The Mi-ha


is the fourth single by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. Released by Warner Pioneer on April 25, 1988. The lyrics were written by Chisato Moritaka, the music was composed and arranged by Hideo Saitō. The single was Moritaka's first foray in songwriting in her career. The song was used in a series of Pioneer answering machine telephone commercials featuring Moritaka.

Background

"Mi-ha" is a slang term for a person obsessed with following vulgar fads and trends and is not well-educated. It usually refers to specific young women, but can also be applied to men. The term was believed to have been originated from actor Chōjirō Hayashi in his 1927 film Chigo no Kenpō. Mi-ha is written in either katakana as "ミーハー" or in hiragana as "みいはあ".
Moritaka wrote "The Mi-ha" after being asked by her management to come up with some material. She commented that the cover photo is among her favorites.
The music video features animation by Japanese cartoonist and filmmaker Yōji Kuri.

Chart performance

"The Mi-ha" peaked at No. 29 on Oricon's singles chart and sold 29,000 copies.

Other versions

Different remixes of "Mi-ha" were released in the 1989 greatest hits album Moritaka Land and the 1991 remix album The Moritaka.
Moritaka re-recorded the song and uploaded the video on her YouTube channel on January 25, 2014. This version is also included in Moritaka's 2014 self-covers DVD album Love Vol. 6. In addition, she recorded a newer version titled "Mi-ha ", which was uploaded on YouTube on June 12, 2015 and included in Love Vol. 9.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Chisato Moritaka; all music is composed and arranged by Hideo Saitō.

Personnel

Cover versions