SINGER

Kyu Sakamoto

1941 - 1985

Photo of Kyu Sakamoto

Icon of person Kyu Sakamoto

Hisashi "Kyu" Sakamoto (Japanese: 坂本 九, Hepburn: Sakamoto Hisashi or Sakamoto Kyū; 10 December 1941 – 12 August 1985), legally registered as Hisashi Ōshima (大島 九, Ōshima Hisashi) since 1956, was a Japanese singer and actor. He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as "Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. He was also the first Japanese artist to have a number one single on the Australian singles chart. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Kyu Sakamoto is the 380th most popular singer (down from 195th in 2019), the 544th most popular biography from Japan (down from 225th in 2019) and the most popular Japanese Singer.

Kyū Sakamoto is most famous for the song "Sukiyaki," which was the first Japanese-language song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

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Among SINGERS

Among singers, Kyu Sakamoto ranks 380 out of 4,381. Before him are Anggun, Paul Di'Anno, Linda Ronstadt, Alpha Blondy, Marc Bolan, and Pinetop Perkins. After him are Gal Costa, Isabella Colbran, Dan Reynolds, Justin Bieber, Vicente Fernández, and Peter Green.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1941, Kyu Sakamoto ranks 151. Before him are Dan Shechtman, David Hemmings, Robert Wilson, Abdiqasim Salad, Renato Corsetti, and Otto Sander. After him are Adrian Lyne, Luis Alberto Lacalle, Christopher Jones, Beau Bridges, Ole Nydahl, and Nangolo Mbumba. Among people deceased in 1985, Kyu Sakamoto ranks 56. Before him are Ruth Gordon, Lina Heydrich, Taizo Kawamoto, Ricky Nelson, Zarifa Aliyeva, and Alfredo Foni. After him are André Kertész, Dan White, Tapio Wirkkala, Karl-Adolf Hollidt, Louise Brooks, and Michael Redgrave.

Others Born in 1941

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Others Deceased in 1985

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In Japan

Among people born in Japan, Kyu Sakamoto ranks 544 out of 6,245. Before him are Tokugawa Ieharu (1737), Michio Ashikaga (1950), Takao Nishiyama (1942), Iwasaki Yatarō (1835), Miki Matsubara (1959), and Hideo Shinojima (1910). After him are Michiyo Taki (null), Ōyama Iwao (1842), Seiichi Sakiya (1950), Empress Masako (1963), Ken Kutaragi (1950), and Tomomi Seo (1950).

Others born in Japan

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Among SINGERS In Japan

Among singers born in Japan, Kyu Sakamoto ranks 1. After him are Mariya Takeuchi (1955), Miyuki Nakajima (1952), Ayumi Hamasaki (1978), Seiko Matsuda (1962), Damo Suzuki (1950), Yumi Matsutoya (1954), Akina Nakamori (1965), Tetsuya Komuro (1958), Yoko Kanno (1963), Namie Amuro (1977), and Izumi Sakai (1967).

Japanese born Singers

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