[Yumi Matsutoya’s Masterpieces] A Collection of Heart-Touching Gems: Yuming’s Finest Hits

My lover is Santa ClausMatsutōya Yumi

Yumi Matsutoya - My Lover Is Santa Claus (from 'Koi to, Yuming to, Nihon' / 'Love in Japan, and Yuming.')

A track from her 10th album, SURF & SNOW, which is now a staple of Japanese Christmas songs and beloved by a wide range of generations.

It also drew attention as an insert song in the 1987 film Take Me Out to the Snow.

Considered one of Yuming’s signature songs, it will continue to be sung forever as a piece that brightens up December.

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DOWNTOWN BOYNEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Downtown Boy

A sophisticated pop tune by Yumi Matsutoya that makes your heart leap the moment it starts playing.

It’s included on the classic album NO SIDE, released in December 1984.

While the light rhythm and sparkling sound leave a strong impression, the lyrics depict the complex emotions of lovers from different upbringings, and that contrast really pierces the heart.

The bittersweetness hidden within the brightness overlaps with Yuming’s voice, giving it a mysterious allure.

Although it wasn’t released as a single, being featured in commercials for Fujifilm and Mitsubishi Motors helped it become a standard number that remains in many people’s memories.

It’s perfect for a refreshing drive on a sunny day, and also an ideal masterpiece when you want to sink into slightly bittersweet memories of love.

VOYAGER ~A Gravestone Without a Date~NEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Voyager – Gravestone Without Dates / Voyager – Hizuke No Nai Bohyo (2022 Ｍix)

It’s a grand-scale ballad where a sci-fi worldview overlaps with a profound requiem-like prayer.

The lyrics, which sing of the sorrow of losing someone precious and a love that reaches across time and space, are deeply moving.

The sound woven by synthesizers and strings imparts a floating sensation, as if drifting through outer space.

Released in February 1984 as Yumi Matsutoya’s 20th single, it was chosen as the theme song for the film “Sayonara Jupiter,” for which Sakyo Komatsu served as general director, yet it was notably left off the previous year’s album “VOYAGER.” It’s also known for being used in a Mitsubishi Motors commercial and, more recently, in “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time.” A masterpiece you’ll want to listen to on a quiet night while gazing up at the stars.

Before the diamond dust fadesNEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Before The Diamond Dust Fades… / Diamond Dust Ga Kienu Ma Ni

A captivating number with a sophisticated sound that evokes shimmering specks of light in the winter night sky.

It’s the title track from Yumi Matsutoya’s 19th album, “Before the Diamond Dust Fades,” which boasts a wealth of timeless songs.

Released in December 1987, the track is also well known as the commercial song for Mitsubishi Motors’ new Mirage.

The lyrics are striking in how they liken diamond dust not to a meteorological phenomenon but to champagne bubbles, conveying both brilliance and a fleeting poignancy that tugs at the heart.

Many listeners may find themselves overlaying their own memories onto the mature love story depicted over the course of a year.

The glittering arrangement perfectly matches the wintry atmosphere and makes it ideal BGM for a nighttime drive.

A quintessential Yuming classic that shines with an unfading luster.

cold rainNEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Cold Rain / Yumi Matsutoya (with lyrics) Hi-Fi Set #yumimatsutoya #coldrain #Yuming [Tried Singing] yune Cover

A heartbreak song that conjures an urban scene where you can almost hear the chill of falling rain.

After a fight with her lover she storms out of the apartment, and when she returns, another woman is there… This classic captures that dramatic, heartrending moment from an unflinchingly dry perspective.

Included on the album “OLIVE,” released in July 1979, the track is a self-cover of a song originally written for the folk duo Banban.

Haruomi Hosono’s rhythm arrangement and Tatsuro Yamashita’s choral work shine, refining the melody—also known through Hi-Fi Set’s rendition—into a more sophisticated slice of city pop.

It’s a song that doesn’t just wallow in sorrow but stands by the grown woman who wants to reset her feelings by facing the rain.

Reach to the heavensNEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Yumi Matsutoya – Reach to the Heavens

Singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya—affectionately known as “Yuming,” and renowned for continually unveiling fresh sonic visions with each era—delivers this track from her 40th original album, “Wormhole / Yumi AraI,” released in November 2025.

Chosen as the theme song for the Fuji TV drama “When We Were Little, There Was a God,” it also drew attention as her first drama theme for the network in about nine years.

Using AI technology to recreate her vocal timbre from the Yumi Arai era and layering it with her current voice, the resulting harmony resonates deeply with listeners.

Its grand soundscape, where past and future seem to intersect, feels perfect for a seaside drive or for quiet nights of contemplation.

Little Bird DayNEW!Matsutōya Yumi

Kotoriyoubi

A song by Yumi Matsutoya, who has set numerous records and led the Japanese pop scene for many years.

Created as an homage to the painter Matisse, it’s a poignant number that depicts, like a fable, a one-sided attachment to a bird that has flown away and the feelings that pass each other by.

It is included on her 40th original album, “Wormhole / Yumi AraI,” released in November 2025.

The piece was produced as a collaboration track for the exhibition “Arakawa Nash Medical: Paintings Are Pop Stars,” held at the National Art Center, Tokyo.

Since it could initially only be heard on radio programs and the like, many fans must have been eagerly awaiting an official release.

How about listening to it quietly at night, alone, taking it in slowly as if gazing at a painting?