Toshi (musician)

Toshi 出山 利三
Toshi in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Toshimitsu Deyama
Also known as	Toshi Ryugen Toshi (龍玄とし)
Born	(1965-10-10) October 10, 1965 (age 59) Tateyama, Japan
Genres	Rock heavy metal pop
Occupations	Singer songwriter record producer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1977–present
Labels	BMG Victor Home of Heart Office Samurai Japan Universal
Member of	X Japan
Formerly of	Toshl feat. Yoshiki Toshi with T-Earth Toshi with Night Hawks Dynamite Noise
Website	toshi-samuraijapan.com
Japanese name
Kanji	出山 利三
Hiragana	でやま としみつ
Transcriptions Romanization Deyama Toshimitsu

Toshimitsu Deyama (Japanese: 出山 利三, Hepburn: Deyama Toshimitsu, born October 10, 1965), known exclusively by his stage name Toshi,^{[Note 1]} is a Japanese singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist and a co-founder of the rock band X Japan, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is credited as founders of the visual kei movement. Toshi began an extensive solo career in 1992 before leaving X Japan at the end of 1997. Toshi laments he was "brainwashed" by a group called Home of Heart, whose leader would control his musical output for the next 12 years. In 2007, X Japan reunited and began a world tour. Toshi severed ties with Home of Heart in January 2010 and renewed his solo career. His distinctive, impassioned tenor vocals have been compared to those of Steve Perry.^[1] In January 2018, he began to use the stage name Ryugen Toshi (龍玄とし, Ryūgen Toshi).^[2]

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