Number Girl (ナンバーガール) was a rock band formed in Fukuoka, Japan, in August, 1995 by guitarist and vocalist Shutoku Mukai.

[1] Although the first day of the festival was cancelled and Number Girl did not perform,[2] they had already announced a four-date Japanese tour by this time, beginning at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall on August 18.

[4] Number Girl disbanded on December 11, 2022, after playing a final concert at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama, "Mujou no Hi" (無常の日).

Mukai convinced a fellow Fukuoka scene musician Ahito Inazawa to play drums, finalizing Number Girl's lineup.

Number Girl quickly gained popularity throughout Japan, playing shows with other high-profile indie acts such as Bloodthirsty Butchers and Eastern Youth.

Fridmann's production helped the band to reach their full potential, and Sappukei served to combine Number Girl's aggressive rock with traditional Japanese sounds.

Unusual rhythms, effects-laden guitar lines, and a vocal style which alternated between punk-inspired grit and spoken word, would eventually be incorporated into Mukai's subsequent band, Zazen Boys.

In 2005, Inazawa left Zazen Boys to form post-punk revival band Vola and the Oriental Machine and later joined Beyonds.

On August 13, 2022, Shutoku Mukai announced at Rising Sun Rock Festival 2022 that Number Girl will disband following a final performance at Yokohama PIA Arena MM on December 11.

Although many of Mukai's influences, as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Prince, Miles Davis, and Public Enemy, would not emerge until after Number Girl's demise, his bandmates' combined musical tastes would serve to define much of Number Girl's sound, despite Mukai's clear role as the creative force behind the band.

Nirvana is credited as inspiring Nakao Kentarou to begin playing music, but his aggressive, distorted basslines resemble 1980s hardcore punk, such as Hüsker Dü.

[citation needed] Shutoku's vocal style is one of the band's most distinctive traits, a combination of shaky singing, aggressive growls and screams, spoken word, and occasional rapping.

Shutoku's early lyrics dealt with conventional themes such as high school and girls, reflecting adolescent aggression rather typical of nineties hard rock; however, with later albums, Mukai would begin exploring deeper lyrical themes, such as disillusionment with Japanese culture and harsh social criticism, that distinguished Number Girl from their peers.