is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor.

Life and career

Naoaki Ikehata and Shinsuke Suematsu 20211104

Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara, and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

. Yuzo Kayama signed with

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

and made his film debut with ''Otoko tai Otoko'' directed by

Senkichi Taniguchi (February 19, 1912 – October 29, 2007) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Born in Tokyo, Japan, he attended Waseda University but left before graduating due to his involvement in a left-wing theater troupe. He ...

in 1960. He was cast in the leading role in the 1960 film ''Dokuritsu Gurentai Nishie'' directed by

Kihachi Okamoto was a Cinema of Japan, Japanese film director who worked in several different film genre, genres. Career Born in Yonago, Tottori, Yonago, Okamoto attended Meiji University, but was drafted into the Air Force 1943 and entered World War II, an exp ...

. Kayama rose to stardom in the 1960s in the '' Wakadaishō'' ("Young Guy") film series. He showed his ability for drama when

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

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 The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

, and performed a form of psychedelic

surf music Surf music (also known as surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is inst ...

in the 1960s with his

Mosrite Mosrite was an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists. Mosrite guitars we ...

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 Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

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 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, pop ...

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.

Filmography

Films

Television

Family tree

Honours

* Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2014) *

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

(2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayama, Yuzo Japanese male film actors Japanese male singers Japanese guitarists 1937 births Living people Keio University alumni Keio Senior High School alumni Singers from Kanagawa Prefecture People from Chigasaki, Kanagawa Dreamusic artists Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Persons of Cultural Merit