is the 15th single by

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

; it was released on February 17, 2010. The title track is a school graduation song. The song was used as the theme song to the AKB48-related drama '' Majisuka Gakuen'', which stars

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

and many members from AKB48 and its sister groups. In its first week, the song sold 318,000 copies - the biggest opening sales for a female group single since

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an ...

's "

Mr. Moonlight (Ai no Big Band) is the thirteenth single of J-pop idol group Morning Musume and was released October 31, 2001. Overview It sold a total of 513,340 copies and reached number one on the Oricon Charts. This single also marked the debut of the fifth generation mem ...

" in July 2001. The song has been certified platinum for physical sales by the

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include ...

Composition

The song is composed by Hiroshi Uesugi and written by Yasushi Akimoto. It is sung with AKB48 members singing together in a school choir. The song is a graduation song, with a theme of cherry blossoms.

Tie-in

"Sakura no Shiori" was used not only as the theme song for the drama '' Majisuka Gakuen'', but also in commercials for Aoki and

Recochoku is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

. The B-side "Majisuka Rock 'n Roll" was used as the opening theme song for the same drama.

Track listing

Personnel

Sakura no Shiori

"Sakura no Shiori" was performed by the following members: * Team A: Haruna Kojima,

Mariko Shinoda is a Japanese singer, actress, fashion model, and former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48, in which she was the captain of Team A. Career In October 2005, she auditioned for AKB48's first generation roster but failed the audition. Short ...

Minami Takahashi is a Japanese idol, singer, tarento and a former member of the Japanese girl idol group AKB48. She is in Team A of AKB48. She became the first of AKB48 and its sister groups. In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 produ ...

, Miho Miyazaki * Team K: Tomomi Itano,

Yuko Oshima is a Japanese actress and former member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48, of which she was the captain of Team K. She was also a member of the AKB48 subunit Not Yet. In addition to the singles that involved the rock-paper-scissors tournaments ...

, Sae Miyazawa * Team B: Mayu Watanabe, Rie Kitahara, Yuki Kashiwagi * SKE48:

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top 1 ...

The center for the track was Atsuko Maeda.

Majisuka Rock 'n Roll

The song centred on Atsuko Maeda. *Team A: Haruna Kojima,

. *Team K: Tomomi Itano, Sayaka Akimoto, Erena Ono,

*Team B: Yuki Kashiwagi, Mayu Watanabe

Enkyori Poster

The unit of girls who sung this song performed under the name "Team Play-Boy." The song centred on Yuki Kashiwagi. *Team A: Aki Takajō, Aika Oota, Ami Maeda *Team K: Sae Miyazawa, Moeno Nito *Team B: Yuki Kashiwagi, Miho Miyazaki

Choose Me!

The unit of girls who sung this song performed under the name "Team Young Jump." The song centred on Rie Kitahara. *Team A: Haruka Nakagawa,

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet and is the produce ...

, Asuka Kuramochi *Team K: Minami Minegishi, Ayaka Kikuchi *Team B: Tomomi Kasai, Rie Kitahara

Chart rankings

Reported sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakura No Shiori Songs about school AKB48 songs 2010 singles Songs with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto Oricon Weekly number-one singles Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles King Records (Japan) singles 2010 songs Songs about cherry blossom Japanese television drama theme songs