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...

 and former member of the group Aido. He is a part of Sony Music Japan's SME Records division. He was born in Takehara City

Takehara, Hiroshima

is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan., the city has an estimated population of 29,093 and a density of 246 persons per km². The total area is 118.30 km².The city was founded on November 3, 1958....

 in Hiroshima Prefecture

Hiroshima Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...

, and graduated from Kuremitsuta High School (where he was a member of the baseball team). He attended Kanagawa University, where he studied law, but left the school before graduating.

In 1975, he made his professional debut as the drummer

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

 of the band Aido. Sunglasses

Sunglasses

Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...

 have been his trademark ever since his debut, and he has never performed live without sunglasses of some sort (most commonly Ray-Ban Aviator or Ray-Ban Wayfarer). His solo debut came in 1976 with the album Umareta Tokoro o Tōku Hanarete. Though his exposure in the media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 has always been extremely low, relative to many performers with similar levels of mainstream popularity, he has acquired his many fans over the years through his steady series of live performances. Many of his early songs expressed his skepticism about how one should live their life. In addition to his well-known ballads, he was strongly influenced by his father's experience as a victim of radiation poisoning

Radiation poisoning

Acute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...

 following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...

 in 1945, and many of his songs have a very strong protest song

Protest song

A protest song is a song which is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of topical songs . It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre...

 tone, likely the most of any "big name" singer in Japan.

He has written music for many other artists, including Momoe Yamaguchi

Momoe Yamaguchi

is a former Japanese singer, actress, and idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. In that time, she became one of the most notable singers in Japanese music, and an acclaimed actress. She withdrew from the entertainment business at the peak of her career to marry her frequent costar, fellow...

, and Akiko Wada

Akiko Wada

is a female Japanese singer and television performer of Korean ancestry, originally hailing from , Ikuno-ku, Osaka. Born Kim Bok-Ja , like many Zainichi Koreans, she also had a name for everyday use, which was Japanicized . On her selection of Japanese citizenship, her name became , which upon...

. He is affectionately referred to as "Hamasho" by many of his fans.

Singles released within Aido

#	Single title	Date released	Formats
1	/	1975-05-01	EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
2	/	1975-09-01	EP

Singles

#	Single title	Date released	Formats
1	(EP version) / (EP version)	1976-04-21	EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
2	(Single version) /	1976-10-21	EP
3	/	1977-04-21	EP
4	/	1977-11-21	EP
5	/	1978-08-21	EP
6	/	1979-04-21	EP
7	/	1979-08-21	EP
8	/	1979-12-21	EP
9	/	1980-02-21	EP
10	(Single version) /	1980-07-21	EP
11	/	1980-10-21	EP
12	/	1981-03-21	EP
13	/	1981-08-26	EP
14	/	1981-11-21	EP
15	"On the Road" / (Live)	1982-02-25	EP
16	/	1982-11-21	EP
17	"Dance" (12-inch single version) / "The Little Rocker's Medley" (Live)	1984-08-01	12-inch 12-inch single The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
18	(Single version) / (Single version)	1985-05-22	EP
19	"Big Boy Blues" (Single version) / "Sweet Little Darlin'" (Single version)	1985-12-08	EP
20	(12-inch Single version) / (12-inch Single version) / "Walking in the Rain"	1986-07-16	12-inch, CT
21	c/w "Little Surfer Girl"	1987-06-21	EP
22	"Breathless Love" c/w "Blood Line" (Single version)	1988-05-29	12-inch, 8-cm CD Mini CD Mini CDs, or “pocket CDs” are CDs with a smaller diameter and one third the capacity.-Formats:Amongst the various formats are the* Mini CD single, a small disc. The format is mainly used for audio CD singles in certain regions , much like the old vinyl single... , CT
23	(Single version) / (Single version)	1992-02-01	8-cm CD, CT
24	/ (Single version)	1992-12-12	8-cm CD
25	/	1994-04-25	8-cm CD
26	/ (Single version)	1995-07-01	8-cm CD
27	/	1996-10-30	8-cm CD
28	/ (Single version)	1997-10-22	8-cm CD
29	/	1998-04-01	12-cm CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
30	"Love Has No Pride" c/w "Give Me One More Chance"	1998-10-01	12-cm CD
31	/	1998-12-02	12-cm CD
32	"...To Be "Kissin' You"" (French edit) / / "...To Be "Kissin' You""	2000-04-01	12-cm CD
33	/	2001-08-01	12-cm CD
34	/ (21 ctr. Ver.)	2003-09-10	12-cm CD
35	/ "Midnight Blue Train 2005"	2005-04-13	12-cm CD
36	"I am a Father" /	2005-07-17	12-cm CD
37	"Thank You" / / (2005 Ver.)	2005-10-12	12-cm CD

