title: Oldsmobile

text: Early on in its history, Olds enjoyed a healthy public relations boost from the 1905 hit song "In My Merry Oldsmobile". The same theme—a fast, powerful Olds car helping the driver romance the opposite sex—was updated in the 1950s with the iconic hit "Rocket 88".


title: Oldsmobile

text: The strong public relations efforts by GM in the 1950s was epitomized in the Motorama, a "one company" auto show extravaganza. Millions of Americans attended, in a spirit not unlike a "mini-World's Fair". Every GM division had a "Dream Car". Oldsmobile's dream/concept car was called "The Golden Rocket".


title: Oldsmobile

text: The Dr. Oldsmobile theme was one of Oldsmobile's most successful marketing campaigns in the early '70s, it involved fictional characters created to promote the wildly popular 442 muscle car. 'Dr. Oldsmobile' was a tall lean professor type who wore a white lab coat. His assistants included 'Elephant Engine Ernie' who represented the big block 455 Rocket engine. 'Shifty Sidney' was a character who could be seen swiftly shifting his hand using a Hurst shifter.


title: Oldsmobile

text: 'Wind Tunnel Waldo' had slicked back hair that appeared to be constantly wind blown. He represented Oldsmobile's wind tunnel testing, that produced some of the sleekest designs of the day. Another character included 'Hy Spy' who had his ear to the ground as he checked out the competition.


title: Oldsmobile

text: A public relations campaign in the late 1980s proclaimed that this was "not your father's Oldsmobile." The company produced a series of television ads during this time; said ads featured the offspring of various celebrities, and sometimes the celebrity in question. These ads included:


title: Oldsmobile

text: Ironically, many fans of the brand say that the declining sales were in fact caused by the "this is not your father's Oldsmobile" campaign, as the largest market for Oldsmobiles was the population whose parents had, in fact, owned Oldsmobiles and that by going away from the traditional vehicles that Oldsmobile's brand was built upon, lost many loyal buyers and put the brand on a collision course with Pontiac and Buick, which led to internal cannibalization and a downfall from which it could never recover. Oldsmobile's final major ad campaign had the slogan "Start Something" in a last-ditch effort to market to younger buyers at the turn of the millennium.


title: Oldsmobile

text: Oldsmobile is especially known for its competition in NASCAR. Beginning with the Rocket 88, Oldsmobile proved heavily competitive in stock car racing. In the Sixties, the Rocket 88 was replaced by the 442. Eventually, the Cutlass would lead Oldsmobile into the Eighties before GM reduced its entries to Chevrolet and Pontiac in the Nineties. It was the restyled body of the Cutlass Supreme that (along with the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Regal, and Pontiac Grand Prix) ushered in the downsized cars into NASCAR cup competition. While the Cutlass looked almost identical to the Buick Regal (which scored 35+ victories in the 1981 thru 1985 seasons), the Cutlass (like the Dodge Mirada) didn't take one checkered flag, and many teams moved away from it in 1983 to the Regal, Grand Prix, and restyled Monte Carlo SS. This was a rude awakening to Oldsmobile, which was getting used to wins on the NASCAR circuit. The body style of the 1988-92 Cutlass proved to be a winner for NASCAR competition and it visited the victory circle 13 times between 1989 and 1992, when Oldsmobile ended its racing program.


title: Oldsmobile

text: In the IMSA GT Championship, Oldsmobile would provide power for IMSA GT Prototypes alongside Chevrolet and Buick. The Cutlass was used in IMSA GTO along with other vehicles also being used in Trans Am and NASCAR.


title: Oldsmobile

text: The Cutlass was used in the Trans Am Series during the 1980s. Many vehicles also being used in NASCAR at the time were used in Trans Am and IMSA GTO.


title: William Bentvena

text: William "Billy Batts" Bentvena (January 19, 1921 – June 11, 1970), also known as William Devino, was an American mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a longtime friend of John Gotti in the 1960s. After spending six years in prison for narcotics trafficking, Bentvena was murdered by Lucchese crime family associate Tommy DeSimone, with the help of fellow Lucchese associates James Burke and Henry Hill.


title: William Bentvena

text: Born in Brooklyn on January 19, 1921, little is known about Bentvena's early life other than that he grew up in the same area as DeSimone and Hill. In 1959, Bentvena became an associate with the Gambino crime family and in 1961 became a full member, or made man. Bentvena was a protégé street soldier for Carmine Fatico.


title: William Bentvena

text: In May 1958, Bentvena became a member of what would become known as the Ormento Group, a heroin smuggling ring (named after John Ormento, a capo in the Lucchese crime family, the "CEO" of the group); "Managing Directors" were Carmine Galante and Anthony Mirra. On February 14, 1959, Bentvena went to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to complete a drug deal for Joseph "Joe The Crow" DelVecchio and Oreste "Ernie Boy" Abbamonte. When he arrived in Bridgeport, undercover police arrested Bentvena and charged him with possession and exchange of narcotics. Bentvena was later convicted of heroin smuggling in June 1962 alongside co-defendant Galante and sentenced to 15 years in the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut.


title: William Bentvena

text: After his release from an eight-year prison sentence in 1970, according to the mafia memoir "Wiseguy", Henry Hill describes the "welcome home" party for Bentvena at Robert's Lounge, a nightclub owned by James Burke. Bentvena jokingly asked Tommy DeSimone "if he still shined shoes", which DeSimone perceived as an insult, leaning over to Hill and Burke to say, "I'm gonna kill that fuck." Two weeks later, on June 11, 1970, Bentvena was at The Suite, Hill's nightclub in Jamaica, Queens. With the club nearly empty, DeSimone pistol-whipped Bentvena, yelling, "Shine these fucking shoes!" before beating him bloody.


title: William Bentvena

text: After Bentvena was severely beaten and presumed dead, DeSimone, Burke, and Hill placed his body in the trunk of Hill's car, stopping at DeSimone's mother's house for a knife, lime, and a shovel. Hearing sounds from the trunk, they realized that Bentvena was still alive, so DeSimone and Burke beat him to death with the shovel and a tire iron. Burke had a friend who owned a dog kennel in Upstate New York, and Bentvena was buried there. At the time of his murder in 1970, Bentvena was 49 years old and was a respected and feared soldier in the Gambino crime family.


title: William Bentvena

text: About three months after Bentvena's murder, Burke's friend sold the dog kennel to housing developers, so Burke ordered Hill and DeSimone to exhume Bentvena's corpse and dispose of it elsewhere. In "Wiseguy", Hill said the body was eventually crushed in a mechanical compactor at a New Jersey junkyard, owned by Clyde Brooks. On the commentary for the film "Goodfellas", he additionally states that Bentvena's body was first buried in the basement of Robert's Lounge, a bar and restaurant owned by Burke, and was at a later time indeed crushed in the compactor.


title: William Bentvena

text: On January 14, 1979, DeSimone disappeared. It is speculated that the Gambino family ordered the death of DeSimone, a mob associate with the Lucchese crime family, for his role in the unsanctioned murder of Bentvena and Ronald "Foxy" Jerothe. Another theory is that the Gambino family did not know about the Bentvena murder and that Gambino captain John Gotti may have just wanted revenge for DeSimone's murder of Jerothe, another Gambino associate and good friend of Gotti's.


title: William Bentvena

text: In 1980, facing a lengthy sentence for cocaine trafficking, Hill turned state's evidence and testified at the trials of both James Burke and Paul Vario. Charges were also being prepared against Burke for the murder of Bentvena, however, they did not stand legal scrutiny, as Hill claimed to be both the sole living witness "as well as" an accomplice.


title: William Bentvena

text: In the 1990 Martin Scorsese film "Goodfellas", the character Billy Batts (Bentvena) was portrayed by Frank Vincent. His exchange with the character Tommy DeVito (portrayed by Joe Pesci, based on Tommy DeSimone) at the welcome home party has been described as "iconic." The insult by Batts to DeVito—"Now go home and get your fucking shine box!"—has been considered among the most memorable lines in cinema history.


title: William Bentvena

text: A photo of Philadelphia mobster Pat Spirito is commonly erroneously labelled as being of Bentvena in several media articles, Mafia sites and online forums. No known photo of Bentvena is available online as of May 2022.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but is best known as the author of the "Hanuman Chalisa" and of the epic "Ramcharitmanas", a retelling of the Sanskrit "Ramayana" based on Rama's life in the vernacular Awadhi.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas spent most of his life in the city of Varanasi and Ayodhya. The Tulsi Ghat on the Ganges River in Varanasi is named after him. He founded the Sankatmochan Temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman in Varanasi, believed to stand at the place where he had the sight of the deity. Tulsidas started the Ramlila plays, a folk-theatre adaptation of the Ramayana.


title: Tulsidas

text: He has been acclaimed as one of the greatest poets in Hindi, Indian, and world literature. The impact of Tulsidas and his works on the art, culture and society in India is widespread and is seen to date in vernacular language, Ramlila plays, Hindustani classical music, popular music, and television series.


title: Tulsidas

text: The Sanskrit name of Tulsidas can be transliterated in two ways. Using the original Sanskrit, the name is written as "Tulasīdāsa". Using the Hunterian transliteration system, it is written as "Tulsidas" or "Tulsīdās" reflecting the vernacular pronunciation (since the written Indian languages maintain the vestigial letters that are no longer pronounced). The lost vowels are an aspect of the Schwa deletion in Indo-Aryan languages and can vary between regions. The name is a compound of two Sanskrit words: Tulasī, which is an Indian variety of the basil plant considered auspicious by Vaishnavas (devotees of god Vishnu and his avatars like Rama), and Dāsa, which means "slave" or "servant" and by extension, "devotee".


