bless4 is a Japanese vocal ensemble from the United States consisting of four siblings from the Kawamitsu family. Youngest sister Akino has her own solo musical career, and youngest brother Aiki has also released a solo single (with eldest brother Akashi arranging) to accompany his book.

History

All but Akashi were born within the United States, as their father Haru brought his family to Utah to further his education at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

shortly after Akashi was born. They moved to Arizona and there both Akashi and Kanasa were Arizona State

Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

Champions (at ages 14 and 12, respectively), while the whole family was part of a taekwondo exhibition troupe called the "Flying Dragons" with other taekwondo practitioners. Haru brought his family back to Okinawa in 1997 after feeling a spiritual longing for his heritage as an Okinawan. They made their debut in May 2003 from BMG Japan with the song "Good Morning! Mr. Sunshine" All four now reside in Kawasaki,

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, and remain followers of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. They made their own independent company in December 2006 with AKASHI as the President of Kawamitsu Arttainment. In 2009, the group contributed the songs and for the

Disney Animation Studios The Walt Disney Company has owned and operated several animation studios since the company's founding on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney, Walt and Roy O. Disney, Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; the current Walt Disney Animat ...

anime ''

Stitch! is a Japanese anime television series. It is a spin-off of Disney's ''Lilo & Stitch'' franchise, serving as the franchise's second television series after '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series''. The anime series aired in Japan from Octob ...

'', the former serving as an ending theme for its first season. In February 2010, the youngest, AIKI made his debut as an author of a non-fiction novel, based on his own experiences of losing a friend to drugs, titled "Heart Prints ~inochi no hana~". (From Bungeisha) In March 2011, their company became a limited company and opened their own record label: KAWAMITSU RECORDS. May 2010, they held their first Korean tour performing at 3 different places in Korea, including Seoul, which proved to be a success. In September, the group released the single "Dandelion" in Europe on the German record label Marabu Records. The song placed #1 on the Radio Berlin International Charts. They released their newest album "Yumetsumugi" (Dream Weaving) on January 12, 2011, 6 years after their debut album. It is a self-produced album with each member working as staff to bring their music video and album to life. On April 19, 2022, Aiki announced his departure from the band in order to concentrate his life on his family and his current endeavours.

Members

Current members * - Born in

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

* - Born in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

* - Born in Utah Former members * - Born in Utah

Discography

Singles

#"Good Morning! Mr. Sunshine" - # - # - (Okinawa Prefecture), (Japan) # - # - #/ - (Digital Release) #"Dandelion" - #"Sunshine Dancer" -

Akino

Aiki

* - (Okinawa Prefecture) * - (From publishing company Bungeisha)

Albums

* - As " Kawamitsu Family" *''ALL 4 ONE'' - * - *''WE ARE WARRIORS'' -

References

External links

bless4 website

at Watanabe Music Publishing
bless4
at

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

bless4
at Marabu Records {{Authority control Japanese pop music groups Musical groups from Okinawa Prefecture Musical groups from Phoenix, Arizona Musical groups from Utah Japanese Latter Day Saints Musical groups established in 2003 2003 establishments in Arizona