is a Japanese singer and TV personality, known for his outspoken views and style. Mikawa was born in

Suwa, Nagano is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,972 in 20698 households, and a population density of 452 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The shores of Lake Suwa have been in ...

as . He recorded a number of hit songs as a male ''

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ''ryūkōka'' music, p ...

'' singer in the 1960s and 1970s. The most well-known of his songs include "Sasoriza no Onna" and "Yanagase Blues". His career went into decline in the mid-1970s, but revived about 10 years later when he adopted his current style. He makes frequent appearances on TV talk and variety shows, and is also known as a regular performer on ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'', the popular New Year's Eve music show. One of the highlights of that show is his annual contest with ''enka'' singer

Sachiko Kobayashi , born in Niigata, Japan, is a female Japanese enka singer and occasional voice actress and voice provider of VOCALOID 4 Sachiko developed by YAMAHA co. She previously worked alongside the Pokémon Company, under the alias " Garura Kobayashi". ...

for the most elaborate costume. Mikawa is openly gay.

Discography

* (1965) * (1966) * (1967) * (1968) * (1969) * (1970) * (1971) * (1972) * (1972) * (1972) * (1974) * (2009)

References

External links

Discography
1946 births Living people Japanese male singers Japanese television personalities Musicians from Nagano Prefecture Gay musicians Japanese LGBT people Japanese LGBT singers People from Nagano Prefecture {{japan-singer-stub