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas himself has given only a few facts and hints about events of his life in various works. Till late nineteenth century, the two widely known ancient sources on Tulsidas' life were the "Bhaktamal" composed by Nabhadas between 1583 and 1639, and a commentary on "Bhaktamal" titled "Bhaktirasbodhini" composed by Priyadas in 1712. Nabhadas was a contemporary of Tulsidas and wrote a six-line stanza on Tulsidas describing him as an incarnation of Valmiki. Priyadas' work was composed around a hundred years after the death of Tulsidas and had eleven additional stanzas, describing seven miracles or spiritual experiences from the life of Tulsidas. During the 1920s, two more ancient biographies of Tulsidas were published based on old manuscripts – the "Mula Gosain Charit" composed by Veni Madhav Das in 1630 and the "Gosain Charit" composed by Dasanidas (also known as Bhavanidas) around 1770. Veni Madhav Das was a disciple and contemporary of Tulsidas and his work gave a new date for Tulsidas' birth. The work by Bhavanidas presented more narratives in greater detail as compared to the work by Priyadas. In the 1950s a fifth ancient account was published based on an old manuscript, the "Gautam Chandrika" composed by Krishnadatta Misra of Varanasi in 1624. Krishnadatta Misra's father was a close companion of Tulsidas. The accounts published later are not considered authentic by some modern scholars, whereas some other scholars have been unwilling to dismiss them. Together, these five works form a set of traditional biographies on which modern biographies of Tulsidas are based.


title: Tulsidas

text: He is believed by many to be a rebirth of Valmiki. In the Hindu scripture "Bhavishyottar Purana", the god Shiva tells his wife Parvati how Valmiki, who got a boon from Hanuman to sing the glory of Rama in vernacular language, will incarnate in future in the Kali Yuga (the present and last Yuga or epoch within a cycle of four Yugas).


title: Tulsidas

text: Nabhadas writes in his "Bhaktamal" (literally, "the Garland of bhakt or devotee") that Tulsidas was the re-incarnation of Valmiki in the Kali Yuga. The Ramanandi sect believes that it was Valmiki himself who incarnated as Tulsidas in the Kali Yuga.


title: Tulsidas

text: According to a traditional account, Hanuman went to Valmiki numerous times to hear him sing the Ramayana, but Valmiki turned down the request saying that Hanuman being a monkey was unworthy of hearing the epic. After the victory of Rama over Ravana, Hanuman went to the Himalayas to continue his worship of Rama. There he scripted a play version of the Ramayana called "Mahanataka" or "Hanuman Nataka" engraved on the Himalayan rocks using his nails. When Valmiki saw the play written by Hanuman, he anticipated that the beauty of the "Mahanataka" would eclipse his own Ramayana. Hanuman was saddened at Valmiki's state of mind and, being a true bhakta without any desire for glory, Hanuman cast all the rocks into the ocean, some parts of which are believed to be available today as "Hanuman Nataka". After this, Valmiki was instructed by Hanuman to take birth as Tulsidas and compose the Ramayana in the vernacular.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas was born on Saptami, the seventh day of Shukla Paksha, the bright half of the lunar Hindu calendar month Shraavana (July–August). This correlates with 1 August 1511 of the Gregorian calendar. Although as many as three places are mentioned as his birthplace, most scholars identify the place with Sookar Kshetra Soron, District Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh, a city on the banks of the river Ganga. In 2012 Sukarkhet Soron was declared officially by the government of Uttar Pradesh as the birthplace of Tulsi Das. His parents were Hulsi and Atmaram Dubey. Most sources identify him as a Sanadhya Brahmin of the Bharadwaj "Gotra" (lineage), although some sources claim he was a Kanyakubja or Saryupareen Brahmin.


title: Tulsidas

text: There is difference of opinion among biographers regarding the year of birth of Tulsidas. Many sources rely on Veni Madhav Das' account in the "Mula Gosain Charita", which gives the year of Tulsidas' birth as Vikrami Samvat 1554 (1497 CE). These sources include Shivlal Pathak, popular editions of Ramcharitmanas (Gita Press, Naval Kishore Press and Venkateshvar Press), Edwin Greaves, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, Ramanand Sarasvati, Ayodhyanath Sharma, Ramchandra Shukla, Narayandas, and Rambhadracharya. A second group of biographers led by Gosvami Tulsidas of Soron and Sir George Grierson give the year as Vikram 1568 (1511 CE). These biographers include Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, Ramghulam Dwivedi, James Lochtefeld, Swami Sivananda and others. The year 1497 appears in many current-day biographies in India and in popular culture. Biographers who disagree with this year argue that it makes the life span of Tulsidas equal 126 years, which in their opinion is "unlikely if not impossible". In contrast, Ramchandra Shukla says that an age of 126 is not impossible for a Mahatma ("great soul") like Tulsidas. The Government of India and provincial governments celebrated the 500th birth anniversary of Tulsidas in the year 2011 CE, according to the year of Tulsidas' birth in popular culture.


title: Tulsidas

text: Legend goes that Tulsidas was born after staying in the womb for twelve months, he had all thirty two teeth in his mouth at birth, his health and looks were like that of a five-year-old boy, and he did not cry at the time of his birth but uttered "Rama" instead. He was therefore named "Rambola" (literally, "he who uttered Rama"), as Tulsidas himself states in "Vinaya Patrika". As per the "Mula Gosain Charita", he was born under the "Abhuktamūla" constellation, which according to Jyotisha (Hindu astrology) causes immediate danger to the life of the father. Due to the inauspicious events at the time of his birth, he was abandoned by his parents on the fourth night, sent away with Chuniya (some sources call her Muniya), a female servant of Hulsi. In his works "Kavitavali" and "Vinayapatrika", Tulsidas attests to his parents abandoning him after birth due to an inauspicious astrological configuration.


title: Tulsidas

text: Chuniya took the child to her village of Haripur and looked after him for five and a half years after which she died. Rambola was left to fend for himself as an impoverished orphan, and wandered from door to door begging for alms. It is believed that the goddess Parvati assumed the form of a Brahmin woman and fed Rambola every day.


title: Tulsidas

text: At the age of six, Rambola was adopted by Narharidas, a Vaishnava ascetic of Ramananda's monastic order who is believed to be the fourth disciple of Ramananda, or alternately, the disciple of Anantacharya. Rambola was given the "Virakta Diksha" (Vairagi initiation) with the new name of Tulsidas. Tulsidas narrates the dialogue that took place during the first meeting with his guru in a passage in the "Vinayapatrika". When he was seven years old, his Upanayana ("sacred thread ceremony") was performed by Narharidas on the fifth day of the bright half of the month of Magha (January–February) at Ayodhya, a pilgrimage-site related to Rama. Tulsidas started his learning at Ayodhya. After some time, Narharidas took him to a particular "Varaha Kshetra" Soron (a holy place with temple dedicated to Varaha – the boar avatar of Vishnu), where he first narrated the Ramayana to Tulsidas. Tulsidas mentions this in the Ramcharitmanas.


title: Tulsidas

text: Most authors identify the Varaha Kshetra referred to by Tulsidas with the Sookarkshetra is the Soron Varaha Kshetra in modern-day Kasganj, Tulsidas further mentions in the Ramcharitmanas that his guru repeatedly narrated the Ramayana to him, which led him to understand it somewhat.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas later came to the sacred city of Varanasi and studied Sanskrit grammar, four Vedas, six Vedangas, Jyotisha and the six schools of Hindu philosophy over a period of 15–16 years from guru Shesha Sanatana who was based at the Pancaganga Ghat in Varanasi. Shesha Sanatana was a friend of Narharidas and a renowned scholar on literature and philosophy.


title: Tulsidas

text: There are two contrasting views regarding the marital status of Tulsidas. According to the "Tulsi Prakash" and some other works, Tulsidas was married to Ratnavali on the eleventh day of the bright half of the Kartik month (October–November) in Vikram 1589 (1532 CE). Ratnavali was the daughter of Dinbandhu Pathak, a Brahmin of the Vashishtha Gotra, who belonged to Badariya village of Kasganj district. They had a son named "Tarak" who died as a toddler. Once when Tulsidas had gone to a Hanuman temple, Ratnavali went to her father's home with her brother. When Tulsidas learned of this, he swam across the Yamuna river in the night to meet his wife. Ratnavali chided Tulsidas for this, and remarked that if Tulsidas was even half as devoted to God as he was to her body of flesh and blood, he would have been redeemed. Tulsidas left her instantly and left for the holy city of Prayag. Here, he renounced the Grihastha (householder's life) stage and became a Sadhu (Hindu ascetic).


title: Tulsidas

text: Some authors consider the marriage episode of Tulsidas to be a later interpolation and maintain among that he was a bachelor. They include Rambhadracharya, who cite two verses in the "Vinayapatrika" and "Hanuman Bahuka" to mean that Tulsidas never married and was a Sadhu from childhood.


title: Tulsidas

text: After renunciation, Tulsidas spent most of his time at Varanasi, Prayag, Ayodhya, and Chitrakuta but visited many other nearby and far-off places. He travelled across India to many places, studying different people, meeting saints and Sadhus and meditating. The "Mula Gosain Charita" gives an account of his travels to the four pilgrimages of Hindus (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram) and the Himalayas. He visited the Manasarovar lake in current-day Tibet, where tradition holds he had Darshan (sight) of , the crow who is one of the four narrators in the Ramcharitmanas.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas hints at several places in his works, that he had met face to face with Hanuman and Rama. The detailed account of his meetings with Hanuman and Rama are given in the "Bhaktirasbodhini" of Priyadas. According to Priyadas' account, Tulsidas used to visit the woods outside Varanasi for his morning ablutions with a water pot. On his return to the city, he used to offer the remaining water to a certain tree. This quenched the thirst of a Preta (a type of ghost believed to be ever thirsty for water), who appeared to Tulsidas and offered him a boon. Tulsidas said he wished to see Rama with his eyes, to which the Preta responded that it was beyond him. However, the Preta said that he could guide Tulsidas to Hanuman, who could grant the boon Tulsidas asked for. The Preta told Tulsidas that Hanuman comes everyday disguised in the mean attire of a leper to listen to his Katha, he is the first to arrive and last to leave.


title: Tulsidas

text: That evening Tulsidas noted that the first listener to arrive at his discourse was an old leper, who sat at the end of the gathering. After the Katha was over, Tulsidas quietly followed the leper to the woods. In the woods, at the spot where the Sankat Mochan Temple stands today, Tulsidas firmly fell at the leper's feet, shouting "I know who you are" and "You cannot escape me". At first the leper feigned ignorance but Tulsidas did not relent. Then the leper revealed his original form of Hanuman and blessed Tulsidas. When granted a boon, Tulsidas told Hanuman he wanted to see Rama face to face. Hanuman told him to go to Chitrakuta where he would see Rama with his own eyes.


title: Tulsidas

text: At the beginning of the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas bows down to a particular Preta and asks for his grace (Ramcharitmanas, Doha 1.7). According to Rambhadracharya, this is the same Preta which led Tulsidas to Hanuman.


title: Tulsidas

text: As per Priyadas' account, Tulsidas followed the instruction of Hanumana and started living in an Ashram at Ramghat in Chitrakoot Dham. One day Tulsidas went to perform the Parikrama (circumambulation) of the Kamadgiri mountain. He saw two princes, one dark and the other fair, dressed in green robes pass by mounted on horsebacks. Tulsidas was enraptured at the sight, however he could not recognise them and took his eyes off them. Later Hanuman asked Tulsidas if he saw Rama and his brother Lakshmana on horses. Tulsidas was disappointed and repentful. Hanuman assured Tulsidas that he would have the sight of Rama once again the next morning. Tulsidas recalls this incident in a song of the "Gitavali" and laments how "his eyes turned his own enemies" by staying fixed to the ground and how everything happened in a trice.


