Kita Wing
{{Infobox song
| name = Kita Wing
| cover = Akina Nakamori - Kita Wing.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Akina Nakamori
| album = Anniversary
| language = Japanese
| English_title = North Wing
| B-side = Namida no Katachi no Earring {{Small|(First release)}}
Refrain {{Small|(Second release)}}
| released = {{Start date|1984|01|01}} {{Small|(First release)}}
{{Start date|1984|12|15}} {{Small|(Second release)}}
| recorded = 1983
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|J-pop|kayōkyoku}}
| length = 4:39
| label = Reprise Records
| composer = Tetsuji Hayashi
| lyricist = Chinfa Kan
| producer = Yūzō Shimada
| prev_title = Kinku
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Southern Wind
| next_year = 1984
| misc = {{External music video
| type = single
| header = Music videos
| 1 = {{YouTube|3NcF_Avguqg|"Kita Wing" (Live)}}
}}
}}
{{nihongo4|"Kita Wing"|北ウイング|Kita Uingu|lit. "North Wing"}} is the seventh single by Japanese entertainer Akina Nakamori. Written by Chinfa Kan and Tetsuji Hayashi, the single was released on January 1, 1984, by Warner Pioneer through the Reprise label. It was also the lead single from her fifth studio album Anniversary.{{cite web |url=https://idol.ne.jp/nakamoriakina-kitawing |title=中森明菜『北ウイング』 |website=Idol.ne.jp |date=2019-01-03 |accessdate=2022-08-20}}{{cite web |url=http://www.soundfinder.jp/products/view/2471339/%E4%B8%AD%E6%A3%AE%E6%98%8E%E8%8F%9C_%E5%8C%97%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0 |title=中森明菜/北ウイング |website=SoundFinder |accessdate=2022-08-20}}
Background
Nakamori approached songwriters Kan and Hayashi after listening to S. Kiyotaka & Omega Tribe's 1983 single "Summer Suspicion". During the songwriting process, proposed titles included {{nihongo4|"Midnight Flight"|ミッドナイトフライト|Middonaito Furaito}} and {{nihongo4|"Yakan Hikō"|夜間飛行||lit. "Night Flight"}} before Nakamori settled with "Kita Wing", which she revealed was influenced by Yumi Matsutoya's {{nihongo4|"Chuo Freeway"|中央フリーウェイ|Chūō Furīuei}}. "Kita Wing" refers to the North Wing of Narita International Airport's Terminal 1, with the lyrics referencing Japan Airlines Flight 401 flying to London Heathrow Airport via Anchorage.{{cite web |url=https://www.daily.co.jp/gossip/hayashi/2016/06/07/0009161952.shtml |title=中森明菜「北ウイング」（前編） |website=Daily |date=2016-06-07 |accessdate=2022-08-20}}{{cite web |url=https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/sugiyamakiyotaka/diary/201801310000/ |title=DIVA |website=Rakuten |date=2018-01-03 |accessdate=2022-08-20}}
Nakamori, Kan, and Hayashi collaborated again on a sequel song titled {{nihongo4|"Dramatic Airport (Kita Wing Part II)"|ドラマティック・エアポート -北ウイング Part II-}}, which was featured on Nakamori's sixth studio album Possibility.
Nakamori has re-recorded "Kita Wing" for the 2002 self-cover compilation Utahime Double Decade and the 2006 compilation Best Finger 25th Anniversary Selection. In 2010, she re-recorded the song for the pachinko machine {{nihongo4|CR Nakamori Akina: Utahime Densetsu ~Koi Moni Dome nara~|CR中森明菜・歌姫伝説〜恋も二度目なら〜||CR Akina Nakamori: Utahime Legend ~If Love Is For the Second Time~}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.p-world.co.jp/machine/database/6049 |title=CR中森明菜 歌姫伝説～恋も二度目なら～ |website=P-World |access-date=2022-08-20}} She re-recorded the song for the third time in 2023 as part of Tetsuji Hayashi's tribute album 50th Anniversary Special A Tribute of Hayashi Tetsuji: Saudade with the subtitle Classic.{{cite web |url=https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000032.000034440.html|title=デビュー50周年の林哲司、初トリビュートアルバム11月8日発売決定！豪華アーティストたちが参加！（トレーラー映像有）|publisher=prtimes|date=2023-09-08|access-date=2023-09-08}}{{cite web |url=https://mikiki.tokyo.jp/articles/-/35221|title=林哲司のキャリア史上初となるトリビュートアルバムが発売 中森明菜が"北ウイング"を新たにレコーディング|publisher=Mikki Tokyo|date=2023-09-08|access-date=2023-09-08}} This marks the first time in six years since her hiatus that she released new music.
