In February 1999, Yoshiki Mizuno and Hotaka Yamashita, who attended the same elementary, middle and high school, formed Ikimonogakari. The name of the unit comes from the fact that the two were in the first grade of elementary school together as “animal caretakers” who fed goldfish.
They started performing on the streets in their hometowns of Atsugi and Kaien and along the Kodakyu Line. In November 1999, classmate Yoshioka’s younger sister, Kiyoe Yoshioka, who is one year younger than them, jumped in and participated in Ikimonogakari’s street performance, and the group became a trio. With Yoshioka as a powerful vocalist, the group began to perform energetically in their hometowns of Atsugi and Kaien, selling out their solo shows at live houses and halls.
In 2006, the group released its first single ‘Sakura’ on the Epic Records label. Several of their albums have reached number one on the Oricon weekly rankings, and their songs have been featured on various media: from TV commercials, anime shows such as Naruto Shippuden, Japanese TV Dramas such as Women Won’t Allow This, live action movies such as Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010), the 2012 Olympic broadcast theme song for NHK, and the set piece for a national junior high music competition.
Since making their major debut with “sakura”, the group has released numerous hits such as “Arigatou,” “YELL,” “Blue Bird,” and “Kaze ga Fuiteiru.” Mizuno has the most composed songs among them, while Yamashita ranks second. Yoshioka has contributed lyrics to a few songs, but Namida ga Kieru Nara is the only song on which the three of them have collaborated.
In January 2017, the group made a “grazing declaration” and temporarily suspended activities. They resumed activities in November 2018 with the “Shumaki Declaration.” In June 2021, it was announced that Yamashita Hotaka would be leaving the group in the summer of the same year. This marked the end of Ikimonogakari’s three-person lineup, and they began activities as a two-person lineup.
