Eigo Kawashima
Eigo Kawashima (1952–2001) was a Japanese singer and songwriter known for Kayōkyoku and folk music. He was born on April 23, 1952, in Higashiōsaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
As a high school student, he began singing folk songs in 1969. He joined a group called Homo Sapiens and later debuted with Kyoto Record. People sometimes compared his looks and voice to Takuro Yoshida.
He started his solo career in 1973 and released his first solo album, Jinrui, in 1975. His first hit came in 1976 with the song "Sake to Namida to Otoko to Onna" (Drinks, Tears, a Man and a Woman), which he wrote at age 19 inspired by his uncle. The song became famous nationwide after being used in a TV commercial for the Kyoto brewery Kizakura and remains one of his best-known songs.
In 1984, he released "Nofuuzo," a cover of a 1980 song by Hiroyuki Yamamoto. The title comes from a Chūgoku dialect meaning rebellious or cheeky. In 1986, he released "Jidai Okure" ("Old-fashioned"), a hit that has been widely covered and is a popular karaoke choice, especially among older men.
Kawashima died on April 16, 2001, in Higashiōsaka from liver disease, just before his 49th birthday. He is buried at a Shingon Buddhist temple in Nara.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:54 (CET).