''This Armor'' is the second studio album recorded by Japanese singer-songwriter

Chihiro Onitsuka (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese singer-songwriter. In 2000, Onitsuka released her debut single "Shine" and gained recognition when its follow-up "Gekkou" became a hit. ''Insomnia (Chihiro Onitsuka album), Insomnia'', her first studio a ...

, released in March 2002. It features two lead singles "infection", "Ryūseigun", and remake versions of "Arrow of Pain" (B-Side of a single "Gekko" in 2000) and "Little Beat Rifle" (double A-Side to "infection"). Onitsuka described the album as "a sequel to ''Insomnia''", her chart-topping debut which came out in 2001. Like its predecessor, the title of the album was named by the artist, simply because she liked the sound of the phrase. Cover art was taken by photographer

Mika Ninagawa is a Japanese photographer and Film director, director, known for her brightly colored photographs of flowers, goldfish, and landscapes. Biography Daughter of acclaimed theatre director Yukio Ninagawa, she first came to prominence in the late ...

Miyako-jima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako Island is administered as part of the City of Miyako Island, which includes not only Miyako Island, but also five other islands. Geogr ...

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 ...

. ''This Armor'' debuted and peaked at the number-three on the Japanese Oricon albums chart and remained the top-300 for 25 weeks, with estimated sales of over half a million copies. The album was certified Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan 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 pro ...

upon its release, for shipments of over 400,000 units.

Track listing

All songs arranged and produced by Takefumi Haketa.

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes of the album ;Session musicians *Chihiro Onitsuka – vocals, composer, lyricist *Takefumi Haketa – acoustic piano, keyboards, drum programming, pad, tubular bells, background vocals; sound producer, composer (not credited on the sleeve notes) *Hiroshi Sato – wurlitzer, Hammond B-3 *Takashi Nishiumi – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, dobro guitar, background vocals *Nobuyasu Horikoshi – acoustic guitar, electric guitar *Kiyotsugu Amano – gut guitar *Hitoshi Watanabe – bass guitar, contra bass *Tatsuo Hayashi – drums *Hideo Yamaki – drums *Yuichi Togashiki – drums *Ikuo Kakehashi – percussion, udu, talking drum, bell, tambourine, triangle, djembe *Marie Ohishi – timpani, suspended cymbals *Naoto – violin *Osamu Iyoku – violin *Takuya Mori – violin *Kouta Nagahara – violin *Machiya Saito – violin *Ado Matsumoto – violin *Etsuko Hara – violin *Ikuko Nakaya – violin *Jun Tajiri – violin *Koji Ohtake – violin *Hitoshi Konno – violin *Shizuka Kawaguchi – violin *Marisa Kosugi – violin *Hiroki Mutoh – violin *Yu Sugino – violin *Mariko Aikawa – violin *Yu Manabe – violin *Shoko Miki – viola *Kaori Banba – viola *Gentaro Sakaguchi – viola *Masami Horisawa – cello *Toshihiko Tsuchida – cello *Hajime Mizoguchi – cello *Akio Ueki – cello *Hiroki Kashiwagi – cello *Tomoyuki Asakawa – harp *Mari Yasui – tin whistle *Toshiko Ezaki – background vocals *Melody Little Bears – background vocals ;Production *Nozomu Tsuchiya – producer *Toshihiro Hachisuka musicians coordinate *Yuya Suzuki – engineer *Shinichi Naitoh – engineer *Kanako Fukuda – engineer *Satoshi Konno – engineer *Atsuhiro Murakami – drum technician on track 2 *Jiro Yamazaki – visual producer *Naomi Terakawa – visual coordinator *Miyuki Hentona – art director *Mika Ninagawa – photographer *Daisuke Iga – stylist *Eri Akamatsu – hair, make-up *Satoru Iijima – A&R manager *Kenichi Tanaka – artist manager *Kenichi Nomura – A&R director *Kosei Sasaki – A&R executive *Kumiko Himeno – A&R executive *Masaaki Saito – super executive *Junya Nakasone – super executive *Makoto Shioya – super executive *Masao Yoshida – super executive *Takaichi Motegi – super executive *Mikio Tao – artist PR *Kotaro Suzuki – artist PR *Mayu kobayashi – artist PR *Toshiba EMI Virgin Tokyo Marketing Group – media PR *Toshiba EMI Sales Promotion – sales PR

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

External links

References