Hideki Saijo

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Hideki Saijō
西城 秀樹
Background information
Birth nameTatsuo Kimoto (木本 龍雄, Kimoto Tatsuo)
Born(1955-04-13)April 13, 1955
Hiroshima, Japan
DiedMay 16, 2018(2018-05-16) (aged 63)
Yokohama, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s)Vocalist, musician, composer, actor
Years active1972-2018

Hideki Saijō (西城 秀樹, Saijō Hideki, originally Tatsuo Kimoto (木本 龍雄, Kimoto Tatsuo); April 13, 1955 – May 16, 2018) was a Japanese pioneering rock, city pop, Kayoukyoku, J-Pop, R&B, Funk, Lounge vocalist, composer, and musician, as well as an actor.

He debuted at Japanese major pop music scene in March 1972 aged 16 years old, with a song called "A Season of Falling in Love" (恋する季節) from BGM Victor Japan RCA Records, which ranked in Japanese national pop music chart as the 48th at the highest.

With his fourth single, "Let's Challenge with Our Youth" (青春に賭けよう) and fifth single, "A Storm of Passion" (情熱の嵐), both released in 1972–1973, he became one of the most popular singers in Japanese pop music and a Best Ten Chart ranking artist.

In 1973, his 6th single, "Teared Love" (ちぎれた愛) became a rapid and massive mega hit, ranking in number 1 of Japanese national chart, selling half a million records within a few weeks – a record highest sales number. He quickly became one of the most popular singers in Japan from a very early stage of his career, and then a superstar vocalist as well as a popular aidoru (idol).

After his initial success, he continued to rank in the national Top Ten Charts, with singles such as "Chains of Roses" (薔薇の鎖), and "Passionate (Hard) Love" (激しい恋), "Lola" (傷だらけのローラ) in 1974.

Saijō was also known for singing the Japanese version of the Village People's hit song "Y.M.C.A.,"[1] called "Young Man." In the 1970s, he was called shin gosanke (新御三家, "New Big Three") with Goro Noguchi and Hiromi Go. Although the original version was camp, Saijō's version was intended to seriously inspire "young men."

Early Life[edit]

Hideki Saijō was born as Tatsuo Kimoto on 13 April 1955 in Atago-machi, Higashi-ku, Hiroshima City (now Higashi-ku), Hiroshima Prefecture, as the youngest of three siblings to parents Saburō and Toshiko Kimoto. In April 1959, he enrolled in Rissho Kindergarten. As a child, he often sang "Black Petals," a popular song at the time, much to the distaste of his teacher who advised that he sing more childish songs. In April 1962, he entered Onaga Elementary School in Hiroshima City. Influenced by his father, who had played jazz guitar as a hobby, he became familiar with Western music from an early age and began attending Hiroshima Central Jazz School. He initially studied electric guitar, followed by bass guitar, but eventually settled on drums.

In 1965, while in fourth class, he formed a rock and roll band called "Beggars" with his older brother. Through Beggars, he began performing as a drummer while still in primary school. In April 1968, he entered Futaba Junior High School in Hiroshima City. He performed on stage at the school's annual festival when his brother was in third year and he was in first year. He was greatly influenced by western musicians such as The Ventures, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Chicago. This deep knowledge and appreciation of Western music later became a distinctive feature that set him apart from other idol singers.

In 1969, while in second year of secondary school, Beggars underwent a member change and the band was re-named "Gypsy". In April 1971, he entered the commerce department of Sanyō Secondary School. It was then that Kimoto became the lead vocalist of Gypsy. Until then, he had aimed to succeed in the world of rock as a drummer, but after hearing Kiyohiko Ozaki's song "Until We Meet Again", his perception of pop music shifted and he decided to become a singer. With Gypsy, he participated in the first and second Yamaha Light Music Contests and won in the China catagory of the competition. Around this time, he regularly performed at an R&B cafe called "Punch", and while singing there, he was scouted by a manager who had travelled down from Tokyo.

On 3 October 1971, despite facing opposition from his strict and stubborn father against entering the entertainment industry, he ran away from home via an overnight train from Hiroshima and arrived at Tokyo Station the following morning. From there, he joined the talent agency "Geiei" and transferred to a night secondary school in Tokyo. He began living with his manager in a small triangular room only 5.4m x 2.7m in size and practiced intensely each day. In December, he was recognised by RCA director Robbie Wada, at last making his professional debut definite.

