, often referred to as simply , (5 October 1949 – 3 January 2014) was a Japanese singer and television personality. Born in Nishinari-ku, Osaka, Japan, to a Zainichi-issei Korean father Gonzaburou ( 權三郞) and a Japanese mother Mitsuko Yashiki (), he started his singing career in the 1970s in Gion, Kyoto, and then moved to Shimokitazawa, Tokyo in 1980. In 1981, he sang the theme song of the first movie of the Mobile Suit Gundam, Suna no Jūjika and it sold thirteen thousand CDs. He moved back to Osaka in 1982 and had been active mainly in the Kansai region since then. He sang many songs about Osaka such as Yappa Suki Yanen (1986), Osaka Koi Monogatari (1989), Nametonka (1990) and Tokyo (1993). He was popular in Kansai as a frank television presenter. Having made public his dislike of Tokyo, Takajin rarely made appearances on TV stations in Tokyo. He also kept a blacklist of people he wouldn't appear with. His trademark was sunglasses. He wore them because of his taste and glaucoma. In January 2012, he announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and that he would take a leave and concentrate on its treatment. He made a short comeback in 2013, but he died on January 3, 2014. Takajin owned five racehorses between years 1998-2006. Programs Takajin Mune Ippai () Takajin No Money () Takajin no Sokomade Itte Iinkai () Takajin ONE MAN () Muhaha no Takajin (Kansai TV) References External links 1949 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Japanese musicians Culture in Osaka Japanese television personalities Japanese racehorse owners and breeders Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from esophageal cancer Japanese people of Korean descent Musicians from Osaka Musicians from Kyoto Musicians from Setagaya 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers