Japanese language

Japanese (日本語, Nihongo, [nihõŋɡo] or [nihõŋŋo]) is an East Asian language spoken by about 125 million speakers, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic (or Japanese-Ryukyuan) language family, whose relation to other language groups, particularly to Korean and the suggested Altaic language family, is debated.

Little is known of the language's prehistory, or when it first appeared in Japan. Chinese documents from the 3rd century recorded a few Japanese words, but substantial texts did not appear until the 8th century. During the Heian period (794–1185), Chinese had considerable influence on the vocabulary and phonology of Old Japanese. Late Middle Japanese (1185–1600) saw changes in features that brought it closer to the modern language, as well as the first appearance of European loanwords. The standard dialect moved from the Kansai region to the Edo (modern Tokyo) region in the Early Modern Japanese period (early 17th century–mid-19th century). Following the end in 1853 of Japan's self-imposed isolation, the flow of loanwords from European languages increased significantly. English loanwords in particular have become frequent, and Japanese words from English roots have proliferated.

Appears

"Appears" is the eleventh single released by Ayumi Hamasaki on November 10, 1999, along with her second album, Loveppears. "Appears" is Hamasaki's only song that has been the title track of one of her studio albums as well as the A-side of one of her singles ("Secret," the title track of the album Secret, was released on a later single, but only as a B-side). Because of that distinction, the covers of "Appears" and Loveppears are similar in appearance. The single was limited to 300,000 copies.

Track listing

Ayumi Hamasaki

Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎 あゆみ, Hamasaki Ayumi, born October 2, 1978) is a Japanese recording artist, lyricist, model, and actress. Hamasaki has achieved popularity in Japan and Asia by enforcing her position as an artist and not trying to be forced as a "product", which was a common factor within the Japanese music culture and Avex Trax. Through her entire career, she has written all her lyrical content, produced her own music and has sometimes co-composed her music, which is evident in her albums I Am..., Rainbow and My Story.

Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to pursue a career in entertainment. In 1998, under the tutelage of Avex CEO Max Matsuura, Hamasaki released her debut single "Poker Face" and released her million-selling record A Song for XX. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon charts and remained there for four weeks, establishing her popularity in Japan. Her next five albums accomplished over one million shipments in Japan, with her third effort Duty selling near three million units, becoming her best selling studio album. A Best, her first compilation album, is her best selling album, with more than four million copies sold in Japan. In 2008, after her album Next Level was released, album and single sales declined due to ongoing competition with new upcoming artists. Throughout her career, Hamasaki has had all her albums within the top five position in Japan and has five million-selling singles, including "Boys & Girls", "A", "Seasons", "M" and "H".