is a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and is also known as the leader of the folk rock

Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...

 band Off Course

Off Course

Off Course was one of Japan's most influential Folk rock bands. It was formed in early 1969 by Kazumasa Oda and Yasuhiro Suzuki（鈴木康博）. They broke up in 1989 after their February 26 farewell performance at Tokyo Dome....

.

As a vocalist and leader of Off Course, Oda wrote many Japanese standard numbers in the 70s and 80s. He and Yasuhiro Suzuki (who left the band in 1982) were important composers in the band. The group's most successful singles "Sayonara" (1979), "Yes-No" (1980), and "Kimi ga Uso o Tsuita" (1984) were written by Oda.

In 1985 he began work as a solo musician.