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Tier 3 · vertical & regional

Kotaro Oshio

Person · male · Japan · Suita · born 1968 · recording since 1999

Japanese guitarist

acoustic music rock music

official homepage official homepage streaming streaming streaming database database

Listen on Spotify YouTube Music

Also known as Kotaro Oshio · 押尾コータロー · 押尾光太郎 · 押尾光太郎

Debut: 1999
Recording span: 27 years
Release groups: 25
Awards: 1
Timeline events: 22
Wiki language versions: 9

Compare this artist Read the biography Jump to timeline

Timeline

22 events▣ Album 19◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1✦ Award 1

1960s
1. 1 February 1968 · Birth
  Born 1968-02-01
  source: wikidata
1990s
1. 18 December 1999 · Debut release
  Debut release: 押尾コータロー
  First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
  source: musicbrainz
2. 18 December 1999 · Album
  Album: 押尾コータロー
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2000s
1. 22 March 2001 · Album
  Album: Love Strings
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 2002 · Award
  Won: Sakuya Konohana Award
  source: wikidata
3. 10 July 2002 · Album
  Album: Starting Point
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 18 June 2003 · Album
  Album: Dramatic
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 23 June 2004 · Album
  Album: Be HAPPY
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 7 September 2005 · Album
  Album: Panorama
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
7. 29 November 2006 · Album
  Album: COLOR of LIFE
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
8. 1 January 2008 · Album
  Album: Nature Spirit
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
9. 1 October 2008 · Album
  Album: You & Me
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
10. 11 March 2009 · Album
  Album: Tussie mussie
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
11. 5 August 2009 · Album
  Album: Eternal Chain
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2010s
1. 12 January 2011 · Album
  Album: Hand to Hand
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 24 April 2013 · Album
  Album: Reboot & Collabo.
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 30 July 2014 · Album
  Album: PANDORA
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 25 November 2015 · Album
  Album: Tussie mussie II ~loves cinema~
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 9 November 2016 · Album
  Album: KTRxGTR
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 20 February 2019 · Album
  Album: Encounter
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2020s
1. 30 September 2020 · Album
  Album: PASSENGER
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 26 August 2026 · Album
  Album: LOVE is All Around
  Album
  source: musicbrainz

Biography

English biography197 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1263241746

Biography

Kotaro Oshio (押尾コータロー, Oshio Kōtarō; real name: 押尾光太郎) is an acoustic guitarist from Japan. Born in Suita, Osaka, on February 1, 1968, he is best known for his work on the steel string guitar. Oshio is a part of Sony Music Japan's SME Records division. Oshio was voted the second greatest Japanese guitarist in a 2019 poll held by goo.

Oshio's music

Oshio's music is classified within various categories including pop, new age, and jazz. Oshio's musical technique includes fingerpicking, tap harmonics, and a unique strumming style referred to as a "nail attack" in which he slaps the strings with the nails of his middle and ring fingers which is inspired by Michael Hedges. While his albums include mostly original material, Oshio is also known for his covers and movie soundtracks. His unique skill in interpretation and arrangement can be heard in tracks such as Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence from his album Starting PointStarting Point10 July 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fantasy!4:052Destiny2:463ティコ3:594Breeze3:385黄昏3:516Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence5:507Blue Sky (exciting version)4:018初恋4:109Tension3:5010ハリー・ライムのテーマ3:3411木もれ陽 (cinema version)4:5212HARD RAIN (type: D)4:03.

Oshio's career

Oshio released his first indie record in December 1999, which was followed by a second indie album in March 2001. In July 2002, he released his first major record label album Starting PointStarting Point10 July 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Fantasy!4:052Destiny2:463ティコ3:594Breeze3:385黄昏3:516Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence5:507Blue Sky (exciting version)4:018初恋4:109Tension3:5010ハリー・ライムのテーマ3:3411木もれ陽 (cinema version)4:5212HARD RAIN (type: D)4:03 and performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival with B.B. King.

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.

Normalised profile metrics with percentile rank
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	9	54.3th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	25	88.9th
Studio albums	19	96.2th
Awards recorded	1	89th
Timeline events	22	94.7th
Recording span (years)	27	60th
Genres	5	88.3th

Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.

