Masaharu Fukuyama

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor from Nagasaki. He debuted in 1990 with the single "Tsuioku no Ame no Naka".

Fukuyama is represented by the agency Amuse, Inc.

Career

An 885 series Kamome train displaying Fukuyama's picture at Shin-Tosu Station, 2015.The station is on the Nagasaki Line serving Fukuyama's hometown.

While Fukuyama can also be seen in Japanese television dramas and films, he is best known for his singing career. His 1992 breakout single "Good night" gained a wide audience because of its tie-in with the TV drama Ai wo Douda. In 1993, he made his first appearance in Kōhaku Uta Gassen, on which only successful J-pop and enka artists are invited to perform. Propelled by the success of his performance in the TV drama Under the Same Roof, in which he played Chinichan, the second older brother in the Kashiwagi family, he had his first million-selling single, "It's Only Love/Sorry Baby", in 1994. His 1995 single "Hello" became the second highest selling single that year.

Fukuyama took a hiatus in 1996, stopping all his entertainment activities except his radio shows. He returned to the entertainment scene in 1998, and his first single after two years hiatus, "Heart/You", landed at number 3 on Oricon chart and sold 569,000 copies. Encouraged by this success, he began his Daikanshasai (Thanksgiving) series of concerts to show his appreciation for his fans.

"Sakura Zaka" and "Niji" are among Masaharu's popular songs. His 2000 single "Sakura Zaka" sold more than 751,000 copies in its first week and remained at the top of the Japanese Oricon chart for 3 consecutive weeks; it sold about 2,299,000 copies on the Oricon charts overall. "Niji" was a theme song for the Japanese drama Water Boys. His triple A-side single "Niji/Himawari/Sore ga Subete sa", released on August 26, 2003, debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon single charts and topped them for five consecutive weeks. His has cemented his status as the best-selling male solo artist in Japan, having sold 21.27 million copies so far.

In 2007, after a four-years absence from drama, Fukuyama returned to television, starring as the brilliant but eccentric physics associate professor, Manabu Yukawa, in the television drama Galileo. He won "Best Actor" at the 55th Television Drama Academy Awards for the role. He also formed a band, KOH+, with his co-star in the drama Kou Shibasaki.

In 2008, NHK selected Fukuyama to portray Sakamoto Ryōma, the title character, in the 2010 year-long prime-time television Taiga drama Ryōmaden.

In 2009, he held his 20th anniversary national arena tour which covered 36 performances in 12 cities over four consecutive months (June to September) with a total audience count of 500,000. Two weeks before the tour started, he held four shows at the Nippon Budokan (May 28, 29 and June 4, 5) his first ever solo concerts there, as part of his almost yearly thanksgiving concert ritual. While the Tour was still ongoing, on August 29 and 30, he went back to his hometown Nagasaki and held two open-air concerts at the Mount Inasa Park outdoor stage, with simultaneous public viewing free of charge for 50,000 Nagasaki citizens at the nearby Nagasaki Baseball Stadium (commonly known as the Big N to locals). Official figures announced a final audience count of 80,000 for the Mount Inasa concerts and Big N public viewing, in just over the two days alone.

The master ringtone (Chaku Uta) download of his song "Hatsukoi" began on November 6, 2009. It sold about 150,000 downloads in five days, and, on November 13, 2009, it was announced that the song would be released as a physical CD single on December 16, 2009. The single debuted at number 1 on the Oricon weekly charts, with sales of around 151,000 copies in the first week of the release. He performed "Hatsukoi" at the 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve 2009, his first appearance at the event since 1993 and joined John Woo's upcoming film Manhut.

On November 3, 2023, it was announced that he would voice King Magnifico in the Japanese dubbing of the Disney film Wish.

Radio career

Fukuyama started his career as a radio personality in 1991. From 1992 until 2015, he presented a weekly slot on the long-running talk show All Night Nippon on Nippon Broadcasting System. His broadcasts were known for risqué jokes such as, "I am the Son of the Wank God! Phallo Maximus!!" (私はオナニーの神の子！マラ・ダンコーネ！！- a self-deprecating parody of grandiose claims made by anime heroes), and "'Standing ovation' has a naughty vibe to it, doesn't it?" Fukuyama has stated that he doesn't enjoy dirty jokes in everyday life, but considers them an essential part of the radio format.

As of April 2025, Fukuyama presents regular programmes on Chiteijin Radio and Tokyo FM.

Personal life Fukuyama is the son of hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. He has been active in preserving trees that survived the bombing.

Fukuyama married fellow actor Kazue Fukiishi on September 28, 2015, the same day as her birthday. He announced his marriage just after the close of stock trading to minimize the impact on stock prices, but the stock price of his agency Amuse plummeted by 500 yen (9.4%) on the 29th, the largest drop since August 2013, and his market capitalization fell by 4.1 billion yen (closing price) in one day. Many women left work early, were absent from work, or were unable to work due to housework or other reasons. This was reported as the "Fukuyama shock" and "Masha loss."

