Akira Fuse

{{short description|Japanese singer and actor (born 1947)}} {{Expand Japanese|topic=bio|布施明|date=September 2014}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Akira Fuse | image = Akira-Fuse-1.png | alt = | caption = Fuse in 1966 | image_size = | landscape =  | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|12|18}} | birth_place = Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan | death_date =  | death_place = | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|actor}} | years_active = 1965–present | spouse = {{marriage|Olivia Hussey|1980|1989|reason=div.}}{{marriage|{{ill|Yukari Morikawa|ja|森川由加里}}|2013}} | children = 1 | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes | origin = | genre = Kayōkyoku {{hlist|Western pop music}} Jazz | instrument = | label = Universal Japan | associated_acts = }} | website = {{URL|beta.universal-music.co.jp/fuse-akira/}} }} {{nihongo|'''Akira Fuse'''|布施明|Fuse Akira|born December 18, 1947}} is a Japanese singer and actor. He debuted in 1965 with the single {{nihongo|"Kimi ni Namida to Hohoemi o"|君に涙とほほえみを||"Tears and Smiles to You"}}.

== Early life == Fuse was born in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, on December 18, 1947. He is of Korean ancestry.<ref name="koreatimes.co.kr">{{Cite web |date=2014-10-25 |title=Olivia Hussey has half-Korean son - The Korea Times |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20141025/olivia-hussey-has-half-korean-son |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.koreatimes.co.kr |language=en}}</ref>

Fuse had one older brother, Tsutomu Fuse, who was a Law Professor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=布施勉、元“サイレント・マジョリティー”教授が横浜市立大学長に『産経ニュース』（2008 |url=http://www.kit.hi-ho.ne.jp/msatou/08-02/080225fuse-sankei.htm |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=www.kit.hi-ho.ne.jp}}</ref> He grew up near Yokata Air Base, and later attended Miyakofuchu High School nearby before transferring to Teshima Jitsugyo High School (now Teshima Gakuin High School).<ref>{{Cite web |title=⊘ 物語が始まる ⊘THE STORY BEGINS – vol.23 布施明さん {{!}} 神戸っ子 |url=https://kobecco.hpg.co.jp/73307/ |access-date=2026-01-17 |website=kobecco.hpg.co.jp}}</ref>

==Career== His greatest hits are {{nihongo|"Cyclamen no Kahori"|シクラメンのかほり|Shikuramen no Kahori|"The Scent of Cyclamen"}} and {{nihongo|"Kimi wa Bara Yori Utsukushii"|君は薔薇より美しい||"You Are More Beautiful than a Rose"}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bs-asahi.co.jp/interview/lineup/prg_447/|title=布施明インタビュー|publisher=bs-asahi |accessdate= 19 March 2020}}</ref> He currently makes consistent appearances on television, performs occasional seasonal tours, hosts a late night talk show, and is involved in a number of stage plays. In 2005, he enjoyed a revival when his music was used in the popular Japanese TV-series ''Kamen Rider Hibiki'' with its ending theme {{nihongo|"Shōnen yo"|少年よ||"Boy!"}} and later its second opening theme {{nihongo|"Hajimari no Kimi e"|始まりの君へ||"To the Original You"}}.

==Personal life== He married the actress Olivia Hussey on February 14, 1980, in Florida and later divorced in 1989 after he was unable to attain work in the United States and Olivia was unable to relocate her first-born son, Alexander Gunther Martin, to Japan.<ref name=Laufenberg2005 >{{citation | last=Laufenberg | first=Norbert B. | year=2005 | title=Entertainment Celebrities | publisher=Trafford Publishing | isbn=978-1-4120-5335-8 | page=318 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzTW9Nitee4C }}</ref> They met while she was filming a commercial for Kanebo Cosmetics.<ref name="koreatimes.co.kr"/><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC6MaPKLWjY |title=1979 カネボウオリビア来日予告 |date=2009-05-02 |last=ksoik |access-date=2026-01-17 |via=YouTube}}</ref> The wedding was attended by over 2,000 guests and lots of Japanese press.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DGedtRxvfRS/?hl=en |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref> They had one child together, son Maximillian Fuse.<ref name=Laufenberg2005 />

On April 15, 2013, his marriage to singer and actress Yukari Morikawa was announced.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 April 2013 |title=布施明と森川由加里が結婚「二人寄り添い歩いてまいります」 |url=https://billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/11578/2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260125125807/https://billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/11578/2 |archive-date=25 January 2026 |access-date=25 January 2026 |website=Billboard Japan |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 April 2013 |title=布施明と森川由加里が結婚「協力して頑張ってまいる所存」 |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2023673/full/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260125131625/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2023673/full/ |archive-date=25 January 2026 |access-date=25 January 2026 |website=Oricon |language=Japanese}}</ref>

==Trivia== Gen Hoshino created the parody character "Akira Nise" (ニセ明, ''Nise Akira'', literally ''Fake Akira'') as a tribute to Akira Fuse.<ref>{{cite web |title=星野源今度はニセ明大人気キャラを１週間アップ |url=https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20200420-00000120-dal-ent}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hoshino Gen Int'l @hoshinogen_intl |url=https://twitter.com/hoshinogen_intl/status/814288115795836928}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Watch Gen Hoshino's Quirky Music Video for 'Doraemon' Japanese Comic |magazine=Billboard |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/international/8215545/watch-gen-hoshino-music-video-doraemon-japan}}</ref>

== Television == * ''Kamen Rider Hibiki'', as senior former Oni master, who gifts Hibiki the Armed Saber (episodes 32–33). * ''Everyone's Best Kouhaku 100th Anniversary of Broadcasting Special'' (NHK, 2025) (cast)<ref>{{Cite web |title=みんなのベスト紅白みなさんの心に残る"ベスト紅白"ソングをキャンペーンと連動してお届け！ |url=https://www.nhk.jp/p/bestkouhaku/ts/4GY91QJLJJ/blog/bl/pxYW9J0PQl/bp/pxVzppn5Nx/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250306051401/https://www.nhk.jp/p/bestkouhaku/ts/4GY91QJLJJ/blog/bl/pxYW9J0PQl/bp/pxVzppn5Nx/ |archive-date=6 March 2025 |access-date=6 March 2025 |website=NHK official site |language=Japanese}}</ref>

==Film== *Kore ga seishun da! (1966) (Performed film's theme song)<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060604/fullcredits/ |title=Kore ga seishun da! (1966) - Full cast & crew - IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-01-17 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> *''Tora-san, the Matchmaker'' (1979) *Be Forever Yamato (1980)<ref>{{Citation |last=Katsumata |first=Tomoharu |title=Yamato yo towa ni |date=1980-08-02 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140703/?ref_=nm_knf_t_1 |access-date=2026-01-17 |others=Kei Tomiyama, Yôko Asagami, Shûsei Nakamura |publisher=Office Academy, Toei Doga |last2=Masuda |first2=Toshio |last3=Matsumoto |first3=Leiji}}</ref> *''Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald'' (1997) *''Minna no Ie'' (2001) : Hirinouchi

==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuse, Akira}} Category:1947 births Category:Living people Category:Singers from Tokyo Category:Japanese male singers Category:Universal Music Japan artists Category:Japanese male actors