Gokuraku Jodo

"Gokuraku Jodo" (極楽浄土) is a song by Japanese pop rock duo Garnidelia. It was first released digitally on July 28, 2016 as the B-side to its advance single, "Yakusoku -Promise Code-". Despite not being used as an official single by itself, the song gained far more popularity than the single itself, considering the music dance video of this song hit 62 million on YouTube as of June 7, 2020. The song received tremendous popularity in mainland China, leading to a great number of song and dance covers on YouTube and Bilibili.

Gokuraku Jodo is about the floating world, a pleasure district. It has nothing to do with the Buddha.

Background and release
In interview with Asianbeat on 12 December 2016, MARiA stated that she had wanted to make a song with a Japanese style. When "Yakusoku -Promise Code-" was announced to be used as the ending theme song of Qualidea Code, she took inspiration from one of its sword-wielding characters, and decided to create costumes with Japanese-style fabrics. The song aimed to "fuse Japanese and dance" stylistically, with choreography made by Miume. The music dance video of the song was released on April 25, 2016, and the song was released digitally on July 28, 2016, before a physical release as the B-side to its advance single, "Yakusoku -Promise Code-" on August 17, 2016. The song is featured in their second album "Violet Cry", and also featured in their second compilation eurodance-style album "Kyouki Ranbu" (響喜乱舞).

Music video and reception
The music dance video features MARiA, Miume, and Nina as the dancers, with the costumes based on Japanese style. Dancers from around the world cover the dance and upload their own renditions on YouTube, Bilibili, and Niconico. The phenomenon caused Garnidelia to be invited to perform in Bilibili Macro Link in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Chinese boyband X Nine covered the song at their concert in Shanghai on April 2, 2017.

Personnel

 * Garnidelia
 * MARiA – vocals, dancer
 * toku – music, record


 * Others
 * G.A.Cool – Bass
 * Miume – Dancer, Choreographer
 * Moririn – Editor
 * Mini – Logo Design
 * Tommy – Assistant


 * Production
 * toku – record, mixer
 * Hidekazu Sakai – mastering