Yūzō Kayama

Yūzō Kayama (加山 雄三, Kayama Yūzō, born April 11, 1937) is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor.

Yūzō Kayama
加山 雄三
Kayama in 2021
Born (1937-04-11) April 11, 1937
Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
OccupationMusician, singer-songwriter, actor
Years active1960–present
Japanese name
Kanji加山 雄三
Hiraganaかやま ゆうぞう
Katakanaカヤマ ユウゾウ
Websitewww.kayamayuzo.com

Life and career
With Shinsuke Suematsu (Award Ceremony for the Persons of Cultural Merit, November 4, 2021)

His father, Ken Uehara, was a film star during the mid-twentieth century.[1][2] Kayama graduated from Keio University.[2] Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made his film debut with Otoko tai Otoko directed by Senkichi Taniguchi in 1960.[2][1] He was cast in leading role in the 1960 film Dokuritsu Gurentai Nishie directed by Kihachi Okamoto.[2] Kayama rose to stardom in the 1960s in the Wakadaishō ("Young Guy") film series.[2]

He showed his ability for drama when Akira Kurosawa cast him for his films Sanjuro and Red Beard.[1][2] In the 1970s, he starred such television dramas as Edo no Kaze and Daitsuiseki.[1]

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.[3] At that point it was the biggest selling disc in the Japanese recording industry's history.[3]

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.[4]

Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Ref
1960 Otoko tai Otoko Toshio Masue
1961 Daigaku no Wakadaishō Yuichi Tanuma
1962 Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki Asano Naganori
Ginza no Wakadaishō Yuichi Tanuma
Nihon-ichi no Wakadaishō Yuichi Tanuma
Sanjuro Iori Izaka
1963 Sengoku Yaro Kittan
Attack Squadron! Taki
1964 Yearning Koji Morita
1965 Eleki no Wakadaishō Yuichi Tanuma
Red Beard Dr. Noboru Yasumoto
1966 The Sword of Doom Hyoma Utsuki[5]
1967 Scattered Clouds Shiro Mishima [6]
Japan's Longest Day Morio Tateno
1968 Rengō Kantai Shirei Chōkan: Yamamoto Isoroku First Lieutenant Ijuin
1969 Battle of the Japan Sea Takeo Hirose
1971 Battle of Okinawa Higa
1974 ESPY Hōjō
1977 Mount Hakkoda Captain Kurata
1995 Thunderbolt Coach Murakami

Television
Year Title Role Ref.
1974–1975 Karei-naru Ichizoku Teppei Manpyo [7]
1975–1981 Edo no Kaze Chiaki Joenosuke
1978 Daitsuiseki Eiichi Nitta
1990 Tobu ga Gotoku Shimazu Nariakira
2009 KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops Himself

Family tree
Iwakura Tomomi
Iwakura Tomosada
Iwakura Tomoaki
Yōko KozakuraKen Uehara
Yūzō KayamaMegumi Matsumoto
Nobuhiro IkehataTetsuo YamashitaMayuko AzusaEmi Ikehata

Honours

References
  1. "加山雄三 Yuzo Kayama biography" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  2. "加山雄三" (in Japanese). kotobank. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  3. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 192. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. 「Terra Battle Download Starter」2.5mil DL Kayama, Yuzo Interview
  5. Stuart Galbraith IV (May 16, 2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Scarecrow Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3.
  6. "乱れ雲". eiga.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  7. "華麗なる一族". Family Gekijyo. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  8. "長嶋茂雄さんら9人文化勲章 功労者に加山雄三さんら". Jiji.com. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
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