Photo: Adataro / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Kazuo Funaki, born in Ichinomiya, Aichi in 1944 under his real name Shigeyuki Ueda, is proof that one song can hold a country's memory. Koko Sannensei, or High School Third-Year Student, put him on stage in a school uniform and made him the sound of Japanese graduations for decades. I never lived through the years when he was counted among the big three young male singers, so I know that era from photographs, and yet I can still sing the chorus. What impresses me more is the second act: he kept working as a stage and screen actor instead of coasting on nostalgia. The Golden Arrow Award fits him.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kazuo Funaki
- Name (Japanese)
- 舟木一夫
- Born
- December 12, 1944 (age 81)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Monkey
- Origin
- Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- singer / actor
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- Golden Arrow Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.aiesu.co.jp/talents/fk_index.html
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%88%9F%E6%9C%A8%E4%B8%80%E5%A4%AB
Frequently asked questions
When was Kazuo Funaki born?
Born December 12, 1944 (age 81).
Where is Kazuo Funaki from?
Kazuo Funaki is from Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
What does Kazuo Funaki do?
Kazuo Funaki works as singer, actor.
Singer — see all → · Actor — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-26
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.