happy birthday Ichiko Aoba !!! I can't wait to see you in a few months!!

happy birthday!!

¡Feliz cumpleaños Ichiko! Espero verte en México de nuevo 🎶 🌸

happy birthday ichiko! thank you for all the peaceful moments :)

Happy birthday Ichiko, you are the best. Greetings from Chile ❤️

Happy, Happy Birthday Dear Ichiko! Your songs imbue love and peace in my heart, thanks for that 💟❤️💖🦋🌺

Happy bday!! Can’t wait for the new album to drop so I can play the record on my new record player till I have to change the needle!! You are truly the echo of the blue ether 🌾🌾🌾🎧🌾

happy birthday ichiko! i cannot wait to see you on tour. i’m from Texas, but in 2022 i went to see you in philadelphia, and you signed my guitar that i cherish everyday. next year in new york, i’m seeing you again to witness greatness. i’ll go any distance for your beautiful music. happy birthday!! 🎂👋☯️

happiest of birthdays to you ichiko! ever since 2023, your music has gifted me a sense of warmth that I had lost for a while. thank you for always sparking hope in people, encouraging us, and speaking up for what's right. i'm so excited to see you in D.C this May. happy birthday!! 💖 🌷

happy birthday ichiko ⭐️ may this year bring you joy and warmth

happiest birthday ichiko 🩵🩵 the past 2 years of being your fan have been so wonderful. i’m so grateful for the peace your music has brought to my life, i’ve gained a newfound appreciation for music, nature, and life in general thanks to you 🥹🩵 i can’t wait to see you twice on this upcoming tour, in LA and Scottsdale!! i hope that you have a safe and wonderful birthday & year 🦋 happy birthday again! 🩵🩵🩵

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ICHIKO! I discovered your music in late 2023 when I always felt sad and overwhelmed, but your music has always calmed me, I appreciate you so much and I wish you the best for this new year ✨ sending lots and lots of love from new zealand!🇳🇿 ❤️ ✨ 🪼

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ICHIKOO 👌 may you have a happy and fulfilling 2025 with the new album coming out. I'm so proud to be a fan you don't even know 🐢

お誕生日おめでとう、イチコさん、あなたは素晴らしいソースです、はい、ブラジルからの愛に感謝します

Happy birthday Ichiko!! ✨🌛✨I will never forgot how your music healed me during a particularly difficult time in my life! As spring came along, with your music, it really felt like a new beginning for me! Thank you for sharing your music as without it I would not be here today! ⭐️ much love from Toronto!! 🫶🏽🍀🩷

Happy birthday Ichiko! I hope you have an amazing day.

Happy birthday, 青葉さん!!

In 2017, I got annoyed at Spotify. It constantly recommended マホロボシヤ to me and I thought "Whose music is this? It's too slow for me." Then, a couple of months later I thought, "I should check out マホロボシヤ, maybe I'll like it."

I was 18 years old then. I'm 26 now.

When I'm looking through my closet for a shirt to wear, often I'll see your merch tees. They're probably 40% of my shirts. Every time, I'm conflicted because I really want to wear them, but also want to preserve them by not wearing them. It's the same with your records. I have an extra Windswept Adan LP just for playing because I can't stand to play my signed copy.

For a whole winter some years ago, I listened to テリフリアメ every morning. I realized today that it plays in my head now whenever I walk through the snow to my car. I have listened to Windswept Adan so many times when meditating, sleeping, or just thinking, that now when I hear the first note in Prologue I feel my muscles relax.

I went to see Japanese Breakfast in DC just to see you open for them. I waited outside of National Sawdust four hours early so that I could be first in line & have the privilege of giving you flowers.

When you put one of your guitars on auction for charity, I bid an irresponsible amount of money. I ran out of my room to show my girlfriend when I got the email saying I had won the auction.

For years I avoided any interviews or articles about you. I didn't want to risk learning that you were somehow a bad person, and have that change how much I love your music. Of course, you're not a bad person at all—I'm glad I finally took that risk. To me you're a role model, someone who found what she loved at a young age and kept running after it no matter what. I found what I love at an early age too, and you inspire me to not give up on it.

Happy birthday Ichiko!

I've often claimed to be your biggest fan, if only due to the fact that I've made this fanclub. Your music has become a truly inseparable part of my life since I first found it in 2019.

