13 Japanese Birds

"Fukurou" redirects here. For the manga character, see List of One Piece characters § Cipher Pol Number 9.

13 Japanese Birds
📅 Released	January 2009 – January 2010
🎙️ Recorded	October 2008 – November 2009
Studio	Munemihouse, Tokyo
⏳ Length	721:56 (standard) 760:02 (Ecobag)
🏷️ Label	Important
🤑 Producer	Masami Akita
Merzbow chronology
Somei... (2009) 13 Japanese Birds (2009) Hiranya (2009)

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13 Japanese Birds is a 15 album series by the Japanese noise musician Merzbow. It was inspired by Olivier Messiaen's Catalogue d'oiseaux (Catalog of birds), but has no direct musical relationship.

Release history

The series originally consisted of 13 albums released on a monthly basis from January 2009 to January 2010. They were also recorded one a month, and Masami Akita frequently revisited older recordings. It was also part of his then-recent return to live drums. Jenny Akita's cover art depicts illustrated birds on top of photographs. Each CD is limited to 1,000 copies.

The series was also available by subscription; as just the CDs, or with a custom-made bamboo box. Also available only with purchase of the box was an acrylic-on-bamboo painting by Akita himself.

In March 2010, Important released Ecobag/13 Birds in a Bag +1, this set included the original 13 CDs, a bonus CDR of additional material from the sessions, and a piece of original xerox art made by Akita in the mid-90s. All packaged together in a tote bag and limited to 200 copies. After the Ecobag sold out, the label released the Ecoblock or Bird Block in April 2012, with just the original 13 albums and a T-shirt.

In 2009, Important announced that an LP named Jigokuhen would be released to celebrate the completion of the series. Originally scheduled for the first anniversary of the completion of the original series (January 2011), but it was delayed until March. The album is the 15th and final volume of the Japanese Birds series, but is a stand-alone release.

Albums

Suzume: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 1

Suzume
📅 Released	January 27, 2009 (2009-01-27)
🎙️ Recorded	October–November 2008
Merzbow chronology
Somei... (2009) Suzume (2009) Fukurou (2009)

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Musique Machine

The title refers to the sparrow (雀, suzume). "Tori Uta" was previously released as "<羽毛に纏わる水滴無限循環> Dedicated to アヒル (Duck)" on Zoundtrack by Ukawanimation!

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Red Bird of Summer Part 1"	19:42
2.	"Fandangos in Space"	5:41
3.	"Tori Uta"	6:24
4.	"Red Bird of Summer Part 2"	17:06
Total length:		48:53

Fukurou: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 2

"Fukurou" redirects here. For the manga character, see List of One Piece characters § Cipher Pol Number 9.

Fukurou
📅 Released	February 24, 2009 (2009-02-24)
🎙️ Recorded	December 2008
Merzbow chronology
Suzume (2009) Fukurou (2009) Yurikamome (2009)

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Musique Machine

The title refers to the owl (梟, fukurō). "Gorosukehoukou" and "Noritsukehousei" are Japanese onomatopoeia for the sounds of owls.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Gorosukehoukou"	22:18
2.	"Variation No. 1"	9:51
3.	"Variation No. 2"	9:49
4.	"Noritsukehousei"	16:49
Total length:		58:47

Yurikamome: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 3

Yurikamome
📅 Released	March 24, 2009 (2009-03-24)
🎙️ Recorded	January 2009
Merzbow chronology
Fukurou (2009) Yurikamome (2009) Karasu (2009)

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Musique Machine

The title refers to the black-headed gull (百合鴎, yurikamome, literally "lily seagull").

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Black Headed Gull"	31:42
2.	"February 2002"	13:33
3.	"The Angel of the Odd"	8:05
Total length:		53:20

Karasu: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 4

Karasu
📅 Released	April 28, 2009 (2009-04-28)
🎙️ Recorded	February 2009
Merzbow chronology
Yurikamome (2009) Karasu (2009) Hiranya (2009)

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The title refers to the crow (鴉, karasu).

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Argus"	19:40
2.	"Stone the Crows"	27:35
3.	"Morgue"	16:56
Total length:		64:11

Uzura: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 5

Uzura
📅 Released	May 20, 2009 (2009-05-20)
🎙️ Recorded	March 2009
Merzbow chronology
Hiranya (2009) Uzura (2009) Tempi / Matatabi (2009)

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The title refers to the Japanese quail (鶉, uzura). The song titles refer to a March 2009 cull after the bird flu virus was found.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Requiem for the 259,000 Quails Culled at a Farm in Toyohashi Part 1"	15:54
2.	"Requiem for the 259,000 Quails Culled at a Farm in Toyohashi Part 2"	27:37
3.	"Requiem for the 259,000 Quails Culled at a Farm in Toyohashi Part 3"	12:35
Total length:		56:06

Kamo: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 6

Kamo
📅 Released	June 23, 2009 (2009-06-23)
🎙️ Recorded	April 2009
Merzbow chronology
Tempi / Matatabi (2009) Kamo (2009) Don't Steal My Coat (2009)

