Photo: Cuilaoxie / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Takekawa is the reason a whole generation of Japanese kids sang in English without understanding a word of it. Monkey Magic, Gandhara, The Galaxy Express 999 - these were pop songs built at cinema scale, and he delivered them completely straight, with no irony to hide behind. That refusal to hedge is why they still hold up. I also love the shape of his career: a Tokyo University of Foreign Studies graduate fronting the themes to a wild television take on Journey to the West, then writing Beautiful Name about the dignity of a person's name, then going off to publish novels. Most performers pick a lane. He never seems to have seen the point.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Yukihide Takekawa
- Name (Japanese)
- タケカワユキヒデ
- Reading
- たけかわゆきひで
- Born
- October 22, 1952 (age 73)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Dragon
- Origin
- Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
- Height
- 172 cm
- Occupation
- novelist / singer-songwriter / composer / lyricist / singer
2. Background
- High school
- Saitama Prefectural Urawa High School
- University
- Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Solitude | — | |
| Notable work | Gandhara | — | |
| Notable work | Monkey Magic | — | |
| Notable work | Beautiful Name | — | |
| Notable work | The Galaxy Express 999 | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Yukihide Takekawa born?
Born October 22, 1952 (age 73).
Where is Yukihide Takekawa from?
Yukihide Takekawa is from Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
What does Yukihide Takekawa do?
Yukihide Takekawa works as novelist, singer-songwriter, composer, lyricist, singer.
How tall is Yukihide Takekawa?
Yukihide Takekawa is 172 cm.
What is Yukihide Takekawa known for?
Notable works include Solitude, Gandhara, Monkey Magic.
Novelist — see all → · Singer-songwriter — see all → · More people from Japan →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-07-27
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.