Hiroshi Itsuki

is a Japanese singer and composer. As of 1987, he had sold 20 million singles and 4 million LP albums. Itsuki is usually regarded as an enka singer, but he has also released a cover version of Southern All Stars’ J-pop song “Tsunami”. Career In 1965, Itsuki debuted under the stage name “Masaru Matsuyama,” but did not initially achieve commercial success. Although he changed his stage name to “Eiichi Ichijō” in 1967, and then to “Ken Mitani” in 1969, there was no improvement in his music’s commercial sales. In 1971, he changed his name to “Hiroshi Itsuki” and was given the song by Masaaki Hirao. Written by lyricist Yoko Yamaguchi, “Yokohama Tasogare” reached the top of the Oricon weekly single chart. His 2006 single “Takasebune” debuted at number 9 on the Oricon charts, becoming his first Top 10 single in 22 years, since his 1984 single “Nagaragawa Enka”. In 2008, he was featured in Morning Musume’s Cover You album. He sang “Izakaya” with Ai Takahashi. Also in 2008, he collaborated with the girl group Cute, letting them record the song “Edo no Temari Uta”, which he himself was planning to include in his end-of-year album. Cute’s producer Tsunku liked the song and thought that if per