Kyu Sakamoto
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside of Japan for his international hit song "Sukiyaki
", which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100
in June 1963.
, Kanagawa Prefecture
to the tender cargo officer Hiroshi Sakamoto and Iku Oshima. He was the youngest among nine siblings—his nickname Kyu, meaning 'nine', is an alternate reading of the kanji
(九) for his given name (Hisashi). Iku had two sons from an earlier relationship and Hiroshi three sons and three daughters. Kyu was their third and last child together.
In the summer of 1944 during the air raids over the greater Tokyo area, including Kawasaki, Iku fled with the younger children, including Kyu, and his siblings Teruaki, Yachiyo and Azuma to their grandparents, Seri and Aou Oshima who lived on the countryside in Kasama
. In the summer of 1949 the family was reunited and moved back to Kawasaki. Like many other Japanese companies, Hiroshi's office was disbanded by the American occupation forces. Shortly after that, he started a restaurant together with Iku.
For a short period of time, Sakamoto returned to his studies and focused on entering the university. But in December 1958, he joined his classmate's Hisahiko Iida's band called "Danny Iida and Paradise King". He replaced Hiroshi Mizuhara as singer. Sakamoto's career took off, he ended his studies and left school. In June 1959, the band got a record deal at the JVC record company. "Danny Iida and Paradise King" and Sakamoto released their song "Kanashiki rokujyussai" in August 1960, which became a great hit. In the time after they released a number of songs that became very popular. This led to Sakamoto obtaining a record deal at the Toshiba Records company and left "Danny Iida & Paradise King" aiming at a solo career.
Sakamoto's solo career was inaugurated with the love song "Ue o muite arukō
" written by Rokusuke Ei
and Hachidai Nakamura
. The song was first heard on the NHK
entertainment program "Yume de aimashou" on 16 August 1961. It was a great success and was released on a red vinyl on October 15. It remained the highest selling record until January 1962, three months after its release.
His international breakthrough came in 1963 during a visit to Japan by Louis Benjamin, owner of British record company Pye Records
. Hearing the song several times, Benjamin decided to bring it back to England. Due to concerns that the title would be too hard for English speakers to pronounce or remember, the song was renamed "Sukiyaki
". The new title was intended to sound both catchy and distinctively Japanese, but had no actual connection to the song.
Initially, Pye Records released an instrumental version of the song recorded by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen
. After it went on to become a hit in England, His Master's Voice (HMV) released the original which also sold well, reaching sixth place in HMV's most sold records. Capitol Records released the song in the USA with the alternate title, eventually selling over one million copies and remaining number one on the "Billboard Hot 100 number one single" from June 15 to June 29.
After the international success of "Sukiyaki", Sakamoto went on a world tour that lasted from summer of 1963 to the beginning of 1964. Among the countries he visited were the United States (including Hawaii), Germany, and Sweden. During his time in the U.S., he was invited to appear in several television shows. On 13 August 1963, he landed at Los Angeles International Airport
and was a guest of "The Steve Allen Show
" that evening. He was supposed to be a guest on "The Ed Sullivan Show
" as well, but this appearance was canceled due to a scheduling conflict with the production of his upcoming movie, Kyu-chan katana o nu ite.
Kyu Sakamoto had only one other song reach the U.S. charts, "China Nights (Shina no Yoru)" (Capitol 5016), which peaked at number 58 in 1963. His only American album, Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits (Capitol 10349), peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart (now known as the Billboard 200) in 1963 and remained on the Pop Albums chart for 17 weeks.
He received his sole foreign Gold Record
of the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) by Capitol Records on 15 May 1964 in Hotel Okura, Tokyo.
, he was featured on the famous Swedish TV-program "Hylands Hörna" broadcast live from Tokyo.
In 1968, Sakamoto and Hachidai Nakamura participated in the international singing contest "Festival Internacional da Canção" in Rio de Janeiro
with the song "Sayounara, sayounara".
. The couple had two daughters, Hanako
and Maiko.
