Koichi Aoki (青木光一) Aoki Kouichi (born 1926, Taisho 15) Born February 17th, he is a Japanese singer. He is the honorary chairman of the Japan Singers Association. He had many hit songs, including Kakinokizaka no Ie, and reigned as a popular idol in the Japanese music scene during the mid-Showa era. He is from Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture. In 1944, he graduated from a pre-war middle school in Fengtian. He joined the Fengtian Central Broadcasting Choir and received instruction from Masao Yoneyama, who was in charge of choral instruction. In 1945, he enlisted in the Kwantung Army and was detained in Siberia after the defeat. In 1950, he joined Columbia Records at the recommendation of Masao Yoneyama, who had already returned to Japan. He made his record debut that same year with Kirameku Subaru. In August of the same year, he released Wakaki Arashi, the theme song for the Daiei film Wakaki Arashi. In 1953, he achieved a breakthrough with the song Take Care, Goodbye. In 1955, The Mail Boat to the Small Island became a huge hit. In 1956, Hayaku Kaette Ko (Come Home Quickly) became a huge hit. In 1957, Kakinokizaka no Ie became a massive hit. In the same year, he made her first appearance on NHK's Kohaku Uta Gassen with Nidaime Sencho-san. He has appeared on Kohaku Uta Gassen a total of three times (see below for details). In 1999, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 40th Japan Record Awards. In 2004, Columbia Music Entertainment released The Complete Works of Koichi Aoki. In addition, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Japan Singers Association in 1983, became a permanent director in 1985, chairman in 1995, president in 2003, and has served as honorary president from 2007 to the present (2026). Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.