Tetsuya Takeda

Who is Tetsuya Takeda?

Tetsuya Takeda, born April 11, 1949, is a Japanese folk singer and actor. Takeda is perhaps most known in Japan for his starring role in the Tokyo Broadcasting System's long-running, highly rated television drama Sannen B Gumi Kimpachi Sensei. The program, targeted at junior high and high school-aged adolescents, ran on TBS with Takeda at various times from 1979 until 2011.

Takeda wrote and performed several well-known songs, including the theme song for the 1985 animated movie Doraemon: Nobita's Little Star Wars. Takeda's 1980 song Okuru Kotoba is often sung or performed at junior high school and high school graduation ceremonies in Japan.

Previous to his appearance on Sannen B, Takeda studied to be a teacher at Fukuoka University of Education. He later formed a folk music group called Kaientai. The song Okuru Kotoba, which Takeda wrote and performed with Kaientai, actually had nothing to do with schooling, but is reportedly associated with education because of Takeda's role in the Sannen B show.