Nobuyasu Okabayashi
| Nobuyasu Okabayashi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 22, 1946 Ōmihachiman, Shiga, Japan |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
Nobuyasu Okabayashi (岡林 信康 Okabayashi Nobuyasu?, born on July 22, 1946 in Omihachiman, Japan) is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter. He is known as the "God of Folk" (フォークの神様 Fōku no Kamisama) in his home country and has been called "Japan's Bob Dylan."
His childhood home was his father's church (established by William Merrell Vories, the founder of OMI Medical Supplies Corp). His current residence is Kameoka, Kyoto. Originally a Christian, he began to doubt his family’s work with juvenile delinquents and searched for an escape. He threw himself into socialism, and after meeting folk singer Takashi Tomoya, he started to play guitar.
After receiving his education at Oumikyoudai Middle School and Shiga Prefecture Ritsuyoukai City Senior High School, in 1966 Okabayashi entered the theology department of Doushisha College.
In 1968, he participated in the third “Folk Camp” in Tokyo. In September with Victor Records, he released “Sanya Blues”, a song about living in Sanya with day laborers. In the following year he released singles such as “Friend,” “The Letter,” “The Tulip’s Applique” “The Fuck-Off Song,” and “The Skeleton Song.” Because of the material in his songs, many of them were banned from broadcasting. For conquering a generation, he was called a “god of Folk,” but due to the Workers Music Council’s strife, the pressure he felt from his surroundings to maintain his image, and the intentions of his own camp (He was already beginning to feel he had reached a dead end with his direct protest songs, and he was exploring with transitioning to rock as a solution), in May of the following year he temporarily disappeared from the public eye.
In 1970, an unsigned band newly renamed Happy End started to play as Okabayashi's backing band and together they recorded his second album Miru Mae ni Tobe (見るまえに跳べ?). However, 1971 was the last year of his headlining open-air concert in Hibya called the “Off-season Flowering Live Performance” as well as the last year of “Folk Jamboree” in which he participated. Thus, once again, Okabayashi disappeared from the stage.
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