Ikimono-gakari is a relatively young band. Although they formed originally in 1999, it was not until 2006 that they were signed by Epic Records and made their major debut. In February of 1999, Mizuno Yoshiki and Yamashita Hotaka, who were classmates at Atsugi College in Kanagawa, decided to form a band and so began to do street performances. They chose the name Ikimono-gakari which means "those in charge of the school pets." In December 1999, Yoshioka Kiyoe, the younger sister of one of their classmates joined the band as vocalist, completing the lineup.
Despite best intentions, school got in the way. In 2000 as final tests for University began, the band decided to take a break as they took the entrance exams. After regrouping a year and a half later in 2003 they made their independent debut on the label Thunder Snake. The band were offered their first one-man concert at Atsugi Thunder Snake in June and the concert sold out. It gave the band the boost to release a first mini-album, Makoto ni Sen'etsu nagara First Album wo Koshiraemashita... Each subsequent concert with Thunder Snake would also sell out.
The popularity of the indie trio grew in Kanagawa with their second mini-album selling more than 1000 copies. In May 2005, the release of their final mini album was accompanied by a live DVD of their Atsugi Bunka Kaikan concert and caught the attention of Sony Music. Soon after Ikimono-gakari were signed to Epic Records Japan and made their first major concert appearance opening for Tamaki Nami at the Atsugi Kanagawa Music Festival.
The debut song, Sakura, could not have been more of a dream debut. It was released in mid-March 2006 to accompany a commercial for NTT EastJapan. It spent 16 weeks on the Oricon charts. Following this success the band gave a free performance in Atsugi to which 2000 people came and after the release of the second single HANABI they gave another free concert. This time it was attended by 5000 people. HANABI performed well again reaching number 5 on the Oricon charts, a fact that was probably aided by the use of the song as the ending theme for Bleach.
Soon after the release of third single, Koisuru Otome (a reworking of one of their old indies songs) they commenced their first countrywide tour, Ikimonogakari no minna-san konnitsua!! 2006. It took in 7 destinations across Japan including Osaka, Sendai, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
In 2007, Ikimono-gakari continued their success with the release of their first album in March. This album would become the 78th best selling album that year with a total sales figure of 158,000 copies and reach #4 on the Oricon music charts. This was followed by another countrywide tour in May during which 11 venues sold out. Such was their rise that the members went on a trip overseas to film the PV of their next single, Natsuzora Graffiti.
Ikimono-gakari maintained a steady release schedule through 2008 with a single roughly every three months or so. With a long tour spanning three months and two albums, it was a tough time. The effort paid off as firstly the Life Album debuted at #2 in the Oricon charts in February, then the Bluebird single cracked the top 3 of the weekly charts in July. Finally their third album, My Song Your Song gave the band their first #1 ranking in December. Their debut appearance then in the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen festival just seemed to cement an already huge popularity.
Perhaps in recognition of how far they had come from their schooldays, Ikimono-gakari were given the honorof writing the competition piece for the Junior-High division in the 76th Annual NHK Nationwide School Music Contest. This song, YELL would also be released as a single in September 2009.
In further recognition of their work, they were awarded a Gold Artist Sward at the 2009 Best Hit Song Festival in November and were also invited back to the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen for a second consecutive year. There was also another album release at this time, and the event organized to promote it, Let's YELL with Ikimono-gakari attracted 10,000 people to Lazona Kawasaki.
The release schedule never abated much, despite their many activities and that they spent the vast majority of 2010 on tour. The first was a sixty date tour that took in all 47 prefectures of Japan and lasted from March to August. This tour even included a three consecutive days at Nippon Budokan, all of which sold out. This was followed two months later by their first Arena tour. Originally only intended to be a six date tour, the demand led to additional performances at locations such as the 20,000 capacity Saitama Super Arena.
Now in 2011, Ikimono-gakari are bigger than ever. Their first stadium live, Ikimono Matsuri 2011 Donata Summer mo Tanoshimi ma SHOW!!! was held in the summer. Held over two days at Yokohama Stadium in their home prefecture of Kanagawa, the concert sold out immediately. All 60,000 tickets were snapped up within a few hours on the general sale date. As a result of this, the staff and members wanted to let even more people watch their concert. Hopping on the recent bandwagon of using cinemas for live broadcasts, it was decided that the 24th July show would broadcast live and simultaneously in cinemas across Japan.
Having gone from playing to 300 people in Atsugi to 30,000 at one of the country's largest stadiums only seven years later, Ikimono-gakari has truly shown the extent of their popularity in Japan. Now a regular fixture at the NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen too, the only way left from here must be Tokyo Dome.
