Kōfukuron
{{Infobox song
| name = Kōfukuron
| cover = sheenakofuku8cm.jpg
| alt = A woman wearing a sailor suit, holding a blue guitar.
| caption = 8cm 1998 edition cover.
| type = single
| artist = Ringo Sheena
| album = Muzai Moratorium
| released = {{Start date|1998|5|27}} (8cm Single)
{{Start date|1999|10|27}} (12cm Single)
| recorded = Studio Terra
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = pop
| length = 7:38 (8cm)
12:52 (12cm)
| label = Toshiba EMI, East World
| writer = Ringo Sheena
| producer = Hiroshi Kitashiro (M1, 2)
Uni Inoue (M3)
| chronology = Ringo Sheena
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| next_title = Kabukichō no Joō
| next_year = 1998
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| header =
| type = single
| cover = sheenakofuku12cm.jpg
| border =
| alt = A picture of five children playing at the beach. The picture is framed with a large brown, cardboard-style border, and the top of another picture is visible at the bottom.
| caption = 12cm 1999 edition cover.
}}
}}
{{nihongo|"Kōfukuron"|幸福論|lit.The theory of happiness}} is the debut single by Japanese singer Ringo Sheena and it was released on May 27, 1998 by Toshiba EMI, East World.
Since Sheena suddenly gained popularity, it was decided that this single was resold as a 12 cm single.
New edition, including the new song, was re-released with the fourth single "Honnō" on October 27, 1999. The 1999 edition was certified gold by the RIAJ for 200,000 copies shipped to stores.{{cite journal |title=GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1999年12月度 |trans-title=Gold Albums, and other certified works. December 1999 Edition |url=http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/2000/200002.pdf | journal=The Record |type=Bulletin |language=Japanese |location=Chūō, Tokyo |publisher=Recording Industry Association of Japan |publication-date=February 10, 2000 |volume=483 |page=8 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117113742/http://www.riaj.or.jp/issue/record/2000/200002.pdf |archivedate=January 17, 2014 |accessdate=January 17, 2014}}
Background
"Kōfukuron" and "Suberidai" were produced by Hiroshi Kitashiro, who is an audio engineer and synthesizer programmer, and "Toki ga Bōsō Suru" was produced by Uni Inoue, who is an audio engineer and multi-instrumentalist. Seiji Kameda arranged all songs. Sheena wanted to release not "Kōfukuron" but B-side song "Suberidai" as a title tune. However, she gave up on the idea because of opposition from EMI staff.
Since Sheena was not pleased with the arrangement of "Kōfukuron," the single version was not included in the album. The song was used as the theme song to the TBS variety show Ai no Hinadan, and the "Etsuraku-hen" version featured on Muzai Moratorium, in a 1999 commercial for Suntory's The Cocktail Bar Cassis & Orange.
The song was covered as a part of a medley by Rie Tomosaka on the television show The Yoru mo Hippare on September 9, 2000. It was later covered by Arashi members Jun Matsumoto and Masaki Aiba on their 2002 concert Arashi Storm Concert Tour 2003 "Atarashi Arashi".
Track listing
{{tracklist
| collapsed =
| headline = First Press Edition (8cm Single)
| all_writing = Ringo Sheena, arranged by Seiji Kameda
| total_length =
| title1 = {{nihongo|Kōfukuron|幸福論|A View of Happiness}}
| note1 =
| writer1 =
| length1 = 3:45
| title2 = {{nihongo|Suberidai|すべりだい|Slide}}
| note2 =
| writer2 =
| length2 = 4:00
}}
{{tracklist
| collapsed =
| headline = Resale edition (12cm Single)
| all_writing = Ringo Sheena
| extra_column = Arranger(s)
| total_length =
| title1 = {{nihongo|Kōfukuron|幸福論|A View of Happiness}}
| note1 =
| writer1 =
| extra1 = Seiji Kameda
| length1 = 3:37
| title2 = {{nihongo|Suberidai|すべりだい|Slide}}
| note2 =
| writer2 =
| extra2 = Seiji Kameda
| length2 = 4:01
| title3 = {{nihongo|Toki ga Bōsō Suru|時が暴走する|Time Drives Recklessly}}Mozart's "Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331" is used for this song.
| note3 =
| writer3 =
| extra3 = Seiji Kameda, Ringo Sheena
| length3 = 5:11
}}
Charts and sales
=Sales and certifications=
| class="wikitable"
!Chart !Amount |
| Oricon physical sales{{cite web | title=オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」 | trans-title=Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree' | url=http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/ | work=Oricon | url-access=subscription | accessdate=April 21, 2014 | archive-date=April 21, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421062058/http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/ | url-status=live }}
|align="center"|261,000 |
| RIAJ physical certification
|align="center"|Gold (200,000) |
Credits and personnel
Kōfukuron
- Synthesizer Programming: Hiroshi Kitashiro
- {{nihongo|Zetsurin Hectopascal|絶倫ヘクトパスカル|Matchless Hectopascal}}
- Vocals: Ringo Sheena
- Electric guitar: Susumu Nishikawa
- Electric Bass: Seiji Kameda
- Drums: Noriyasu "Kāsuke" Kawamura
Suberidai
- Vocals: Ringo Sheena
- Electric guitar, Acoustic Guitar: Susumu Nishikawa
- Contrabass: Hitoshi Watanabe
- Synthesizer Programming: Hiroshi Kitashiro
Toki ga Bōsō Suru
- Vocals, piano: Ringo Sheena
- Drums: Masayuki Muraishi
- Synthesizer Programming: Nobuhiko Nakayama
References
{{Ringo Sheena songs}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kofukuron}}