Saburō Kitajima

Who is Saburō Kitajima?

Saburō Kitajima is a well-known Japanese enka singer, lyricist and composer.

He was born Minoru Ōno, in a little town in Hokkaidō to a fisherman. He was very poor because of the effects of World War II, and he was forced to work while he studied.

When he was about to graduate from high school, he decided to become a singer. His debut single was called "Bungacha-Bushi," which was released in 1962.

He has many famous songs, including "Namida Bune", "Kyōdai Jingi", "Yosaku" and "Kita no Ryōba". His 1965 song "Kaerokana" was written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. He is very popular in Japan partly due to his looks of a physical laborer, and he mostly sings the spirit of Japan's working class and rural laborer. He often appears on Kōhaku Uta Gassen, a TV program at the end of the year where many major Japanese singers gather to perform.

Kitajima released single "Fūfu Isshō" on January 1, 2010 at the age of 73. It debuted at No. 10 on the Japanese Oricon weekly single charts. It became the first single to reach Top 10 by a solo artist in his 70s in Oricon charts history.