Kita Rentarō (北廉太郎) (also known as Kita Kan (紀多寛); born Kita Koretsugu (紀太惟次); March 20, 1920 – September 16, 1940) was a Japanese ryūkōka singer. He was popularly known as Kitaren (キタレン). Tending towards delinquency in adolescence, Kita dropped out of school in 1936 and began to train as a boxer. His father's death soon after, as well as encouragement from Kikuchi Tansui, caused him to pursue singing as a vocation instead. In 1937, Kita made his recording debut on Taihei Records; he moved to the Japanese branch of Polydor Records the following year. After initial success, his career stalled. He died from leukemia in 1940 after a rapid decline in his health.
Source: “Kita Rentarō”, English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), excerpt