Albums

#	Album title	Date released	Formats	Miscellaneous info
–

}
| align="right" | 1975-05-01
| LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

, CT
| Released as a member of Aido
|-
| align="center" | 1
|
| align="right" | 1976-04-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 2
| Love Train
| align="right" | 1977-05-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 3
| Illumination
| align="right" | 1978-09-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 4
| Mind Screen
| align="right" | 1979-05-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 5
|
| align="right" | 1979-12-05
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | –
| Slow Down
| align="right" | 1980-08-01
| CT
| Compilation album
|-
| align="center" | 6
| Home Bound
| align="right" | 1980-10-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 7
|
| align="right" | 1981-09-21
| LP, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 8
| On the Road
| align="right" | 1982-02-25
| LP (2), CT (2)
|
|-
| align="center" | 9
|
| align="right" | 1982-11-21
| LP, CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 10
| Sand Castle
| align="right" | 1983-12-01
| LP, CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 11
| Down By the Mainstreet
| align="right" | 1984-10-21
| LP, CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | –
| Club Snowbound
| align="right" | 1985-11-15
| LP, CT
| Limited edition special release album
|-
| align="center" | 12
| J.Boy
| align="right" | 1986-09-04
| LP (2), CD (2), CT (2)
|
|-
| align="center" | –
| Club Surfbound
| align="right" | 1987-06-28
| LP, CT
| Limited edition special release album
|-
| align="center" | 13
| Club Surf&Snowbound
| align="right" | 1987-06-28
| CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 14
| Father's Son
| align="right" | 1988-03-16
| LP, CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 15
| Wasted Tears
| align="right" | 1989-09-01
| LP, CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 16
|
| align="right" | 1990-06-21
| CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 17
| Edge of the Knife
| align="right" | 1991-09-01
| CD, CT
|
|-
| align="center" | 18
|
| align="right" | 1993-09-06
| CD, CT, MD

MiniDisc

The disc is permanently housed in a cartridge with a sliding door, similar to the casing of a 3.5" floppy disk. This shutter is opened automatically by a mechanism upon insertion. The audio discs can either be recordable or premastered. Recordable MiniDiscs use a magneto-optical system to record...

|
|-
| align="center" | 19
| Road Out "Tracks"
| align="right" | 1996-02-29
| LP, CD, CT, MD
|
|-
| align="center" | 20
|
| align="right" | 1996-11-11
| CD, MD
|
|-
| align="center" | 21
|
| align="right" | 1997-01-22
| LP, CD, MD
|
|-
| align="center" | 22
| The History of Shogo Hamada "Since 1975"
| align="right" | 2000-11-08
| CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 23
| Save Our Ship
| align="right" | 2001-08-22
| CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 24
|
| align="right" | 2003-09-26
| CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 25
| My First Love
| align="right" | 2005-07-06
| LP, CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 26
| The Best of Shogo Hamada Vol.1
| align="right" | 2006-08-09
| CD
|
|-
| align="center" | 27
| The Best of Shogo Hamada Vol.2
| align="right" | 2006-08-09
| CD
|
|-
|}

External links

Official website Artist page on Sony Music Online Japan website