He was born in a little town in Hokkaido to a fisherman. He was very poor because the effect of World War II, and he was forced to work while he studied.
When he was about to graduate from high-school, he decided to become a singer. His debut single was called "Bunkacha-Bushi", which was released in 1962.
He has a lot of famous songs. "Kita no Sakaba", "Yosaku" are very famous songs. He is a very popular Enka singer, and still sings the spirit of Japan. He appears often in the "Kouhaku Uta Gassen", a TV program at the end of the year where all the major singers in Japan gather.
Although Enka is becoming less popular with the younger generation, He is still Japan's most famous singer. He does a lot of concerts overseas as well, and he is contributing a lot of work to the culture of Japanese music.