title: Tulsidas

text: On the next morning, Wednesday, the new-moon day of Magha, Vikram 1607 (1551 CE) or 1621 (1565 CE) as per some sources, Rama again appeared to Tulsidas, this time as a child. Tulsidas was making sandalwood paste when a child came and asked for a sandalwood Tilaka (a religious mark on the forehead). This time Hanuman gave a hint to Tulsidas and he had a full view of Rama. Tulsidas was so charmed that he forgot about the sandalwood. Rama took the sandalwood paste and put a Tilaka himself on his forehead and Tulsidas' forehead before disappearing. This famous incidence is described in the verse चित्रकूट के घाट पर हुई संतन की भीर तुलसीदास चन्दन घिसे तिलक देते रघुबीर.


title: Tulsidas

text: In a verse in the "Vinayapatrika", Tulsidas alludes to a certain "miracle at Chitrakuta", and thanks Rama for what he did for him at Chitrakuta. Some biographers conclude that the deed of Rama at Chitrakuta referred to by Tulsidas is the Darshan of Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: In Vikram 1628 (1572 CE), Tulsidas left Chitrakuta for Prayag where he stayed during the "Magha Mela" (the annual fair in January). Six days after the Mela ended, he had the Darshan of the sages Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja under a banyan tree. In one of the four dialogues in the Ramcharitmanas, Yajnavalkya is the speaker and Bharadvaja the listener. Tulsidas describes the meeting between Yajnavalkya and Bharadvaja after a Magha Mela festival in the Ramcharitmanas, it is this meeting where Yajnavalkya narrates the Ramcharitmanas to Bharadvaja.


title: Tulsidas

text: Most stories about Tulsidas tend to be apocryphal, and have been carried forward by word of mouth. None of them were related by Tulsi himself, thus making it difficult to separate fact from lore and fiction. In Priyadas' biography, Tulsidas is attributed with the power of working miracles. In one such miracle, he is believed to have brought back a dead Brahmin to life. While the Brahmin was being taken for cremation, his widow bowed down to Tulsidas on the way who addressed her as "Saubhagyavati" (a woman whose husband is alive). The widow told Tulsidas her husband had just died, so his words could not be true. Tulsidas said that the word has passed his lips and so he would restore the dead man to life. He asked everybody present to close their eyes and uttered the name of lord "Rama", on doing which the dead Brahmin was raised back to life.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas was acclaimed in his lifetime to be a reincarnation of Valmiki, the composer of the original Ramayana in Sanskrit. He is also considered to be the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman,the monkey god and divine devotee of lord Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: In another miracle described by Priyadas, the Mughal Emperor Akbar summoned Tulsidas on hearing of his bringing back a dead man to life. Tulsidas declined to go as he was too engrossed in creating his verses but he was later forcibly brought before the Akbar and was asked to perform a miracle, which Tulsidas declined by saying "It's a lie, all I know is Rama." The emperor imprisoned Tulsidas at Fatehpur Sikri, "We will see this Rama." Tulsidas refused to bow to Akbar and created a verse in praise of Hanuman and chanted it (Hanuman Chalisa) for forty days and suddenly an army of monkeys descended upon the town and wreaked havoc in all corners of Fatehpur Sikri, entering each home and the emperor's harem, scratching people and throwing bricks from ramparts. An old Hafiz told the emperor that this was the miracle of the "imprisoned Fakir". The emperor fell at Tulsidas' feet, released him and apologised. Tulsidas stopped the menace of monkeys and asked the emperor to abandon the place. The emperor agreed and moved back to Delhi. Ever since Akbar became a close friend of Tulsidas and he also ordered a firman that followers of lord Rama, lord Hanuman & other Hindus, should not be harassed in his kingdom.


title: Tulsidas

text: Priyadas narrates a miracle of Tulsidas at Vrindavan, when he visited a temple of Krishna. When he began bowing down to the idol of Krishna, the Mahant of the temple named Parshuram decided to test Tulsidas. He told Tulsidas that he who bows down to any deity except their Ishta Devata (cherished form of divinity) is a fool, as Tulsidas' Ishta Devata was Rama. In response, Tulsidas recited the following extemporaneously composed couplet


title: Tulsidas

text: When Tulsidas recited this couplet, the idol of Krishna holding the flute and stick in hands changed to the idol of Rama holding the bow and arrow in hands. Some authors have expressed doubts on the couplet being composed by Tulsidas.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas started composing poetry in Sanskrit in Varanasi on the Prahlada Ghat. Tradition holds that all the verses that he composed during the day, would get lost in the night. This happened daily for eight days. On the eighth night, Shiva – whose famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple is located in Varanasi – is believed to have ordered Tulsidas in a dream to compose poetry in the vernacular instead of Sanskrit. Tulsidas woke up and saw both Shiva and Parvati who blessed him. Shiva ordered Tulsidas to go to Ayodhya and compose poetry in Awadhi. Shiva also predicted that Tulsidas' poetry would fructify like the Sama Veda. In the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas hints at having the Darshan of Shiva and Parvati in both dream and awakened state.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas is also credited with having composed a number of wise sayings and "dohas" containing lessons for life. A popular one among them is:


title: Tulsidas

text: In the year Vikram 1631 (1575 CE), Tulsidas started composing the Ramcharitmanas in Ayodhya on Sunday, Ramnavami day (ninth day of the bright half of the Chaitra month, which is the birthday of Rama). Tulsidas himself attests this date in the Ramcharitmanas. He composed the epic over two years, seven months and twenty-six days, and completed the work in Vikram 1633 (1577 CE) on the Vivaha Panchami day (fifth day of the bright half of the Margashirsha month, which commenrates the wedding of Rama and his wife Sita).


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas came to Varanasi and recited the Ramcharitmanas to Shiva (Vishwanath) and Parvati (Annapurna) at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. A popular legend goes that the Brahmins of Varanasi, who were critical of Tulsidas for having rendered the Sanskrit Ramayana in the Awadhi, decided to test the worth of the work. A manuscript of the Ramcharitmanas was kept at the bottom of pile of Sanskrit scriptures in the sanctum sanctorum of the Vishvanath temple in the night, and the doors of the sanctum sanctorum were locked. In the morning when the doors were opened, the Ramcharitmanas was found at the top of the pile. The words "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (Sanskrit: सत्यं शिवं सुन्दरम्, literally "truth, auspiciousness, beauty") were inscribed on the manuscript with the signature of Shiva. The words were also heard by the people present.


title: Tulsidas

text: Per traditional accounts, some Brahmins of Varanasi were still not satisfied, and sent two thieves to steal the manuscript. The thieves tried to break into the Ashram of Tulsidas, but were confronted by two guards with bows and arrows, of dark and fair complexion. The thieves had a change of heart and came to Tulsidas in the morning to ask who the two guards were. Believing that the two guards could be none other than Rama and Lakshmana, Tulsidas was aggrieved to discover that they were guarding his home at night. He sent the manuscript of Ramcharitmanas to his friend Todar Mal, the finance minister of Akbar, and donated all his money. The thieves were reformed and became devotees of Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: Around Vikram 1664 (1607 CE), Tulsidas was afflicted by acute pain all over his body, especially in his arms. He then composed the "Hanuman Bahuk", where he describes his bodily pain and suffering in several stanzas. He was relieved of his pain after this composition. Later he was also afflicted by "Bartod" boils (Hindi: बरतोड़, furuncles caused by pulling out of the hair), which may have been the cause of his death.


title: Tulsidas

text: The Vinaypatrika is considered as the last compositions of Tulsidas, believed to be written when Kali Yuga started troubling him. In this work of 279 stanzas, he beseeches Rama to give him Bhakti ("devotion"), and to accept his petition. Tulsidas attests in the last stanza of "Vinaypatrika" that Rama himself signed the manuscript of the work. The 45th stanza of the Vinaypatrika is sung as the evening Aarti by many Hindus.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas died at the age of 91 on 31 July 1623 (Shravan month of the year Vikram 1680) in Assi Ghat on the bank of the river Ganga. Like the year of his birth, traditional accounts and biographers do not agree on the exact date of his death.


title: Tulsidas

text: Twelve works are widely considered by biographers to be written by Tulsidas, six major works and six minor works. Based on the language of the works, they have been classified into two groups as follows–


title: Tulsidas

text: besides these twelve works, four more works are popularly believed to be composed by Tulsidas which include Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman Ashtak, Hanuman Bahuk and Tulsi Satsai.


title: Tulsidas

text: "Ramacharitamanas" (रामचरितमानस, 1574–1576), "The Mānasa lake brimming over with the exploits of Lord Rāma" is an Awadhi rendering of the Ramayana narrative. It is the longest and earliest work of Tulsidas, and draws from various sources including the Ramayana of Valmiki, the Adhyatma Ramayana, the "Prasannaraghava" and Hanuman Nataka. The work consists of around 12,800 lines divided into 1073 stanzas, which are groups of Chaupais separated by Dohas or Sorthas. It is divided into seven books (Kands) like the Ramayana of Valmiki, and is around one-third of the size of Valmiki's Ramayana. The work is composed in 18 metres which include ten Sanskrit metres ("Anushtup", "Shardulvikridit", "Vasantatilaka", "Vamshashta", "Upajati", "Pramanika", "Malini", "Sragdhara", "Rathoddhata" and "Bhujangaprayata") and eight Prakrit metres ("Soratha", "Doha", "Chaupai", "Harigitika", "Tribhangi", "Chaupaiya", "Trotaka" and "Tomara"). It is popularly referred to as "Tulsikrit Ramayana", literally "The Ramayana composed by Tulsidas". The work has been acclaimed as "the living sum of Indian culture", "the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Indian poesy", "the greatest book of all devotional literature", "the Bible of Northern India", and "the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular living faith of its people."But, as he has said "हरि अनंत हरि कथा अनंता।( The story of the lord is endless as are his glories)


title: Tulsidas

text: Several manuscripts of the Ramcharitmanas are claimed to have been written down by Tulsidas himself. Grierson wrote in the late nineteenth century, two copies of the epic were said to have existed in the poet's own handwriting. One manuscript was kept at Rajapur, of which only the "Ayodhyakand" is left now, which bears marks of water. A legend goes that the manuscript was stolen and thrown into Yamuna river when the thief was being pursued, and only the second book of the epic could be rescued. Grierson wrote that the other copy was at Malihabad in Lucknow district, of which only one leaf was missing. Another manuscript of the "Ayodhyakanda" claimed to be in the poet's own hand exists at Soron in Etah district, one of the places claimed to be Tulsidas' birthplace. One manuscript of "Balakanda", dated Samvat 1661, nineteen years before the poet's death, claimed to be corrected by Tulsidas, is at Ayodhya. Some other ancient manuscripts are found in Varanasi, including one in possession of the Maharaja of Benares that was written in Vikram 1704 (1647), twenty-four years after the death of Tulsidas.


