Hideki Saijō

Biography

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 singer, composer, actor, drummer, voice actor, and television and radio show host. Due to his numerous pioneering achievements throughout Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, he is considered an icon amongst Shōwa era idols.
With on-stage vivacity and highly acclaimed vocals as his defining trademarks, Saijō quickly came to dominate the Japanese charts of the 1970s. He was consistently promoted as part of the Shin-Gosanke (新御三家, "New Big Three") idol trio alongside two other soloists who debuted around the same time: Goro Noguchi and Hiromi Go. Almost seven years into his career, his 28th single "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" (a Japanese cover of the Village People song of the same name) became a social phenomenon in Japan, selling over 1.8 million copies.

Early life

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 category 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 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 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

Each section is subtitled with the singles that Saijō released during each timespan, mostly translated into English. For the titles in romaji, refer to the discography section down below.

1972: Loving Season, Promise of Love, Chance Comes Only Once

Kimoto, hereinafter referred to by his stage name Hideki Saijō, made his professional debut on 25 March 1972 with the single "Loving 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: Let's Bet on Youth, Storm of Passion, Fractured Love, Cross of Love

Saijō 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.
The most significant milestone of Saijō's early career wouldn't be until 24 September, however, when his sixth single, "Fractured Love", topped the Oricon chart, with him becoming the first male idol who debuted in the 1970s to achieve this feat. Fractured 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 incorporating 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, I'm impressed!"), to become a familiar phrase to the general public. Although it was presumed that he would perform at NHK's annual music special Kōhaku Uta 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 Fractured Love on 31 December.

1974: Chain of Roses, Intense Love, Lola, Covered with Scars, Tears and Friendship

From 16 January, he appeared as a main cast member on popular television series, "The Kantarō Terauchi Family". His eighth single, "Chain of Roses", was released on 25 February and featured microphone stand-themed choreography. On 25 May, his ninth single, "Intense Love", was released to great success, selling 584,000 copies, the highest sales of his career so far and the second-highest of his career overall. Although it only peaked at #2 on the Oricon chart, it maintained that ranking for four consecutive weeks and is still considered one of Saijō's signature songs today.
"The Legend of Love & Sincerity", starring Saijō as teenage delinquent Makoto Taiga, was released in cinemas on 8 June. As it was met with great popularity, plans were made for it to be the start of a lengthy film franchise featuring Saijō as Makoto, in a similar vein to the Otoko wa Tsurai yo series. In the end, this did not come to fruition due to Saijō's busy schedule, with the rest of the trilogy featuring different actors as Makoto instead.
On 3 August, Saijō held his first solo stadium concert at Osaka Stadium. This was notable for the fact that he was the first Japanese soloist to achieve this feat and the second Japanese act to do so overall, following The Tigers' landmark Korakuen Stadium concert in 1968. From 1974, Saijō continued to perform live at Osaka Stadium for ten consecutive years.
On 6 October, Saijō made a triumphant return to his home province with his "Back Home Again Hiroshima" concert at Hiroshima Postal Savings Hall. On 9 October, The first series of The Kantarō Terauchi Family came to an end after 39 episodes. Saijō released his eleventh single, "Tears and Friendship", on 25 November to less commercial success than his other 1974 singles, but nonetheless maintained the streak of top 10 entries started by Storm of Passion.
On 31 December, Saijō won the Vocal Award once again at the 16th Japan Record Awards for "Lola, Covered with Scars", being the first non-enka singer to achieve this. Saijō finally made his debut appearance at NHK's 25th Kohaku Uta Gassen that night with the very same song, facing Momoe Yamaguchi as his opponent.

