Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi
| Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi 長渕 剛 |
| Born |
September 7, 1956 Hioki, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Origin | Hioki, Kagoshima, Japan |
| Genres | Rock, Folk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Victor, Toshiba-EMI, For Life, Nayutawave |
| Website | www |
Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi (長渕 剛 Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi?, born September 7, 1956) is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music.
He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has appeared in movies and television dramas. His wife Etsuko Shihomi is an actress.
On September 7, 1956, Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi, the first son of policeman Kuniharu Nagabuchi and his wife Masuko, was born in Ijuin, Kagoshima. When he was a child, his body was very weak and he often suffered from asthma.
Nagabuchi favored popular Japanese folk singers such as Takuro Yoshida, Ryo Kagawa, Masato Tomobe and Kenji Endo. A song called "One Road Straight" changed his view of the world. Their protest songs tempted him to become a musician. Eagerness to realize his dream made him buy a gut-guitar at the age of 15. In 1973, when he was 17, he made his first performance as a live act. Around 1974, he formed a folk duo called "Takeshi and Tsuyoshi" and gained experience as a performer. In 1975, he entered Kyushu Sangyo University but eventually dropped out and chose the career of show business. At that time, he often performed at late-night bars. Some audiences booed him and threw bottles at him. Later, he reminisced about the old days and said that this unbearable experience trained his spirit.
His career as a solo artist began in the mid-1970s. In 1976, he took part in the well-known Yamaha Popular Music Song Contest, where he performed the song "Ame no Arashiyama" and won first prize. The next year, this song was released as his first single from JVC Victor Records (credited as Go Nagabuchi) and failed to chart. The approach of "Ame no Arashiyama" arranged by Motoki Funayama was enka-style and Nagabuchi wanted to avoid such a conservative style. Nevertheless, it was recorded and released despite his reluctance about the sound. Because of this treatment, he hates his debut single and would like to hide the existence of this song.
After the failed debut song, he contracted with Toshiba EMI and made another challenge to break onto the music scene again. His next single was "Junrenka", released on October 5, 1978. In later years, he released a re-recorded version and reached #1 on the Oricon charts. His debut album Kaze wa Minamikara was released in 1979. He released a second album the same year. It sold over 580,000 copies and provided his first #1 hit record on Oricon. The album Gyakuryū featured his early principal hit single "Junko." At first, it was included in the album only. Cut as a single in 1980, it hit the top of the Japanese singles chart in August of the same year. Following the success of the album and the single, he joined the ranks of the most popular singer-songwriters in Japan.
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