Kyohei Tsutsumi
Kyōhei Tsutsumi (筒美 京平, Tsutsumi Kyouhei) (born Eikichi Watanabe, 28 May 1940 - 7 October 2020), was a Japanese composer, record producer and arranger.
Tsutsumi began his career as a songwriter about 1966, and he came to prominence as a composer of Ayumi Ishida's chart-topping hit "Blue Light Yokohama" in the late 1960s. He has released nearly 3,000 compositions to date, over 500 of which have entered the Japanese Oricon singles chart. Tsutsumi is the most commercially successful composer of the Japanese popular music of last five decades, selling over 76 million units on the country's singles chart from 1968 onwards.
Two of his compositions won the grand prix of Japan Record Award— "Mata Au Hi Made" performed by Kiyohiko Ozaki in 1971 and "Miserarete" by Judy Ongg in 1979. Tsutsumi himself has also won the awards for best songwriting category five times. Recognized for his long-term contribution to establish Japanese popular music, Tsutsumi received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon by the Government of Japan in November 2003.
Tsutsumi died of aspiration pneumonia on October 7, 2020, after home recuperation, at age 80.
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