is a Japanese

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

duo formed in 1974 by and . The artists were previously part of the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

folk group Akaitori (赤い鳥), which was known for its unique sound blending light rock with choral harmonies. Their style is characterized by interpretations of traditional songs with arrangements using contemporary sounds and rhythms. Kamifūsen is active in the Kansai region of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and have recorded internationally in Santa Monica,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

Kamifūsen's music was inspired by

Peter, Paul & Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's reperto ...

, who had a strong influence on the 1970s Japanese folk movement. Gotō and Hirayama first formed a duo in 1967, when they were both in the second year of university. As they added more members, they formed Akaitori, which means "red bird", in 1969.

Akaitori

Akaitori was discovered by producer Kunihiko Murai (村井邦彦) after winning the 1969 Yamaha Light Music Contest Grand Prix Award for "Takeda's Lullaby." Making their formal debut in 1970, the folk group became best known for the hit single "

Tsubasa wo Kudasai is a popular Japanese folk song written by and composed by . General The song was composed for the that took place in Shima, Mie in 1970. The song appeared on the popular single record released by the folk group on February 5, 1971, becom ...

", which became the official song of the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football, futsal, beach soccer and efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the national team, as well as club competitions. History The organisat ...

when Japan made its first appearance at the World Cup in France. After disbanding in August 1974, former members formed Kamifūsen, Hi-Fi Set, and Humming Bird.

Kamifūsen (1974 to 1991)

In September 1974, Gotō and Hirayama started Kamifūsen, continuing to perform "Tsubasa wo Kudasai", which became part of the standard choral repertoire in elementary schools. In 1977, Kamifūsen had their first major hit " Before Winter Comes", which became a signature song for the group. The song reached number 4 on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

, with lyrics written by Gotō, and music composed by . Kamifūsen released nine albums between 1974 and 1986; seven of them were recorded in Japan, while ''Here With Me'' was recorded in Santa Monica, California, and ''Echo Of Love'' in Toronto, Canada. ''Here With Me'' (1984) was produced by Henry Lewy, featuring the original song "Cherry Blossom" written by Peter Yarrow and a Japanese cover version of a

Carmine Coppola Carmine Valentino Coppola (; June 11, 1910 – April 26, 1991) was an American composer, flautist, pianist, and songwriter who contributed original music to ''The Godfather'', ''The Godfather Part II'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Outsiders'', an ...

theme from ''The Outsiders'' soundtrack. ''Echo Of Love'' (1986) featured musicians from The

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

Band.

TSU-BA-SA

In 1991, Gotō and Hirayama participated as members of TSU-BA-SA, formed by and . After releasing the albums ''Angel On The Roof'' (1990) and ''TIME'' (1991), they returned to work as Kamifūsen.

Kamifūsen (1993 to present)

Kamifūsen released seven albums from 1993 to present. Live performances included recitals at Osaka Central Public Hall, Osaka Theater Drama City, Osaka Sankei Hall Breeze, and

Hyogo Performing Arts Center The is a performing arts center in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi Station operated by Hankyu Corporation. The Center was opened in 2005 to mark the ten-year anniversary of the Great Hanshin earthq ...

. In 2019, Kamifūsen held their "45th Anniversary Concert - 50th Anniversary Recital from Red Bird" at Yomiuri Ōtemachi Hall in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Personal

Gotō and Hirayama were classmates at Amagasaki Kita High School in

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

. They were reunited after starting university, when they were both interested in traditional songs, and developed a connection. The couple were married at the age of 20 while part of Akaitori. Hirayama has appeared as a radio show host for several decades. In 2005, Gotō appeared as a lecturer on

NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also sh ...

's ''Shumi Yūyū'' (趣味悠々).

Discography

Albums

* 1974: ''We Became Two Again (またふたりになったね)'' * 1976: ''Love and Freedom (愛と自由を)'' * 1978: ''Reunion -A New Journey- (再会 -新たなる旅立ち-)'' * 1979: ''Friends (フレンズ)'' * 1982: ''Tomodachi ~ Poetry of the World of Chihiro Iwasaki ~ (ともだち〜いわさきちひろの世界を詩う〜)'' * 1983: ''Someday Together (いつか二人で)'' * 1984: ''HERE WITH ME'' * 1986: ''ECHO OF LOVE'' * 2000: ''Saintjeum'' * 2001: ''Blue Sky and Sea (青空と海)''

With TSU-BA-SA

* 1991: Angel On The Roof * 1992: TIME

Singles

* 1974: "Ikatsuri Uta (いかつり唄 )" * 1974: "Something Good is Going to Happen (何かいいことありそうな)" * 1975: "Sasabune (ささぶね)" * 1975: "White Construction Paper (白い画用紙)" * 1975: "Farewell Bell (別れの鐘)" * 1976: "Love and Freedom (愛と自由を)" * 1976: "Boy's Day (少年の日)" * 1977: "Before Winter Comes (冬が来る前に)" * 1978: "Even If it Gets Wet with Fog (霧にぬれても)" * 1978: "Who Should I Tell... (誰に告げようか…)" * 1979: "A Loving Farewell (愛ある別れ)" * 1979: "I Was Born (僕は生まれた)" * 1980: "Maruyama River Funauta (円山川舟唄)" * 1980: "Showa Modori Bridge (昭和戻り橋)" * 1982: "Friend (ともだち)" * 1983: "Kitayama Longing (北山慕情)" * 1983: "Spread Your Wings (翼ひろげて)" * 1984: "One man band" * 1986: "Stare at (みつめて)" * 1986: "ECHO OF LOVE" * 2003: "I Want to Be Like You (あなたの風になりたい)"

Tie-ups

Songs used in NHK "Songs of Ours"

References

External links

* * {{Discogs artist, artist=4965857, name=Kamifusen
Kamifusen
at

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Japanese pop music groups Japanese folk musicians Japanese musical duos Musical groups established in 1974