Kobukuro rank among the leading Japanese folk-rock outfits of the twenty-first century alongside 19 and Yuzu. Far from any world-music category, the pair instead echo the devoted followers of Simon & Garfunkel, favoring expansive production values and sharp pop instincts that have translated into sales exceeding one million. The lineup consists of Kobuchi Kentaro handling guitars and vocals together with Kuroda Shunsuke on vocals; visually they present an arresting contrast without any deliberate styling, since the latter stands six feet four inches and towers two heads taller than his partner.
The pair first crossed paths in 1998. Both held stable daytime positions—Kobuchi as a salesman and Kuroda as a physical-education instructor—yet Kuroda also performed on the streets while Kobuchi wrote material during off-hours. Kobuchi encountered Kuroda performing along a shopping thoroughfare in Sakai and promptly created a song for him. They soon merged portions of their surnames to coin the group name Kobukuro. The act spent its initial years on the independent circuit, issuing the EPs Saturday 8PM in 1999, Root of My Mind in 2000, and Answer in 2000; the final two releases attracted enough attention that Warner Music offered a contract in 2001. Under that arrangement the debut major single “Yell” climbed to number four on the Oricon ranking. Their first major-label album, Roadmade, appeared the same year, followed by a nationwide tour in 2002. The next three albums—Grapefruits in 2002, Straight in 2003, and Music Man Ship in 2004—each reached the Top Ten, confirming the duo’s staying power. In 2005 the single “Eien Ni Tomo Ni,” originally issued in October 2004, was voted Japan’s favorite wedding song of the year.
Full mainstream arrival came in 2005 when Nameless World claimed the top chart position, the drama Ruri No Shima featured the single “Koko Ni Shika Sakanai Hana,” both that track and “Sakura” surpassed 400,000 copies sold, and the band received its first invitation to the year-end television program Kouhaku Uta Gassen. They returned to the show in 2006, the same year they performed at the Budokan. Also in 2006 the compilation All Singles Best moved more than two million units. Thereafter Kobukuro tracks appeared with increasing frequency in television dramas and commercials, most prominently “Tsubomi” in the 2007 series Tokyo Tower. That year the collaboration “Winding Road” with labelmate Ayaka, the rising blues and J-pop vocalist, reached number two on the charts—trailing only Utada Hikaru—while the accompanying album 5296 topped the rankings and ultimately sold 1,400,000 copies. The duo largely refrained from studio work throughout most of 2008 before resurfacing in October with the single “Toki No Ashioto.”
