Editing Saburō Kitajima

{{Short description|Japanese enka singer, lyricist and composer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist  <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = Saburō Kitajima <br> {{nihongo2|北島 三郎}}
| image               = Saburo Kitajima IMG 0826-1 20170625.jpg
| caption             = Kitajima in 2017
| background          = solo_singer
| birth_name        = {{nihongo|大野 穣|Ōno Minoru}}
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1936|10|04}}
| birth_place         = [[Shiriuchi, Hokkaido]], Japan
| origin              =
| genre               = [[Enka]]
| occupation          = Singer, lyricist, composer, actor
| years_active        = 1962–present
| label               = [[Nippon Columbia]] (1962–1963)<br />[[Nippon Crown]] (1963–present)
| website             = {{URL|www.kitajima-music.co.jp}}
}}

{{nihongo|'''Saburō Kitajima'''|北島 三郎|Kitajima Saburō|extra=born October 4, 1936}} is a Japanese [[enka]] singer, lyricist, actor and composer.

==Background==
He was born '''Minoru Ōno''' (大野 穣),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kitajima-music.co.jp/sabu/profile.html |title=Profile: Saburo Kitajima |publisher=Kitajima Music Office |accessdate=15 January 2010 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010224240/http://www.kitajima-music.co.jp/sabu/profile.html |archivedate=October 10, 2008 }}</ref> in [[Shiriuchi, Hokkaido|Shiriuchi, Hokkaidō]], to a fisherman. He was very poor due to the effects of [[World War II]], and was forced to work while he studied.

==Music career==
[[File:Saburo Kitajima IMG 7790r R 20151025.JPG|thumb|left|Kitajima in 2015.]]
When he was about to graduate from high school, he decided to become a singer. His debut single was called "Bungacha-Bushi," which was released in 1962.

He has many famous songs, including "Namida Bune" (1962), "Kyōdai Jingi" (1965), "Yosaku" (1978) and "Kita no Ryōba" (1986). His 1965 song "Kaerokana" was written by lyricist [[Rokusuke Ei]] and composer [[Hachidai Nakamura]]. He is very popular in Japan partly due to his looks of a physical laborer, and he mostly sings in the spirit of Japan's working class and rural laborers.

Kitajima regularly appeared on ''[[Kōhaku Uta Gassen]]'', an annual end-of-year TV program where many major Japanese singers gather to perform, before announcing his retirement from the show in 2013.  He participated a record 50 times, was the "anchor" (final solo performer) 13 times and led the grand finale 11 times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/12/30/music/kohaku-rallies-j-pop-acts-dont-count-enka-just-yet/#.VKdCXYrF_Yk |author=Daisuke Kikuchi |title='Kohaku' rallies the J-pop acts, but don't count enka out just yet |work=Japan Times |date=December 30, 2014 |accessdate=2 January 2015}}</ref> His participation included the infamous [[DJ Ozma]] performance at the ''[[57th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen]]''. He returned at the ''[[69th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen]]'' in 2018 for a special performance.

Kitajima released single {{nihongo|"Fūfu Isshō"|夫婦一生|lit. "Couple in a Lifetime"}} on January 1, 2010 at the age of 73. It debuted at No. 10 on the Japanese [[Oricon]] weekly single charts. It became the first single to reach Top 10 by a solo artist in his 70s in Oricon charts history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/rankmusic/72343/full/ |title=北島三郎「73歳3か月」で最年長TOP10入り、19年ぶりに歴代記録抜く |publisher=Oricon |date=January 12, 2010 |accessdate=12 January 2010 |language=ja}}</ref>

He does a lot of concerts overseas and is contributing a lot of work to the culture of [[Japanese music]]. {{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

==Other activities==
In addition to his singing career, Kitajima acted in the role of Tatsugorō on the television series ''[[Abarenbō Shōgun]]''. During the quarter-century life of the series, he also sang its theme songs. He is also a successful owner of Thoroughbred racehorses including [[Kitasan Black]].

== Honours ==
*[[Order of the Rising Sun|Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette]] (2016)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.kitajima-music.co.jp/sabu/ Official homepage] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Commonscat|Saburo Kitajima}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitajima, Saburo}}
[[Category:Enka singers]]
[[Category:Japanese male composers]]
[[Category:Japanese composers]]
[[Category:Japanese male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Japanese lyricists]]
[[Category:Japanese male television actors]]
[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Actors from Hokkaido]]
[[Category:Singers from Hokkaido]]
[[Category:Japanese racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Nippon Crown artists]]


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