ShuenrokuAn archive of musicians' final live performances

Final in retrospectAshikaga Civic Hall (Ashikaga Shimin Kaikan)

Hideki Saijo's last stage performance: Ashikaga Civic Hall, April 14, 2018

On April 14, 2018, at the Ashikaga Civic Hall in Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, Hideki Saijo took the stage as one of nine acts in a "Dosokai Concert," a touring package show of singers with hits from Japan's Showa era. He had turned 63 the day before, and his fellow performers reportedly celebrated with a cake before the show. It turned out to be the last time he sang in front of an audience. Saijo, who in 1974 became the first Japanese solo singer to headline a baseball stadium and who turned "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" into a million-seller, spent his last years touring the country with these shared bills. His last concert under his own name had been in Osaka in October 2017. What he sang in Ashikaga, and what he sang last, cannot be confirmed from official records or press reports. What has been passed down is a co-star's account: of Saijo standing behind the lowered curtain before the second half, listening to the crowd, and of his answer afterwards that the show had been "so much fun." A month later, on May 16, he died at 63.

By Shuenroku Editorial TeamPublished

Illustration of a hall stage seen from the empty seats: light spills from beneath a stage curtain that has just begun to rise, and a single microphone stand stands at center in a beam of light from above
IllustrationA stage curtain just beginning to rise, and a single microphone in front of it.
Date [7][8][1]
VenueAshikaga Civic Hall (Ashikaga Shimin Kaikan) (Ashikaga, Tochigi)
EventDosokai Concert ("class reunion concert") (同窓会コンサート) [7][9][10]
CategoryFinal in retrospect
Why it endedDeath [8][1][3]
LineupHideki Saijo [7][8][15]
Attendance UnverifiedNo official or press figure for the attendance was found.
Last song performed UnverifiedThe songs Saijo sang that day, and his last song, could not be confirmed from the official site or press reports. For reference only (fan blogs, unverified): one blog, describing the afternoon show, says he sang "Hop Step Jump," "Hageshii Koi," "Boomerang Street" and "Blue Sky Blue" in an opening segment with the whole cast and returned at the end to sing "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)"; another lists the same first four songs. No account of the 6 p.m. show has been found.[25][26]
Video release UnverifiedNo video or audio release of this show has been found (November 2026).

About the artist

Hideki Saijo (real name Tatsuo Kimoto) came from Hiroshima Prefecture. As a boy he formed a band with his older brother, was scouted while singing at a jazz café, and moved to Tokyo; he debuted on March 25, 1972, at 16, with the single "Koisuru Kisetsu" ("a season of love")[1][2]. "Chigireta Ai" ("torn love") gave him his first No. 1 in 1973 and stayed on top for four weeks[2]. With Hiromi Go and Goro Noguchi he was one of the "Shin Gosanke," the "new big three" of male pop idols, and he was known for a husky, full-throated style of singing[1]. His best-known songs include "Kizudarake no Laura" ("Laura, all scarred"), "Bara no Kusari" ("chain of roses") and "Gyarandu"[1][3].

On stage he tried things that Japanese pop had not done before. After seeing Rod Stewart and the Faces in Japan in February 1974, he made his own aluminum microphone stand[4]. On August 3 that year he played Osaka Stadium, the first stadium concert headlined by a Japanese solo singer[4][3]. The Osaka Stadium shows ran for ten years, ending with "BIG GAME '83 HIDEKI FINAL IN STADIUM," and he also played Tokyo's Korakuen Stadium four years running from 1978[2][4]. From 1975 to 1985 he gave a recital at the Nippon Budokan every year; at the January 1985 show, marking his 50th single, "Ichiman Konen no Ai," he sang all 50 of his singles[2][5].

His 28th single, "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" (1979), a Japanese version of a song by an American group that he heard in the United States in 1978 and asked to record, sold a million copies and won the grand prize at the 10th Nihon Kayo Taisho awards; its letter-shaped dance moves caught on[2][6][1]. In 1988 he sang at the eve-of-games celebration of the Seoul Olympics, which his official site describes as the first time a Japanese singer sang in Japanese at an official event in South Korea[2].

He worked beyond music, too. In 1974 he starred in the film Ai to Makoto and made his first appearance on NHK's New Year's Eve show Kohaku Uta Gassen, returning every year through 1984; in 1975 a film following his nationwide tour, BLOW UP HIDEKI, reached cinemas[2]. In 1984 he voiced a role in Kuroi Ame ni Utarete, an animated film based on a work by Keiji Nakazawa[6]. The musician Kenzo Saeki, who wrote a lyric for Saijo in 1991, counted him in 2022 among the pioneers of Japanese rock singing, pointing out that his 1973–74 recital albums include covers of the Rolling Stones' "Angie" and Kool & the Gang's "Funky Stuff"[4].

Why this was the last show

The Ashikaga show was never billed as a farewell. The official site listed it as one more date in the long-running Dosokai Concert series[7]; only after his death did the press describe it as his "last stage"[8][1].