1975: This Love's Thrill, Reckless Runaway of Love, Supreme Love, White Chapel

On 30 January, Saijō won the Graph Award at the 12th Golden Arrow Awards. Saijō expanded his career overseas for the first time on 15 February with the release of "LOLA" (a French version of Lola, Covered with Scars) in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. It was subsequently released in Canada on 31 March and achieved relatively great success, reaching #2 on the Canadian single chart. His twelfth Japanese single, "This Love's Thrill", was released on 25 February and did reasonably well, exceeding Tears and Friendship in sales and chart ranking.
In May, Saijō broke his arm while filming a brawl scene with Asei Kobayashi for the second series of The Kantarō Terauchi Family. From 6 June, he co-starred with Hiromi Go and Junko Sakurada in TBS television series "The Aspiration Collaboration Team". He participated in the 4th Tokyo Music Festival Domestic Competition on 29 June, winning the Golden Star Award. On 20 July, Saijō held the first large-scale outdoor concert in the history of Japanese music at a special stage in a green holiday village at the foot of Mount Fuji, beginning a nationwide concert tour which concluded on 24 August with a finale festival at Osaka Stadium.
Akogare Kayodotai came to an end on 26 September and on 10 October, a documentary film following Saijō's 1975 tour titled "BLOW UP! HIDEKI" was released, being the first film of its kind to come from Japan. On 3 November, Saijō became the first Japanese soloist to perform at Nippon Budokan. He continued to perform there on an annual basis for a decade.

1976: Let's Embrace and Become Passionate, Jaguar, The Young Lions, Last Scene

1976 saw the start of a series of collaborations between Saijō, composer (and occasional arranger) Takashi Miki, and lyricist Yū Aku, beginning with his sixteenth single "Let's Embrace and Become Passionate", released on 25 February. Saijō participated in the 5th Tokyo Music Festival World Championship on 27 June with his seventeenth single "Jaguar". His first dinner show was held on 19 October at New Latin Quarter, a nightclub in Akasaka, Tokyo. Saijō's second Nippon Budokan concert, titled "Hideki in Budokan", was held on 3 November. On 31 December, he won the 18th Japan Record Award for Best Vocal Performance with his eighteenth single "The Young Lions".

1977: Boomerang Street, Sexy Rock 'n' Roller, Unfasten the Button

On 30 March, Saijō commemorated the fifth anniversary of his debut with a third concert at Nippon Budokan. From 5 to 28 July, he starred in the musical "The North Wall of My Youth", written by Yu Aku, composed by Takashi Miki, directed by Asari Keita for Shiki Theatre Company. On 20 November, he performed on NHK's "Big Show: When You Take Pride in Your Youth".
Although Saijō's three 1977 singles - "Boomerang Street", "Sexy Rock 'n' Roller", "Unbutton It" - were each successful, the latter was the first of his singles to miss out on the Oricon top 10 since Let's Bet on Youth (despite outselling Sexy Rock 'n' Roller).

1978: Take off Your Boots and Have Breakfast, For Love & You, Flame, Blue Sky Blue, To A Distant Lover

On 9 February, Saijō's twenty-third single, "Take off Your Boots and Have Breakfast", ranked at first place on TBS' popular song programme "The Best Ten" (Za Besutoten). The song marked the first single since 1975's "White Chapel" not provided to Saijō by Aku and Miki, instead featuring Katsuo Ohno as composer. This duo of Aku and Ohno, best known for working with Kenji Sawada, were later nicknamed "The Golden Combination" (Gōruden Konbi) for their joint expertise and versatility as songwriters. Saijō's choreography for the song, which involved holding out a lighter, backfired when three children imitated him on 4 March, consequently burning six buildings in Yao City, Osaka. Following the incident, Saijō tearfully pleaded on The Best Ten three days later, stating "All you good children, please don't try this at home. I won't be using a lighter anymore either". Saijō kept to his word, never including lighters in performances of the song from then on.
Saijō participated in the 7th Tokyo Music Festival World Championships with his twenty-fifth single, "Flame", on 18 June, winning the Foreign Jury Award (an award presented to the Japanese artist who is recognized as the most outstanding by a panel of foreign judges).
For the second stop of Saijō's "BIG GAME '78" summer tour, his first concert at Korakuen Stadium was held on 22 July, making him the first soloist to hold a concert at the venue as well as the third Japanese act to headline a concert there overall (following The Tigers in August 1968 and Candies' farewell concert in April 1978). The total cost of the Korakuen Stadium event was around 60 million yen (which, if adjusted for modern day rates, is around 100 million yen) and exceeded 20,000 in attendance. Four construction cranes and fifty Harley Davidson motorcycles were used as part of the show, which was all broadcast on Fuji TV the following month.
In December, Saijō's twenty-sixth single "Blue Sky Blue" ranked on The Best Ten for fourteen consecutive weeks, reached ninth place in the annual top ten, and won the Best Vocalist Award at the 7th FNS Song Festival. On December 31, Blue Sky Blue also won the Gold Award at the 20th Japan Record Awards.

