Taro Shoji
| Tarō Shōji | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Native name | 東海林 太郎 |
| Birth name | Shōji Tarō |
| Born |
December 11, 1898 Akita, Akita Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | October 4, 1972 (aged 73) |
| Genres | Ryūkōka |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1933–1972 |
Tarō Shōji (Japanese: 東海林 太郎 Hepburn: Shōji Tarō?, December 11, 1898 – October 4, 1972) was a popular Japanese ryūkōka singer.
Shōji was born in Akita, Akita Prefecture. His father was an employee of the South Manchuria Railway, and his parents moved to Manchukuo, leaving him behind in Japan to be raised by his grandmother, who introduced him to the violin. He graduated from the Waseda University Department of Commerce, where he majored in Marxist economics. He married shortly before graduation from undergraduate studies, and was employed by the South Manchurian Railways Research Division on completion of his graduated degree in 1923. His main work at the South Manchurian Railways was on unionization; however, his highly leftist viewpoints alienated both his managers and the Imperial Japanese Army, and he found himself sidelined to a position in a library. After seven years in Manchukuo, he returned to Japan, where his brother was running a Chinese restaurant near Waseda University.
Shōji made his debut as a recording singer in 1933. He attempted to become a Western classical baritone singer, but finally became a popular singer. His first major hit popular song Akagi no Komoriuta (赤城の子守唄 "Akagi Lulaby"?) written about Kunisada Chūji. The song was released in 1934 and sold 400,000 copies. This song became a model for many lesser known singers in the 1930s and early 1940s about tragic or semi-tragic Japanese anti-heroes. .
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