title: Tulsidas

text: The philosophy and principles of Tulsidas are found across his works, and are especially outlined in the dialogue between Kakbhushundi and Garuda in the Uttar Kand of the Ramcharitmanas. Tulsidas' doctrine has been described as an assimilation and reconciliation of the diverse tenets and cultures of Hinduism. At the beginning of the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas says that his work is in accordance with various scriptures – the Puranas, Vedas, Upavedas, Tantra and Smriti. Ram Chandra Shukla in his critical work "Hindi Sahitya Ka Itihaas" elaborates on Tulsidas' "Lokmangal" as the doctrine for social upliftment which made this great poet immortal and comparable to any other world littérateur.


title: Tulsidas

text: As per Tulsidas, the Nirguna Brahman (quality-less impersonal absolute) and Saguna Brahman (personal God with qualities) are one and the same. Both, Saguna (qualified Brahman) and Aguna (or Nirguna - unqualified Brahman) are Akath (unspeakable), Agaadh (unfathomable), Anaadi (without beginning, in existence since eternity) and Anupa (without parallel) (अगुन सगुन दुइ ब्रह्म सरूपा। अकथ अगाध अनादि अनूपा॥). It is the devotion (Bhakti) of the devotee that forces the Nirguna Brahman which is quality-less, formless, invisible and unborn, to become Saguna Brahman with qualities. Tulsidas gives the example of water, snow and hail to explain this – the substance is the same in all three, but the same formless water solidifies to become hail or a mountain of snow – both of which have a form. Tulsidas also gives the simile of a lake – the Nirguna Brahman is like the lake with just water, while the Saguna Brahman is a lake resplendent with blooming lotuses. In the Uttar Kand of Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas describes in detail a debate between Kakbhushundi and Lomasa about whether God is Nirguna (as argued by Lomasa adhering to monism) or Saguna (as argued by Kakbhushundi adhering to dualism). Kakbhushundi repeatedly refutes all the arguments of Lomasa, to the point when Lomasa becomes angry and curses Kakbhushundi to be a crow. Lomasa repents later when Kakbhushundi happily accepts the curse but refuses to give up the Bhakti of Rama, the Saguna Brahman. Though Tulsidas holds both aspects of God to be equal, he favours the qualified Saguna aspect and the devotees of the highest category in the Ramcharitmanas repeatedly ask for the qualified Saguna aspect of Rama to dwell in their mind. Some authors contend from a few couplets in Ramcharitmanas and Vinay Patrika that Tulsidas has vigorously contradicted the denial of Avatar by Kabir. In several of his works, Kabir had said that the actual "Rama" is not the son of Dasharatha. In the Balkand of Ramcharitmanas, Shiva tells Parvati – those who say that the Rama whom the Vedas sing of and whom the sages contemplate on is different from the Rama of Raghu's race are possessed by the devil of delusion and do not know the difference between truth and falsehood. However, such allusions are based on interpretations of the text and do not hold much water when considered in the context of Ramcharitmanas. Tulsidas, in none of his works, has ever mentioned Kabir.


title: Tulsidas

text: At the beginning of the Ramcharitmanas, there is a section devoted to the veneration of the name of Rama. As per Tulsidas, repeating the name of Rama is the only means to attain God in the Kali age where the means suited for other ages like meditation, Karma, and Puja are ineffective. He says in Kavitavali that his own redemption is because of the power, glory and majesty of the name of Rama. In a couplet in the Gitavali, Tulsidas says that wishing for liberation without refuge in the name of Rama is like wishing to climb to the sky by holding on to the falling rain. In his view, the name of Rama is greater than both Nirguna and Saguna aspects of God – it controls both of them and is illuminates both like a bilingual interpreter. In a verse in the Dohavali, Tulsidas says that the Nirguna Brahman resides in his heart, the Saguna Brahman resides in his eyes and the name of Rama resides on his tongue, as if a radiant gemstone is kept between the lower and upper halves of a golden casket. He holds that "Rama" is superior to all other names of God, and argues that "ra" and "ma" being are the only two consonants that are written above all other consonants in the conjunct form in Sanskrit because they are the two sounds in the word "Rama".


title: Tulsidas

text: At several places in Tulsidas' works, Rama is seen to be the higher than Vishnu and not as an avatar of Vishnu, which is the general portrayal of Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: In the episode of the delusion of Sati in Ramcharitmanas, Sati sees many a Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu serving Rama and bowing at his feet. When Manu and Shatarupa perform penance, they crave to see that Supreme Lord "from a part of whose being emanate a number of Shivas, Brahmas and Vishnus." Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva come to them many times tempting them with a boon, but Manu and Shatarupa do not stop their penance. They are finally satisfied only by the appearance of Rama, on whose left side is Sita, from a part of whom are born "countless Lakshmis, Umas (Parvatis) and Brahmanis (Sarasvatis)." In the episode of marriage of Sita and Rama in Balkand, the trio of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva is present – Brahma is astounded as he finds nowhere anything that is his own handiwork, while Vishnu is enchanted with Lakhmi on seeing Rama. In the Sundarkand, Hanuman tells Ravana that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva can create, preserve and destroy by the might of Rama. In the Lankakand, Tulsidas presents the universe as the cosmic form of Rama, in which Shiva is the consciousness, Brahma is the reason and Vishnu is his intelligence. As per Tulsidas, Rama is not only an avatar, but also the source of avatars – Krishna is also an Avatar of Rama. Thus, Tulsidas clearly considers Rama as supreme brahman and not an avatar of Vishnu.


title: Tulsidas

text: In the opinion of Urvashi Soorati, the Rama of Tulsidas is an amalgamation of Vishnu who takes avatars, Vishnu in the abode of Ksheera Sagara, Brahman and the Para manifestation of the Pancharatra. Macfie concludes that Tulsidas makes a "double claim", i.e. Rama is an incarnation of both Vishnu and Brahman. In the words of Lutgendorf, Tulsidas' Rama is at once "Valmiki's exemplary prince, the cosmic Vishnu of Puranas, and the transcendent "brahman" of the Advaitins."


title: Tulsidas

text: As per Tulsidas, Rama is the efficient and material cause ("Nimitta" and "Upadana") of the world, which is real since Rama is real. In several verses of the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas says that the animate and inanimate world is a manifestation of Rama, and the universe is the cosmic form of Rama. Authors interpret these verses to mean that the world is real according to Tulsidas, in keeping with the Vishishtadvaita philosophy of Ramanuja. However, at some places in the Ramcharitmanas and Kavitavali, Tulsidas compares the world to a night or a dream and says it is "Mithya" (false or unreal). Some commentators interpret these verses to mean that in Tulsidas' opinion the world is unreal as per the "Vivartavada" doctrine of Adi Shankara, while some others interpret them to mean that the world is transient yet real as per the "Satkhyativada" doctrine of Ramananda. Uday Bhanu Singh concludes that in Tulsidas' view, the world is essentially the form of Rama and appears to be different from Rama due to Maya. Its visible form is transient, which is what Tulsidas means by "Mithya".


title: Tulsidas

text: In the Vinayapatrika, Tulsidas says that the world in itself is neither true ("Satya"), nor false ("Asatya"), nor both true and false together ("Satyasatya") – one who casts aside all these three illusions, knows oneself. This has been interpreted to mean that as per Tulsidas, the entire world is a Lila of Rama. At the beginning of the Ramcharitmanas, Tulsidas performs "Samasti Vandana" (obeisance to all beings) in which he bows down to the world also, saying it is "pervaded by" or "born out of" Sita and Rama. As per some verses in Ramcharitmanas and Vinaypatrika, when a Jiva (living being) knows the Self, "Maya" and Rama, it sees the world as being pervaded by Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: In the Balkand episode of the marriage of the princes of Ayodhya with the princesses of Mithila, Tulsidas presents a metaphor in which the four brides are compared with the four states of consciousness – the waking state ("Jagrat"), sleep with dreams ("Swapna"), dreamless sleep ("Sushupti") and the fourth self-conscious state (Turiya). The four grooms are compared with the presiding divinity ("Vibhu") of the four states – "Vishva", "Taijasa", "Prajna" and "Brahman". Tulsidas says as the four states of consciousness with their presiding divinities reside in the mind of a Jiva, so the four brides with their grooms are resplendent in the same pavilion.


title: Tulsidas

text: Tulsidas identifies Maya with Sita, the inseparable energy of Rama which takes avatar along with Rama. In his view, Maya is of two types – Vidya and Avidya. "Vidya Maya" is the cause of creation and the liberation of Jiva. Avidya Maya is the cause of illusion and bondage of the Jiva. The entire world is under the control of Maya. Maya is essentially the same but the two divisions are made for cognitive purposes, this view of Tulsidas is in accordance with Vaishnava teachers of Vedanta.


title: Tulsidas

text: As per Tulsidas, there is no incompatibility between devotion to Rama and attachment to Shiva. Tulsidas equates the Guru as an incarnation of Shiva, and a considerable part of the Balkand of Ramcharitmanas is devoted to the narrative of Shiva including the abandonment of Sati, the penance of Parvati, the burning of Kamadeva and the marriage of Parvati and Shiva. In addition, Tulsidas venerates the whole Hindu pantheon. The Ramcharitmanas begins with reverence of Ganesh, Sarasvati, Parvati, Shiva, the Guru, Valmiki and Hanuman. At the beginning of the Vinayapatrika, he bows to Ganesh, Surya, Shiva, Devi, Ganga, Yamuna, Varanasi and Chitrakoot, asking them for devotion towards Rama.


title: Tulsidas

text: The practical end of all his writings is to inculcate bhakti addressed to Rama as the greatest means of salvation and emancipation from the chain of births and deaths, a salvation which is as free and open to men of the lowest caste as to Brahmins.


title: Tulsidas

text: From his time, Tulsidas has been acclaimed by Indian and Western scholars alike for his poetry and his impact on the Hindu society. Tulsidas mentions in his work Kavitavali that he was considered a "great sage" in the world. Madhusūdana Sarasvatī, one of the most acclaimed philosophers of the Advaita Vedanta tradition based in Varanasi and the composer of "Advaitasiddhi", was a contemporary of Tulsidas. On reading the Ramcharitmanas, he was astonished and composed the following Sanskrit verse in praise of the epic and the composer.