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The title refers to the duck (鴨, kamo). The cover depicts the tufted duck. The first track is a protest against the wild-bird cull instituted by Tokyo Governor Shintarō Ishihara. Akasaka is a district in Minato, Tokyo.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bird Killer Governor Ishihara Deserves to Die"	16:44
2.	"Wilderness in Akasaka"	19:39
3.	"Heresy"	15:57
Total length:		52:20

Kujakubato: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 7

Kujakubato
📅 Released	August 5, 2009 (2009-08-05)
🎙️ Recorded	May 2009
Merzbow chronology
Don't Steal My Coat (2009) Kujakubato (2009) Kokuchou (2009)

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The title refers to the Fantail pigeon (孔雀鳩, kujakubato, literally "peacock pigeon"). The bird design on the cover was previously used on Fantail. The album was delayed until the first week of August.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wind of Pain"	7:50
2.	"Pigeon Walk Part 1"	10:15
3.	"Pigeon Walk Part 2"	7:58
4.	"Dove Festival"	14:07
5.	"Bird Droppings on Your Head"	5:52
Total length:		46:02

Kokuchou: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 8

Kokuchou
📅 Released	August 21, 2009 (2009-08-21)
🎙️ Recorded	June 2009
Merzbow chronology
Kujakubato (2009) Kokuchou (2009) Hiyodori (2009)

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The title refers to the black swan (黒鳥, kokuchō). "Ushiwaka 2" is a reworking of a track from Yoshinotsune.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mesmerism"	5:33
2.	"Black Swan"	24:03
3.	"Colored Rain"	13:22
4.	"Ushiwaka 2"	7:25
Total length:		50:23

Hiyodori: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 9

Hiyodori
📅 Released	September 30, 2009 (2009-09-30)
🎙️ Recorded	July 2009
Merzbow chronology
Kokuchou (2009) Hiyodori (2009) Niwatori (2009)

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The title refers to the brown-eared bulbul (鵯, hiyodori).

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hiyodori"	30:20
2.	"Across the Earth"	16:18
3.	"Purple Triangle"	17:45
Total length:		64:23

Niwatori: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 10

Niwatori
📅 Released	November 2009 (2009-11)
🎙️ Recorded	August 2009
Merzbow chronology
Hiyodori (2009) Niwatori (2009) Microkosmos Volume 1 (2009)

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The title refers to the chicken (鶏, niwatori). The album was delayed until the first week of November due to printing errors.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Niwatori Obsession 1"	29:32
2.	"Niwatori Obsession 2"	18:19
3.	"Niwatori Obsession 3"	14:48
Total length:		62:39

Shirasagi: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 11

Shirasagi
📅 Released	November 2009 (2009-11)
🎙️ Recorded	September 2009
Merzbow chronology
Microkosmos Volume 1 (2009) Shirasagi (2009) Tsubame (2009)

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The title refers to the egret (白鷺, shirasagi). The cover depicts the Asahi Beer Hall.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Transformed into Food"	16:28
2.	"Once the Human Meat Is Done, Cut It Up and Mix with the Vegetable Curry"	11:10
3.	"Dismemberment of Nature"	14:37
4.	"Chained"	16:11
Total length:		58:25

Tsubame: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 12

Tsubame
📅 Released	December 2009 (2009-12)
🎙️ Recorded	October 2009
Merzbow chronology
Shirasagi (2009) Tsubame (2009) Chabo (2010)

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The title refers to the barn swallow (燕, tsubame).

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Destroy the Cages"	17:24
2.	"Burn Down Research Facilities"	21:38
3.	"Escape from Captors"	16:00
Total length:		55:02

Chabo: 13 Japanese Birds Pt. 13

Chabo
📅 Released	January 2010 (2010-01)
🎙️ Recorded	November 2009
Merzbow chronology
Tsubame (2009) Chabo (2010) Another Merzbow Records (2010)

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The title refers to the Japanese Bantam (矮鶏, chabo).

An unreleased work called "samidara1" was played during an event at ohrenhoch in Berlin, Merzbow described it as "using the method of several granular synthesis programs and random process of the composition.", and referenced Graft, Chabo, Jigokuhen, and Ouroboros as having the same concept.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Resurrection"	51:24

天鵞絨の鳥

天鵞絨の鳥
📅 Released	March 17, 2010 (2010-03-17)
🎙️ Recorded	2009 at Munemihouse, Tokyo
Merzbow chronology
Graft (2010) 天鵞絨の鳥 (2010) Ouroboros (2010)

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This is the bonus CDR that was included exclusively with the Ecobag, only 200 copies were made. It is also considered to be the 14th album of the series. Subscribers of the original series were able to download it from the label for free.

The album title transliterates to Tengajū no tori or Birōdo no tori and means "velvet bird". The track titles translate to "first song" and "second song".

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"第一曲"	16:33
2.	"第二曲"	20:33
Total length:		37:06

Jigokuhen

Jigokuhen is an album released to commemorate the first anniversary of the completion of the original series (January 2011), but it was delayed until March. It is the 15th and final volume of the Japanese Birds series, but is a stand-alone release.

Personnel

• Masami Akita – performer, bamboo paintings, xerox art
• Jenny Akita – artwork, photography

Fukurou lists additional instrument credits:

• MA plays EMS Synthi A, EMS VCS3 II, computers, handmade instruments, various effects

References

This article "13 Japanese Birds" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:13 Japanese Birds. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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