re-release with these new songs would have made so much sense and done well commercially. And I think this approach across the Japanese music industry would not only help album sales, but help record labels and acts be more conscious of looking at albums as bodies of work and not just singles collections — especially at a time where singles do not have the impact that they once did, due to them not releasing physically as standard anymore, and record labels not coughing up the budgets to market them. But that’s a whole other post.

Kaze released a new single — “Hachikō”. And from the moment I heard it, I just knew we were in a whole new space. And lo and behold, I later found out that it is the lead single from a whole new album. And just like that, Kaze roped me back in.

Surprisingly, but not surprisingly, “Hachikō” is (mostly) in English. The press release for the song refers to it specifically as an English language single. But honestly, it’s just another Kaze single. The language isn’t too much of a distinction here. We’re not getting the strange separation that we got when Hikaru Utada released English language material under ‘Utada’ on a whole other record label, with a whole different image and their music strangely trying to target a whole different audience. “Hachikō” is being treated like it is just another Kaze single, which I think is the correct approach — creatively and commercially. This approach that Kaze and his team have taken is a great blueprint for other Japanese acts who want to release music in English. Do not section those songs off. Approach the Japanese and English releases as though they are part of the same discography.

But let’s get back to the song.

The first 30 seconds let me know immediately that we are in a whole new vibe and a ‘new era’ as the kids say. The feeling I had when I first heard “Hachikō” was the exact same feeling that I had when I first heard “Kirari” back in 2021. It was so clear that Kaze was in this new creative space and entering thid new phase of his career. And I think this is why “Grace”, “Workinʼ Hard”, “Hana”, “Michi Teyu Ku (Overflowing)” and “Feelinʼ Go(o)d” all felt like Love All Serve All songs, because that shift wasn’t present in any of them, because Fujii was still in Love All Serve All mode.

Fujii Kaze - Hachikō | Republic Records / HEHN Records

Fujii worked on “Hachikō” with songwriter Tobias Jesso, Jr. — known famously for his work on Adele’s “When We Were Young” and infamously for his work on Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism. Back in April 2022, Fujii posted a bunch of photos on Instagram from his trip to Los Angeles — one of which included him in the studio with Tobias Jesso, Jr. So there is every likelihood that this is when work started on “Hachikō” and that this is a 3 year old song.

Tobias Jesso, Jr. doesn’t really have a signature sound. So unless you were to tell me he had anything to do with this song, I would never guess. But it’s cool that despite Kaze working with a team of music makers and producers that he’s never worked with before, that “Hachikō” still sounds like a Fujii Kaze song, but in a slightly different gear. The song sounds just different enough that I can tell that Yaffle didn’t work on it, but not so distinct that I could identify who had produced it. This was a bit of an issue for me with “Hana” — a song which was produced by A.G. Cook, but sounded NOTHING like what you would associate with A. G. Cook. So I’m really intrigued as to how Fujii’s upcoming album will sound — whether “Hachikō” sets a baseline for the sound or whether other songs will push Fujii’s sound in slightly different directions. But generally, I really like the sound of “Hachikō” and it highlights how good Fujii is at writing good pop hooks — an aspect of his artistry which I feel gets massively overlooked.

Fujii Kaze - Hachikō | Republic Records / HEHN Records

Those familiar with Japanese history and culture — or just Shibuya — will have heard of Hachikō. When I first saw the title of the song, I said ‘Ain’t no way Fujii Kaze has written a song about that dog’. Then I clicked on the video and saw him dressed as some BDSM pup and said ‘Well, I guess he’s written a song about that dog.’ But the song itself isn’t specifically about Hachikō the dog, but two of the biggest themes of the story of Hachikō — loyalty and patience. It’s actually really clever. Because undoubtedly, those who don’t know what a Hachikō is, they will Google, they will learn and then the context of the title of the song and the video becomes clear. Education through song. Yes bitch. I think songwriters often underestimate how much people want to learn new things through songs. Just look at Mariah Carey’s songs and her use of vocabulary. A bitch had us opening dictionaries to learn them big ass words. So I like — whether intentional, or not — that Fujii chose to write a song about universally known feelings, with a title which is about a very specific thing that Japanese people will know and that non Japanese people who do not know, will come to know. And the cool thing about “Hachiko” is that you can interpret the lyrics differently. The song could be about faith. It could be about sex. It could also be about constipation. Or it could quite literally be about the dog.

Fujii Kaze - Hachikō | Republic Records / HEHN Records

“Hachikō” could be regarded as perhaps a bit cliche — an English language song from a Japanese artist, about a Japanese thing, with a title which is Japanese. But it works. Not only is “Hachikō” just a great pop song, but it feels like a song Kaze probably would’ve released in Japanese anyway. And nothing about the song, the video or Kaze’s image feels like a presentation of being ‘Japanesey’ to a point where it becomes his entire musical and visual identity — which I know is a weird thing to say given that…he is Japanese. And I know it’s also a weird thing to say at a time of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and her touring the world looking like Captain America. This is not to say that Japanese artists should not embrace their own culture. One of the things I adore about Japanese music and Japan as a country is how it is so proud of its culture and takes every opportunity to uphold it and showcase it. But when it’s packaged in a certain way for Western audiences, the ‘aesthetic’ is all they see, and it results in American audiences making these broad strokes when it comes to every Japanese music act — which is something Yellow Magic Orchestra addressed, challenged and subverted, with songs such as “Firecracker”. Although, at a time of Shogun being a wildly popular Emmy award winning show and Japan experiencing record breaking numbers in tourism, maybe some would argue that putting on a yukata and popping pussy under a cherry blossom is the way to go. And in all fairness, it shouldn’t be for Japanese acts to do the work of trying to undo orientalism. They shouldn’t have to tone anything down out of concern of how they’ll be perceived, the same way Black artists shouldn’t be made to tone anything down out of concern of how they’ll be perceived.

But, irregardless — tapping into stereotypes does pigeon hole Japanese acts and sells them short. Musically, Japan is more than kotos and shamisens. Visually, Japan is more than red kimonos and cherry blossoms. So I like that “Hachikō” manages to be a proudly Japanese English language song, but in a package which offers a different slice of Japan and being Japanese. Kaze isn’t trying to be much of anything and there’s no real ulterior motive with the song other than ‘It’s fun’. And it works because of this.

Fujii Kaze - Hachikō | Republic Records / HEHN Records

“Hachikō” manages to tick so many of the right boxes in the most effortless of ways. It’s a great sounding song to push in North America and Europe — if Kaze’s team chooses to do so. It’s also a great introductory song to Kaze to new Western audiences, without being a pivot from what his existing fans are familiar with. The energy and tempo of the song also makes sense for the type of performer Kaze has become, with him dancing more and more with each large tour that he does. And it’s going to be interesting to hear how he flips it when he performs it with just a piano.

Fujii Kaze’s got that dawg in him.

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🎤 Performances: “Free” Live 2021 | “Me-Eh-Yo” on the Help Ever Arena Tour | Tiny Desk | Feelin’ Good

💿 Album Reviews: Help Ever Hurt Never | Help Ever Hurt Cover | Love All Serve All