Yūzō Kayama

is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and actor.

Life and career

Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara, and actress Yoko Kozakura, (ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. At that point it was the biggest selling disc in the Japanese recording industry's history.

In 2017, he sang the 2020 Summer Olympic Games theme "Tokyo Gorin Ondo 2020", a modern adaptation of the 1964 Summer Olympic Games song "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" along enka singer Sayuri Ishikawa and rock singer Takehara Pistol (ja).

He announced that, by the end of 2022, he would be retiring from concert activities. One of the last activities involves the song "Sarai" (ja), which he had written together with singer-songwriter Shinji Tanimura. The song was made as theme for the NTV charity program 24-Hr TV, and Kayama announced that 2022's edition of the program would be his last live performance of the song. Following retirement however, Kayama made a surprise appearance at a tribute concert dedicated to him in September 2025, where he reunited with The Yanchers for an encore.

Filmography

Films

Television

Family tree

Honours Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2014) Person of Cultural Merit (2021)