Illness and death

In June 2003, while promoting his new released song in South Korea, Saijō suffered a stroke which resulted in his speech being partially impaired. After several years of rehabilitation, Saijō 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, Saijō courageously continued to perform to please his fans.
Saijō died from acute heart failure in a hospital in Yokohama city on May 16, 2018.

Family

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

Promotional Songs (Not For Sale)

風のシンフォニー〜あすの予感が聴こえる(文化庁第5回国民文化祭・愛媛90賛歌、作詞:益田光利/補作詞:荒木とよひさ 作曲:井上大輔 編曲:山川恵津子 非売品カセットテープ2000本、CD1000枚、レコード500枚が配布された。1990年)
あしたへジャンプテーマ音楽(NHK教育テレビ、1986年4月7日から1996年3月13日まで放送された小学生向けの教育ドラマ。前期上條恒彦からのバトンタッチで後期を担当)
Earth of Love 〜未来の子供たちへのメッセージ〜(1991年11月3日に福島市公会堂で行われた「第一回古関裕而記念音楽祭」参加曲(オープニング含め12楽曲収録の非売品CD)、作詞：麻生香太郎、作曲：宮川泰)
ラッキー☆ムーチョ(ディズニー長編アニメーション映画『ラマになった王様』日本語版主題歌。原語版オープニングテーマであるトム・ジョーンズの「パーフェクト・ワールド」のカバーであり、ムーチョ☆ヒデキ名義で歌唱。2000年) なお2001年6月27日発売(2013年3月6日再発売)のセルフカヴァーアルバム「PLANETS - 30th Anniversary 12 Songs -」にボーナストラックとして収録されている。
旅の途中～ドイツより愛を込めて〜(桑名正博の呼びかけにより制作されたチャリティーCD、c/w『平和のハーモニー』。松本孝弘をはじめ、著名なミュージシャン達が参加している。収益はドイツ国際平和村を通じて世界の恵まれない子供たちのために使われた。2001年12月14日発売、作詞・作曲：桑名正博、編曲：芳野藤丸・河内淳貴)

Songwriting Credits

• A composition provided by Saijo to Cantopop singer Andy Lau.

Media Appearances and Performances

Note: Often, Saijo's films were titled differently to the original Japanese versions when distributing them to English-speaking audiences. In the "Title" sections of these entries, the original title is first translated into English, then the title for English distribution is included in brackets, and lastly, a romanised version of the Japanese title is italicised in brackets below.

Film (Animated)

The King Who Became a Llama (Buena Vista Pictures, 2001) - Theme Song Guy

Television (Animated)

Baby Grandma (NHK Educational TV "Genius TV-kun Wide" 2002) - as HIDEKI Episode 33: "A big fuss over class observation!", Episode 36: "Passed the first audition!?", Episode 46: "It's the second audition!" !"

Television (Variety)

