From the tropical land of Tosa, a musician and band member from Kochi Prefecture.
When you think of bands and musicians from Kochi Prefecture, do any artists or bands immediately come to mind?
Mayo Okamoto and Ryoko Hirosue have had a lot of media exposure, so their names likely come up easily, but beyond them, it’s hard to think of many, right?
However, if you look into it, you’ll find that Kochi has produced quite a number of musicians—prompting reactions like “I remember seeing this band on TV back in the day!”, “That person from that band!”, and “That famous video game composer!”
Kochi Prefecture stretches long from east to west, and the regions—Shimanto City in the west, Kochi City and Nangoku City in the center, and Muroto City in the east—each have subtly different cultures and dialects.
In this article, we’ll introduce musicians who hail from Kochi Prefecture.
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From the tropical land of Tosa: musicians and band members from Kochi Prefecture (ages 21–30)
Shimanto RiverMiyama Hiroshi
Hiroshi Miyama, who is active as an enka singer, is from Nankoku City in Kochi Prefecture.
In 2013, he was appointed Yosakoi Goodwill Ambassador by Kochi City.
His eighth single, Shimanto River, reached No.
11 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, his highest ranking to date.
Just the way you are…Horiuchi Kei
Kei Horiuchi, who works as a singer-songwriter, is from Shimanto City in Kochi Prefecture.
In 2011, he was appointed a Kochi Prefecture Tourism Ambassador by the governor of Kochi.
“Sono mama no kimi de…” included on the album “Sono mama” has become one of his signature songs.
flimsy and shiny (silky/gleaming look)Yano Ayako
Ayano Junko, who is active as a singer-songwriter, is from Ino Town in Kochi Prefecture.
In 2003, she won the Grand Prix at the Karuizawa Love Song Award 2003 and made her major-label debut with the award-winning song “Terotero.” The single reached No.
44 on the Oricon charts.
Cheer up! Let’s keep our spirits up!suupaabando
Dora, who performs as a member of a women’s folk duo superband, is from Muroto City in Kochi Prefecture, and Gotchi is from Kochi City.
They made their major debut with their second mini-album, “Genki Dashite Ikouze!!” and the track of the same name serves as the theme song for Hanshin Tigers pitcher Yuya Ando.
chirping rabbitMaeda Yuki
Yuki Maeda, who worked as an enka singer, is from Kochi Prefecture.
She was a former member of Hello! Project and the only member who specialized exclusively in enka.
She made her debut with her first single, “Naki Usagi.” In 2012, she announced her marriage and pregnancy, and has since been on an indefinite hiatus from show business.
Open! TulipAkiyama Kanpei
Kanpei Hazama, who works as a comedian and singer, is from Sukumo City in Kochi Prefecture.
He made his debut as a singer with the song “Hirake! Tulip,” which became a massive hit, selling one million copies.
A film inspired by this song was also produced.
Adolescence AdrenalineAKB48 Team8 WEST
Natsuki Hirose, who is active as a member of the idol group AKB48, is from Kochi Prefecture.
She has been active as a member of Team 8 since 2014.
She participated as part of Team 8 WEST in “Adolescent High Tension,” included on Type D of the 46th single “High Tension.”