Yuzo Kayama
Encyclopedia
is a Japan
ese popular
musician
and film
star
, born on 11 April 1937. His father, Ken Uehara
, was a film star during the 1930s. Yuzo Kayama became a big star in the 1960s in the Wakadaishō (Young Guy) film series.
He showed his ability for drama when Akira Kurosawa
cast him for his 1965 film, , starring Toshirō Mifune
. Kayama reported that he found the two years spent making this film the most difficult, but proudest work of his life.
As a guitarist, he took inspiration from the American instrumental group The Ventures
, and performed a form of psychedelic
surf music
in the 1960s with his Mosrite
guitar. One of his best-known instrumentals is "Black Sand Beach". "Kimi to Itsumademo" ("Love Forever"), another of his compositions, sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
in 1965. At that point it was the biggest selling disc
in the Japanese recording industry's history.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese popular
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
star
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, born on 11 April 1937. His father, Ken Uehara
Ken Uehara
was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in over 200 films between 1935 and 1990. He starred in Entotsu no mieru basho, which was entered into the 3rd Berlin International Film Festival.His son is the singer and actor Yūzō Kayama.-Selected filmography:...
, was a film star during the 1930s. Yuzo Kayama became a big star in the 1960s in the Wakadaishō (Young Guy) film series.
He showed his ability for drama when Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
cast him for his 1965 film, , starring Toshirō Mifune
Toshiro Mifune
Toshirō Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in almost 170 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration with filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, from 1948 to 1965, in works such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, and Yojimbo...
. Kayama reported that he found the two years spent making this film the most difficult, but proudest work of his life.
As a guitarist, he took inspiration from the American instrumental group The Ventures
The Ventures
The Ventures is an American instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington. Founded by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, the group in its various incarnations has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. With over 100 million records sold, the group is the best-selling...
, and performed a form of psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
in the 1960s with his Mosrite
Mosrite
Mosrite is an American guitar manufacturing company, based in Bakersfield, California, from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Founded by Semie Moseley, Mosrite guitars were played by many rock and roll and country artists....
guitar. One of his best-known instrumentals is "Black Sand Beach". "Kimi to Itsumademo" ("Love Forever"), another of his compositions, sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in 1965. At that point it was the biggest selling disc
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the Japanese recording industry's history.
Filmography
(incomplete)- (忠臣蔵 花の巻 雪の巻 Chushingura: Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki) (1962)
- SanjuroSanjurois a 1962 black-and-white Japanese samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune. It is a sequel to Kurosawa's previous film Yojimbo, with Mifune reprising his role as a wandering ronin...
(椿三十郎 Tubaki Sanjuro) (1962) - Red BeardRed Beardis a 1965 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa about the relationship between a town doctor and his new trainee. The film was based on Shūgorō Yamamoto's short story collection, Akahige shinryotan . Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Insulted and the Injured provided the source for a subplot about a...
(赤ひげ Akahige) (1965)