Composer Comments from the Shenmue Original Sound Track CD (March 2000)

Released in March 2000, the Shenmue ~Chapter One: Yokosuka~ Original Sound Track was a two-disc album featuring 39 tracks, accompanied by a booklet containing commentary written by the soundtrack's composers and contributors.

Shenmue Chapter One ~Yokosuka~: Original Sound Track

The comments provide a fascinating glimpse into the creation of Shenmue’s music, touching on everything from memories of research trips in China to the atmosphere imagined while writing specific pieces.

The booklet also contains detailed composer credits, providing rare confirmation of which composers created many of Shenmue’s best-known pieces.

In this post, we'll translate the booklet commentary in full, along with composer information and scene screenshots showing where each piece is used in the game. Scene identifications and additional notes have been added separately and do not appear in the original booklet.

Note: English track names in this article follow the official and commonly used localized naming conventions where possible, drawing from the original 2000 soundtrack release, later Shenmue soundtrack albums, and other official Sega materials.

One of the booklet's commentary pages, featuring composer notes for several tracks.

Message from Yu Suzuki

At the very beginning of Shenmue's development, the first thing we created was a single piece of music.

As we began the project, I wanted to express the world of Shenmue freely, without being constrained by the conventional idea of what a game should be.

We had all the staff members involved in planning, design, programming, and other areas listen to it, allowing each person to expand their own image of the world. Through discussing those ideas together, we gradually built Shenmue.

That piece was "Departure on a New Journey".

In Shenmue Chapter One: Yokosuka, it is possible to hear around 200 tracks of music. Among them, this album mainly collects pieces used during events that left a strong impression on those who played the game.

Every track here is one that holds special meaning for me, and they are all pieces I am very fond of.

I hope all of you will come to enjoy them as well.

So then, just like the game itself, please take your time and enjoy the music of Shenmue.

— Shenmue Executive Director

Yu Suzuki

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Poll Result: Patrons' Choice Topic for May 2026

Every month, Phantom River Stone holds a poll among our patrons to choose a topic for the blog in the coming month. After tallying the votes (including those carried over from previous months), the winning topic this time is:

"Composer Comments from the Shenmue Original Sound Track CD"

Released in March 2000, the Shenmue ~Chapter One: Yokosuka~ Original Sound Track included a booklet featuring commentary written by the composers themselves for each track on the album.

Shenmue Chapter One ~Yokosuka~: Original Sound Track

The comments provide a fascinating glimpse into the creation of Shenmue’s music, touching on everything from memories of research trips in China to the atmosphere the composers imagined while writing specific pieces.

The booklet also contains detailed composer credits, providing rare confirmation of which composers created many of Shenmue’s best-known pieces.

In this post, we'll translate the booklet commentary in full, along with composer information and scene screenshots showing where each piece is used in the game.

Coming soon to the blog!

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Q&A With Composer Ryuji Iuchi: Fan Questions (Part 1/2)

Recently composer Ryuji Iuchi held a special end-of-year Shenmue-themed livestream for everyone on his YouTube channel, a fun two-hour session that was filled with live music performances and chat. Throughout the stream, Ryuji also answered questions from fans, with many having been submitted from overseas fans, via the Shenmue Dojo.

As there were people who were unable to join the livestream, Ryuji has kindly given his permission to translate the Q&A into English and share them here on the blog.

The translation begins from here.

Q: For musical pieces with lyrics, like Shenhua's Theme and Wish, were the lyrics written first, or added afterwards? If I recall correctly, in the case of Wish, Yu Suzuki requested a song that would be like First Love*...

* First Love was a best-selling song (and album of the same name) by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada released in early 1999.

Ryuji Iuchi (RI): For both of these songs, I wrote the music first, and the lyrics were added in afterwards. For Wish, I remember that Yu Suzuki did ask for a song like First Love. The thought was that it would be great if it was something that could rank on Oricon [the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart].

Q: Recently you've been creating a lot of music for TV programs. Are you credited in these, and if so, what kind of programs are they? Are they still being shown on TV?

RI: I'm credited in some of the programs, and not in others. I think the ones in which I'm credited have all finished showing now as far as I'm aware, but if you live in Japan, then you'll definitely be familiar with the programs in which my music has played. Many people may perhaps have heard it without realizing. Some of it is background music, but there is also theme music - however, in most cases uncredited. As well as TV, my music can also be heard elsewhere such as on the radio, or at soccer events and so on.

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