, the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history, and the third deadliest plane crash in history in terms of fatalities behind the September 11, 2001, attacks and the Tenerife airport disaster.
He is interred at Chōkoku-ji Temple in Minato, Tokyo
.
" ("I look up when I walk") remains the only Japanese song to reach number one on the Billboard pop charts
in the United States
, a position it maintained for three weeks in 1963. It was also the first ever Japanese language song to enter the UK charts, though it only climbed to number 6 with no further chart entries.
"Sukiyaki" has been covered
multiple times over the years, beginning with the instrumental by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen
. Well-known English-language cover versions include a 1981 cover by A Taste of Honey
and a 1995 cover by 4 P.M.
, both of which made the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989, Selena's
self-titled album
contained a Spanish translation of the Taste of Honey cover which was released as a single in 1990. The English lyrics have also appeared in whole or in part in songs by performers including Slick Rick
and Doug E. Fresh
(1985's "La Di Da Di
"), Salt-n-Pepa
(1985's "The Show Stopper"), Snoop Dogg
(1988's "Lodi Dodi", a "La Di Da Di" cover), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
(1995's "Bless Da 40 Oz."), Raphael Saadiq
(1995's "Ask of You
", another to make the Hot 100), Mary J. Blige
(1997's "Everything") and Will Smith
(1999's "So Fresh", featuring Slick Rick).
An American version by Jewel Akens
with different American lyrics written for it. Titled 'My First Lonely Night (Sukiyaki)' in 1966, the song reached #82 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On 16 March 1999, Japan Post issued a stamp commemorating Kyu Sakamoto and "Sukiyaki". The stamp is listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Japan number 2666 with a face value of 50 yen.
Wii Music
includes "Sukiyaki" in the "handbell harmony" section.
Sukiyaki (song)
The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went to number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart)....
", which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in June 1963.
Childhood in Kawasaki and Kasama
Kyu Sakamoto was born on 10 December 1941, in KawasakiKawasaki, Kanagawa
is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama. It is the 9th most populated city in Japan and one of the main cities forming the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area....
, Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...
to the tender cargo officer Hiroshi Sakamoto and Iku Oshima. He was the youngest among nine siblings—his nickname Kyu, meaning 'nine', is an alternate reading of the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
(九) for his given name (Hisashi). Iku had two sons from an earlier relationship and Hiroshi three sons and three daughters. Kyu was their third and last child together.
In the summer of 1944 during the air raids over the greater Tokyo area, including Kawasaki, Iku fled with the younger children, including Kyu, and his siblings Teruaki, Yachiyo and Azuma to their grandparents, Seri and Aou Oshima who lived on the countryside in Kasama
Kasama
The toponym Kasama may refer to:* Kasama, Ibaraki , Japan* Kasama, Zambia* Kasama Project- See also :Related toponym:* Kazama * Kazami* Kazemi* Hazama...
. In the summer of 1949 the family was reunited and moved back to Kawasaki. Like many other Japanese companies, Hiroshi's office was disbanded by the American occupation forces. Shortly after that, he started a restaurant together with Iku.
Teenage life
In 1956 when Sakamoto was still in junior high school his parents divorced. It was Hiroshi's heavy drinking and long history of economic problems that made them separate. Iku was given custody over the minor children they had together and they were given the surname "Oshima" while the remaining children kept the family name "Sakamoto". When Sakamoto began high school his interest in music grew and he started playing the trumpet in the school band. He began singing later and became very popular. In 1958 he joined the Japanese pop-band "The Drifters" as a singer.JVC and Toshiba Records
In May 1958, when Sakamoto was 16 years old he joined the Japanese pop-band The Drifters that had been formed three years earlier. Sakamoto was unhappy about his position in the band as second singer and this often led to fights with the other members. His big breakthrough as a band member came 26 August 1958 when he sang at the annual music festival "Western Carnival" at the Nichigeki hall. After a quarrel that ended in a fight with two of the other members, Sakamoto left the band in November 1958.For a short period of time, Sakamoto returned to his studies and focused on entering the university. But in December 1958, he joined his classmate's Hisahiko Iida's band called "Danny Iida and Paradise King". He replaced Hiroshi Mizuhara as singer. Sakamoto's career took off, he ended his studies and left school. In June 1959, the band got a record deal at the JVC record company. "Danny Iida and Paradise King" and Sakamoto released their song "Kanashiki rokujyussai" in August 1960, which became a great hit. In the time after they released a number of songs that became very popular. This led to Sakamoto obtaining a record deal at the Toshiba Records company and left "Danny Iida & Paradise King" aiming at a solo career.
