Mariya Takeuchi

From Shimane to city pop

Mariya Takeuchi was born on March 20, 1955 in Taisha, Shimane Prefecture, now part of Izumo. In 1972 she spent a year as an AFS exchange student in Rock Falls, Illinois, where her yearbook nickname was Mako, and from 1974 she studied English literature at Keio University. She signed to RCA in August 1978 after the Loft Sessions, and her debut single "Modorotte Oide" and album Beginning both came out on November 25, 1978. "September" (August 21, 1979) won her the Newcomer Award at the 21st Japan Record Awards. Love Songs (March 5, 1980) was her first number one album and Miss M followed in December 1980. She toured in 1981 and then took a hiatus from the end of that year.

She returned on Moon with Variety (April 25, 1984), which included "Plastic Love" (single March 25, 1985), and Request (1987) sold over a million. Impressions (1994) was a compilation of more than three million, and she returned to the stage in 2000 after about 18 years, with Budokan and Osaka-jo Hall concerts. Later albums include Bon Appetit! (2001), Denim (2007), Trad (2014, Best Album at the 56th Japan Record Awards), Turntable (2019) and Precious Days (October 23, 2024, number one). She wrote songs for Akina Nakamori, Miho Nakayama, Yukiko Okada and Seiko Matsuda, ran the family inn, Takenoya, from May 2018, and toured arenas in 2025.

"Plastic Love" spread worldwide after a 2017 YouTube upload; Open Culture and Yokogao credit the site's algorithm with igniting the city pop revival, and Wikipedia reports that Noisey called it the best pop song in the world. The 12-inch reissue of November 3, 2021 debuted at 5 on the Oricon singles chart.