Yoshi Ikuzō

Yoshi Ikuzō (吉幾三, born 11 November 1952, Goshogawara, Aomori) is the stage name of Yoshihito Kamata (鎌田 善人, Kamata Yoshihito), a Japanese enka singer-songwriter.

Yoshi Ikuzō
Birth name	Yoshihito Kamata
Also known as	Eiji Yamaoka, IKZO, Kumanosuke Kitami
Born	November 11, 1952（age 71） Kanagi, Aomori, Japan
Genres	Enka
Occupations	Enka singer Singer-songwriter Lyricist Composer Rapper
Instruments	Vocal guitar
Years active	1973 –
Labels	Tokuma Japan Communications
Website	Official site
Alma mater	Kanagi Minami Junior High School
Children	KU
Father	Inakazu Kamata

He has released several popular albums of enka music, a genre akin to Japanese folk or blues music in the Western world. Amongst his most famous hits are "Sake yo", "Suika", and "Yuki Guni". Additionally, he is self-described as the "first popular hip hop artist in Japan" due to the 1984 release of "Ora Tōkyō sa Iguda" (lit. "I'm going to Tokyo"), sung in his native Tsugaru dialect of Japanese. He has been on tour with fellow Japanese star Fukui Kodai.

Ikuzō is married. His wife is named Hisako, and they have a daughter, Ikumi.

His stage name is a pun for the common Japanese phrase "Yoshi, ikuzo!" (よし、いくぞー！, Alright, let's go!).

Discography (incomplete)

Tachineputa float

• Ora ha zettai! Presley: I'm an "Elvis Presley" indeed!
• Ora Tōkyō sa Iguda: A farewell to the Rural
• Yuki Guni: Snow Country
• Sake yo: Sipping and drinking
• Suika: Drunken Song
• Dream
• Shutcho Monogatari: My Dekasegi memories
• Tachineputa
• Kaze ni Fukarete: Blown with the wind
• Tsugaru

Filmography

Film

• Heaven Sent (1979)
• I Go to Tokyo (1985)
• Cape Nostalgia (2014), Teacher Yukiyoshi

Television

• Reach Beyond the Blue Sky (2021), Tokugawa Ieyoshi

External links

• Ikuzo honored by the Hawaii County Police Department