Jump out! Mari-chan (TBS, January 24, 1974, 17th "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp")
Habatake! Mari-chan (TBS, October 3–17, 1974, 1st "Anne of Green Gables (Part 1)", 2nd "Anne of Green Gables (2nd part)", 3rd "Anne of Green Gables (2nd part)" Part 2)
Rock in Hideki (Fuji Television, 1978)
UFO Seven Great Adventure (TBS, June 1, 1978), 9th "Rumiko Hideki's Arctic Exploration"
Yanmar Family Hour Fly! Son Goku (TBS series, June 27, 1978 "Crisis in the Partheno Kingdom ~ Sanzo's family full of scars ~", July 4 of the same year "Crisis in the Partheno Kingdom ~ Partheno Prince Dies in Love! ~"
Magical 7 Great Adventures (TBS, 1978–1979), 10th episode Ultraman vs. Gasura?, 20th episode Hakone's love is the greatest danger in the world
Miracle TV launch (TBS, 1979–1980), 1st episode "(Title unknown)", 10th episode "Sumo broadcast Dohyo ga Mapbutatsu"
Star Dash No. 1! (TBS, 1980), 9th episode "Hitomi is scouted as a model", 20th episode "Is the baby you picked up a present?"
House Children's Theater (TV Asahi, September 2, 1980 - March 24, 1981, during this period the title was changed to House Children's Story Theater).
Morning Salad (Nippon Television, May 1981 - March 30, 1985)
The Star Hideki Saijō ~Four Seasons of Life~ (Fuji Television, June 1983 (all 4 episodes))
Hideki Saijō Diving the Great Barrier Reef (TV Tokyo, March 14, 1987)
Hideki Saijō Undersea Exploration of the Secret Island of the Maldives (TV Tokyo, January 1, 1989))
Hideki Saijō 4973km Philippine Adventure (TV Tokyo, April 23, 1990)
TV Cruise Papaya Next Door (Fuji Television, 1994)
Youth Pops (NHK, 1998–2002)
Same song (China Central Television, 2000)
Akiro Hidaka's storytelling and Edo human affairs story "Konya Takao" (Sapporo Television, December 28, 2004)
Marumaru Chibi Maruko-chan Episode 19 (Fuji TV, September 27, 2007, appeared in the drama part of a 2-hour special of a children's variety show, role name: Fish Dragon)
Hobby Gardening Vegetable Time (NHK Educational Television, 2009)
Sings the theme song "Vegetable Wonderful" (lyrics: Satomi Arimori/composer: Masanori Takumi). The song has been released as a digital single on the iTunes Store.
Food journey around the kitchen (NHK BS Premium, 2013–2014)
Hideki's excitement! NEXT House (BS Japan, April - September 2014) - MC

Music Show Performances

• This asterisk indicates that on one occasion, this song was performed alongside another song on Night Hit (i.e.: SUN and The Traitor's Journey were performed on the same episode). Each song has been allocated its own cell for clarity.
• * Saijo made further appearances on Youth Pops, but information about them currently cannot be found

Theatre

Hanakosode Seiji (1989, Osaka Shin Kabukiza) *Starring role
Tailor Ginji (1990, Osaka Shin Kabukiza) *Starring role
Genroku/Abarenbo (1991, Osaka Shin Kabukiza) *Starring
Kantaro Terauchi family (1999, Shinbashi Enbujo)

Musical Theatre

The North Wall of My Youth (Shiki Theater Company, 1977, Nissay Theater) *Starring
Sakae Takita, Ayakiko Kuno, Retsuko Sugamoto, Kazuyo Mita
Duet (Toho, 1984/1986, Nissay Theater) *Starring
Ran Otori, Takashi Ishimaru, Keiko Ono, Naoya Uchida, Takeo Seki, Takashi Nagi, Hitoshi Honma, Shigeo Matsuzawa, Reo Okawa, Mika Chiba, Eriko Suga, Mumiko Fujiwara
Ryoma Sakamoto (1989, 1991, Shin-Kobe Oriental Theater, Nippon Seinenkan) *Starring role
Izumi Yukimura, Kenji Haga, Junichi Inoue
Love (comedy, 1993/1996, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo) *Starring
Masachika Ichimura, Ran Otori
Rock To The Future (Panasonic D・LIVE, 1996/1997, Akasaka BLITS) *Starring
Satoshi Hashimoto, Mika, Miyoko Yoshimoto, Yuki Kuroda, Onapets, DIAMOND YUKAI, Kyoko, Kanako Nakayama, SHIMA-CHANG, MITSUKO, Miki Nakayama, Sasumi Shiraishi
New Enka no Hanamichi (2002, Shinjuku Koma Theater / Umeda Koma Theater)
Dan Nishikino, Naomi Kawashima, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Keishi Hirahata, Shiro Suzuki, Noriko Fujita, Sayaka Tsuruta, music producer Tsunku♂
Legendary Stage FOREVER'70s-Seishun- (2003, Chunichi Theater, Shinjuku Koma Theater, Umeda Koma Theater)
Dan Nishikino, Masahiro Kuwana, Hanako Miyagawa, Kayo Asano, Yuta Yamazaki, Michi Taira, Jun Asaka
Marguerite (March 17–28, 2011, Akasaka ACT Theater, April 6–10, Umeda Arts Theater Main Hall)
Norika Fujiwara, Mari Tashiro, Tsuyoshi Matsubara, Megumi Iino, Yuta Yamazaki, Tadashi Yokouchi

