Ayano Tsuji -- Kaze ni Naru（風になる）

 

Kyoto singer-songwriter Ayano Tsuji（つじあやの）has been mentioned once before on KKP for performing the theme song, "Ashita Kitto"（明日きっと）, for the Kyoto-based NHK anime "Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san"（舞妓さんちのまかないさん）.

But what I failed to mention is that I had seen her on television while I was living in Japan now and then. She's always had that countenance as a down-to-earth woman with short hair and glasses while plucking away at her ukulele. While attending high school in the early 1990s, she joined a folk song club. She had wanted to play the guitar, but she found that her hands were too small to strum the strings, so she moved to the ukulele. According to J-Wiki, she practiced playing along the Kamo River near her school.

Her career began in 1998, and in 2002, Tsuji released her 6th single in June titled "Kaze ni Naru" (Becoming the Wind). From my memories of her music, "Kaze ni Naru" fits her style of a comforting and laidback pop song. No pretensions about this one...she could perform this in front of buddies at a campfire as well as at a full concert. Very apt music video for the song, too.

Reaching No. 13 on Oricon and going Platinum, "Kaze ni Naru" was also used as the theme song for the Studio Ghibli film "Neko no Ongaeshi"（猫の恩返し...The Cat Returns） which was released in theatres a month following the release of the single.