Kyosuke Himuro (氷室 京介,Himuro Kyōsuke; born October 7, 1960, inTakasaki, Gunma, Japan) is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of therock bandBoøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded, he went on to have a successful solo career, becoming one ofJapan's best-selling artists, with 16.25 million sales. In 2003,HMV ranked Himuro at No. 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[1] He currently lives inLos Angeles, California.[2][3]
Himuro has frequently played music withSteve Stevens, best known as the backing guitarist forBilly Idol. Stevens participated in Himuro's album as a guitarist and hisconcert tour after his albumI·De·A.[citation needed]
On August 22, 2004, he held a concert, entitled "21st Century Boøwys Vs Himuro", at theTokyo Dome.[4] He sang manyBoøwy songs for the first time in sixteen years.[citation needed]
Himuro's song "Calling", from his 1989 albumNeo Fascio, was used in the ending credits to the 2005 filmFinal Fantasy VII Advent Children. The film's director,Tetsuya Nomura, noted that Himuro's music has been highly influential in his own work. When asked about his contribution to the film, Himuro said that he was happy his work would be used in "the best CG movie ever made in Japan".[citation needed]
From August 5 to August 6, 2006, he held a concert called "Kyosuke Himuro + Glay 2006 at Ajinomoto-Stadium "Swing Addition"" with Japanese bandGlay inAjinomoto Stadium. In addition, Himuro released his first collaborated single with Glay, called "Answer", on August 2, 2006.[5]
The Japanese release ofFinal Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete featured a new ending song by Himuro, "Safe and Sound", which featuresMy Chemical Romance lead singerGerard Way and replaces "Calling". "Safe and Sound" was released on theiTunes Store on April 29, 2009. However, the North American release continues to use "Calling" instead of "Safe and Sound".[6]
Fans outside Himuro's June 12, 2011 Tokyo Dome concert
Himuro held two consecutive sold-out charity concerts at theTokyo Dome on June 11 and 12, 2011 which attracted over 104,000 people, making them the biggest charity live event ever held in Japan. The raised sum of 669,220,940 yen (around US$8.7 million) was donated to Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures for recovery after the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2]
In 2016, he held a retirement tour in Japan, called "Kyosuke Himuro Last Gigs", and officially retired from live performances due to hishearing impairment.[7]
In 2020, he revealed he was working on music for a new album, but as of 2025, nothing has officially been announced.[7] That same year, he sang onB'z guitaristTak Matsumoto's albumBluesman on the song "Actually".[8]
20th Anniversary Tour 2008 Just Movin' On -Moral~Present- Special Live at Budokan (2009)
Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Charity Live Kyosuke Himuro Gig at Tokyo Dome "We Are Down But Never Give Up!!" (東日本大震災復興支援チャリティライブ KYOSUKE HIMURO GIG at TOKYO DOME "We Are Down But Never Give Up!!"; 2011) No. 2[11]
Kyosuke Himuro Tour 2010-11 Borderless 50x50 Rock' N' Roll Suicide (2012) No. 6[11]
21st Century Boøwys Vs Himuro "An Attempt to Discover New Truths" (2012) No. 8[11]
Special Gigs The Borderless From Boøwy to Himuro (2012)
Kyosuke Himuro Tour 2010-11 Borderless 50×50 Rock 'N' Roll Suicide (2012)
Kyosuke Himuro 25th Anniversary Tour Greatest Anthology -Naked- Final Destination Day-01 (2015)
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