The couple's first child was born on December 22, 2016.

On the April 10, 2021 broadcast of his radio programme "Fuku Radio," he stated that he had been raising two rescue cats, Ore-chan and Tora-chan, for the past three years.

Discography

1990: Dengon 1991: Lion 1991: Bros. 1992: Boots 1993: Calling 1994: On and On 1998: Sing a Song 2001: F 2006: 5 Nen Mono 2009: Zankyō 2014: Human 2015: Tama Riku

Filmography

Films Year Title RoleNotes 1988 Hon no 5g Sanzō Hashimoto 1996 Atlanta Boogie Radio DJ 2008 Suspect X Manabu Yukawa Lead role Andalusia: Revenge of the Goddess Shōgo Saeki Special appearance 2013 Midsummer's Equation Manabu Yukawa Lead role 2014 Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno Hiko Seijūrō Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends Hiko Seijūrō 2017 The Third Murder Tomoaki Shigemori Lead role 2018 Mirai Young Man (voice) 2019 At the End of the Matinee Satoshi Makino Lead role 2020 Last Letter Kyōshirō Otosaka 2022 Silent Parade Manabu Yukawa Lead role Butt Detective: Shiriarty Professor Shiriarty (voice) 2023 Looking for Antonio Inoki Narrator Documentary 2025 Black Showman Takeshi Kamio Lead role The Last Man: The Movie – First Love Hiromi Minami Lead role

Japanese dub Year Title Role Notes 2023WishKing Magnifico

TV dramas

Radio Year Title Role Network Notes 2015–presentFukuyama Masaharu: Fuku no RadioHostTokyo FM 2020–presentJet StreamHostTokyo FM

Guitar collection

Acoustic guitars

Gibson J-50 (1959) - recording, songwriting, Hatsukoi PV Gibson J-45 (1947) Gibson J-45 (1968) Gibson J-200 (1959) - bought this on first trip to the US Gibson LG-1 (1968) Gibson B-45-12 (1962) Gibson Hummingbird (1969) - recording, songwriting etc Martin OOO-28 (1968) - Hotaru PV Martin D-28 (1979) Martin D-45 (1979) Martin Cowboy III (2001) Martin OO-18DBCY Signature Edition (Yoshikawa Chuei model)(2002) Martin GPCPA-1 Martin The Backpacker Guitar Don Musser 1994 - very limited numbers produced George Lowden Model 038 Gretsch 6022 Rancher (1955) - Hello PV Alhambra W-2 Larry Pogreba Resonator Guitar Jose Ramirez (model unknown) K.Yairi 一五一会 (2009.02.06) - (40th) birthday present from Begin, with "M.FUKUYAMA" printed

Electric bass

Fender Jazz Bass (1965) Sugi Original Custom Hōfner Vintage63 Violin Bass Greco VB-90 SB Music Man Sting Ray-4 BCR/RM (2005)

Electric guitars Gibson Les Paul Gold Top (1956) Gibson Les Paul (1959) Gibson Les Paul Custom SG (1962) - KOH+ Saiai PV Gibson Les Paul Custom (1970) - Sou ~new love new world~ PV Gibson Custom Shop Duane Allman Signature Les Paul "Pilot Run" (2004) Gibson Custom Shop Jimi Hendrix Psychedelic Flying V - Keshin PV Gibson Custom Shop 50th Anniversary Korina Explorer AGED - REDxBLUE live Gibson Les Paul Special (1989) Gibson Les Paul Junior-TV (1960) Gibson Eric Clapton Crossroad ES-335 Gibson Custom Shop John Lennon Les Paul Junior - ON AND ON live, Michishirube tour Fender Stratocaster (1956) Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster - recording and live performances Fender Custom Shop The Eric Clapton Blackie Stratocaster - recording and live performances Fender Custom Shop 58 Stratocaster Closet Classic - (40th) Birthday Present from Kuwata Keisuke Fender Telecaster Pink Paisley (1968) - inspiration for "phantom" came from this guitar's sound Fender Telecaster - Revolution//Evolution live Fender Jazz Master (1962) Fender Jazz Master (1965) - 99 live Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Hollow Body (1959) Gretsch 6122 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman (1966) Gretsch G6129T-1957 Silver Jet - Asahi Super Dry CM Gretsch 6186 Clipper (1966) Paul Reed Smith Modern Eagle (20th Anniversary) Paul Reed Smith Private Stock #1728 Custom 24 Paul Reed Smith Private Stock #2751 Custom 24 Rickenbacker 350 JG (1989) - Kokoro colour ~a song for a wonderful year~ PV Aria-Pro II PE-R100 (1981) - his first guitar purchased in high school James Tyler Studio Elite Chameleon ESP Angel Classic V - the 'wings" that Takamizawa-san (THE ALFEE) gave him after Shin Domoto Kyoudai