How a Boy from Hiroshima Became "YAZAWA": The Life of Eikichi Yazawa
On stage, a white towel arcs through the air. Flung into the crowd, it is hurled back by thousands of hands. In that moment of pure, unspoken unity, everyone in the hall is saying the same name: Eikichi Yazawa. Or, as he calls himself, simply YAZAWA.
If an ordinary person referred to himself in the third person as "YAZAWA," it would be a cringeworthy joke. But when he says it dead serious, it somehow becomes gospel. Decades of achievement and an unwavering way of living have given those letters their weight.
A boy born in a corner of Hiroshima left for Tokyo with nothing and went on to carve out the very shape of Japanese rock. This is the story of that road.
A Boy from Niho Heads for Tokyo
Eikichi Yazawa was born on September 14, 1949, in Niho, Hiroshima (now Minami Ward). He attended local schools before finishing at Hiroshima Denki University Senior High School, now Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin High School. He did not go on to university.
In 1968, the moment he graduated, he set off for Tokyo without hesitation. His goal was a life in music. He had no backing and no guarantees—truly nothing but himself. The starting point that he would later sum up in a single word, "Nariagari" (rising up), was one he stepped toward without a flicker of doubt.
Carol: Rock and Roll Rebellion
In 1972, Yazawa formed the rock-and-roll band Carol and made his major debut as its leader, bassist, and vocalist with the single "Louisiane." Pompadour hair, leather jackets, raw rock and roll—it was an unmistakable act of rebellion thrown at the Japanese music scene of the day.
Carol drew fervent support, but at the height of its momentum the band disbanded in 1975. The short, vivid era of the group was over. For Yazawa, though, it was not an ending but a doorway to the next stage up.
Going Solo and the Budokan Legend
In the autumn of 1975, the same year Carol broke up, Yazawa launched his solo career with the single "I Love You, OK." Then, in 1977, he became the first Japanese solo rock artist to take the stage at Nippon Budokan.
That venue would come to symbolize his legend. In 2007 he reached an unprecedented 100 total performances there, and in 2024 he hit 150. That number is no mere statistic. It is proof that he stood on that stage at full intensity for decades—a record of almost inhuman stamina.
"Nariagari" and "Toki yo Tomare"
The year 1978 was a special one for Yazawa. His single "Toki yo Tomare" became a million-seller, and he performed at Korakuen Stadium.
That same year, his autobiography Nariagari surpassed one million copies sold. Telling the straight-line story of his rise from Hiroshima to Tokyo, from obscurity to the top, the book became a landmark not only in Japanese rock but in self-improvement literature, and it is still read today. Across generations, people keep saying, "This book changed my life."
Independence and an Unfading Record
Having passed through Warner Pioneer, Sony Music, and EMI, Yazawa eventually came to run his own label, GARURU RECORDS, standing as a fully independent artist. Relying on no one, standing on his own two feet—it was a natural extension of the way he had always lived.
In 2013, his all-time best album topped the Oricon weekly chart. In 2019, the album "Itsuka, Sono Hi ga Kuru Hi made..." debuted at No. 1, setting a new record as the oldest artist to claim the top spot. On the verge of seventy, he was still standing at the summit.
"It's your life. You run it yourself." This is Eikichi Yazawa's motto, and a single line that sums up his entire life.
A boy from Hiroshima pushed himself to the point where he could call himself "YAZAWA." In the process, he proved that a way of living can itself be rock and roll. Beyond that scene of flying towels and a roaring crowd, one man is still standing on the stage, giving it everything.