Career[edit]

1972[edit]

Kimoto, hereinafter referred to by his stage name Hideki Saijō, made his professional debut on 25 March 1972 with the single "Lovers' Season", released by Victor Japan's RCA label (currently JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment Corporation). While it was not a major hit, peaking at only number 42 on the Oricon chart, national interest in Saijō's career gradually increased from this work onwards. The release of his second single, "Promise of Love", on 25 July fared better, reaching number 18 and selling an estimated 140,000 copies.

On 8 August, Saijō held his first concert "The Wild 17 Year-Old" at Tokyo Postal Savings Hall. His debut album of the same name was released on 5 November. On 26 November, he was selected as one of the five nominees for the Best New Artist Award at the 14th Japan Record Awards. He received 19 votes, but with that being just one vote short of the 20 votes necessary to win, he narrowly missed out on the award. On 4 December, he appeared on popular music programme "Night Hit Studio" for the first time, singing his third single "Chance Comes Only Once". The intense and dramatic television performances typically associated with Saijō originated from this broadcast.

1973[edit]

Saijo started 1973 with the release of his fourth single "Let's Bet On Youth" on 25 February, reaching number 16 on the Oricon chart. His second album, bearing the same name, was released on 25 March. The following day, Saijō held a concert titled "Hideki on Stage" at Osaka Mainichi Hall to commemorate the first anniversary of his debut. The release of his fifth single, "Storm of Passion", on 25 May sent his career to new heights as it propelled him to the top ten of the Oricon chart for the first time, peaking at number six and selling an estimated 246,000 copies. His early career's most significant milestone wouldn't be until 24 September, however, when his sixth single, "Broken Love", topped the Oricon chart, with Saijō becoming the first male idol who debuted in the 1970s to achieve this feat. Broken Love stayed at number 1 for four consecutive weeks and sold an estimated 475,000 copies. It was also the first instance of a Hideki Saijō single incorparating dialogue into a song, a trait that went on to appear in several of his future hits.

Saijō's advertisements for "House Vermont Curry" began airing in November, leading his catchphrase in the advertisements, "Hideki, kangeki!" (meaning, "Hideki, impressive!"), to become a familiar phrase to the general public. Although it was presumed that he would perform at annual music special "Kouhaku Utaka Gassen" for the first time that year, he had not been selected to appear. Nonetheless, Saijō ended the year on a high note, winning the Vocal Award at the 15th Japan Record Awards for Broken Love on 31 December.

Illness and Death[edit]

In June 2003, while promoting his new released song in South Korea, Saijo suffered a stroke which resulted in his speech being partially impaired. After several years of rehabilitation, Saijo was on his way toward full recovery until his cerebral infarction relapsed in 2011, resulting in his right side being paralysed. In spite of his failing health, Saijo courageously continued to perform to please his fans.[2]

Saijo died from acute heart failure in a hospital in Yokohama city on May 16, 2018.[3]

Family[edit]

Saijo married Miki Makihara in 2001, and they had one daughter and two sons.

Discography[edit]

# Date Title Lyrics Composition Arrangement Oricon ranking Chart progress
1 25 Mar 1972 Lovers' Season Takashi Taka 42 [Oricon debut]
2 25 Jul 1972 Promise of Love 18 +24
3 25 Nov 1972 Chance Comes Only Once 20 -2
4 25 Feb 1973 Let's Bet on Youth 16 +4
5 9 May 1973 Storm of Passion 6 +10
6 5 Sep 1973 Broken Love Kazumi Yasui 1 (4 weeks) +5
7 5 Dec 1973 Cross of Love Takashi Taka 1 +0
8 25 Feb 1974 Chain of Roses 3 -2
9 25 May 1974 Intense Love Kazumi Yasui 2 +1
10 25 Aug 1974 Lola, Covered with Scars Daizō Saitō 2 +0
11 25 Nov 1974 Tears and Friendship Takashi Taka 4 -2
12 25 Feb 1975 This Love’s Thrill Kazumi Yasui 3 +1
13 25 May 1975 Reckless Runaway of Love 3 +0
14 25 Aug 1975 Unparalleled Love 6 -3
15 25 Oct 1975 White Chapel Takashi Taka 4 +2
16 25 Feb 1976 Embrace Me, Let’s Become Passionate Yū Aku 3 +1
17 5 Jun 1976 Jaguar 3 +0
18 5 Sep 1976 Young Lions 4 -1
19 20 Dec 1976 Last Scene 8 -4
20 15 Mar 1977 Boomerang Street 6 +2
21 5 Jun 1977 Sexy Rock 'n' Roller 7 -1
22 5 Sep 1977 Unbutton It 12 -5
23 1 Jan 1978 Take off Your Boots and Have Breakfast 7 +5
24 5 Mar 1978 For You and Love Ryō Shōji 6 +1
25 25 May 1978 Flame Yū Aku 5 +1
26 25 Aug 1978 Blue Sky Blue 3 +2
27 25 Nov 1978 To A Distant Lover Machiko Ryū 8 -5
28 21 Feb 1979 YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.) Victor Willis