Debut album and international success (1961–1964)
Sukiyaki (song)
The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went to number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart)....
" written by Rokusuke Ei
Rokusuke Ei
is a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist and TV personality.Ei wrote the lyrics to the song "Sukiyaki", which has been used in several English language films. He has also written the lyrics to the song "Miagete goran yoru no hoshi wo" sung by Kyu Sakamoto in 1963...
and Hachidai Nakamura
Hachidai Nakamura
was a China-born Japanese songwriter and jazz pianist.- Biography :Hachidai Nakamura was born in Qingdao, China to Japanese parents. He moved to Fukuoka at a young age, where he attended high school, and eventually graduated from Waseda University in Tokyo with a degree in literature...
. The song was first heard on the NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
entertainment program "Yume de aimashou" on 16 August 1961. It was a great success and was released on a red vinyl on October 15. It remained the highest selling record until January 1962, three months after its release.
His international breakthrough came in 1963 during a visit to Japan by Louis Benjamin, owner of British record company Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
. Hearing the song several times, Benjamin decided to bring it back to England. Due to concerns that the title would be too hard for English speakers to pronounce or remember, the song was renamed "Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki (song)
The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went to number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart)....
". The new title was intended to sound both catchy and distinctively Japanese, but had no actual connection to the song.
Initially, Pye Records released an instrumental version of the song recorded by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
. After it went on to become a hit in England, His Master's Voice (HMV) released the original which also sold well, reaching sixth place in HMV's most sold records. Capitol Records released the song in the USA with the alternate title, eventually selling over one million copies and remaining number one on the "Billboard Hot 100 number one single" from June 15 to June 29.
After the international success of "Sukiyaki", Sakamoto went on a world tour that lasted from summer of 1963 to the beginning of 1964. Among the countries he visited were the United States (including Hawaii), Germany, and Sweden. During his time in the U.S., he was invited to appear in several television shows. On 13 August 1963, he landed at Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
and was a guest of "The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show
The Steve Allen Show is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC, and in first-run syndication from 1962 to 1964....
" that evening. He was supposed to be a guest on "The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
" as well, but this appearance was canceled due to a scheduling conflict with the production of his upcoming movie, Kyu-chan katana o nu ite.
Kyu Sakamoto had only one other song reach the U.S. charts, "China Nights (Shina no Yoru)" (Capitol 5016), which peaked at number 58 in 1963. His only American album, Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits (Capitol 10349), peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart (now known as the Billboard 200) in 1963 and remained on the Pop Albums chart for 17 weeks.
He received his sole foreign Gold Record
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
of the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) by Capitol Records on 15 May 1964 in Hotel Okura, Tokyo.
Later appearances
During the 1964 Summer Olympics1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
, he was featured on the famous Swedish TV-program "Hylands Hörna" broadcast live from Tokyo.
In 1968, Sakamoto and Hachidai Nakamura participated in the international singing contest "Festival Internacional da Canção" in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
with the song "Sayounara, sayounara".
Marriage and family
In 1971, Sakamoto married Japanese actress Yukiko KashiwagiYukiko Kashiwagi
is a Japanese actress and the wife of Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto from 1971 until his death in 1985. In the 1970s, Kashiwagi retired from her career as an actress and instead presented a series of welfare performances with her husband in children's homes and nursing homes, and on Japanese...
