Sakura no Shiori

"Sakura no Shiori" (桜の栞, "Cherry Blossom Bookmark") is the 15th single by Japanese idol girl group AKB48; it was released on February 17, 2010.[1] The title track is a school graduation song. The song was used as the theme song to the AKB48-related drama Majisuka Gakuen, which stars Atsuko Maeda and many members from AKB48 and its sister groups.

"Sakura no Shiori"
Type A cover, featuring Atsuko Maeda.
Single by AKB48
from the album Kamikyokutachi
B-side	"Choose Me!" "Enkyori Poster" "Majisuka Rock 'n Roll"
Released	February 17, 2010 (2010-02-17)
Genre	J-pop, choir
Length	3:58
Label	You, Be Cool! / King
Songwriter(s)	Yasushi Akimoto, Hiroshi Uesugi
Producer(s)	Kenichi Mitsuda
AKB48 singles chronology
"River" (2009) "Sakura no Shiori" (2010) "Ponytail to Shushu" (2010)
Music videos
Sakura no Shiori on YouTube
Majisuka Rock 'n' Roll on YouTube
Enkyori Poster on YouTube
Choose me! on YouTube

In its first week, the song sold 318,000 copies - the biggest opening sales for a female group single since Morning Musume's "Mr. Moonlight (Ai no Big Band)" in July 2001. The song has been certified platinum for physical sales by the RIAJ.[2]

Composition

The song is composed by Hiroshi Uesugi and written by Yasushi Akimoto.[3] It is sung with AKB48 members singing together in a school choir.[4] The song is a graduation song, with a theme of cherry blossoms.[4]

Tie-in

"Sakura no Shiori" was used not only as the theme song for the drama Majisuka Gakuen, but also in commercials for Aoki and Recochoku.[5] The B-side "Majisuka Rock 'n Roll" was used as the opening theme song for the same drama.[5]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Yasushi Akimoto.

Type A track list

No.	Title	Music	Arranger	Length
1.	"Sakura no Shiori (桜の栞, Cherry Blossom Bookmark)"	Hiroshi Uesugi	Kenichi Mitsuda	3:58
2.	"Majisuka Rock 'n Roll (マジスカロックンロール, Majisuka Rokkun Rōru)"	Candy&Megane	Yuichi "Masa" Nonaka	3:37
3.	"Enkyori Poster (遠距離ポスター, Long Distance Poster)" (Team Play-Boy)	Kōta Ogawa	Nonaka	3:18
4.	"Sakura no Shiori (Off Vocal Ver.)"	Uesugi	Mitsuda	3:58
5.	"Majisuka Rock 'n Roll (Off Vocal Ver.)"	Candy&Megane	Nonaka	3:37
Total length:				18:42

All lyrics are written by Yasushi Akimoto.

Type B track list

No.	Title	Music	Arranger	Length
1.	"Sakura no Shiori"	Uesugi	Mitsuda	3:58
2.	"Majisuka Rock 'n Roll"	Candy&Megane	Nonaka	3:37
3.	"Choose Me!" (Team Young Jump)	Yusuke Yamamoto	Yūichi Ichikawa	4:04
4.	"Sakura no Shiori (Off Vocal Ver.)"	Uesugi	Mitsuda	3:58
5.	"Majisuka Rock 'n Roll (Off Vocal Ver.)"	Candy&Megane	Nonaka	3:37
Total length:				19:27

All lyrics are written by Yasushi Akimoto.

Theatre version track list

No.	Title	Music	Arranger	Length
1.	"Sakura no Shiori"	Uesugi	Mitsuda	3:58
2.	"Majisuka Rock 'n Roll"	Candy&Megane	Nonaka	3:37
3.	"Enkyori Poster" (Team Play-Boy)	Ogawa	Nonaka	3:18
4.	"Choose Me!" (Team Young Jump)	Yamamoto	Ichikawa	4:04
Total length:				14:57

Personnel

Sakura no Shiori

"Sakura no Shiori" was performed by the following members:[6]

• Team A: Haruna Kojima, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda, Miho Miyazaki
• Team K: Tomomi Itano, Yuko Oshima, Sae Miyazawa
• Team B: Mayu Watanabe, Rie Kitahara, Yuki Kashiwagi
• SKE48: Jurina Matsui

The center for the track was Atsuko Maeda.[6]

Majisuka Rock 'n Roll

The song centred on Atsuko Maeda.

• Team A: Haruna Kojima, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda.
• Team K: Tomomi Itano, Sayaka Akimoto, Erena Ono, Yuko Oshima
• Team B: Yuki Kashiwagi, Mayu Watanabe

Enkyori Poster

The unit of girls who sung this song performed under the name "Team Play-Boy." The song centred on Yuki Kashiwagi.

• Team A: Aki Takajō, Aika Oota, Ami Maeda
• Team K: Sae Miyazawa, Moeno Nito
• Team B: Yuki Kashiwagi, Miho Miyazaki

Choose Me!

The unit of girls who sung this song performed under the name "Team Young Jump." The song centred on Rie Kitahara.

• Team A: Haruka Nakagawa, Rino Sashihara, Asuka Kuramochi
• Team K: Minami Minegishi, Ayaka Kikuchi
• Team B: Tomomi Kasai, Rie Kitahara

Chart rankings

Chart	Peak position
Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay[7]	13
Billboard Japan Hot 100[8]	1
Billboard yearly Japan Hot 100[9]	43
Oricon weekly singles[10]	1
Oricon yearly singles[11]	12
RIAJ Digital Track Chart weekly top 100[12]	15
RIAJ Digital Track Chart yearly top 100[13]	96

Reported sales

Chart	Amount
Oricon physical sales[10]	398,000

References

1. "2010.2.17(水)発売 「桜の栞＜Type-A＞」" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
2. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2010年2月. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
3. "J!-ENT Dennis A. Amith interviews Hiroshi Uesugi" (PDF). J!-ENT 20th Anniversary Annual (2013). J!-ENTaccessdate=October 16, 2013. October 13, 2013.
4. "AKB48が2作連続首位、女性アーティスト初動売上30万枚突破は宇多田以来7年ぶり". Oricon (in Japanese). Oricon Style. February 23, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
5. "桜の栞（Ｔｙｐｅ－Ａ）：ＡＫＢ４８：CD". JBook (in Japanese). Retrieved 2010-05-09.
6. "AKB48 歴代シングル選抜メンバー（2006年～2013年）" [(2006-2013) AKB48 successive single member selection]. entamedata.web.fc2.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
7. "Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay". Billboard Japan. March 1, 2010. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
8. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
9. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
10. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved February 9, 2011. (subscription only)
11. 2010年オリコン年間ランキング　シングル (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
12. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart: Chart issue February 16, 2010" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. March 23, 2010. Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
13. "レコード協会調べ 2009年12月16日～2010年12月14日「着うたフル(R)」 2010年有料音楽配信「年間チャート」（通称：レコ協チャート）" [Record Association Analysis: December 16, 2009—December 14, 2010 Full-length Cellphone Download 2010 paid digital sales "Yearly Chart" (Abbreviated: RIAJ Chart)] (PDF). RIAJ. December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.