Matsutoya Yumi celebrates her 50th anniversary as a music artist

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This year, Matsutoya Yumi (68) a.k.a. “Yuming” is celebrating her 50th anniversary as a music artist.

Considered as a legendary artist, when she debuted, her image of an independent woman received a lot of support for women during the ’80s and since then, has led various booms in Japan.

She has released more than 600 songs, has sold over 40 million copies of her singles and albums.

But within those 50 years, Matsutoya said that she struggled with pressure and physical and mental health problems.

In an interview with Yahoo! News Uchida Masaki, Matsutoya was asked about how she feels about celebrating her 50th year anniversary as a music artist.

Here is an excerpt from that interview.

“I think 50 years is something that flies in the blink of an eye.” Yuming said.

Since her debut in 1972 under the name Arai Yumi, she had released 436 songs. From the late 80’s to the late 90’s, 10 consecutive original albums sold millions of copies, and including songs provided to others, more than 600 songs have been released to the world.

“When did you feel the most pressure?” she was asked.

“There was never a time when I didn’t feel pain. Even when sales peaked with the album ‘Heaven’s Door’ (1990), there was a sense of dread that the world would lift me up to the point where I could lift it up, and then I would just fall. The pain is still the same”.

Her debut single, “Henji wa Iranai” she said, “only sold about 300 copies”, but was discovered by the masses with her 1973 first album, “Hikokigumo.”

40 years later, the song “Hikokigumo” recorded in the same work was used as the theme song for the Studio Ghibli movie “Kaze Tachinu” (2013). You can tell from her appearance that she was producing songs that she loved for a long time. Then, in 1975, her single “Ano Hi ni Kaeritai” became her first Oricon No. 1, and a Yuming boom occurred. “At the time, I think I sold faster than anyone else since my debut. However, there were also many enthusiastic male fans who saw me as a modified idol”.

In 1976, she married Matsutoya Masataka and suspended her artist activities. She entered the household, and she intended to concentrate on her writing career. “I have a lot of confidence in my songs, but I had absolutely no confidence in my singing. There was a person named Yoshida Minako who was a transcendent singer who was around the same time as me. I still can’t accept my voice. But when I took a break, I realized that if I didn’t show myself, I would be useless as a writer”.

In 1977, at the recommendation of her husband, she resumed her artist activities under the name Matsutoya Yumi. Matsutoya Masataka is in charge of her production to this day. “Names are important in showbiz (laughs). Around 70% said, ‘A three-letter surname is cool. I think it’s a good rule to say “I’ll change it.” Then in the 80’s, women began to notice my music”.

During the booming economy, her antenna sensed the resort boom early on and made the album “SURF & SNOW” (1980). Her 1981 single “Mamotteagetai” was a big hit and caused another Yuming boom. “Unlike now, it was a time when the masses were moving in the same direction, so it was easy to create a stance”.

From the album “DA・DI・DA” in 1985, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Law was enacted, the main character of the song was an independent woman. From leisure and drive BGM to women’s lifestyle BGM. While keeping pace with the bubble economy, Yuming gained tremendous support from women as the “OL guru” and “love song guru”.

With her firm stance toward creation and her highly sensitive antenna, she has graced the pages of women’s fashion magazines with exciting talks about her times.

Matsutoya said, “The personality of making songs and the personality of going out for promotional activities are two different things. I thought it was pop because I knew about commercialism. I was talking while thinking, ‘This will be the headline’. That corporate effort may have been my rock spirit (laughs). But if you ask me if the women at the time were following me, I don’t think so”.

However, it is said that the balance of mind and body has collapsed since the late 40s. “I think I had menopause until I was in my early 50s. Especially mentally. It was an adult puberty. That doesn’t mean I’m going to release low-energy songs, but I’ve overcome it with the attitude of taking it on my side. What I practice to prepare and maintain my physical strength is ‘having a routine’. I take an hour or more every morning, taking a bath in the morning and combining myofascial release with Pilates”.

The 50th anniversary best album “Yumin Banzai!” will be released on October 4th.

50 selected songs have been updated to the 2022 mix by Hotoda Goh, and some songs have been reworked by Matsutoya Masataka. There are songs with replaced drums and songs with new intros.

“In a sense, modifying a song that has been completed and loved by many people is an act of destruction. In “Call me back”, Arai Yumi’s singing voice generated by AI and current Yuming play a duet. Ah, I can hear your voice from far away, like she knew tomorrow beyond time (“Call me back”).

With the spread of the Internet, the world and the music scene have changed dramatically in 50 years.

“I feel like I escaped by playing around in the pre-SNS era. Today’s artists are a bit pathetic. But I don’t think the past was better. I can create things. My perspective on gender hasn’t changed either. I’m sure you’ll be able to experience a variety of things. I’m proud that I’ve created songs that can withstand the changing times. However, the social structure will change further. The rise of AI will cause a sharp increase in the number of unemployed worldwide, climate change, etc. I started to think about it when I made rain songs. I guess it’s just that it’s no longer possible to use it as a romantic item. I don’t care if it’s randomly listened to on the stream. But I want to continue to stick to the production of original albums. It’s like a solo exhibition for a painter. However, if we reach the 60th anniversary, then I’ll make a mistake. Without it, there would be no more CDs”.

What if the current Yuming sends a message to Yuming 50 years ago?

“I guess I have no choice but to believe in what I like. I need a lot of patience for that. I’ll suffer for a long time, and I’ll be Yuming’s slave. To put it extremely simply, it is brightness, richness, and moisture. No matter how our lifestyles and materials change, we want our hearts and sensibilities to continue to be rich”.

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