title: Tulsidas

text: Sur, a devotee of Krishna and a contemporary of Tulsidas, called Tulsidas as "Sant Shiromani" (the highest jewel among holy men) in an eight-line verse extolling Ramcharitmanas and Tulsidas. Abdur Rahim Khankhana, famous Muslim poet who was one of the Navaratnas (nine-gems) in the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar, was a personal friend of Tulsidas. Rahim composed the following couplet describing the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas –


title: Tulsidas

text: The historian Vincent Smith, the author of a biography of Tulsidas' contemporary Akbar, called Tulsidas "the greatest man of his age in India and greater than even Akbar himself". The Indologist and linguist Sir George Grierson called Tulsidas "the greatest leader of the people after the Buddha" and "the greatest of Indian authors of modern times"; and the epic Ramcharitmanas "worthy of the greatest poet of any age." The work Ramcharitmanas has been called "the Bible of North India" by both nineteenth century Indologists including Ralph Griffith, who translated the four Vedas and Valmiki's Ramayana into English, and modern writers. Mahatma Gandhi held Tulsidas in high esteem and regarded the Ramcharitmanas as the "greatest book in all devotional literature". The Hindi poet Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' called Tulsidas "the most fragrant branch of flowers in the garden of the world's poetry, blossoming in the creeper of Hindi". Nirala considered Tulsidas to be a greater poet than Rabindranath Tagore, and in the same league as Kalidasa, Vyasa, Valmiki, Homer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and William Shakespeare. Hindi litterateur Hazari Prasad Dwivedi wrote that Tulsidas established a "sovereign rule on the kingdom of Dharma in northern India", which was comparable to the impact of Buddha. Edmour J. Babineau, author of the book "Love and God and Social Duty in Ramacaritmanasa", says that if Tulsidas was born in Europe or the Americas, he would be considered a greater personality than William Shakespeare. In the words of the archaeologist F. R. Allchin, who translated Vinaypatrika and Kavitavali into English, "for people of a large part of North India Tulsidas claims reverence comparable to that accorded to Luther as translator of the Bible into the native German". Allchin also mentions that the work Ramcharitmanas has been compared to not only the Ramayana of Valmiki, but the Vedas themselves, the Bhagavad Gita, the Quran and the Bible. Ernest Wood in his work "An Englishman Defends Mother India" considered the Ramcharitmanas to be "superior to the best books of the Latin and Greek languages." Tulsidas is also referred to as "Bhaktaśiromaṇi", meaning the highest jewel among devotees.


title: Tulsidas

text: Specifically about his poetry, Tulsidas has been called the "emperor of the metaphor" and one who excels in similes by several critics. The Hindi poet said of Tulsidas –


title: Tulsidas

text: The Hindi poet Mahadevi Verma said commenting on Tulsidas that in the turbulent Middle Ages, India got light from Tulsidas. She further went on to say that the Indian society as it exists today is an edifice built by Tulsidas, and the Rama as we know today is the Rama of Tulsidas.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 (pronounced "A.K.B. Forty-Eight") is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara ("Akiba" for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theater and performing daily so fans could always see them live (which is not the case with usual pop groups giving occasional concerts and seen on television). This "idols you can meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members. Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several girl groups in Mainland China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 have been characterized as a social phenomenon. They are among the highest-earning musical acts in Japan, and are the fifth-best-selling girl group worldwide. For example, their 2012 sales from record and DVD/Blu-ray releases reached $226 million, earning the group the top spot in the 2012 artist ranking. , the group has sold over 60 million records, including over 6 million albums. At least 35 AKB48's singles have topped the "Oricon" Weekly Singles Chart, with at least 30 singles selling over a million copies each, making the group the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold. Their highest selling single, "Teacher Teacher", sold over 3 million in 2018 according to "Billboard" / Soundscan. Between 2010 and 2020, AKB48's singles have occupied at least the top two spots of the Oricon Yearly Singles Chart.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 was founded as "idols you can meet". Japanese idols are entertainers/performers who appeal directly to fans for support. Close interactions between fans and idols allow idols to cultivate and maintain loyal fan followings. The group's chief producer, Yasushi Akimoto, said that his goal was to create a unique idol group which, unlike other idol groups which perform occasional concerts and appear primarily on television, would perform regularly in its own theater. The AKB48 Theater is in the Don Quijote store in Akihabara, Tokyo.


title: AKB48

text: The group is split into several teams, reducing its members' workload (since the theater's near-daily performance is by only one team at a time) and enabling AKB48 to perform simultaneously in several places. According to former member Misaki Iwasa, each team has its own theme. Team A represents freedom; Team B is idol-like, with cute costumes, and Team K has a strong, powerful image. According to an early press release, the group was intended to have 16 members on each of three teams, for a total membership of 48; but its membership has varied over time, and has exceeded 120 people. New members are called who are understudies for the group, performing occasionally in the theater as a team.


title: AKB48

text: The group members' ages range from their early teens to over 30,and they are selected from regular auditions. Members are not allowed to date, and must be well-behaved; any violation of these restrictions is to be punished, possibly by expulsion from the group. AKB48 has a system that allows members to "graduate" from the group when they are older and are replaced by trainees who are promoted. Monica Hesse of "The Washington Post" described the AKB48 audition process as "rolling "American Idol"-esque".


title: AKB48

text: In July 2005, Yasushi Akimoto held an audition for a new theater-based idol girl group. Of the 7,924 who auditioned, 24 were chosen as first-generation group members. On December 8, 20 members debuted as Team A in the AKB48 Theater performing to an audience of seven; attendance quickly increased. In January 2006, AKB48 cafe waitress Mariko Shinoda joined Team A as a "1.5 generation" member when her popularity with patrons prompted Akimoto to give her a special audition.


title: AKB48

text: The group's second audition was held in cooperation with telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo in February 2006, with applicants submitting audition videos on mobile phones. Of 11,892 applicants, 19 were selected, and 18 joined AKB48 as Team K in April. Team K performed "Party ga Hajimaru yo" and Team A moved to a new stage program, "Aitakatta".


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 released its first independent-label single, "Sakura no Hanabiratachi", in February 2006. It entered Oricon's weekly Top 10 chart, with first-week sales of 22,011 (a rarity for an indie-label group). On March 31, Yuki Usami became the first member to "graduate" from the group. On June 7 AKB48 released its second independent single, "Skirt, Hirari", which sold 13,349 copies on its first day. The group made its first television appearance two days later, and signed a contract with DefStar Records (a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment) in August.


title: AKB48

text: In October 2006 AKB48 announced auditions for Team B, and 13 girls were chosen out of 12,828 applicants in December. The group's first DefStar Records single, "Aitakatta", was recorded by 20 members of Teams A and K and released on October 25. It debuted at number 12 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, selling 25,544 copies in its first six weeks, and remained on the chart for a total of 65 weeks. On November 3–4 AKB48 performed its first concert, "AKB48 First Concert: Aitakatta ~Hashira wa Nai ze!~" at Nippon Seinenkan in Shinjuku. The group performed "Aitakatta" on the New Year's Eve TV program "58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen" as a part of the "Nihon ga Hokoru Saisentan! Special Medley". At 43 members, the group set a program record for the most people in one group onstage simultaneously. AKB48 made its first lineup change in December, transferring Kazumi Urano, Shiho Watanabe and Natsumi Hirajima from Team A to Team B as supporting members.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's second major-label single, "Seifuku ga Jama o Suru", was released on January 31, 2007 and debuted at number seven on the Oricon Top 10 chart. Its music video and lyrics hinted at the subject of "enjo kōsai" (compensated dating, remotely related to escort services outside Japan), triggering controversy and negative reviews. On March 18 AKB48 released "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō"; debuting at number eight on the Oricon chart, it dropped to number 98 in its second week. The group's second concert, "AKB48 Haru no Chotto dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~" on March 10, had poor ticket sales.


title: AKB48

text: In April 2007 AKB48 posted its Team B roster on its website, with five fewer members than originally announced; for the first time, its membership numbered 48. The group's fourth single, "Bingo!", was released on July 18. AKB48's sixth single, "Yūhi o Miteiru ka?", was released on Halloween 2007 and sold 18,429 copies (the least of all the group's singles).


title: AKB48

text: On New Year's Day 2008, AKB48 released its first album, "", a collection of the group's singles and live song lists. The group's seventh major-label single (its ninth overall), "Romance, Irane", was released on January 23 and reached number six on the Oricon Top 10 chart in its first week.


title: AKB48

text: On February 27, the group released its eighth major-label single, "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008", a reprise of its Team A debut single. This version featured ten members from Team A, six from Team K and five from Team B. The single's CD included a poster, and a promotion was planned in which fans who collected all 44 posters would be invited to a special event. The promotion was later canceled by DefStar Records amid concerns about possible violations of antitrust laws.


title: AKB48

text: In June 2008, AKB48 announced plans to launch a sister group, SKE48, in Sakae, Nagoya. In August, the group moved from DefStar Records to King Records. That month Ayaka Kikuchi was the first member to be fired from the group, for "immature behavior" involving a leaked "purikura" photo of her with a boyfriend. Kikuchi returned to the group after a 2010 audition.


title: AKB48

text: On October 22, AKB48's tenth single, "Ōgoe Diamond", was released on King Records' You Be Cool label. With 11-year-old SKE48 member Jurina Matsui as the single's center and cover girl, it was the first single featuring a member of AKB48's sister group and debuted at number three on the Oricon Top 10 weekly chart.


title: AKB48

text: The group released its 11th major-label single, "10nen Sakura", on March 4, 2009. Also reaching number three on the Oricon charts in its first week, it was the group's first single to sell over 100,000 copies. The group's 12th major-label single, "Namida Surprise!", was released on June 24. Promotions included a handshaking-event ticket and a ballot for a member to headline its next single. "Namida Surprise!" sold 104,180 copies in its first week on the Oricon charts. AKB48's 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe", was released on August 26. Outselling rival SMAP's single, it reached number one on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's Team A was guest of honor at the Japan Expo in Paris from July 2–5, 2009, performing an English version of "Ōgoe Diamond". The group made its U.S. debut with a show at Webster Hall in New York City on September 27.


title: AKB48

text: In October, three AKB48 singles ("10nen Sakura", "Namida Surprise!" and "Iiwake Maybe") were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Its 14th single, "River" released on October 21, debuted atop the Oricon Top 10 weekly chart and was the group's first number one.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 released its 15th major-label single, "Sakura no Shiori", on February 17, 2010. In its first week, the single topped the Oricon chart with over 300,000 copies sold, the most by a Japanese female artist in seven years. This was the group's last single until the release of their first King Records album, "Kamikyokutachi", which would top the Oricon album chart and be certified double platinum by the RIAJ for sales of over 500,000 copies.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's 16th single, "Ponytail to Chouchou", was released on May 26, 2010. Its sales exceeded those of the previous single, with over 400,000 copies sold on its first day and over 513,000 in its first week. On April 27, Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States, announced that AKB48 would be a guest of honor, and the group performed on July 1 at the Nokia Theatre.


title: AKB48

text: On October 23, AKB48 represented Japan at the seventh Asia Song Festival, organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at Seoul Olympic Stadium. Four days later the group released its 18th single, "Beginner". It sold 826,989 copies in its first week, the highest first-week sales for a female idol group single. AKB48 member Mayu Watanabe appeared on the cover of the December issue of the idol magazine "UP to boy" with Airi Suzuki from the Japanese girl group Cute, the first gravure collaboration between Hello! Project and AKB48.


