Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, poet, and human-rights advocate, who is a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. He has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has appeared in movies and television dramas. His wife Etsuko Shihomi is an actress. Early life Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi was born on September 7, 1956, in Ijuin, Kagoshima, the first son of police officer Kuniharu Nagabuchi and Masuko Nagabuchi. As a child, Nagabuchi was sickly and often suffered from asthma attacks. Career Nagabuchi favored popular Japanese folk singers such as Takuro Yoshida, Ryo Kagawa, Masato Tomobe and Kenji Endo. A song called "One Road Straight" changed his view of the world. Their protest songs tempted him to become a musician. Eagerness to realize his dream made him buy a nylon-string guitar at the age of 15. In 1973, when he was 17, he made his first performance as a live act. Around 1974, he formed a folk duo called "Takeshi and Tsuyoshi" and gained experience as a performer. In 1975, he entered Kyushu Sangyo University but eventually dropped out and chose the career of show business. At that time, he often performed at late-night bars. Some audiences booed him and threw bottles at him. Later, he reminisced about the old days and said that this unbearable experience trained his spirit.