Kyu Sakamoto

Kyu Sakamoto
坂本 九
Sakamoto in 1961/1962
Born	Hisashi Sakamoto (1941-12-10)10 December 1941 Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Empire of Japan
Died	12 August 1985(1985-08-12) (aged 43) Mount Takamagahara Ueno, Gunma, Japan
Cause of death	Plane crash onboard Japan Air Lines Flight 123
Other names	Kyū-chan Hisashi Ōshima
Occupations	Singer actor
Spouse	Yukiko Kashiwagi ​ (m. 1971)​
Children	Hanako Maiko
Musical career
Genres	J-pop pop kayōkyoku
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1958–1985
Labels	Toshiba-EMI Capitol (US and Canada)
Website	www.sakamoto-kyu.com
Musical artist

Hisashi "Kyu" Sakamoto (Japanese: 坂本 九, Hepburn: Sakamoto Hisashi or Sakamoto Kyū, 10 December 1941 – 12 August 1985), legally registered as Hisashi Ōshima (大島 九, Ōshima Hisashi) since 1956, was a Japanese singer and actor.

He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as "Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. He was also the first Japanese artist to have a number one single on the Australian singles chart.^[1]

Sakamoto died on 12 August 1985 in the crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123, along with 519 others on board the flight, making him a casualty of the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history. Only four people on board survived the crash.