title: AKB48

text: In November 2010, AKB48 participated in several events outside Japan. On November 20, 12 members of the group performed at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival in Moscow. AKB48 performed at the Cool Japan forum in Singapore as part of Anime Festival Asia X, and at the Singapore Toy, Games and Comics Convention. Group graduates in 2010 included second-generation member Erena Ono, who left on September 27 to pursue an acting career overseas.


title: AKB48

text: The group's first 2011 single, "Sakura no Ki ni Narō", was released on February 16. It sold 655,000 copies on its first day, surpassing "Beginner's" first-day sales of 568,000. By the end of its first week the single sold 942,479 copies, the group's best and the fastest sales in Japan since 2000.


title: AKB48

text: On February 21, AKB48 announced its third album, , which would include 11 new tracks and was scheduled for an April 6 release. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the group stopped its AKB48 Theater performances and canceled some of its public events. AKB48 began the project, collecting donations for earthquake and tsunami relief. One of its concert venues, the Yokohama Arena, was used for a two-day charity event beginning on March 26 and 12 AKB48 members attended the Okinawa International Movie Festival that day for the same purpose. On March 15, AKB48 announced that ¥500 million would be donated by the group, its sister groups SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48 and associates of AKS, its management company. "Koko ni Ita Koto"s release was postponed until June 8, with part of the album's proceeds donated to disaster victims. On April 1 the group released the charity single on the Recochoku website as a digital download, with all proceeds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief.


title: AKB48

text: On May 1, AKB48 announced a new sister group: HKT48, based in Fukuoka, Kyushu, with its theater in the Hawks Town Mall of Fukuoka's Chuo ward. On May 3, "The Straits Times" reported the opening of AKB48's first overseas theater in Singapore. The theater, in *scape Youth Park, would host 16 members from AKB48 and its sister groups for two shows a day two days a month. It had an adjacent AKB48 shop for merchandise and an AKB48 Cafe, serving Japanese fusion cuisine and desserts. In June, AKB48 was invited as a perform guest in 22nd Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 released its 21st major-label single, "Everyday, Kachūsha", on May 25. An "election single", it contained ballots for determining who would headline the group's next single and set Japanese records for first-day (942,475 copies) and first-week sales (1,333,969 copies). On June 22, Oricon reported that for the first half of 2011 AKB48 topped the album sales charts and had the best- and second-best-selling singles ("Everyday, Kachūsha" and "Sakura no Ki ni Narō"). The group amassed ¥6.66 billion in merchandise sales.


title: AKB48

text: On June 7, before its nationwide concert tour, AKB48 announced the creation of Team 4. The 16-member team would be captained by Mina Ōba, and the word "team" was dropped from "Team Kenkyūsei" for the group's alternates. Four days later the group announced at a handshake event that Aimi Eguchi, who supposedly auditioned for NMB48, would join AKB48 as a trainee. It later became known that Eguchi was not a real person, but a composite of AKB48 members' facial features created to promote Glico's Ice no Mi. On June 28, AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto announced plans to create another group as AKB48's "official rival". would debut with about 20 members, and Akimoto would join Sony Music Japan to produce the new group.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 released its 22nd single, , on August 24. It sold 1,025,952 copies on its first day, and became the group's fourth single to sell over a million copies (1.354 million) in its first week. On September 20, AKB48 held its second rock-paper-scissors tournament to determine the lineup for the group's 24th single. The group's 23rd single, "Kaze wa Fuiteiru", was released on October 26 and sold 1,045,937 copies on its first day. The next single, "Ue kara Mariko" (released on December 7), sold 1.199 million copies in its first week.


title: AKB48

text: At the end of 2011, AKB48 topped seven of 16 Oricon rankings: total sales by an artist, copies sold for a single, total sales for a single, total sales by an artist (for singles), copies sold for a music Blu-ray disc, total sales for a music Blu-ray disc and total Blu-ray sales by an artist. The group set records for the most million-selling singles in a year, best-selling single by a female group and highest-earning female group. AKB48 won the Grand Prix in the 53rd Japan Record Awards for "Flying Get".


title: AKB48

text: Oricon announced on January 6, 2012, that AKB48 had sold 11,787,000 copies of its CD singles, surpassing girl group Morning Musume's Japanese record for a female group of 11,774,000. On January 22 (the final day of its "AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 2012" concert series at Tokyo Dome City Hall) AKB48 members performed the new "Give Me Five!" as Baby Blossom, playing guitars, keyboards, percussion and horns. The Baby Blossom members had spent five months learning to play musical instruments, and some had little (or no) previous experience. "Give Me Five!" was released on February 15.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's second documentary film, "Documentary of AKB48: Show Must Go On Shōjo-tachi wa Kizutsuki Nagara, Yume wo Miru", opened on January 27 in seventh place at the box office and grossed nearly $4 million by February 19. An anime series, "AKB0048", was developed by Satelight and aired from April 29 to July 22. It was directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike, with group producer Akimoto aiding with planning and supervision. Nine members of AKB48 and its sister groups voiced the main characters, singing its opening and closing themes as No Name.


title: AKB48

text: After photographs with their boyfriends surfaced, Natsumi Hirajima and Rumi Yonezawa resigned from the group and were replaced by Jurina Matsui of SKE48 and Miyuki Watanabe of NMB48. On March 24 AKB48 announced that five trainees would be promoted to Team 4, expanding its roster to 16. It was also announced that the group would perform at the Tokyo Dome stadium, one of AKB48's main goals since it was founded.


title: AKB48

text: On March 25, longtime headliner Atsuko Maeda announced her graduation from the group. AKB48 announced that Maeda would graduate after the Tokyo Dome concerts; her final performance (and graduation ceremony) took place in the AKB48 theater on August 27, and was streamed live on YouTube.


title: AKB48

text: On March 26 AKB48 announced an election for the lineup for the group's 27th major-label single, "Gingham Check". The candidates were 243 members of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48, and ballots were included with the group's 26th single ("Manatsu no Sounds Good!"). The election was held June 6 at Nippon Budokan, with the results telecast live. Yuko Oshima finished first, followed by Mayu Watanabe and Yuki Kashiwagi.


title: AKB48

text: On April 23 AKB48 announced the creation of its third overseas sister group, SNH48, based in Shanghai. It was announced on June 17 that Rino Sashihara would be transferred to HKT48 in July as a "restart" because of an alleged scandal involving her ex-boyfriend. On June 24 AKB48 announced the promotion of six trainees from the 10th and 11th generations and its third rock-paper-scissors tournament (scheduled for September 18) to determine the lineup for the group's 29th single, "Eien Pressure".


title: AKB48

text: On August 15 the group released its fourth album, "1830m", and on August 24 (the first day of its Tokyo Dome concert series) AKB48 announced a reorganization of its teams. Team 4 was dissolved, with its members transferred to the other three teams. Aika Ōta was transferred to HKT48, Aki Takajō and Haruka Nakagawa to Jakarta-based JKT48 and Sae Miyazawa and Mariya Suzuki to SNH48. Minami Takahashi became general manager of AKB48, with Mariko Shinoda replacing her as Team A captain. Yuko Oshima became Team K captain, and Ayaka Umeda captain of Team B.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 recorded "Sugar Rush" for the 2012 Disney animated film, "Wreck-It Ralph", and the group set a Guinness World Record for the most pop singers in a video game (its dating simulation game, "AKB1/149 Ren'ai Sōsenkyo"). It won a second consecutive Japan Record Award, for "Manatsu no Sounds Good!". The group was the number one artist by total sales revenue in Japan in 2012, with ¥19.098 billion. The "AKB0048" anime series was renewed for a second season, "AKB0048 Next Stage", and aired from January 5 to March 30, 2013. In January 2013 AKB48 played its Request Hour Set List Best 100 concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall, announcing future shows at Nippon Budokan and Nissan Stadium (the first show by a female artist at the latter). On February 1, the film "Documentary of AKB48: No Flower Without Rain: Shōjo Tachi wa Namida no Ato ni Nani o Miru?". opened in tenth place at the box office, and grossed $2.2 million by February 17. During a meet-and-greet event for the film, first-generation member Tomomi Itano announced that she was leaving the group. On April 28, after a Nippon Budokan concert, AKB48's general manager announced another reorganization of the teams (including the girls who were also members of its sister groups). Nito Moeno and Tomomi Kasai also made their final appearances with the group.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 released its 31st single, "Sayonara Crawl" (an election single), on May 22. It sold more than 1.9 million copies in its first month, breaking Speed's "White Love" 1997 record for the highest single sales by a female group. The election candidates were 246 girls from AKB48, its sister groups and former members. On June 8 the results were broadcast on Fuji TV and streamed live on YouTube, the latter with Japanese and English commentary. The winner was HKT48 member Rino Sashihara, a former member of AKB48. During the event, Team A captain Mariko Shinoda (who placed fifth) announced that she would leave the group in July. On July 31, during AKB48's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome, guest and former group headliner Atsuko Maeda sang her new solo single ("Time Machine Nante Iranai").


title: AKB48

text: On August 21 the group released its 32nd single, "Koisuru Fortune Cookie". Its music video had 3,800 extras, the most for any AKB48- and sister group-related video. On August 24 the group announced the restoration of Team 4, with Minami Minegishi as captain and members promoted from the 13th and 14th generation of trainees.


title: AKB48

text: On September 18, AKB48 held its annual rock-paper-scissors tournament at Nippon Budokan to determine the lineup for its 34th single, with Jurina Matsui the winner. After the event the group announced the lineup and performed its 33rd single, "Heart Electric", which was released in October. Its music video was directed by Shusuke Kaneko, known for the Heisei Gamera trilogy "" and the live-action film version of "Death Note". On December 11 the group released its 34th single, "Suzukake no Ki no Michi de 'Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru' to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono", and on December 31 longtime member Yuko Oshima announced on "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" that she was leaving the group. The group was the 2nd artist by total sales revenue in Japan in 2013, with ¥13.254 billion.


title: AKB48

text: On January 22, 2014, AKB48 released the album "Tsugi no Ashiato". It reached number one on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, selling 962,000 copies. The group's 35th single, "Mae shika Mukanee", was released on February 26 and sold 970,413 copies on its first day.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 announced plans for a fifth team, Team 8, with one member from each of Japan's 47 prefectures. On February 24, during the group's Grand Reformation Festival event at Zepp DiverCity Tokyo, the group announced a team reorganization. This included a captain and co-captain of each team, promotion of AKB48 trainees to regular membership (with assignment to the four teams) and the transfer of members between AKB48 and its sister groups. On April 3 AKB48 introduced its 47-member Team 8 as "the idols who come to you". Akimoto announced auditions for an Otona adult member over 30 years old, to participate in events and be the centerpiece of a Glico Papico commercial. On April 16, AKB48 announced the Otona member: Mariko Tsukamoto, a 37-year-old housewife and mother of two.