Chart performance
"Kita Wing" peaked at No. 2 on Oricon's weekly singles chart and sold over 614,200 copies.{{cite web |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/235370/products/5571/1/ |title=北ウイング {{!}} 中森明菜 |publisher=Oricon |access-date=2022-08-20}}{{cite web |url=http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/single/akina.html |title=中森明菜 |website=Yamachan Land |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524165617/http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~yamag/single/akina.html |access-date=2022-08-20|archive-date=2011-05-24}}
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Chinfa Kan, except where indicated; all music is composed and arranged by Tetsuji Hayashi, except where indicated.
{{Track listing
| headline = Original release
| extra_column = Arrangement
| total_length = 9:07
| title1 = Kita Wing
| note1 = {{nihongo4||北ウイング|Kita Uingu|"North Wing"}}
| length1 = 4:39
| title2 = Namida no Katachi no Earring
| note2 = {{nihongo4||涙の形のイヤリング|Namida no Katachi no Iyaringu|"Teardrop-shaped Earrings"}}
| length2 = 4:28
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Second release
| extra_column = Arrangement
| total_length = 9:36
| title1 = Kita Wing
| length1 = 4:39
| title2 = Refrain
| note2 = {{nihongo4||リ・フ・レ・イ・ン|Ri-fu-re-i-n}}
| lyrics2 = Gorō Matsui
| music2 = Ryō Matsuda
| extra2 = Mitsuo Hagita
| length2 = 4:57
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = 1998 reissue bonus track
| extra_column = Arrangement
| title3 = Kita Wing (Live Version)
| note3 = {{nihongo4||北ウイング(LIVE VERSION)}}
| length3 =
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| scope="col" | Chart (1984)
! scope="col" | Peak |
|---|
| Japan (Oricon)
|style="text-align:center;"|2 |
Cover versions
- Kream covered the song on their 1996 album Time Machine ni Onegai.
- Chinephile covered the song on their 2003 cover album Kayomania.
- Akiko Matsumoto covered the song on her 2013 compilation album King of Pops 2.
- Penicillin covered the song as the B-side of their 2014 single Sol.
- Mami Ayukawa covered the song on her 2014 album 1984.
- Sora Amamiya covered the song on her 2021 cover album Covers: Sora Amamiya Favorite Songs.
- Yo Hitoto covered the song in Nakamori's 2025 tribute album "Nakamori Akina Tribute Album: Meikyo".
Release history
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col"| Year ! scope="col"| Format(s) ! scope="col"| Serial number ! scope="col"| Label(s) ! scope="col"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
| 1984
| 7inch LP | L-1663 |
| 1988
| 8 cm CD, CT | 10SL-136, 10L5-4046 |
| 1998
| 12 cm CD | WPC6-8664 |
| 2008
| Digital download | - |
| 2014
| Digital download - remaster | - |
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://wmg.jp/akina/discography/5179/}}
- {{MusicBrainz release group|mbid=736d87c6-4a35-4573-8bd8-71c400cd8027|name=Kita Wing|type=single}}
- {{Discogs master|master=1765902|name=Kita Wing|type=single}}
{{Akina Nakamori singles}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kita Wing}}
Category:1984 in Japanese music
Category:Songs with lyrics by Chinfa Kan
Category:Songs written by Tetsuji Hayashi