I used to have a job in which I'd essentially be free to roam around in nature for hours at a time, and as expected when I searched for "Japanese folk music" and found you, it fit perfectly with the scenery.

I've never stopped with that connection. Any time I'm feeling much too connected to the Internet, I turn on your music and am instantly calmed down and reminded of what it feels like to be in nature. Since then, and especially since Windswept Adan came out, I've found myself repeatedly drawn to your music.

At this point nearly every point of every song of yours reminds me of a different point in my life over the last 5 years.

When I hear Porcelain, I'm reminded of my first time learning the lyrics to, and singing a Japanese song;

when I hear いきのこりぼくら, I remember taking turns playing it with my Japanese friend;

when I hear うさぎ I'm reminded of the plane ride back home after a vacation in Los Vegas;

when I hear 不和リン I'm reminded of my first day in university;

when I hear 機械仕掛乃宇宙 I'm reminded of hearing you playing it live and embarrassing myself with my terrible Japanese;

when I hear 月の丘 I'm reminded of finishing my favorite novel while listening to it, and showing it to you but not being able express how much it meant to me and that I'd wanted for you to sign it.

Without your music I'm truly not sure where I'd be today. With each year that passes I find myself looking forward to January to once again give you a present and see how much my Japanese has progressed so I'll finally be able to express my thoughts and feelings to you properly when we next meet!

From soft shadows, a small, soft light was born.

柔らかな影から、小さな柔らかな光が生まれました。

Over time, the small soft light slowly began to grow, glowing gently and warmly.

時が経つにつれ、ゆっくりと大きくなり、優しくぬくぬくと輝き始めました。

In the silence, sounds began to emerge from that soft light.

静寂の中、柔らかな光から音が出て来ました。

These sounds became a friend to the quietness, fading in and out of each other as if in a conversation.

会話をしているかのようにお互いにぼやけるでこれらの音と静けさは友達になりました。

Somehow, the future becomes more feasible.

なんとなく、未来はより実現可能になりました。

Thank you, warm light, for being born.

温かい光よ、生まれてくれてありがとう。

Happy birthday, Aoba Ichiko-san! I saw a video of your live performance with Black Country, New Road during MOMO festival in 2023 and you all work so well together that I decided to listen more of your music! Especially the live version of Adan no Kaze at Bunkamura Hall is so beautiful, I couldn’t heap enough praise for the live album.

I doubt you’re remembering this but, I was able to see you live with Nanao Tavito during Christmas Eve in Osaka later that year and although I was feeling under the weather, hearing your serenading makes it a whole lot better. I even bawled my eyes out when you played Space Orphans, which is probably the only time my emotions were stirred up that strongly! And sorry that I couldn’t give you anything more valuable than some candy a stranger gave me on the street during the autograph session! T.T

Thank you for coloring up my music life with your beautiful voice, great guitar playing and all the great stories you’ve been writing for the past 15 years! Here’s hoping for a happy life for the next 35 years!

happy birthday ichiko <3 love from montreal please come back soon

Happy Birthday ichiko, pls come to indonesia in your world tour next time T.T

Happy Birthday!!! STO LAT STO LAT NIECH ŻYJE ŻYJE NAM Greetings from Poland!!!

Happy bday huge fan i love your music

Happy Birthday, Ichiko 🙏🎂. I’m so excited for the new album and to see you play live again!!

Happy birthday Ichiko!

Although I am probably quite a fresh fan compared to most, your music has had quite a profound impact on my life nonetheless. When I'm stressed, the serenity of your music heals my problems- and that is such a priceless feeling.

I listen to your music all the time, whether it be while playing video games, while studying, or while relaxing. Your music is appropriate in nearly every space of my life, and I am thankful for that. You were also one of my largest inspirations when it came to me actually progressing in learning the guitar—I had put it on and off for over a year—but I started practicing for hours on top of hours every single day because your beautiful playing served as a perfect inspiration to me.

You're one of my biggest inspirations in attempts to write music myself. I appreciate you a lot for that. You are such a wonderful soul and I am blessed to have ever heard your art in the first place. Have a great birthday.

happy birthday, ichiko! your music has been such a comfort in difficult times - a real (luminescent?) light in the darkness. your gentleness and introspection are so appreciated. I hope you have a lovely day