It was public knowledge that Saijo had suffered strokes in 2003 and 2011[3][1]. He wrote about them in two books, Akiramenai ("I won't give up," 2004) and Ari no Mama ni ("just as I am," 2012), and kept performing: in 2005 he marked his 50th birthday with his first club show, at duo in Shibuya, Tokyo; in 2007 he sang to a crowd of about 80,000 at an international arts festival in Nantong, China; in 2009 he appeared in NHK's morning drama Tsubasa; in 2011 he was on stage in the musical Marguerite; and in 2012 he gave his first concert in Brazil in 23 years, in Sao Paulo[2].

In 2012 he joined the Dosokai Concert for the first time, and that autumn he also began his own "Kodou" concerts[2]. Officially titled "Hit Song JAPAN Showa Dosokai Concert," the series brought together singers with Showa-era hits, among them Isao Bito, Panda Yamada, Shinya Aizaki, Tomoko Ogawa and Shizue Abe, for afternoon and evening shows in civic halls around Japan[9][10]. In 2016 alone, Saijo played 77 of them[2].

He also went on giving concerts under his own name. On April 13, 2015, his 60th birthday, he played Akasaka BLITZ in Tokyo. He sang "Shinkiro" ("mirage"), his first new song in 3,120 days, from the album Kodou released that day; Goro Noguchi walked on with a cake, and the night ended with Saijo and about 650 fans singing "YOUNG MAN" together. He said he wanted to treat turning 60 as a fresh start[11][2]. In 2016 he marked his 45th anniversary with concerts in Osaka, Tokyo and Kanagawa[2].

In 2017 he returned, after 18 years, to the Shizuoka event "Cho Do-S Festa Shizuoka"[2]. That October came the "Hideki Saijo Concert 2017": Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo on the 17th, Sagami Women's University Green Hall in Kanagawa on the 19th, and the Orix Theater in Osaka on the 24th[12]. The official site later called it "THE 45+1"[13]. When Pia announced a 50th-anniversary concert in 2022, it called it the first in five years[14]; as far as can be confirmed, the Osaka show of October 24, 2017, was the last concert Saijo gave under his own name.

On February 16, 2018, the official site announced the April 14 Dosokai Concert at the Ashikaga Civic Hall[7]. He turned 63 on April 13 and played Ashikaga the next day[8][1]. On April 19 he went to the Japan Singers Association's 23rd Kohaku concert at Nerima Culture Center in Tokyo, and when he was introduced from the stage he raised a hand to the fans. He was there as a member of the audience and did not sing[1][15].

Hideki Saijo died of acute heart failure at a hospital in Yokohama on May 16, 2018. He was 63[1][3]. The Ashikaga show of April 14 had been, without anyone knowing it, the last time he sang before an audience.

What is known about the day

The Ashikaga Civic Hall was a municipal hall in the Yurakucho district of Ashikaga, in use since 1966[16]. According to the official listing, the Dosokai Concert there was given twice that day, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., with nine acts on the bill: Hideki Saijo, Teruhiko Aoi, Panda Yamada, Tomoko Ogawa, Mari Henmi, Shizue Abe, Kumiko Nishiguchi, Sakiko Ito and the Lilies. Tickets cost 5,000, 4,000 and 3,000 yen and went on sale on February 26[7].

The day before had been Saijo's 63rd birthday. According to Daily Sports, the performers celebrated with a cake before going on[8].

Shizue Abe, who shared the bill, described the day to the weekly Josei Jishin six years later. Before the second half began, she said, Saijo was ready early and stood right up against the lowered curtain, listening to the voices of the audience on the other side; it looked to her less like listening with his ears than "listening with his heart." The moment the curtain rose and he stepped out in front of the crowd, she said, the switch marked "Hideki Saijo" turned on inside him[15].

When the show was over, Abe walked back to the dressing room with him and asked how it had gone. He answered, smiling, that it had been "so much fun"[15].

How many songs Saijo sang that day, in what order, and which one came last could not be confirmed from the official listing or from press reports. Audience members wrote about the show on their blogs, but some do not make clear which of the two shows they saw; their accounts are left out of this article and noted only for reference in the data table.

That this had been his last stage became known a month later. On May 17, the day after his death, Tomoko Ogawa spoke by phone on a daytime news show and was moved to tears. Daily Sports put the words "last stage" in its headline and reported her saying that Saijo had kept performing because he wanted to show himself just as he was[8].

What the show left behind

On May 25, 2018, about 4,000 colleagues and fans attended Saijo's wake at Aoyama Funeral Hall in Tokyo. The altar was modeled on Osaka Stadium, where he had given Japan's first solo stadium concert in 1974[17], with lighting that recalled the outfield stands and the microphone and stand he always used[3]. Hiromi Go said, in substance, that Saijo had a power, a way of singing and a way of moving that he himself lacked, and that as the one who debuted later, he had learned by watching Saijo's back[17].

