Hideaki Tokunaga (德永 英明, Tokunaga Hideaki; born February 27, 1961 in Yanagawa, Fukuoka) is a Japanese pop…
Hideaki Tokunaga (德永 英明, Tokunaga Hideaki; born February 27, 1961 in Yanagawa, Fukuoka) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Although Tokunaga failed to pass the test of Star Tanjō! in 1982, he debuted as a recording singer in 1986. After he released hit songs such as "Yume o Shinjite" (the first ending theme of the anime series Dragon Quest) and "Kowarekake no Radio" in 1990, his single "Wednesday Moon" reached No. 1 on Oricon weekly charts in 1991. He was also known for Vocalist album series, comprising his covers of female songs. Vocalist, Vocalist 2, Vocalist 3 and Vocalist 4 were released in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 respectively. Tokunaga is the first male artist to have at least one album to reach the number-one position on the Japanese Oricon weekly charts for four decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s). Tokunaga also composed other singers' songs such as KinKi Kids' "Eien Ni" (from their 2007 album Phi). Tokunaga gained high popularity in Hong Kong due to huge number of songs covered in Cantonese version by superstars such as Alan Tam, Leslie Cheung, Jackie Cheung, and Leon Lai.
Famous Alumni of Itami High School
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Katsura Shijaku II (2代目 桂 枝雀, Nidaime Katsura Shijaku; August 13, 1939 – April 19, 1999) was a Japanese rakugo…
Katsura Shijaku II (2代目 桂 枝雀, Nidaime Katsura Shijaku; August 13, 1939 – April 19, 1999) was a Japanese rakugo performer of the late 20th century, who often performed in English. He was born Tōru Maeda (前田 達, Maeda Tōru) in Kobe, the son of a brick-maker. In 1960, he entered the tutelage of the rakugo performer Katsura Beichō III (桂米朝), and upon completion of his study, was given the stage name Katsura Koyone X (桂小米). He changed his stage name to Shijaku Katsura (Shijaku Katsura II) in 1974. Katsura studied English in the early 1980s, and gave his first English-language rakugo performance in 1983. For the rest of his career, he often performed rakugo in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, making an otherwise inaccessible form of comedy accessible for non-Japanese speakers. He also assisted in launching the career of Bill Crowley, the non-Japanese professional rakugo performer. Katsura died of heart failure on April 19, 1999, after a suicide attempt at his home in Suita, Osaka. He was discovered by his wife Eyo and his brother, the magician Takeshi Maeda.