. The couple had two daughters, Hanako
Hanako Oshima
is a Japanese singer and the daughter of actress Yukiko Kashiwagi and singer Kyu Sakamoto.- Biography :She is a graduate of Toyo Eiwa University in Japan. In October 2006 it was revealed that she was going to get married. In January 2007 she married the head of a Brazilian jujitsu dojo in Hawaii...
and Maiko.
Death
On August 12, 1985, Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123Japan Airlines Flight 123
Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport on August 12, 1985. The Boeing 747-146SR that made this route, registered , suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two...
, the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history, and the third deadliest plane crash in history in terms of fatalities behind the September 11, 2001, attacks and the Tenerife airport disaster.
He is interred at Chōkoku-ji Temple in Minato, Tokyo
Minato, Tokyo
is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
.
Legacy
His most popular song, "Ue o muite arukōSukiyaki (song)
The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also went to number 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart)....
" ("I look up when I walk") remains the only Japanese song to reach number one on the Billboard pop charts
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, a position it maintained for three weeks in 1963. It was also the first ever Japanese language song to enter the UK charts, though it only climbed to number 6 with no further chart entries.
"Sukiyaki" has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
multiple times over the years, beginning with the instrumental by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen
Kenny Ball
Kenny Ball is an English jazz musician, best known as the lead trumpet player in Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen.-Career:...
. Well-known English-language cover versions include a 1981 cover by A Taste of Honey
A Taste of Honey (band)
A Taste of Honey was the name of an American recording act, formed in 1971 by associates Perry Kibble and Donald Ray Johnson. In 1978 they had one of the best known chart-toppers of the disco era, "Boogie Oogie Oogie"...
and a 1995 cover by 4 P.M.
4 P.M.
4 P.M. , is an American male R&B group best known for their cover version of "Sukiyaki", which peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in February 1995....
, both of which made the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989, Selena's
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
self-titled album
Selena (album)
Selena is the eighth studio album by Selena, her debut album under the EMI Latin label.At the time of its release, Selena was already a star on the Tejano market as the recipient of several Tejano Music Awards. This album was presented to a larger audience as the direction that Selena would take as...
contained a Spanish translation of the Taste of Honey cover which was released as a single in 1990. The English lyrics have also appeared in whole or in part in songs by performers including Slick Rick
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
and Doug E. Fresh
Doug E. Fresh
Douglas E. Davis , better known by the stage name Doug E. Fresh, is an American rapper, record producer, and beat boxer, also known as the Human Beat Box...
(1985's "La Di Da Di
La Di Da Di
"La Di Da Di" is a rap song performed by Doug E. Fresh the beatboxer, and MC Ricky D as the rapper. It was originally released in 1985 as the B-side to "The Show". The song has since gained a reputation as an early hip hop classic, having been referenced in other hip hop songs.There are two...
"), Salt-n-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
(1985's "The Show Stopper"), Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
(1988's "Lodi Dodi", a "La Di Da Di" cover), Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is an American Hip-Hop/R'n'B band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 1991. It originally consisted of rappers Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone. Rapper Eazy-E of the group N.W.A signed Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Ruthless Records in 1994, when Bone...
(1995's "Bless Da 40 Oz."), Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
(1995's "Ask of You
Ask of You
"Ask of You" is a song by American singer Raphael Saadiq, released as a single from the Higher Learning soundtrack. It was Saadiq's biggest solo hit, peaking at #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the U.S...
", another to make the Hot 100), Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
(1997's "Everything") and Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
(1999's "So Fresh", featuring Slick Rick).
An American version by Jewel Akens
Jewel Akens
Jewel Akens is an American singer and record producer.-Biography:He first recorded with Eddie Daniels as Jewel and Eddie on the Silver Records label in 1960. A number of his recordings featured Eddie Cochran on guitar.He later went solo and recorded "The Birds And The Bees" in 1965, on the Era...
with different American lyrics written for it. Titled 'My First Lonely Night (Sukiyaki)' in 1966, the song reached #82 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On 16 March 1999, Japan Post issued a stamp commemorating Kyu Sakamoto and "Sukiyaki". The stamp is listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Japan number 2666 with a face value of 50 yen.
