Yorushika (ヨルシカ) is a Japanese rock duo founded in 2017 represented by Universal Music Japan. The group is composed of N-buna, a vocaloid music producer, and Suis, a female vocalist. They are known for their juxtaposition of "passionate" and "upbeat" production and instrumentation fused with heavier lyrical content, which often explore ideas such as love and human emotion and draw from works of literature including Masuji Ibuse and Jules Verne.[1][2]
The duo is extremely secretive, never publicly revealing their faces. N-buna stated that he doesn't want the creator to take precedence over the work.[3]
Name
The name "Yorushika" is taken from a lyric in their song "The Clouds and the Ghost"; "yoru shika mō nemurezu ni" (夜しかもう眠れずに, meaning "I can't sleep at night").[4] The eye-designed logo mark is a motif of two moons facing each other and also serves as a clock hand, portraying the time "from 6:00 to night".[5]
History
Prior to the formation of Yorushika, N-buna already had a sizeable following on Niconico, a Japanese video hosting website, first releasing vocaloid music on the platform in 2012. His 2013 song "Tōmei Elegy" (透明エレジー) reached first on the platform's daily vocaloid ranking.[6] Additionally, he has produced two albums through U&R records [ja], a subsidiary of Niconico's owner Dwango.[7][8]
According to an interview with Natalie, N-buna and Suis met through a common acquaintance; Suis was a longtime fan of N-buna's vocaloid work. Suis first appeared as a guest vocalist during N-buna's two solo concerts in Tokyo.[4][9] N-buna reached out to Suis to form Yorushika as part of N-buna's effort to find a "more human" voice to use in his music, as opposed to vocaloid.[1] Since then, the two have released three extended plays and three full albums, all of which charted on both the Oricon Albums Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot 100 Albums Chart. Yorushika's popularity grew explosively, with critics noting that the lyrics seemed to strike a chord with younger audiences.[1] Additionally, the song "Just a Sunny Day for You" (ただ君に晴れ, Tada Kimi ni Hare) also became popular in video app TikTok.[10]
As of May 2023, their faces and detailed profiles have not been disclosed,[11] as they want their audiences to listen to their music without "preconceptions". They have hosted live performances before, but the etiquette of concerts in Japan is a strict no-image policy until told otherwise.[12] In their live performances, such as this one on their official YouTube channel, they often use backlighting on stage to obscure their faces, further maintaining their anonymity.[13]
In 2020, they provided the theme song "Ghost in a Flower" (花に亡霊, Hana ni Bōrei), the insert song "Night Journey" (夜行, Yakō), and the ending song "Liar" (嘘月, Uso Tsuki, lit.'Lying Moon'), for the animated film A Whisker Away.[14][15]
In 2021, Suis provided the ending theme "Shōnen Jidai (Ano Natsu no Ruka Ver.)" (少年時代（あの夏のルカVer.）) to the Japanese version of the Disney film Luca.[16]
In 2022, they provided the theme song "Left-Right Confusion" (左右盲, Sayūmō) for the movie Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight and The Fruits of the Earth (チノカテ, Chinokate) for the Japanese TV drama "Renovation like Magic" (魔法のリノベ, Mahō no Rinobe).[17]
In 2023, they provided the song "Setting Sun" (斜陽, Shayō), the opening theme song for the first season of the anime series The Dangers in My Heart, and the song "Telepath" (テレパス, Terepasu), the opening theme song for the anime series Kaina of the Great Snow Sea.
In 2024, Yorushika provided the song "Sunny" (晴る, Haru),[18] the second opening theme song for the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Yorushika also participated in a tribute album for the band Creep_Hyp, where they covered the song "Yū, Sansan" (憂、燦々),[19] They also provided the song "aporia" (アポリア),[20] as the ending theme song for the anime series Orb: On the Movements of the Earth which started airing on October 5, 2024. Additionally, they have released the song titled "Sun" (太陽, Taiyou).[21] which serves as the theme song for the movie Seitai (正体), directed by Michihito Fujii.
