Kyōiku

Kyōiku (教育, "Education")[2] is the debut studio album by Japanese rock band Tokyo Jihen, led by musician Ringo Sheena.

It was released on November 25, 2004, more than a year after Sheena's third solo studio album Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (2003).

Kyōiku is the only album to feature the band's original line-up, featuring guitarist Mikio Hirama and pianist Masayuki Hiizumi, known as H Zetto M. While vocalist Ringo Sheena has been a member of several rock bands, she parted with her bandmates when she debuted as a solo musician in 1998.

[7][8][9] Sheena stated that it had been "a dream of sorts" to release music that collaborated with different songwriters, and she wanted Tokyo Jihen to be different from her solo project, in which her opinion was final on all matters.

[3][10] Later Tokyo Jihen albums featured much more song-writing from other members, most notably Variety (2007), however Sheena still had the feeling that it was "taboo" for other people to write songs for her during Kyōiku.

[12] Sheena's songs were inspired by the image of the Sugoroku Tour that Tokyo Jihen performed with her during her solo era.

[18] Sheena decided to add the song to the album to make it easier for fans of her solo work to accept her transition into becoming a member of Tokyo Jihen.

The English titles published at Sheena and Tokyo Jihen's personal production agency website, Kronekodow, also follow a similar style.

Held in January and February 2005, the 14-date tour featured dates in Matsuyama, Ehime, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Sapporo, Saitama and two performances each in Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

Virgin Line concerts in February 2006, where the songs "Bokoku Jocho", "Service", and "Yume no Ato" were performed.

For Sheena's soundtrack album Heisei Fūzoku (2007) to the film Sakuran, she included a re-arranged version of the song "Yume no Ato".

She performed the song at her 10th anniversary Ringo-haku '08 concerts at Saitama Super Arena in November 2008, along with "Omatsuri Sawagi".

[31] CDJournal reviewers noted the "bossa-like melody turning into rock" in "Jusui Negai" as leaving a strong impression on them, and praised Sheena's "provocative and stimulating vocals" in "Crawl", likening the song's guitar riff to The Kinks' "You Really Got Me".

reviewers also noted the sense of freedom in the song present in the sound work not seen in Sheena's solo career.

[34] Reviewers also praised the album's second single "Sōnan", with Koike feeling the melody had a "good old sepia Shōwa Kayō taste", likening it to her earlier songs "Kabukichō no Joō" and "Marunouchi Sadistic".

[1] Reviewer Kyosuke Tsuchiya noted the song's "jazz-style approach", and was impressed by the "wild power" of Sheena's vocals and the "suspicious melody" created by the guitar.

[37] This was underneath Ken Hirai's Sentimentalovers, which featured the songs "Hitomi o Tojite" and "Omoi ga Kasanaru Sono Mae ni...", produced by band member Seiji Kameda.