42 Facts About Kenshi Yonezu

Kenshi Yonezu is a Japanese singer and songwriter.

Kenshi Yonezu started releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name Hachi in 2009.

Kenshi Yonezu has sold at least 4.2 million physical copies and over 7 million digital copies in Japan.

Kenshi Yonezu was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at the age of 20.

Kenshi Yonezu worked as the vocalist, songwriter, and occasional guitarist, while Nakajima was the guitarist.

Kenshi Yonezu wrote songs for the band, and uploaded 24 original songs to video sharing website Nico Nico Douga between April 2008 and March 2009.

Kenshi Yonezu created his blog in this period, and called it Tekito Edda.

Kenshi Yonezu moved to Osaka after high school and attended a fine arts school.

Kenshi Yonezu started uploading songs using Vocaloid software Hatsune Miku, which were increasingly popular.

Kenshi Yonezu uploaded over thirty songs, but he deleted them when his Vocaloid songs became popular.

Kenshi Yonezu renamed his blog Denshi-cho Hachibangai, and it was one of five blogs awarded the Diamond Award at the 2009 WebMoney Awards.

Kenshi Yonezu released two self-produced albums in 2010: Hanataba to Suiso in February, and Official Orange in November.

On January 23,2011, Kenshi Yonezu uploaded his final Hachi Vocaloid video for approximately three years.

Kenshi Yonezu felt that he did not work well with other people, and decided to work alone on Vocaloid songs exclusively, giving up on being a part of a band.

Kenshi Yonezu was picked up as a major label artist under Universal Sigma and debuted in May 2013 with the single "Santa Maria".

Kenshi Yonezu made the shift in order to work with musicians doing similar things as him.

On October 28,2013, Kenshi Yonezu released his first Vocaloid song in two and a half years, "Donut Hole", using a live band and the vocal Gumi.

Kenshi Yonezu released his second album, Yankee, on April 23,2014, followed by the first concert in his career on June 27.

Kenshi Yonezu continued to rise in popularity with the release of albums, Bremen and Bootleg.

On December 31,2018, Kenshi Yonezu made his live television debut on the 69th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, an annual year-end extravaganza and one of Japan's most prestigious music programs.

Kenshi Yonezu performed his 2018 hit "Lemon" live from Tokushima, marking the first time a segment of the Kohaku Uta Gassen was broadcast from Tokushima Prefecture.

The songs "Uchiage Hanabi" and "Paprika", both produced by Kenshi Yonezu, were performed at the event.

In January 2019, Kenshi Yonezu embarked on his first arena tour, 16-show "When the Spine Becomes Opal".

Kenshi Yonezu co-wrote the song "Kite" for Japanese boy band Arashi, which served as the theme song for NHK's coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In 2022, Kenshi Yonezu released "Kick Back", which was used as the opening theme song for the anime series Chainsaw Man.

In 2023, Kenshi Yonezu released his single "Tsuki wo miteita - Moongazing" as the theme song for the video game Final Fantasy XVI, and released "Spinning Globe" as the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki's film The Boy and the Heron.

Kenshi Yonezu said the experience was the biggest honor in his life.

In January 2025, Kenshi Yonezu embarked on his biggest tour yet, 26-show "JUNK", with 350,000 people attending his domestic concerts, and 440,000 overall.

Kenshi Yonezu said he was "profoundly moved to have been so passionately welcomed by them".

On March 5,2025, Kenshi Yonezu collaborated with two-time Olympic figure skating champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who performed a skating program for the music video of his song "Bow and Arrow", which was used as the opening theme for the anime Medalist.

When he moved to Universal, Kenshi Yonezu began working with a band to perform his music.

Kenshi Yonezu considers Japanese bands Bump of Chicken, Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Radwimps big influences on his work, and Japanese authors Kenji Miyazawa and Yukio Mishima on his lyrics.

Kenshi Yonezu generally composes songs on the guitar, but occasionally uses drums to work out a melody.

Kenshi Yonezu feels that music made as Hachi was created for the Nico Nico Douga community, while songs under his real name do not have such a strong tie.

Kenshi Yonezu has worked as a producer for other musicians several times.

Kenshi Yonezu illustrated all of his early Nico Nico Douga videos, using a scanner or a pen tablet to draw imagery.

When his parents bought a computer when he was 10, Kenshi Yonezu made and uploaded flash animation videos for Bump of Chicken songs on the Internet.

Kenshi Yonezu continued to illustrate for his album Diorama, creating the music videos and the cover artwork by himself, and with the help of fellow members of Minakata Kenkyujo.

Kenshi Yonezu primarily uses Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe After Effects and Corel Painter Essentials for animation.

Kenshi Yonezu's illustrations became a feature in music magazine Rockin' On Japan starting in the August 2013 issue.

Kenshi Yonezu's piece, called Kaiju Zukan, features fictional creatures Yonezu has drawn.

However, in 2010, Kenshi Yonezu began using Megurine Luka and Gumi in his songs as well.