Naotarou Moriyama is a well-known artist in Japan, but unfortunately far less known amongst overseas listeners of Japanese music. He is the son of popular folk singer Ryoko Moriyama, but it can be said that he definitely has enough talent not to need his mother’s fame to build a name for himself.
This singer-songwriter is known for his strong and expressive way of singing and his interesting compositions, which can be classified as pop but sometimes also edge a little towards folk sound. His best known song is undoubtedly Sakura, which managed the reach the hearts of many people. Proof of this is the immense success it had on the Oricon charts; it ranked first and remained in the top 100 for over two years.
Album Discography:
Kawaita uta wa sakana no esa ni choudo ii [2002]
Ikutsu mono kawa o koete umareta kotobatachi [2003]
Eien wa orugeru no naka ni [2003]
Aratanaru Koushinryou o[2004]
Mori no hito [2005]
Kessakusen 2001 ~ 2005 [2005]
Kazemachi kousaten [2006]
Shokun!! [2007]
Release recommendation: Namida
The single Namida is Moriyama’s most recent single that came out in October 2009. Next to the title track, it features two folk-inspired songs, but the main song Namida is definitely the most outstanding one on the single.
Links:
Popularity: 4% [?]
Kay is the English version manager, aka editor in chief/executive editor and one of JaME’s vice-presidents. Between her job, second BA studies and random language courses, she’s able to find time to shout at her darling team members and write an article or two once in a while. If that isn’t enough, she runs a JRock company in her home country and occasionally organizes concerts of well-known Japanese rock acts.
Although she got into Japanese music through visual kei, she has now moved onto different sorts of music such as pop, alternative/indie rock and will talk your ears off about anything related to reggae in Japan. More information on this creature can be found at 
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