Hitsujibungaku Talk New Single ‘Dogs,’ Finding Cool Beyond Gender: Billboard Japan Women In Music Interview
Categoria: Musica
The two spoke about the essence of their new single and how their mind-set has shifted over the past three years.
Por Billboard | 05/06/2026
Hitsujibungaku sat down with Billboard Japan for the latest installment of its Women in Music interview series. The initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and entertainment and inspired other women through their work, following the footsteps of Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors. This series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the highlights of Japan’s WIM project. The latest interview by the duo marks the occasion of the one-night-only special live event Women in Music – EQUAL STAGE, presented by Billboard Japan and Spotify on June 9. The band’s lineup changed at the end of 2025, but Moeka Shiotsuka and Yurika Kasai haven’t slowed down: 2025 brought their first two-night concerts at the historic Nippon Budokan and a seven-city European tour, and 2026 has already seen them release “Dogs,” the theme song for the Netflix series Sins of Kujo . Making their second appearance in this interview series, the two spoke about the essence of their new single and how their mind-set has shifted over the past three years. “Dogs,” the theme song for the Netflix series Sins of Kujo , has been generating a lot of buzz. It’s a hard-edged rock track that feels different from what you’ve done before. How did it come together? SHIOTSUKA: I think Sins of Kujo had a lot to do with it. That roughness in “Dogs” is something we’ve always had in us, but it’s a sound we hadn’t had the chance to express in a while. How did it feel to go there? SHIOTSUKA: Really good. We’ve performed it live and on TV a number of times now, and it feels right for who we are at this moment. There’s no pretense in it. I never felt like I was being dishonest when we were doing more polished material, but there was a slight sense of disconnect between that and certain parts of my actual life and thinking. When you can put the darker parts of yourself out there too, the good parts come alive alongside them. KASAI: Playing this kind of music is when I’ve always felt we can perform as our most unguarded selves. As a theme song for a Netflix series, international reaction must be exciting to look forward to. The music video also marked your first collaboration with director Gakuryu Ishii. SHIOTSUKA: At first I was imagining something rougher for the video too, but Mr. Ishii built the concept around us as these figures like “sorcerers from another universe.” He also said, “There’s prayer in this song,” which wasn’t something I’d consciously put there, but when he said it I thought that’s true. He was clearly having a blast on set, and the trust we had with his crew made it a really special team to be part of. KASAI: The flexibility of his thinking didn’t just go beyond what I’d imagined, it went so far past it there was no comparison. Here’