羊文学 (Hitsujibungaku)

羊文学 (Hitsujibungaku) is a Japanese indie rock band that debuted on October 4, 2017. The group consists of 3 members: 塩塚モエカ (Moeka Shiozuka), 河西ゆりか (Yurika), and フクダヒロア (Hiroa Fukuda). The group originally formed in 2011 as a 5-pc high school band that reunited in 2015 as a 3-pc band. The band suspended all activities from August 2013 to March 2015 because of the university entrance exam.

Talking about the origin of the band’s name, in an interview, Shiozuka said that she felt it would be cool to have the word “羊 (Sheep)” in both English and Japanese. Out of love for Sigur Rós, she connected “文学 (Literature)” to express a larger worldview than just music in the band name (The worldview portrayed in Sigur Rós songs is often extremely grand). In another interview, Shiozuka said that she chose the word “羊 (Sheep)” because she was very fond of S.R.S (Sleeping Rag Sheep) when she was a student.