Discography (25 release groups · 19 studio albums)

Albums · 19

押尾コータロー
1999 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:08:16
1光のつばさ4:22
2彩音6:00
3第三の男4:22
4禁じられた遊び4:24
5アイルランドの風6:08
6木もれ陽4:32
7Dancin' コオロギ4:26
8戦場のメリークリスマス7:04
9カバティーナ4:18
10ボレロ7:14
11星砂5:12
12アトランティス大陸5:58
13ちいさな輝き4:16
Love Strings
2001 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 59:24
1Blue Sky4:30
2In the Morning3:56
3リボンの騎士3:07
4ライムライト3:46
5ピアノレッスン2:49
6Love Strings4:14
7宵待月5:16
8ニューシネマパラダイス4:24
9遙かなる大地6:47
10Hard Rain4:01
11リベルタンゴ7:34
12いつか王子様が3:07
13ずっと…5:53
Starting Point
2002 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 48:39
1Fantasy!4:05
2Destiny2:46
3ティコ3:59
4Breeze3:38
5黄昏3:51
6Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence5:50
7Blue Sky (exciting version)4:01
8初恋4:10
9Tension3:50
10ハリー・ライムのテーマ3:34
11木もれ陽 (cinema version)4:52
12HARD RAIN (type: D)4:03
Dramatic
2003 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 44:16
1SPLASH3:45
2太陽のダンス3:57
3風の詩4:02
4ハッピー・アイランド4:12
5カノン4:05
6ボレロ4:57
7そらはキマグレ3:03
8約束5:18
9Chaser3:58
10プロローグ2:37
11again...4:22
Be HAPPY
2004 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 41:54
1翼 ~you are the HERO~3:30
2ミスティ・ナイト4:00
3天使の日曜日4:24
4ジュピター5:01
5Dear...4:27
6AQUA-MARINE4:00
7見上げてごらん夜の星を3:55
8ファイト!2:38
9Busy23:19
10桜・咲くころ3:44
11坂の上の公園2:56
Panorama
2005 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 49:56
1Departure3:50
2オアシス4:21
3サバンナ3:31
4オーロラ4:49
5コンドルは飛んで行く5:16
6Passion4:54
7空色のみずうみ4:04
8Friend3:18
9Brilliant Road3:29
10家路5:07
11Carnival4:27
12夢のつづき2:50
COLOR of LIFE
2006 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 50:12
1Big Blue Ocean3:43
2YELLOW SUNSHINE4:18
3Indigo Love5:17
4Red Shoes Dance3:19
5クリスタル4:25
6グリーンスリーブス(イングランド民謡)5:37
7ブラックモンスター4:21
8PINK CANDY3:56
9セピア色の写真3:26
10星砂〜金色に輝く砂浜〜3:35
11Purple Highway3:43
12あの夏の白い雲4:32
Nature Spirit
2008 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 54:02
1Deep Silence1:06
2Rushin’4:18
3DREAMING4:24
4My Home Town4:05
5TREASURE (album version)4:18
6Buzzer Beater3:36
7ノスタルジア3:43
8渚4:10
9永遠の青い空3:50
10Hangover2:42
11IN MY LIFE5:29
12PEACE!3:50
13スマイル4:18
14Christmas Rose4:13
You & Me
2008 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 51:02
1Rushin’ ~Acoustic Guitar~4:49
2Here We Go! ~Human Beat Box~4:40
3君がくれた時間 ~Orchestra~5:58
4Big Blue Ocean ~Violin~3:57
5あの夏の白い雲 ~Big Band~5:36
6A Wonderful Day ~Acoustic Piano~4:53
7Purple Highway ~Accordion~5:03
8HARD RAIN ~Percuttion~5:17
9ブラックモンスター ~Big Band~5:26
10With You ~Acoustic Guitar~5:23
Tussie mussie
2009 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:27
1LOVIN' YOU4:09
2CLOSE TO YOU4:30
3そして僕は途方に暮れる4:34
4元気を出して3:54
5FIRST LOVE5:19
6CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF OF YOU ～君の瞳に恋してる～4:20
7SOMEDAY4:50
8TIME AFTER TIME4:26
9涙のキッス4:33
10LOVE3:52
Eternal Chain
