In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 on (sound) with the kanji 楽 gaku. Japan is the world's largest market for music on physical media and the second-largest overall music market, with a retail value of US$2.7 billion in 2017.
Hideto Matsumoto, known professionally as hide, was a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band X Japan from 1987 to 1997 and a solo artist from 1993 onward. He also formed the United States-based rock supergroup Zilch in 1996.
Vodka Collins was a Tokyo-based Japanese-American rock band, formed in 1971. The core band members were drummer Hiroshi Oguchi, singer-guitarist Alan Merrill, singer-guitarist Hiroshi "Monsieur" Kamayatsu and bassist Take Yokouchi. In later reunion recordings in the 1990s, Yokouchi was replaced by Masayoshi "Mabo" Kabe on bass guitar.
The Tigers were a Japanese rock band formed in 1967, during the Group Sounds era. The group featured Kenji Sawada as their lead singer, and were signed by Watanabe Productions.
Kenji Sawada is a Japanese singer, composer, lyricist and actor, best known for being the vocalist for the Japanese rock band The Tigers. Nicknamed "Julie" because of his self-professed adoration of Julie Andrews, he was born in Tsunoi, Iwami, Tottori Prefecture, Japan, and raised in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto at age 3.
The Tempters were part of Japan's Group Sounds pop music era in the 1960s.
Kenichi Hagiwara was a Japanese singer and actor.
The Japan Academy Prize (日本学士院賞) is a prize awarded by the Japan Academy in recognition of academic theses, books, and achievements.
The Spiders were a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1961, as one of the leading groups of the Group Sounds genre.
Fujifabric is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock.
Casiopea World Live '88 is the fifth live album released by the jazz fusion group Casiopea in 1988. It is a compilation Album consisting of recordings of some of their songs played in concert during Casiopea's World Tour in 1988 that promoted their previous album "Euphony". It is also a collaboration album with two Japanese horn sections from two other bands, the brass section of "Spectrum" and the brass Section of "The Tops". Additionally, it is the first album Spectrum recorded since their breakup in 1981, and is their penultimate album. Lead trumpeter/vocalist of Spectrum, Ichiro Nitta, was also the Producer of "The Tops" at the time this album was released. Tops released one more album, "Soul Children", the following year, before they disbanded in 1991. This was also the last album to feature Tetsuo Sakurai on Bass and Akira Jimbo on Drums, who both left to form the band Jimsaku.
Tomotaka Imamichi, is a Japanese music producer, guitarist and songwriter from Tokyo, Japan. He first got his huge break in the Japanese music circuit in 1984 as the guitarist and primary songwriter for the rock band, Barbee Boys, although it is reported that he has been writing music himself since at least 1975 after being highly influenced by Toshikatsu Utsumi from the legendary folk band Carol.
Shinji Hosoe, also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring Ridge Racer, Street Fighter EX and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production and publishing company SuperSweep, alongside long time collaborator Ayako Saso.
Mitsuyoshi Yoshino, known professionally as Mickie Yoshino, is a Japanese keyboardist, composer, producer, and arranger. Yoshino is known for leading the rock band Godiego. In 2005, he won a Japan Academy Prize for his music. Yoshino's compositions were used in the film Swing Girls. Yoshino still produces music with groups such as Godiego and EnTRANS.
Katsuo Ohno is a Japanese musician and composer who has scored multiple films and anime. His most notable works are theme music of detective drama Taiyō ni Hoero! and anime series Detective Conan.
Tokyo Vice is an American crime drama television series created by J. T. Rogers and based on the 2009 memoir of the same name by Jake Adelstein. It stars Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller, Hideaki Itō, Show Kasamatsu, Ella Rumpf, Rinko Kikuchi, Tomohisa Yamashita, Miki Maya, and Yōsuke Kubozuka. The series centers on Adelstein (Elgort), an American journalist investigating the yakuza in Tokyo.
