[truehappiness]

It's a song originally written / composed by Yuming.

She's a J-Pop figure from the 70s who was previously known as Yumi Arai before her marriage to her producer..

She's had many many #1 hits and still releases albums today [such as A GiRL IN SUMMER] available on JPS and other places~

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Yumi Matsutōya(松任谷由実, born January 19, 1954), née Yumi Arai, is one of most successful Japanese singer-songwriter.

Matsutoya was born in Hachioji, Tokyo. Her nickname is Yuming, which she received at the age of 13 from a Chinese artist, who inspired her to take on a career in music.

In 1972, she released her debut single Henji wa Iranai (返事はいらない, which roughly translates to "No Response Necessary"). The next year she released her first album Hikoki-gumo (ひこうき雲, "Contrail"). From her debut until the 1976 release of her album "The 14th Moon," she was known as Yumi Arai.

Also in 1976, at the age of 22, she married her producer, Masataka Matsutoya (松任谷正隆), and from then on she went by her new name Yumi Matsutoya. In 1990, she received a gold disc grand prix. She also made appearances in many television commercials. Fans take note of her singing talent as well as her unique singing voice.

She became famous for many songs, including Hikoki-gumo and Haru yo, Koi (春よ、来い, 1994, "Spring, Come") which was used as the opening theme song for a TV drama by the same name. Her song Rouge no Den'gon (ルージュの伝言, "Rouge Message") is featured in the anime film Kiki's Delivery Service from the famed Studio Ghibli.

As reported on various websites, Yuming also writes songs for other singers, using the pen name Kureta Karuho.

Matsutoya has ever been sold over 37,800,000 copies albums and singles, and also has 12 million-selling records. She was the most bestselling solo-artist in Japan until 2001. Now she is the sixth best selling artist in Japan, according to RIAJ. Her most successful album is The Dancing Sun (released in 1994).

Many compare Ayu to her because of her immense success and HUUUGEEE concerts. [she had like a circus in one of them!] She's crazy. Just look! 12 one-million selling records. TWELVE!

edit: more info from Nippop.

Originally Posted by Nippop

In the fast-paced, fickle world of J-pop, Yumi Matsutoya is a constant reliable presence. You could almost set your watch by her. Just about every fall she releases a new album, and most years she does a concert tour of Japan. While her albums don’t vary much year to year, featuring pleasant, middle-of-the-road J-pop featuring Matsutoya’s easy-on-the-ears but unremarkable voice, her tours are something else. They’re more like Las Vegas-style spectaculars than normal J-pop concerts – not too many Japanese artists artists, for example, include a circus, complete with trapeze artists and elephants, in their shows, as Matsutoya did a few years back. Matsutoya, who was born in the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji in 1954, belongs to the generation of singer-songwriters who came to prominence in the early 1970s. She released her first album, Hikoki Gumo (Airplane Contrail) in 1973 under her maiden name of Yumi Arai. Since then “Yuming,” as Matsutoya is affectionately referred to by her loyal fans, has released no fewer than 40 albums, including greatest-hits compilations. Yuming is highly respected as a songwriter, and several other J-pop artists have scored hits with Matsutoya compositions. In 2003 she released an album (Faces) comprising her versions of songs she’d written for other artists but never recorded herself. On one song, "Ocean Blue", Matsutoya performs a duet with herself by adding a contemporary vocal track to the original Yumi Arai version of the song. One explanation for Matsutoya’s long career is that she has carefully avoided overexposure: she seldom does commercial endorsements and doesn’t go in for TV appearances.