Biography
Formed in 2001, Amaterase (天照) is comprised of 2 members, Daishi (guitar and programming) and Akira (vocals), along with a whole host of live support members.
"Amaterase" is the name of the Japanese Sun Goddess, the beginning of everything. Contrary to this, Amaterase say that although this is her name, they prefer the image that their kanji project.
The kanji used for Amaterase consist of "Ten", meaning heaven, and "Terasu", meaning light. Daishi says that they want to be seen as "Ten kara terasu" the "Light from Heaven".
Musically, Amaterase's philosophy is easy to understand, and yet very deep and complex. They are an effortless blend of past and future, good and evil, dark and light; combining traditional styles with new technology.
Debuting in August 2001, Amaterase performed their first gig together at Roppongi Y2K. At this time, they gave out a free promo disc containing Hi no Koku and Shinrabanshou to concert atendees who completed their anquette (feedback form). As well as this, they sold a minidisc (1000Y) with JESUS CLEANSING, Chikyuu no Ko and Kibou ga Oka on it.
This is around the time they came to call their live shows "Matsuri" meaning "festival". They decided that each concert should have the feeling of anticipation, excitement and the journey that matsuri time holds for all people.
In December 2001, their first promotion video "CHI" went on sale in Like an Edison, Shinjuku NOIZ and Osaka Detwan. The video contained Hi no Koku and Daichi no Uta.
December 2003 celebrated Amaterase's first oneman concert in Ikebukuro Cyber. This was quickly followed by their second in ESP 11 on March 13th the following year.
March 14th was the release date for Amaterase's next Promo CD, containing clips of Houma, Haja and Shinrabanshou, as well as a short intro track from Akira (Goaisatsu).
June 2004 marked Amaterase's first Northern Japan tour, seeing them travel up to Hokkaido.
In September of that year, Amaterase's first single "暁"(akatsuki) (2,100Y) was released, containing Marogare, Kagerou and Akatsuki. Shortly after this, a second rare edition was released, containing these three tracks as well as a Matsuri version of Marogare (live version) (2000Y).
October 2nd 2004 was the day of their third oneman, titled "天空星瞬"(tenkou) at Shibuya O-West. Hiroshi (famous traditional Japanese-style instrument tutor - he taught Gackt shamisen) joined them as their drummer, as well as a pair of famous VJs.
March 2005 brought around Amaterase's fourth oneman, this time for charity - tickets were 1000Y each.
June 14 of that year had Amaterase joining up with other bands such as Underground for a high-profile performance at Shinkiba Studio Coast. The show was later aired on M-On TV.
During summer 2005, Amaterase made a few TV appearences, to promote their new single "Kibou ga Oka", which was released on the 24th of August, containing the tracks Kibou ga Oka, Gou (karuma) and acoustic version of the title track.
With this CD, costing 1,200Y at it's original value, Amaterase also delivered the chance for fans to win tickets to one of two concerts, held on Tokyo and Osaka, with a form which was distributed within the CD case. In this cootest, everybody won - because even for those who didn't get a ticket, everybody was given a free Amaterase promotional poster.
Amaterase rounded off this summer activity with a fifth oneman at Nagoya Heartland on the 25th of September.
As of October 19th, Amaterase's latest single KIBOU GA OKA became available for selection from CyberDAM systems at most Big Echo karaoke venues. The request number is 5575-7. An interview with Amaterase was also featured in November's issue of Cure, released on the 21st.
December heralded the celebrating and advance sale of Amaterase's new DVD at three different events across Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo from the 12-17th. The DVD went on regular sale on Jan 15th 2006; and entered the Oricon Chart at number 10.
Their next single was relesad on April 26th 2006, and titled Itsutsu no Umi no Monogatari. It contained three tracks; the title track, Haja, and an acoustic version of Itsutsu no umi no monogatari.
They are planning a full album for release on September 20th 2006. The tracklist is as yet unknown, but one thing for sure is that we can expect big things from these guys!
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