(October 14, 1908 – July 3, 1989) was a Japanese singer of ''

ryūkōka is a Japanese music genre, musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the East Asian cultural sphere, sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo period, Edo Period. Therefore, ...

'', ''

gunka is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Jap ...

'', and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Biography

Nitta was born in the village of Shussei (today part of

Tsugaru Tsugaru (津軽) may refer to: * Tsugaru, Aomori, a city of Aomori Prefecture, Japan * Tsugaru Peninsula * Tsugaru Strait, between Honshū and Hokkaidō ** Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry, a ferry crossing this strait * Tsugaru-jamisen, a traditional style of ...

), Nishitsugaru District,

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, ...

in 1908. His father, an elementary school teacher, encouraged Nitta's academic promise. He later enrolled in the Aomori Prefectural Normal School (today part of Hirosaki University). Although initially determined to become a teacher himself, Nitta's budding interest in music eventually led to his enrollment at the Tokyo School of Music in 1926. The following year, Nitta dropped out and returned to Aomori, where he taught at a girls' school and composed music in his spare time. In 1935, Nitta returned to Tokyo to continue his musical studies. During this time, he signed onto

Taihei Records was a village located in Chikujō District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the village had an estimated population of 4,075 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volu ...

as a singer and performed in

, using the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

. Three years later, he moved to Nippon Victor as an exclusive artist, whereupon he chose "Nitta Hachirō" as his permanent stage name. Nitta enjoyed the peak of his fame during the late 1930s and early 1940s. His most famous song from this period was , composed by Shimaguchi Komao, although it did not become popular until the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

. Japanese servicemen deployed in the Nan'yō region devised a contrafactum of the song called , which was popularized throughout Japan after they were demobilized. Nitta made recordings for and King Records after the war. He died at the age of 81 in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nitta, Hachiro 1908 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Japanese male opera singers King Records (Japan) artists People from Aomori Prefecture Victor Entertainment artists Tokyo Music School alumni