Yūzō Kayama

Yūzō Kayama studied at Keio University and Keio Senior High School. The recorded working language is Japanese. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are kayōkyoku. Employment is recorded with Toho. Distinctions recorded are Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year, Golden Arrow Award and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.

• Name — Yūzō Kayama • Native Name — 加山 雄三 • Born — 11 April 1937 • Birthplace — Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan • Occupation — Musician, singer-songwriter, actor • Years Active — 1960–2022 • Website — www.kayamayuzo.com born April 11, 1937 is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and actor.

• Illustration — With Shinsuke Suematsu (Award Ceremony for the Persons of Cultural Merit, November 4, 2021) Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara, and actress Yoko Kozakura, (ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made his film debut with Otoko tai Otoko directed by Senkichi Taniguchi in 1960. He was cast in the leading role in the 1960 film Dokuritsu Gurentai Nishie directed by Kihachi Okamoto. Kayama rose to stardom in the 1960s in the Wakadaishō ("Young Guy") film series. He showed his ability for drama when Akira Kurosawa cast him for his films Sanjuro and Red Beard. In the 1970s, he starred such television dramas as Edo no Kaze and Daitsuiseki. As a guitarist, he took inspiration from the American instrumental group The Ventures, and performed a form of psychedelic surf music in the 1960s with his Mosrite guitar. One of his best-known instrumentals is "Black Sand Beach". "Kimi to Itsumademo" ("Love Forever"), another of his compositions, sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in 1965. At that point it was the biggest selling disc in the Japanese recording industry's history. In March 2016, Kayama made a special art piece to commemorate 2,500,000 million downloads for the mobile game Terra Battle, that is featured as the background for the game's title screen. In 2017, he sang the 2020 Summer Olympic Games theme "Tokyo Gorin Ondo 2020", a modern adaptation of the 1964 Summer Olympic Games song "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" along enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa and rock singer Takehara Pistol (ja). He announced that, by the end of 2022, he would be retiring from concert activities. One of the last activities involves the song "Sarai" (ja), which he had written together with singer-songwriter Shinji Tanimura. The song was made as theme for the NTV charity program 24-Hr TV, and Kayama announced that 2022's edition of the program would be his last live performance of the song. Following retirement however, Kayama made a surprise appearance at a tribute concert dedicated to him in September 2025, where he reunited with The Yanchers for an encore.

• Year — Title — Role — Ref. • 1974–1975 — Karei-naru Ichizoku — Teppei Manpyo • 1975–1981 — Edo no Kaze — Chiaki Joenosuke • 1978 — Daitsuiseki — Eiichi Nitta • 1990 — Tobu ga Gotoku — Shimazu Nariakira • 2009 — KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops — Himself

Yūzō Kayama was recorded at birth as 池端 直亮. He also worked under the name 弾 厚作. The authorities additionally record the headings Yuzo Kayama, Yuuzou Kayama, Kousaku Dan, Naoaki Ikehata and 池端直亮（Ikehata Naoaki）. His recorded language was Japanese. He was the child of Ken Uehara and Yōko Kozakura. He married Megumi Matsumoto. 3 children are recorded: Tetsu Kayama, Mayuko Azusa and Emi Ikehata.

Yūzō Kayama is recorded as having received Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year, Golden Arrow Award and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. Recognition and collections. Kayama received Elan d'or Award for Newcomer of the Year, Golden Arrow Award and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.