is a Japanese singer from Amami Ōshima. She sings in the shima-uta style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects.
History
Early life
Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young age. At age 10 she began to pick up shima-uta, a style of singing passed down through generations.
She won many folk and other song competitions during her teens, traveling to events across Japan. followed later in the year. It sold 800,000 copies, charted for 57 weeks, and was the 16th highest selling album of the year.
She released three more singles before her second major album, , was released in 2003. Shortly after a concert tour, and the release of a live album and DVD in 2004, Hajime announced that she would be getting married, and was to have her first child in 2005.
She returned to the music industry in November 2005 with the single , the ending theme for the anime series BLOOD+. The single was a hit, reaching No. 12 on the Oricon charts. She followed this success with , the ending theme for the anime AYAKASHI – Japanese Classic Horror. The single sold 6,050 copies in its first week, and remained on the charts for seven weeks total. A third single, "Ao no Requiem" (青のレクイエ), was the theme song for the Studio GAGA film Hatsukoi. The following week, Hajime released her third original major album, . A limited-edition version featured a 13th track, with Ryuichi Sakamoto), as well as a DVD containing the music videos for "Kataritsugu Koto", and "Haru no Katami".
Following , Hajime took an extended break to spend time with her family and moving to Okinawa. She returned in 2008 with the release of "CASSINI" (カッシーニ), based on the theme of family and bonding.