Hiroshi Itsuki

• Name — Itsuki Hiroshi 五木ひろし • Birth Name — Kazuo Matsuyama • Alias — Masaru Matsuyama (1965-1967) Eiichi Ichijō (1967-1968) Ken Mitani (1969-1971) • Born — 14 March 1948 • Birthplace — Fukui Prefecture, Japan • Genre — Enka, Pop • Occupation — Singer, Composer • Years Active — 1965–Present • Label — Tokuma Japan Communications • Website — www.itsuki-hiroshi.co.jp

In 1965, Itsuki debuted under the stage name "Masaru Matsuyama," but did not initially achieve commercial success. Although he changed his stage name to "Eiichi Ichijō" in 1967, and then to "Ken Mitani" in 1969, there was no improvement in his music's commercial sales. In 1971, he changed his name to "Hiroshi Itsuki" and was given the song "Yokohama Tasogare" by Masaaki Hirao. Written by lyricist Yoko Yamaguchi, "Yokohama Tasogare" reached the top of the Oricon weekly single chart. His 2006 single "Takasebune" debuted at number 9 on the Oricon charts, becoming his first Top 10 single in 22 years, since his 1984 single "Nagaragawa Enka". In 2008, he was featured in Morning Musume's Cover You album. He sang "Izakaya" with Ai Takahashi. Also in 2008, he collaborated with the girl group Cute, letting them record the song "Edo no Temari Uta", which he himself was planning to include in his end-of-year album. Cute's producer Tsunku liked the song and thought that if performed by girls the enka lyrics will sound like "a modern fairytale". In what was called a collaboration by Tsunku and a rivalry between two performers by Sankei Sports, they both released the song as CD singles, Cute on July 30, and Itsuki as his 132nd single on October 22. Cute's version, entitled "Edo no Temari Uta II", was nominated for the main Japan Record Award of 2008, which also meant receiving a Gold Award from the Japan Composer's Association.

• #||Title||Date/Position • |1 — よこはま・たそがれ Yokohama Twilight Debut single — 1971 (#1) • 2 — 長崎から船に乗って Riding on a boat from Nagasaki — 1971 (#4) • 3 — 待っている女 Woman waiting — 1972 (#6) • 4 — Anata no Tomoshibi — 1972 (#5) • 5 — 夜空 Night sky — 1973 (#4) • 6 — 浜昼顔 Seashore false bindweed — 1974 (#5) • 7 — みれん Lingering affection — 1974 (#6) • 8 — 哀恋記 Chronicle of a sad love — 1975(#10) • 9 — 千曲川 Chikuma River — 1975 (#6) • 10 — 愛の始発 Love's first train — 1976 (#10) • 11 — おまえとふたり A couple with you — 1979 (#3) • 12 — 倖せさがして Looking for happiness — 1980 (#4) • 13 — ふたりの夜明け Our dawn — 1980 (#10) • 14 — 細雪 Light snowfall — 1983 (#9) • 15 — 長良川艶歌 Enka of the Nagara river — 1984 (#10) • 16 — 高瀬舟 Flatboat — 2006 (#9)