Twenty years ago today, ayaka released 「三日月」 (Mikazuki).
It was her fourth single in eight months. “I believe” had introduced an 18-year-old singer with an unusually assured voice; “melody” and “Real voice” followed before the public had much time to absorb the first impression. “Mikazuki” closed that opening sequence and gave ayaka something every lasting career eventually needs: a song that people would continue to associate with her long after its release campaign ended.
The single that completed her debut year
“Mikazuki” was already part of ayaka’s story before her recording career officially began. She wrote it with producer Yoshihiko Nishio while studying at the Voice music school, and performed it live before the release of “I believe.”
The song was therefore no calculated response to her early success. By the time Warner Music Japan issued it on September 27, 2006, it had already been used as a theme for NHK’s Tsunagaru TV @ Human. Its release had been delayed while ayaka established herself through three other singles.
The wait worked. “Mikazuki” entered the Oricon weekly singles chart at number one, ayaka’s first release to reach the top. Five weeks later, her debut album First Message did the same and eventually passed one million sales.
At the end of 2006, ayaka received the Best New Artist prizes at both the Japan Record Awards and the Japan Cable Awards. She then made her first appearance on NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with “Mikazuki.” Eleven months after her debut, the song had become the closing statement of her first year.
A major song of Japan’s mobile era
The CD single was only part of its success.
“Mikazuki” appeared in advertising for KDDI’s LISMO music service, at a time when Japanese listeners were buying full songs directly through their mobile phones. This was a distinct market, built before subscriptions became the dominant model and large parts of the Japanese catalogue reached international streaming platforms.
The Recording Industry Association of Japan eventually certified “Mikazuki” for two million single-track downloads. When it reached that level in January 2014, it was one of the first Japanese songs to do so.
Its later streaming figures confirm that this popularity belonged to the song rather than to one obsolete format. In December 2025, the original recording passed 100 million plays in Oricon’s streaming ranking. Billboard Japan reported another total above 100 million in 2026.
These numbers do not make “Mikazuki” important by themselves. They show that a hit born in the CD and mobile-download market continued to be heard after both had lost their central position.
The song ayaka kept
ayaka has never left “Mikazuki” behind.
For her tenth anniversary in 2016, she recorded a new version and performed the song again at Kōhaku, ten years after it had accompanied her first appearance. She returned to it for THE FIRST TAKE in 2023, with Satoru Shionoya on piano.
In September 2026, “Mikazuki” appeared on 20 Lights – The Collection, ayaka’s twentieth-anniversary compilation. It was placed on the disc selected through requests from listeners. During the same anniversary campaign, she recorded another performance for her official Room Session series.
That continued presence explains its importance in her discography. “Mikazuki” established ayaka during her first year, remained part of her concerts and retrospectives, and was still chosen by her audience twenty years later. Few singles can document an artist’s entire career without ever disappearing from it.
Listen — where available
The natural way to mark the anniversary is to listen to the original 2006 recording.
That may be less straightforward than it should be. Although later recordings such as “Mikazuki 2016 ver.” and the THE FIRST TAKE performance are available internationally, the original is unavailable on Spotify in some territories.
So we invite you to listen to “Mikazuki.” Just check which version your country has been allowed to hear.