2009 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 48:05
1Prelude ~sunrise~0:53
2Landscape3:49
3Road Goes On3:12
4Always4:26
5Interlude ~forestbeat~0:29
6Snappy!3:16
7旅の途中4:28
8Interlude ~sunrise~0:36
9楽園4:19
10日曜日のビール3:15
11Believe4:21
12Interlude ~starlight~0:40
13絆3:46
14Earth Angel4:47
15ハピネス3:41
16Coda ~sunset~2:07
Hand to Hand
2011 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 59:22
1Brand New Wings3:43
2HEART BEAT!3:11
3Jet3:02
4ナユタ5:17
5Good Times3:29
6もっと強く4:40
7予感3:28
8Little Prayer2:59
9Go Ahead4:01
10雨上がり4:43
11手のひら4:45
12草笛4:19
13Over Drive3:31
14fly to the dream4:07
15また明日。4:07
Reboot & Collabo.
2013 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 17 tracks · 1:20:37
Disc 19 tracks · 39:41
1Ready, Go!3:39
2One Love, ～T's theme～4:25
3Weather Report4:04
4nanairo4:19
5Midnight Rain5:22
6MISSION5:32
7キミノコト4:29
8STEALTH3:46
9Kiwi & Avocado4:05
Disc 28 tracks · 40:56
1瞳をとじて5:32
2IF YOU WANT5:55
3時の過ぎゆくままに4:06
4瞳をとじれば5:06
5... & Smile4:23
6Smile Blue5:03
7Shape Of My Heart5:01
8ナイト・ウェイブ (Live Version)5:50
PANDORA
2014 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 55:41
1In the beginning1:54
2彼方へ3:43
3いつか君と3:50
4誘惑4:01
5月のナミダ4:05
6亡き王女のためのパヴァーヌ5:00
7恋の夢3:34
8キラキラ3:26
9Legend ～時の英雄たち～4:51
10Marble3:58
11タイムカプセル3:57
12星の贈り物5:27
13NOW OR NEVER3:50
14美しき人生4:05
Tussie mussie II ~loves cinema~
2015 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 48:27
1Melody Fair3:00
2Shape Of My Heart5:12
3Mission Impossible Theme2:56
4The Never Ending Story4:47
5風の谷のナウシカ4:20
6Stand By Me3:20
7The Last Emperor6:57
8Calling You5:36
9Ben3:02
10The Godfather Medley5:39
11Smile3:38
KTRxGTR
2016 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 59:57
1Creativetime Ragtime1:30
2Together!!!3:42
3同級生〜Innocent Days〜4:42
4my best season3:24
5空と風のワルツ5:20
6えんぴつと五線譜3:29
7蜃気楼4:22
8茜色のブランコ3:11
9Moment4:51
10JOKER3:12
11勿忘草4:43
12Birthday4:13
13Plastic Love1:55
14BE UP!3:53
15Magical Beautiful Seasons3:32
16同級生3:58
Encounter
2019 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 14 tracks · 53:23
1大航海3:54
2FLOWER4:05
3Horizon3:45
4久音 -KUON- ~ジョンソンアリラン変奏曲~4:52
5ガール・フレンド3:15
6Pushing Tail3:41
7Cyborg3:01
8碧い夢2:29
9シネマ3:13
10Harmonia3:54
11夕凪4:05
12teardrop3:54
13Message3:28
14ナユタ5:47
PASSENGER
2020 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 15 tracks · 56:58
1GOLD RUSH4:13
2フォトグラフ3:46
3韋駄天3:26
4EDEN4:56
5星夜のパヴァーヌ3:48
6Shanghai Lover4:01
7Smoky Slider3:10
8週末旅行3:50
9Liberty3:52
10Heart Break Cats3:02
11Congratulations4:12
12少年の僕3:12
13アサガオ3:35
14Love Letter4:20
15冬の晴レルヤ3:35
LOVE is All Around
2026 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 12 tracks · 48:47
1Applause3:38
2Blue Flame4:39
3Precious5:11
4Night Fall3:42
5Xmas Vanilla3:53
6幸せなひととき3:47
7Let's Begin!3:44
8Morning Sun4:24
9Heart Strings4:41
10PRISM3:47
11ギャンブラー2:44
12あなたに出会えて4:37