Wii Music
Wii Music
is a free form music game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in Japan and North America in October 2008, and in Europe and Australia in the following month...
includes "Sukiyaki" in the "handbell harmony" section.
Discography
- Sukiyaki And Other Japanese HitsSukiyaki and Other Japanese HitsSukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits is an album by Kyu Sakamoto released in 1963 in the U.S. by Capitol Records. All of the songs on the album are sung in Japanese and feature the title track, a #1 hit in the U.S. for three weeks in 1963, and peaking at #6 in the UK when issued by EMI on its HMV label...
(1963) - Kyu Sakamoto Memorial BestKyu Sakamoto Memorial BestKyu Sakamoto Memorial Best is an album by Kyu Sakamoto released in 2005 by EMI in the UK. The songs are the best known of Sakamoto's career.-Track listing:# Miagete goran yoru no hoshi wo# Sukiyaki# Ashita Ga Arusa# Kanashiki 60sai# Good Timing...
(2005) - Kyu Sakamoto CD & DVD The bestKyu Sakamoto CD & DVD The bestKyu Sakamoto CD & DVD The best , is a Japanese album with 13 songs performed by Kyu Sakamoto and recorded by Toshiba EMI...
(2005)
Filmography
- TakekurabeTakekurabe (1955 film), English titles include: Adolescence, Growing Up Twice, Growing Up, and Child's Play, is a 1955 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Heinosuke Gosho.It is a film adaptation of Higuchi Ichiyō's 1895-1896 novel Takekurabe....
(たけくらべ, 1955) - Everything Goes WrongEverything Goes Wrongis a 1960 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Tamio Kawachi and Yoshiko Yatsu in her film debut. The story follows Jirō, a rebellious high schooler, in his sadomasochistic and criminal misadventures, specifically as they relate to his girlfriend, mother and her lover. The...
(すべてが狂ってる Subete ga kurutteru, 1960) - Kigeki: ekimae danchi (1961)
- Ushichi jini aimashoUshichi jini aimashowas a Japanese musical variety television program broadcast by TBS from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m, from 7 April 1962 until 28 September 1963.The title means "Let's meet at 7 o'clock", with a minor play on words as the final shō not only sounds like the Japanese word for "show" but also is written as if...
(1963) - Clap your hands when you are happy (幸せなら手をたたこう Shiawase nara te o tatakō, 1964)
- Gulliver's Travels Beyond the MoonGulliver's Travels Beyond the Moonis a 1965 Japanese animated feature which was released in the United States in 1966.- Production :This was one of the first Toei animated features to depart from Asian mythology, though, like Toei's previous animated features, it is modeled after the Disney formula of animated musical feature...
(Garibā no Uchū Ryokō, 1965) - Kyu-chan's Big Dream (Kyu-chan no Dekkai YumeKyu-chan no Dekkai YumeKyu-chan no Dekkai Yume/Kyu-chan's Big dream is a 1967 Japanese comedy film by film director Yoji Yamada. Most of the movie takes place at Japan's biggest seaport: Yokohama.-Plot summary:...
, 1967) - Tokkan (1975)
Legacy
- Kyu Sakamoto Memorial HallKyu Sakamoto Memorial HallKyu Sakamoto Memorial Hall is a museum in the town Kuriyama, Hokkaido. The Memorial Hall was built in 1993 and is completely dependent on visitor contributions. Admission is free. The hall is a 220㎡ rectangular construction with a circular pavilion in the end of it...
- The asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
6980 Kyusakamoto6980 Kyusakamoto6980 Kyusakamoto is an asteroid discovered and named by the two Japanese astronomers Kin Endate and Kazuo Watanabe in 1993. Named in memory of the Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto, this planet also symbolizes the famous trio of which Kyu Sakamoto was a member, with songwriter Rokusuke Ei and pianist...
is named after Kyu Sakamoto.