Utamaro
Utamaro is a healing folk Duo which consists of two 20-year-old men, Kazuteru Kato and Tsutomu Kobori, living in Tsu-shi. They sing to their own acoustic guitars, like Yuzu or Kobukuro. “Utamaro” means “a singing (uta) man (maro)”. It also refers to Utamaro Kitagawa. As the printmaker became famous for his pictures, the band’s name includes a wish to become famous for their music. The other day, they had a major debut that released the third piece single Itsuka ha waratte utaeru kanasi uta (sad song to be able to sing laughingly someday). They are supported very much by female high school students. I think that they are the most famous artists and certainly the most famous 20-year olds in Mie.
I first met them in October 2004 at Tsu Festival, where I went with my friend. At the time, we didn’t know Utamaro. I went to see them just because Kazu is an older brother of a certain person that I and my friend were fans of. But the moment when I heard their performance, I became a fan of theirs. The singing voice of Kobo was very transparent, and the guitar which Kazu played affected the heart. Then I went to live broadcasts after school. I went to visit the underpass of Tsu Station and Yokkaichi Station with a friend to listen to them. They think of fans very much, and they are good friends with their fans. I like not only their performance but also their personality. Both of them are tender and are interesting.
Though it is very nice that Utamaro had a major debut, I feel a bit lonely when I think that they won’t be doing any more street live broadcasts as before. There were a few people who gathered in those days, but a lot of people will come now. But I want a lot more people to hear Utamaro and hope they will come to like them. I believe that the band will become absolutely famous. They have many songs of sad lost love, but there are also songs of happy love, a chocolate song, etc. As well as this single, two singles were released so far, too. I recommend all of them. Please try to listen to them by all means. If you are interested in Utamaro, look here. I’m sure you’ll like them.
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Comments (4)
Rudolf
wrote on February 02, 2006:
I happened to see them almost a year ago, when they performed right next to the Center Palace Hotel (here’s a photo I took of one of the musicians). They reminded me a bit of Simon and Garfunkel.
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techan
wrote on February 03, 2006:
Hello! Yuuna san! Today, I went to a rental shop near my house and found their CD by chance! Their songs resemble Yuzu’s songs, right?
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Yuuna
wrote on February 10, 2006:
Rudolf,
Yes, he is Kobori. You listened to them then, did you? Do you like them? I like Simon and Garfunkel. I wish Utamaro to be famous as them.
techan,
Hello! I think so too. Utamaro said that they like and respect Yuzu. They’re similar to Yuzu. One plays the guitar and another plays the harp.
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