Hideki Saijō (西城 秀樹) 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 a 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 "New Big Three" (新御三家) 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.

Discography

''Note: Some albums were released with English titles, but others were titled with English in katakana or Japanese. These have been translated into English with a romanised version of the original title in italics below.''

Singles

Original Albums

Cover Albums

Compilation Albums

Live Albums

Box Sets

Other Appearances

Video Releases

Promotional Songs

Promotional Songs (Not For Sale)

Tribute Albums

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

Film (Animated)

Television

Television (Animated)

Television (Variety)

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

NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen Appearances

Theatre

Musical Theatre

Radio

Advertising

Other

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.

Publications

Please Note: This section is complete but not translated yet.

Books

Other Relevant Books

Serialisations

Photobooks

Awards