Hitsujibungaku

Hitsujibungaku are a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Tokyo in 2011 by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Moeka Shiotsuka. Following several early line-up changes, drummer Hiroa Fukuda joined in 2015 and bassist Yurika Kasai completed the trio in 2017. Their music draws on 1990s alternative rock, shoegaze, grunge, and dream pop, with Shiotsuka’s soft, expressive vocals often set against heavily distorted guitars and driving rhythms. Her songwriting explores relationships, loneliness, uncertainty, and the difficulties of growing up, giving the band’s noisier arrangements an intimate, personal quality.

Hitsujibungaku emerged from Tokyo’s independent music scene with the EP ‘Tunnel wo Nuketara’ (2017), followed by their debut album ‘Wakamonotachi e’ (2018) and the single ‘1999’. After signing with Sony Music Labels’ F.C.L.S. imprint, they made their major-label debut in August 2020 with ‘Sabaku no Kimi e’, followed by the album ‘POWERS’ that December. Their growing recognition accelerated with ‘Hikaru Toki’, the opening theme for the anime The Heike Story, and their 2022 album ‘our hope’, which won the Blue Grand Prize at Japan’s 15th CD Shop Awards in 2023. The album helped bring their guitar-heavy alternative sound to a wider mainstream audience without abandoning the understated songwriting of their earlier work.

The band’s international breakthrough came with ‘more than words’, the ending theme for the Shibuya Incident arc of Jujutsu Kaisen in 2023. The song surpassed 200 million streams worldwide and received Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Their fourth studio album, ’12 hugs (like butterflies)’, followed that December, while ‘Burning’, the ending theme for the second season of Oshi no Ko, became another widely recognised release in 2024. Their achievements were recognised at the inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN in 2025, where they won Best Alternative Artist and Best Alternative Song for ‘more than words’.

Following Fukuda’s hiatus in May 2024, Hitsujibungaku continued performing with support drummers, including Yuna, formerly of CHAI. Fukuda officially departed at the end of 2025, leaving Shiotsuka and Kasai as the band’s permanent members. Despite the change, 2025 became their most internationally active year, with their first US tour, headline performances at Nippon Budokan and Osaka-jō Hall, and a seven-city European tour. They made their UK debut at HYPER JAPAN in July before returning in October for a sold-out headline concert at London’s O2 Academy Islington. Their fifth studio album, ‘Don’t Laugh It Off’, arrived that same month, featuring songs including ‘Burning’, ‘Koe’, and ‘Feel’. The record also introduced a less restrictive approach to instrumentation and production, as Shiotsuka began experimenting beyond the sounds traditionally associated with a three-piece rock band.

In 2026, Hitsujibungaku retained Best Alternative Artist at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN and won Best Alternative Song for ‘Koe’, making them double winners at the ceremony for a second consecutive year. Their new material included ‘Dogs’, a particularly abrasive track written for the Netflix drama Sins of Kujo, accompanied by a music video directed by Japanese filmmaker Gakuryu Ishii. They also collaborated with fellow alternative rock band Quruli on ‘Namida no Kawa’, released in October as a theme for the forthcoming anime Kaze wo Tsugu Mono. Alongside appearances at major festivals in Japan and overseas, the band launched their first nationwide hall tour in September 2026, continuing their transition from the country’s independent rock scene to larger stages at home and internationally.