Henri Belolo

Ryūji Amagai

1 (5 weeks) +7
29 21 May 1979 Hop Step Jump Hikaru Yamazaki 2 -1
30 5 Sep 1979 Keisuke Yamakawa 3 -1
31 5 Jan 1980 6 -3
32 21 Mar 1980 Stevie Wonder

Keisuke Yamakawa

33 5 Jun 1980 Takashi Taka
34 21 Jul 1980 Endless Summer Fumiko Okada
35 5 Oct 1980 Rei Nakanishi
36 16 Dec 1980 Kazumasa Oda
37 21 Mar 1981
38 21 Jun 1981
39 5 Sep 1981
40 20 Dec 1981
41 25 Mar 1982
42 21 Jun 1982
43 20 Sep 1982
44 1 Feb 1983
45 30 Jun 1983
46 15 Sep 1983
47 25 Jan 1984
48 5 Jul 1984
49 15 Oct 1984
50 5 Feb 1985
51 9 May 1985
52 5 Sep 1985 Minako Yoshida
53 21 Nov 1985 Barry Manilow

Minako Yoshida

21 Feb 1986 - -
54 10 Apr 1986
55 5 Sep 1986
56 5 Dec 1986
57 21 May 1987
58 21 Nov 1987
59 1 Apr 1988 Rei Nakanishi
60 6 Jul 1988
61 31 Aug 1988
62 1 Nov 1988 Rei Nakanishi
63 21 Jul 1989
64 21 Jul 1990
65 25 Mar 1991
66 21 Apr 1991
67
68 Yū Aku

Kaori Nakahara

69
70
71 Toyohisa Araki
72
73 Toyohisa Araki
74 Satori Shiraishi
75
76
77 Yumi Matsutoya
78
79
80
81 m.c.A.T
82 Ryūichi Kawamura
83 Minako Yoshida
84 Satomi Arimori
85 Tsunku
86 Satomi Arimori
87

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Director Notes
1973 Toshigoro

(としごろ, "Age of Maturity")

"Singer"

(歌手)

Hirokazu Ichimura

(市村泰一)

Saijō's film debut, albeit being a minor role. In the film, he performs "Let's Bet on Youth" (青春に賭けよう), his fourth single
1973 Love Is After School

(恋は放課後)

"Singer"

(歌手)

Jō Hirose

(広瀬襄)

1973 A Single Teardrop

(ひとつぶの涙)

"Singer"

(歌手)

Hirokazu Ichimura

(市村泰一)

1974 The First Star of Happiness

(しあわせの一番星)

  • Hideo Tōjō

(東条英雄)

  • Hideki Saijo

(西城秀樹)

Shigeyuki Yamane

(山根成之)

In this film, Saijō alternates between two roles: cleaning shop clerk Hideo and vocalist Hideki
1974 The Legend of Love & Sincerity

(愛と誠, "Love & Sincerity")

Makoto Taiga

(大賀誠)

Shigeyuki Yamane

(山根成之)

An adaptation of a manga series of the same name and Saijō's first starring role. As it was met with great popularity, plans were made for it to be the start of a lengthy film franchise featuring Saijō as the Makoto character, in a similar vein to the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. In the end, this did not come to fruition and the rest of the trilogy ended up featuring different actors as Makoto. In 2012, another film based on the franchise, titled "For Love's Sake", was directed by Takashi Miike and features references to Saijō.
1975 Let's Go, Grandma!

(おれの行く道, "The Path I Walk")

Tsuchiya Kōzō

(土屋耕三)

Shigeyuki Yamane

(山根成之)

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pearlman, Jeff (June 2008). America's favorite ballpark sing-along is (gasp!) a disco anthem about gay sex. pp. 75–78. Retrieved 16 May 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ 西城秀樹が脳梗塞再発　年内の仕事はキャンセル(in Japanese)
  3. ^ 西城秀樹さんが死去　　歌手で俳優 (in Japanese)

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hideki_Saijo&oldid=1223626227"