title: AKB48

text: On May 21 the group released its 36th single, "Labrador Retriever", which sold over 1,462,000 copies on its first day.


title: AKB48

text: On June 7, AKB48 and its related groups announced the results of the annual election to determine the lineup for its 37th single. The winner was Mayu Watanabe with 159,854 votes, and Rino Sashihara was runner-up with 141,954 votes. The top eighty candidates were ranked in five groups of sixteen.


title: AKB48

text: In August, AKB48 announced the Baito AKB project, which allows girls to join AKB48 part-time using the job search site Baitoru. 13,246 girls applied for Baito AKB, and after several screening rounds, 53 girls were selected to sign a five-month contract with a possible three-month extension in February. After the end of the project, 11 of the former Baito AKB members entered the yearly Draft Kaigi event aiming to become full members, while others expressed their desire to take part in the auditions for the newly planned NGT48 group.


title: AKB48

text: On December 8, long-time member and general manager Minami Takahashi announced she will leave the group in December 2015 for the group's tenth anniversary. She recommended that Team K captain Yui Yokoyama be her successor.


title: AKB48

text: The group ranked second overall in Oricon's Artist Total Sales Revenue for the 2014 year, with ¥13.075 billion.


title: AKB48

text: At a May 25, 2014 handshake event at the Iwate Industry Culture and Convention Center in Takizawa, Iwate, group members Rina Kawaei, Anna Iriyama and a staff member were attacked by a 24-year-old man with a handsaw. The suspect was arrested for attempted murder, and the three were treated at a hospital for fractures and cuts. AKB48 canceled its theater performances through the end of May, and handshake and photo-shoot fan events in May and June were postponed. In response to security concerns, the Manseibashi Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department asked AKS to conduct security checks of audience members at the theater entrance. The man eventually pleaded guilty to charges of bodily injury. Although sister groups SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 did not suspend their theater performances, they introduced security measures: metal detectors, not using the theaters' front rows, suspending post-performance "high-five" events and increasing the number of security guards. On May 30, AKB48 resumed its television appearances, and on June 2, the group resumed theater performances with security measures similar to those of its sister groups. Security and bag checks were added at the general-election-results event and Yuko Oshima's graduation concert.


title: AKB48

text: On January 21, 2015, the group released its sixth studio album, "Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe!". On March 4, the group released the single "Green Flash". The group became the first group who sold their 20 consecutive singles in 1 million on the first week. On March 26, member Rina Kawaei announced her graduation from the group in order to continue her acting career on her own, stating that the previous incident and long period of rest brought her to reflect on her future without depending on the group.


title: AKB48

text: On May 10, AKB48 was invited to the annual Japan Day festival in New York, their second performance in the city since 2009. A small away team consisting of members Rina Hirata, Ryoka Oshima, Haruna Kojima, Tomu Mutou, Saho Iwatate and Rina Nozawa performed a total of five songs cheered by a crowd of 5000 attendants.


title: AKB48

text: June 6 saw the announcement of the seventh general election results. The event was broadcast live from Fukuoka Dome on Fuji TV, which reported an average viewer rating of 18.8% with a peak of 23.4%. A record 3.2 million votes were cast, with Rino Sashihara winning the poll for the second time with a record 194,049 votes.


title: AKB48

text: On October 25, 2015, during the handshake and autograph event at Pacific Yokohama had announced the details of AKB48's 42nd Single and Request Hour 2016. The 42nd single was released on December 9, 2015. Minami Takahashi was the Center in what will be her final appearance on an AKB48 single.


title: AKB48

text: On November 18, the group released its 7th album, "0 to 1 no Aida". This album marks the 10th anniversary of Japanese group, founded in 2005.


title: AKB48

text: The group's 42nd single "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" sold 813,044 copies on its first day of release. This brought their combined single sales to over 36,158,000 single albums sold, making them the artist with the highest number of single album sales in Japan, surpassing rock group B'z.


title: AKB48

text: On January 24, 2016, during the final day of the Request Hour 2016 at Tokyo Dome City, AKB48 performed their 43rd single "Kimi wa Melody" which released on March 9, 2016. Kimi Wa Melody is the second single to bring back graduates Atsuko Maeda, Yuko Oshima, Mariko Shinoda and Tomomi Itano being featured on the main track. The single was centred by Sakura Miyawaki being her first time to have a solo centre on an AKB48 track.


title: AKB48

text: In February 2016, a Taiwanese girl Chia-ling Ma was added to the group as "Taiwan Kenkyūsei". This is the first foreign member in the group.


title: AKB48

text: On June 1, 2016, the group released the 44th single "Tsubasa wa Iranai", the single included ballots for the group's General Election for that year. Results of the election were announced on June 18 at the Hard Off Eco Stadium in Niigata on BS Sky TV Premium and Fuji TV, where Rino Sashihara placed first with 243,011 votes. On August 31, the group released the 45th single "LOVE TRIP / Shiawase wo Wakenasai".


title: AKB48

text: On October 3, Haruka Shimazaki announced her graduation from AKB48 during a new TV commercial presentation of "Baitoru". On November 16, the group released the 46th single "High Tension".


title: AKB48

text: On December 12, Mayu Watanabe, Rina Izuta and Saya Kawamoto announced a new subsidiary to the AKB48 group known as 'AKB48 China' during a Shanghai press conference and fan meet. Unlike the established Shanghai sister group SNH48, AKB48 China will act as bridge between Japan and China, bringing Japanese members to the upcoming AKB48 China Theatre. Upcoming promotions include a television drama being filmed and a new online game.


title: AKB48

text: On January 25, 2017, the group released the eighth studio album "Thumbnail". On March 15, the group released their 47th single "Shoot Sign", and Haruna Kojima announced she would be graduating. On May 31, the group released their 48th single "Negaigoto no Mochigusare", which contained ballots for the general election. Rino Sashihara won the poll for the third consecutive year, this time with 246,376 votes, and served as the center performer for their 49th single "#sukinanda", released on August 30. On November 22, their 50th single "11gatsu no Anklet" was released. At the December 2017 team shuffle event, it was announced that the Team 8 members are to hold concurrent positions () with one of the other AKB48 Teams A, K, B, and 4. Mayu Watanabe graduated from the group at the end of the year.


title: AKB48

text: In June, 39 members of AKB48 and their sister groups participated in the South Korean television competition "Produce 48", from which Iz*One was formed. Sakura Miyawaki, Nako Yabuki , Hitomi Honda finished high enough to earn a spot in the group. For the first time, Jurina Matsui topped the 10th installment of the AKB48 general elections with 194,453 votes. In July, the RIAJ certified "Teacher Teacher" as a triple million, making the group the first girl group to achieve it. Shortly after Produce 48, Stone Music Entertainment and Genie Music signed a deal with King Records and AKS and became the official digital distributors of AKB singles in South Korea. On March 13, 2019, the group's 55th single "Jiwaru Days" was released, with Rino Sashihara serving as the center performer in her last single with AKB48. The single's third song arose from a collaboration between AKB48, Nogizaka46 and Iz*One. On September 18, 2019, the group released the 56th single "Sustainable", their first release of the Reiwa period and first in six months. On October 19, 2019, AKB48 held a concert in Taipei Arena with AKB48 Team TP.


title: AKB48

text: Following the assault on NGT48 member Maho Yamaguchi, the management of AKB48 faced severe public criticism. The year 2019 marked some major changes for the group, as AKBingo and AKB48 Show!, two long running nationally broadcast variety shows featuring the group, were eventually cancelled. The Akihabara-based AKB48 Cafe and Shop was closed after eight years of operation. In 2019, three regular annual events were discontinued, including the general election, according to the AKS then-board director "because it exhausted its set purpose after its 10th iteration". For the first time in the group's history, only two singles were released in a year. 2020 began with the announcement of plans to significantly change AKB48 management structures, with individual companies independently running each of the Japanese groups. On March 18, 2020, the group released the 57th single "Shitsuren, Arigatō".


title: AKB48

text: In April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting stay-at-home order, the group launched the OUC48 project, named after the Japanese word for "home", , where the members perform regular stage plays from their own homes using group video chat, which is broadcast in real time via YouTube. This project is an expansion of an earlier video montage of 103 members singing "365 Nichi no Kami Hikōki" from their homes, personally edited into a single video by General Manager Mion Mukaichi, which was received favorably. They did not participate in the NHK's "71st Kōhaku Uta Gassen" due to COVID-19.


title: AKB48

text: On May 22, 2021, the last 1st Generation member, Minami Minegishi held her graduation concert entitled Minegishi Minami Graduation Concert ～Sakura no Sakanai Haru Wanai～ on PIA Arena MM. Also, Team 8 held the last leg of their Team 8 National Tour ~47 no Suteki na Machi e~ in Kanagawa, marking the official return of Hitomi Honda to AKB from her Iz*One activities. And, they also held their Tandoku Concert, performing 48 songs non-stop, with the setlist being made by Yuki Kashiwagi. In that concert, the long-awaited 58th single was finally announced, "Nemohamo Rumor" with the senbatsu also being an AKB-only senbatsu, a first since Chance no Junban in 2010. Between August 9 and 17, several members tested positive for COVID-19, however they will be resuming activities after receiving a negative result on their final COVID-19 test. Yui Yokoyama announced her graduation from the group September 12, her graduation concert will be held on December 9 at AKB48 Theater.


title: AKB48

text: On December 8, 2021, at their 16th Anniversary concert, the group announced auditions for their 17th Generation. On top of this, a Team Shuffle was also announced, with the changes taking effect on February 6, 2022. Mion Mukaichi, Manaka Taguchi, Nanami Asai and Narumi Kuranoo were appointed captains of Team A, K, B and 4 respectively. On December 12, long-time member Miho Miyazaki announced her graduation from the group. Four days later, on December 16, Rena Kato announced her graduation from the group. They both graduated in February 2022.


title: AKB48

text: On February 23, 2022, the group announced their 59th single "Motokare Desu" during the group's television show "AKB48, Saikin Kiita?" with Hitomi Honda serving as center position. This single would be sung by 20 members of AKB-only senbatsu and released on May 18, 2022.


title: AKB48

text: On May 4, 2022, 11 new trainees from 17th generation members were introduced to public for the first time. On June 29, AKB48 confirmed that 6 members Erii Chiba, Ma Chia-Ling, Mion Mukaichi, Yuzuka Yoshihashi, Nanami Asai and Narumi Kuranoo have infected with COVID-19, and Sakaguchi Nagisa needs to have a break from the idol group's activities for a period of time. Hitomi Otake and Orin Muto also infected on the same day, and Serika Nagano on the next day. AKB48 released their 60th single "Hisashiburi no Lip Gloss" on October 19, 2022, with Erii Chiba serving as the center for the single.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 has sister groups created domestically and overseas, which are collectively referred to as AKB48 Group.


title: AKB48

text: Andrew Joyce and Kenneth Maxwell of "The Wall Street Journal" described the music as "sugar-sweet pop tunes and sometimes-suggestive lyrics". During AKB48 performances, "members perform a revue of simply choreographed routines in front of a roughly 95-percent-male audience. The music is typical Japanese pop: fast-paced numbers with high-pitched, singalong choruses."