Radio

Music Saturday ~ Youth Return Match ~ (TBS Radio, 1986)
Every day is new, this is Hideki Saijō (TBS Radio, 1991)
Hideki and Kozue's fun date (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, October 1975 - March 1980) Kozue Saito
Hideki and Kenbo's Oni-san (Click here for Cultural Broadcasting, April 1980 - March 1981)
Hideki and Hiromi's Sunday Waiwai Hiroba (Natural Broadcasting Corporation, April 1981 - March 1982) Hiromi Ota
Hideki Saijō's Raspberry Club (Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, 1984–1986)
This is in front of Jogakuin Ijuin Yosaku's Maroha Gokigen! (Nippon Broadcasting System)

Advertising

House Foods (from 1973 to 2002)
"Vermont Curry" Naoko Kawai
"Potato Chips" Kozue Saito, Junji Takada
"Granola Bar"
"Java curry"
"Delicious water of Rokko"
"Umaissho" (no appearances, only songs)
"Kakuya Curry Ramen/Curry Udon" Masahiro Kuwana
"Natural effects" (supplement food)
Zojirushi Mahobin More Pot (1977)
Hokuren Agricultural Cooperative Federation Milk (1986)
Mondo Shoji (1988)
National IH jar rice cooker (1993)
sugar food
"Satou no Kagami-mochi"
Yamahisa
"Petio"
ECC Foreign Language School (1995)
citizen watch
HONDA
"LEAD SS"
Seiyu
biotech
TV Shin Hiroshima (FNS affiliated TV station)
"Jonetsu Denpa TSS"
Tokyo Telecommunications Network (TTNet)
"Tokyo Telephone"
"Tokyo Denwa Internet"
"Tokyo Denwa Astel"
Yahoo! Mobage

Other

"Kansai Yamamoto /Harumi Passion Nights" (Fashion Show) (July 6, 1982). Held at the Tokyo International Trade Fair Center (Harumi International Trade Center). appeared as a fashion model alongside film directors Nagisa Oshima and Ryudo Uzaki.
National anthem solo
May 27, 2001, 68th Tokyo Yushun (Japan Derby), Tokyo Racecourse
August 18, 2004, "Kirin Challenge Cup" match against Argentina, Ecopa Stadium
short film
In 2004, Satoshi Takagi's work, "DANCE MASTER~Dance! "Moulin Rouge Laughter Town~" Friendship appearance, role of Western Joe

Other Relevant Books

蒼い空へ － 夫・西城秀樹との18年 － 木本美紀・著（小学館、2018年11月 ISBN 978-4-09-388643-7

Serialisations

のどもと過ぎれば・・・(産経新聞
秀樹とヒデキ(週刊朝日
欲張らず七・五分でいこう(清流出版
ヒデキ!カンレキ!!(中日新聞2015年10月7日〜2016年9月21日、隔週水曜日、全25回)

Photobooks

西城秀樹 Young idol now『写真集』（勁文社、1974年）
西城秀樹写真集（さうんどぱわあ、1974年）
季刊ポッポ 75'WINTER 全特集・西城秀樹（新興楽譜出版、1975年）
The Young Lion 西城秀樹『写真集』（レオ企画、1976年）
HIDEKI（Wani Books、1980年）
Hideki Saijo（株式会社シンコーミュージック、1981年）
MY SELF PORTRAIT（近代映画社、1984年）
武藤義 撮影『Body: 西城秀樹写真集』ワニブックス、1986年10月10日。NDLJP:12721837。(要登録)
H45・西城秀樹「独身最後の衝撃」（主婦と生活社、2001年）
H45 2018 EDITION (青志社、2018年)
HIDEKI FOREVER blue （集英社インターナショナル、2019年）
HIDEKI FOREVER pop (集英社インターナショナル、2020年)上記写真集『HIDEKI FOREVER blue』のスピンオフ企画である。