I've been meaning to get this enka and min'yo singer onto the blog for a while now. I saw Ryuusei（彩青）on a past edition of "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新BS日本の歌）, and in my estimation, he's quite striking. Although he has been the apprentice of fellow enka singer Takashi Hosokawa（細川たかし）, his appearance reminds me more of the beatific presence of the late great Haruo Minami（三波春夫）and his abilities on multiple traditional instruments bring to mind another enka legend, Hiroshi Itsuki（五木ひろし）.
The Hokkaido-born Ryuusei made his debut back in 2019 and up until now, he's released eight singles and the one that I'm posting to start his file on KKP is his fifth from December 2023, "Oute!" (Check!) meaning the ultimate threatening move in shogi. Written by Hajime Tateishi（多手石松観）and composed by Shosuke Ichikawa（市川昭介）, it's a proud and manly-man enka about the ancient Japanese game as an analogy for life that also brings to my memories of another shogi-themed enka, "Osho" (王将), by another legend who left this mortal coil long ago, Hideo Murata（村田英雄）.
Ryuusei has yet to make an appearance on the Kohaku Utagassen but I think it's simply a matter of time. If he does get an invitation and he accepts, it would almost be like the second coming of Minami and a brief return of the more enka-dominant days of the New Year's Eve special.
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