Shoukichi Kina
Shoukichi Kina, is a Japanese rock musician and politician. He, along with his band Champloose, played a large role in the Okinawan home-grown "folk rock" scene in the 1970s and 1980s. His first big hit was "Haisai Ojisan" in 1972, which he wrote when he was in high school. A Song from the 1980 album Blood Lines, "Hana" also named "Subete no Hito no Kokoro ni Hana o", is frequently heard in international markets.
He was elected a member of the House of Councillors in July 2004. In 2010 he ran for a second term but lost.
Music career with Champloose
Shoukichi Kina & Champloose is a Japanese band from Okinawa blending traditional Okinawan music with a strong Western rock influence. Their name is apparently derived from the word for a traditional Okinawan stir-fry, chanpuru. Singer and lead songwriter Shoukichi Kina's electric sanshin was a particularly distinctive part of their sound. First major single was the classic "Haisai Ojisan", written while Kina was still in high school but not a hit until a few years later, in 1972. Later, Champloose's version of the Okinawan folk song "Jin Jin" was a minor hit in British discos, and their ballad "Hana", with vocals by Kina's wife Tomoko, became a weepy favourite in many Asian countries.Their first, self-titled album, released in 1977, remains a Japanese folk-rock classic.