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 and its sister groups boost their record sales by a variety of marketing strategies. The main track for each single is recorded by a team of consisting of popular members from AKB48's teams and, in earlier years, its sister groups, with one of the girls selected as the center performer or Center. This creates a competitive atmosphere between members and fan groups. The singles and albums are released in different editions and types with alternate album-cover pictures, B-side tracks, video DVDs, collectible member pictures, and voting codes for several annual election contests. Record purchases come with tickets for fan meetings, including so-called handshake events or photo sessions. Customers can choose the members they want to meet in an online pre-order system. All these strategies motivate fans to buy more than one copy of each release. Alan Swarts of MTV Japan has noted that collectors purchasing multiple copies of AKB48 CDs have inflated the market, and is one of the reasons Japan's music industry has been booming.


title: AKB48

text: The group has publicized special events to choose the promotional and recording lineups for some of its singles. In 2009, the concept of was introduced, which allowed fans to vote their favorite members into the promotional line up for one of their annual singles. Ballots are obtained by purchasing the group's latest "election single", or, alternatively, through the group's mobile app products and fan club subscriptions. Top vote-getting members are heavily promoted, with the winner getting the centerpiece of the group's live performances of the single. The total pool of votes counted has exceeded three million votes for individual events since 2015. Fans have reportedly bought hundreds of copies of singles to vote for their favorite members.


title: AKB48

text: Another selection method, AKB48's rock-paper-scissors tournaments, was introduced in 2010 for the group's 19th single ("Chance no Junban") and has recurred as an annual event. Members of AKB48 and its sister groups compete in the knockout tournament to be part of the recording and promotional lineup for the group's next single, with participants wearing a variety of costumes. Starting with 2014, the tournament does not determine the promotional line up of a single anymore. Instead, the winner would debut as a soloist or, if she was already a soloist, would perform a solo concert.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 has also used the general election scheme to determine set lists for an annual show. Other annual events include an AKB48 group only version of Kōhaku Uta Gassen and the , in which all teams from any of the sister groups chose new members from a pre-selected group of applicants.


title: AKB48

text: Four AKB48 documentaries have been released in theaters since 2011. The first, "Documentary of AKB48 – To Be Continued", was released in Japan on January 22, 2011 and on DVD in North America on December 1. The second, "Documentary of AKB48: Show Must Go On Shōjo-tachi wa Kizutsuki Nagara, Yume wo Miru", was released on January 27, 2012 and earned $3,984,152 at the Japanese box office. The third, "Documentary of AKB48: No Flower Without Rain: Shōjo Tachi wa Namida no Ato ni Nani o Miru?", was released on February 2, 2013 and earned $2,269,118 at the Japanese box office. The fourth, "Documentary of AKB48 The Time has come Shōjo-tachi wa, Ima, Sono Senaka ni Nani wo Omou?", was released on July 4, 2014 and (as of July 13, 2014) grossed $984,757 at the Japanese box office. Each film chronicled events and issues encountered by the group during the previous year. The most recent film was "Sonzai Suru Riy: Documentary of AKB48" was released on July 8, 2016.


title: AKB48

text: The manga "" revolves around AKB48, featuring group members in the story as supporting characters. The 2012 anime series "AKB0048" is a science-fiction series based on the group, with production supervised by Yasushi Akimoto. Nine characters in the anime are voiced by members of AKB48 and its sister groups. First airing in Japan in the spring of 2012, a second season was broadcast in 2013.


title: AKB48

text: The group has its own visual novel-dating sim series. In the first installment, "AKB1/48: Idol to Koishitara..." (released December 23, 2010), the player engages in a relationship with one of the members. The second installment, "AKB1/48: Idol to Guam de Koishitara..." (released October 10, 2011, with a similar storyline) is set in Guam. The third installment, "AKB1/149 Ren'ai Sōsenkyo" (released December 20, 2012), expands the scenarios to AKB48 sister groups SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48. The three games were released for PlayStation Portable, with "Ren'ai Sousenkyo" also released for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3. In 2014 Namco Bandai developed "Sailor Zombie: AKB48 Arcade Edition", as a tie-in for the television drama going by the same name, in which AKB48 members are also the main cast. In this arcade game, the player must use a light gun to shoot vaccine bullets at zombified AKB48 members. The game includes a rhythm game in which the zombie idols dance. In April 2014, a rhythm game was released for Android and iOS, in which the players select their favourite line up and may compete in various community events. In 2012, "AKB48+Me" was published for the Nintendo 3DS, which let the players try to become a member of AKB48. An ad for "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" also featured Miis of the group, specifically showing off member Yuki Kashiwagi and former members Mayu Watanabe and Minami Takahashi.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's producers have developed several television shows to promote the group. "AKBingo!", "AKB48 Show!", "AKB to XX", and ' were variety shows. The "Majisuka Gakuen" series and ' feature group members in dramatic roles. Outside the self-developed house shows, members of AKB48 have appeared in high-profile programs such as "Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!", "Waratte Iitomo!" or "SMAPxSMAP". Members frequently appear in gravure magazines. Since 2016, the streaming platform 'SHOWROOM' collaborates with the AKB48 group and offers a steady supply of rotating group members streaming in private situations.


title: AKB48

text: Tower Records Japan CEO Ikuo Minewaki described AKB48 as a popular act, and the group has been characterized as a social phenomenon in Japan. In 2012 AKB48 had record sales in Japan of over $226 million. Total sales of over $128 million were reported for 2013, and of over $96 million in 2015. According to Oricon, as of January 6, 2012 AKB48 sold a total of 11,787,000 singles, setting a record for "the most singles sold in Japan by a female group". The group's last 35 singles have topped the weekly Oricon Singles Chart. In 2010 "Beginner" and "Heavy Rotation" placed first and second, respectively, on the list of Japan's bestselling singles of the year; From 2010 to 2019, AKB48's singles have occupied at least the top two, and sometimes the top four or five spots of the Oricon Yearly Singles Chart. , the group has sold over 60 million records, including over 6 million albums. AKB48 is the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold. However, AKB48's 42nd single "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" failed to sell more than one million copies in the first week after its release, ending a run of single releases achieving this feat, starting with "Everyday, Katyusha" in 2011.


title: AKB48

text: Beside CD sales, AKB48 enjoys commercial success in other areas as well. The group has six singles certificated by RIAJ for reaching a million downloads each. According to Joysound, AKB48 has been named the karaoke artist of the year for four years in a row (2011–2014). In 2011, eight positions of annual top 10 photobook sales were occupied by group members. In 2012, six members topped the individual rankings of advertisement campaigns. AKB48 is also one of the most viewed Japanese artists on YouTube.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 holds several Guinness World Records, including being recognized on December 1, 2010, as the "largest pop group" when it numbered 48 members. It set a record for "most same-product television endorsements within 24 hours" on February 28, 2012, after 90 group members appeared in 90 different commercials aired in the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions of Japan. Japanese ambassador to the United States Ichirō Fujisaki, on meeting the group during its visit to Washington, D.C., said that "AKB" stood for "adorable, kind and beautiful". On February 1, 2012, Japan Post issued a stamp commemorating the group.


title: AKB48

text: One of the group's risqué music videos has been considered controversial. "Heavy Rotation"'s video was criticized by Western reporters for showing AKB48 members in lingerie, hugging, kissing and sharing a bath. Its director, Mika Ninagawa, said that she wanted to appeal to men and women with a creative, fun video because of the group's increasing popularity among girls. In an interview, she accepted responsibility for its content: "Mr. Akimoto left everything to me. He did not give me any tips at all...I tried to show how AKB48 is in real life, in the video. In the dressing room, they seemed very close to each other. Then I came up with the concept [of a] girls' high school."


title: AKB48

text: In February 2013 group member Minami Minegishi, had her head shaved and appeared in a YouTube video to apologize after it was reported by a tabloid that she had spent the night with a man in violation of her contract; she was demoted to the status of trainee. Although her shaved head was self-inflicted in an apologetic response to her fans and peers for her demotion, it was seen as an overreaction and attracted criticism of how the situation was handled.


title: AKB48

text: A 2016 NHK documentary reported that the popularity of AKB48's handshake sessions may contribute to the decline of romantic relationships among young Japanese people, including "herbivore men", which triggered debates. According to the report, some fans would rather spend their time supporting their favourite idols than actively pursuing love interests.


title: AKB48

text: The AKB48 Theater (AKB48劇場) is a live performance venue created especially for performances by AKB48, based around the concept of AKB48 being “idols you can meet”. The AKB48 Theater is located on the 8th Floor of the Don Quixote Akihabara Building in Kanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo. The Theater has a capacity of 250 people (including standing audience members); the seats are located very close to the stage. Performances by the different AKB48 teams and by AKB48 trainees are held on a more or less daily basis, and the Theater is very popular with AKB48's enthusiastic fans.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48 Theater is temporarily closed for many reasons, most recently due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cafeteria & shop were open inside the theater since 2011, however they both closed after 8 years.


title: AKB48

text: The current theater manager is Hiroshi Yuasa, and Shinobu Kayano is General Theater Manager of all 48 Groups.


title: AKB48

text: To celebrate Atsuko Maeda’s graduation from AKB48, a photo mosaic was created with 10,000 pictures sent by fans. The poster was displayed at AKB48 Theater between August 27 through September 3.


title: AKB48

text: In February 2012 AKB48 said it would donate ¥580 million to the Japanese Red Cross, and later it was reported that the group had raised a total of over ¥1.25 billion for earthquake and tsunami relief. On March 8, 2013, the group released "Tenohira ga Kataru Koto", another song dedicated to the March 2011 disaster victims, on its website for free digital download. On the second anniversary of the disaster AKB48 and its sister groups visited the affected areas, performing at schools and the AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 theaters with proceeds aiding the ongoing recovery.


title: AKB48

text: AKB48's line up has frequently changed due to departures, admissions, team rotations, and transfers between AKB48 and its various sister groups. the group consists of 73 active members, divided among several teams: Team A with 19 members, Team K with 17 members, Team B with 19 members, Team 4 with 18 members, and Team 8 with 31 members, who also serve concurrently with other AKB48 teams. There are also 11 Kenkyūsei members who initially serve on specific teams as understudies until they are promoted. Some sister group members has held concurrent positions with AKB48 in the past, however, the practice has ended and since 2018, no sister group member has held a concurrent position with AKB48. Mion Mukaichi is the general manager of AKB48 and its sister groups.