Yosui Inoue

Okay, that voice. I'm a sucker for a high, crystal-clear tenor, and Yosui Inoue weaponizes his, so when he sighs out "Kasa ga Nai" the whole room goes quietly cold. I love that you can't pin him down: you file him under folk, then he hits you with a slippery melody or some sly wordplay and drifts off before you've caught up. "Yume no Naka e" literally asks what you're looking for, all gentle and kind, then ghosts you while you're still answering, and honestly that aloof shrug is the whole appeal. The man basically invented the million-selling Japanese LP with "Hyo no Sekai" and still sounds unbothered decades on. Same hometown as Tamori, best friends, which tracks perfectly. Those sunglasses hide a guy I'd kill to be that mysterious.

Yosui Inoue (born August 30, 1948, in Yukubukuro, Kaho District, Fukuoka Prefecture) is one of Japan's most celebrated singer-songwriters, active since 1969. He first debuted under the stage name Andre Kandore before relaunching in 1972 as Yosui Inoue, quickly achieving national fame with hit singles such as "Kasa ga Nai" and "Yume no Naka e." His 1973 album "Koori no Sekai" (Ice World) became the first LP in Japanese recording history to surpass one million copies sold. Co-founder of For Life Records in 1976, he has remained a defining figure in Japanese popular music for over five decades.

Name (English)

Yosui Inoue

Name (Japanese)

井上陽水

Reading

いのうえようすい

Born

August 30, 1948 (age 77)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Virgo / Rat (Ne)

Origin

Yukubukuro, Kaho District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan (now Iizuka City)

Blood type

AB

Height

Private

Agency

Camp Inc. (Kabushiki Kaisha Camp)

Agency history

CBS Sony (1969–1971, as Andre Kandore)
Polydor (1972–)
For Life Records (1976–)

Active years

1969–present

Occupation

Singer-songwriter / Singer / Music producer

Elementary school

Private

Junior high

Private

High school

Fukuoka Prefectural Nishitagawa High School

University

Did not enroll (failed the Kyushu Dental University entrance exam three times)

Debut

Debuted in 1969 under the stage name Andre Kandore with the single "Kandore Mandore" on CBS Sony. Re-debuted in March 1972 under the name Yosui Inoue (derived from the reading of his real name) with the single "Jinsei ga Nido Areba."

Awards & achievements

• 1974 – 16th Japan Record Award: Special Planning Award
• 1985 – 27th Japan Record Award: Album of the Year ("9.5 Carat")
• 1985 – 27th Japan Record Award: Composition Award
• 1993 – 35th Japan Record Award: Gold Award ("Make-up Shadow")
• 1994 – 36th Japan Record Award: Gold Award

Timeline

1. 1969Debuted on CBS Sony under the name Andre Kandore
2. 1972Re-debuted as Yosui Inoue with the single "Jinsei ga Nido Areba"; released debut album "Danzetsu"
3. 1973Singles "Yume no Naka e" and "Kokoro Moyo" became major hits; album "Koori no Sekai" released
4. 1975"Koori no Sekai" became the first LP in Japanese recording history to surpass one million copies sold
5. 1976Co-founded For Life Records with Takuro Yoshida, Kaguyahime, and Hitoshi Komuro
6. 1977Arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession; received a suspended sentence
7. 1990Released single "Shonen Jidai," which became a topic as the theme song for the film of the same name
8. 1993Single "Make-up Shadow" peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon chart and sold over 800,000 copies

Spouse

Seri Ishikawa (remarried 1978, second wife)

Children

Two sons and two daughters (eldest daughter is singer Sarasa Ifu)

Parents

Private

Siblings

One older sister (8 years older) and one younger sister (born in consecutive years)

Hobbies

• Listening to music
• Playing guitar

Specialties

• Songwriting (lyrics)
• Composition
• Guitar

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://yosui.jp/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/yousui393/
• Xhttps://twitter.com/yosuiinfo
• YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAaLDZXHYo7RhHVFmP79b_g
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%95%E4%B8%8A%E9%99%BD%E6%B0%B4

Tags

• singer-songwriter
• from-fukuoka
• Koori no Sekai
• Shonen Jidai
• Kasa ga Nai
• For Life Records
• 1970s
• Japanese rock

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.