Album · 4

Album release groups, by first release date
Year	Title	Notes	First release
2004	Bolero!: Be HAPPY LIVESearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 59:04 1ボレロ5:06 2ブルー・ホール1:55 3AQUA-MARINE3:55 4Blue sky4:10 5ミスティ・ナイト4:16 6Breeze5:26 7Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence6:14 8オールド・フレンド1:23 9Dear...4:51 10見上げてごらん夜の星を4:35 11Busy23:28 12HARD RAIN4:31 13翼 ~you are the HERO~3:36 14ちいさな輝き5:38	Live	15 December 2004
2006	Blue skySearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:06:24 1Blue sky (exciting version)4:03 2HARD RAIN (type: D)4:06 3Fantasy!4:07 4桜・咲くころ3:45 5SPLASH3:45 6翼 ~you are the HERO~3:31 7Departure3:48 8ハッピー・アイランド4:12 9Chaser3:56 10ボレロ4:56 11カノン4:06 12Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence5:51 13オアシス4:20 14風の彼方4:20 15ラスト・クリスマス4:02 16Friend (CM ver.)3:36	Compilation	29 September 2006
2012	10th Anniversary BESTSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 30 tracks · 2:06:14 Disc 116 tracks · 59:05 1翼～Hoping for the FUTURE～3:37 2HARD RAIN4:08 3RELATION!3:38 4Landscape3:49 5Over Drive3:31 6Fantasy! (Guitarman Mix)3:44 7Tension (○Mix)3:42 8PINK CANDY3:55 9太陽のダンス3:56 10TREASURE4:20 11Snappy!3:16 12HEART BEAT!3:13 13Big Blue Ocean (Sunshine Mix)3:35 14Jet3:03 15Rushin'4:18 16ファイト! (Ever Lasting)3:20 Disc 214 tracks · 1:07:09 1MOTHER6:37 2黄昏 (Guitarman Mix)4:32 3Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence ～映画『戦場のメリークリスマス』より～ (Retake in 2011)5:58 4Misty Night (Urban Night Mix)4:02 5天使の日曜日(Step Down)4:33 6ナユタ5:17 7風の詩 (Drop D)4:51 8DREAMING4:24 9オアシス(Green Energy)4:34 10桜・咲くころ (Type CF)4:06 11日曜日のビール3:15 12木もれ陽 (Type D-28)4:22 13Earth Angel4:45 14ずっと...5:53	Compilation	2 May 2012
2016	同級生オリジナルサウンドトラック&ドラマCDSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 18 tracks · 33:58 Disc 117 tracks · 15:53 1doukyusei BGM 10:46 2doukyusei BGM 21:43 3doukyusei BGM 40:25 4doukyusei BGM 170:46 5同級生～Innocent Days～ (Piano Ver. 6)0:47 6doukyusei BGM 140:38 7doukyusei BGM (Piano Ver. 7)0:49 8空と風のワルツ (Piano Ver. 8)0:48 9空と風のワルツ (Ver. 9)0:27 10空と風のワルツ (Edit 11)1:00 11同級生～Innocent Days～ (Ver. 12)1:13 12空と風のワルツ (Ver. 13)0:34 13空と風のワルツ (Piano Ver. 15)1:29 14doukyusei BGM 160:20 15同級生～Innocent Days～ (Music Box Ver. 18)0:44 16同級生～Innocent Days～ (Edit 19)1:34 17空と風のワルツ (Edit 20)1:50 Disc 21 tracks · 18:05 1もうひとつの18:05	Soundtrack,Audio drama	25 May 2016

Single · 2

Single release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	2016	同級生Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 3:58 1同級生3:58		20 February 2016
	2019	哀戦士Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 3:56 1哀戦士3:56		31 July 2019

Stats & PK

Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Kotaro Oshio head-to-head →

Kotaro Oshio metrics with percentile rank among published artists
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	9	54.3th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	25	88.9th
Studio albums	19	96.2th
Awards recorded	1	89th
Timeline events	22	94.7th
Recording span (years)	27	60th
Genres	5	88.3th

Awards & honours

Awards and honours, by year
Year	Award	Category	Result
2002	Sakuya Konohana Award		won

Line-up

Band line-up and band memberships with dates
Name	From	To	Role
DEPAPEKO(band)	—	present

Where this record comes from

aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/617c10d7-842a-461d-a1af-8416897cf28c
discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/617c10d7-842a-461d-a1af-8416897cf28c
core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1053076
genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1053076
seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotaro_Oshio
biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotaro_Oshio

Why this artist is in the database

List of J-pop artists

Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: no portrait (not displayed: the licence credit is missing)
Wikidata: Q1053076 · MusicBrainz: 617c10d7-842a-461d-a1af-8416897cf28c

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Timeline

1960s

Born 1968-02-01

1990s

Debut release: 押尾コータロー

Album: 押尾コータロー

2000s

Album: Love Strings

Won: Sakuya Konohana Award

Album: Starting Point

Album: Dramatic

Album: Be HAPPY

Album: Panorama

Album: COLOR of LIFE

Album: Nature Spirit

Album: You & Me

Album: Tussie mussie

Album: Eternal Chain

2010s

Album: Hand to Hand

Album: Reboot & Collabo.

Album: PANDORA

Album: Tussie mussie II ~loves cinema~

Album: KTRxGTR

Album: Encounter

2020s

Album: PASSENGER

Album: LOVE is All Around

Biography

Biography

Oshio's music

Oshio's career

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Discography (25 release groups · 19 studio albums)

Albums · 19

Album · 4

Single · 2

Stats & PK

Awards & honours

Line-up

Where this record comes from

Why this artist is in the database

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