Eigo Kawashima

In 1969, Kawashima began singing folk songs as a student at Osaka Prefectural Hanazono High School in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture.^[1] After graduating, Kawashima was active in a group called Homo Sapiens and then debuted with the Kyoto indie record label Kyoto Record.^[1] His looks and vocal style led some to call him the second coming of Takuro Yoshida.^[2]

In 1973, Kawashima began his solo career and released his debut solo album Jinrui in 1975 .^[1] In 1976, Kawashima released his first hit single "Sake to Namida to Otoko to Onna" ("Drinks, Tears, a Man and a Woman").^[3] Kawashima wrote "Sake to Namida to Otoko to Onna" at the age of 19, inspired by the figure of his uncle. The song became known nationwide after it was used in a TV commercial for Kizakura, a Kyoto brewery, and is considered one of his greatest hits. In 1984, Kawashima released the hit single "Nofuuzo", a cover of a 1980 song composed by Hiroyuki Yamamoto.^[4] The song title "Nofuuzo" is a word from the Chūgoku dialect of Japanese roughly meaning "rebellious" or "cheeky".^[5] In 1986, Kawashima released another hit single "Jidai Okure" ("Old-fashioned"), a song which saw numerous covers and remains a popular karaoke choice to this day among older men.^[6]

On 16 April 2001, Kawashima died of liver disease at a hospital in Higashiōsaka, a week before his 49th birthday.^[7] Kawashima was buried at a Shingon Buddhist temple in Nara.