At the funeral the next day, Goro Noguchi gave the eulogy. He looked back on 46 years in which Saijo had been an older brother, a younger brother, a best friend and a rival, and promised to keep singing for him too[3]. Daily Sports reported that more than 10,000 colleagues and fans came, that the line to lay flowers stretched about a kilometer, and that fans began gathering around 3:30 a.m., more than seven hours before the service. Before the hearse left, a live recording of Saijo was played, then "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)"; fans waved penlights and towels and sang along, all doing the familiar moves. "Blue Sky Blue" played as the hearse departed. Saijo had called himself a rain man, the paper noted, but it did not rain during the service[18].

His recordings and films have kept coming out. A singles collection, HIDEKI UNFORGETTABLE, appeared in 2019, and a DVD box of his appearances on the TV show Yoru no Hit Studio in 2020[14]. On March 25, 2020, the January 1985 Budokan show at which he sang all 50 singles was released on Blu-ray for the first time as '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-[5]. Reissues of hard-to-find albums began in June 2021, and five live albums came out together that December[4][14]. On October 2, 2021, NHK BS Premium broadcast a 50th-anniversary special that included the 1985 Budokan concert[19].

For his 50th anniversary in 2022, "HIDEKI SAIJO CONCERT 2022 THE 50" was staged at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama on April 3 and at the Orix Theater in Osaka on April 14: archive footage of Saijo, accompanied live by the band and crew from his 2017 concerts[13][14]. The Osaka venue was the same theater where he had given his last concert of his own in 2017[12], and the date fell exactly four years after his last stage in Ashikaga.

On April 13, 2026, his birthday, his singles from 1972 to 1982 (43 songs) went up on streaming services as HIDEKI SINGLES Vol.1, with a second volume, starting from 1983's "Gyarandu," announced for May 16. A film of his July 22, 1978, concert at Korakuen Stadium, HIDEKI SAIJO BIG GAME 1978 Stadium Live in Tokyo, was announced for release on May 20[20]. The same year, the official site announced "BIG GAME2026," screenings of unreleased footage from the Budokan on November 3, 1975, and Korakuen Stadium on July 18, 1981, at Zepp Namba in Osaka on April 12 and Zepp DiverCity Tokyo on May 16[21]. A 2018 column in the Ryukyu Shimpo noted that "YOUNG MAN" was still being played to cheer on players at Koshien, the national high-school baseball tournament[6].

The Ashikaga Civic Hall, where he last stood on stage, closed in June 2021, citing insufficient earthquake resistance and the age of the building[16][22]. The city plans to build a new civic hall on the site of a former racecourse[23].

Context for readers

The "Shin Gosanke." Kayokyoku is the Japanese term for the mainstream pop of the postwar Showa era. In the 1970s, Hideki Saijo, Hiromi Go and Goro Noguchi were grouped together as the "Shin Gosanke," or "new big three," of its male singers; Go and Noguchi sat in the front row at Saijo's wake in 2018[1][17]. Saijo's big stage shows, in baseball stadiums and at the Nippon Budokan, were unusual for a solo pop singer at the time[4][2].

Dosokai Concerts. "Dosokai" means a class reunion. Under the name "Hit Song JAPAN Showa Dosokai Concert," the series put several singers who had hits in the Showa era (1926–1989) on one bill, playing afternoon and evening shows in municipal halls across Japan[9][10]. Saijo took part from 2012, and played 77 of these shows in 2016[2].

Another final curtain

More nights that no one knew would be the last.

TimelineCareer span, final show and later events, limited to what sources confirm.
19801990200020102020April 19, 2018 Attends the Japan Singers Association's 23rd Kohaku concert at Nerima Culture Center, Tokyo, as a member of the audience; he does not sing.May 16, 2018 Dies of acute heart failure at a hospital in Yokohama, aged 63.May 26, 2018 Funeral at Aoyama Funeral Hall, Tokyo. Goro Noguchi gives a eulogy; more than 10,000 colleagues and fans attend, singing along to "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" before the hearse leaves.March 25, 2020 Footage of the January 1985 Budokan concert, '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-, is released on Blu-ray for the first time.October 2, 2021 NHK BS Premium airs a 50th-anniversary special including the 1985 Budokan concert.April 14, 2022 HIDEKI SAIJO CONCERT 2022 THE 50 in Osaka (Orix Theater), pairing archive footage with the band from his 2017 concerts; the first date was at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, Yokohama, on April 3.April 13, 2026 His complete singles begin to appear on streaming services, starting with 43 singles from 1972 to 1982.May 20, 2026 Release date of HIDEKI SAIJO BIG GAME 1978 Stadium Live in Tokyo (Blu-ray/DVD), filmed at Korakuen Stadium on July 22, 1978.April 14, 2018198020002020April 19, 2018 Attends the Japan Singers Association's 23rd Kohaku concert at Nerima Culture Center, Tokyo, as a member of the audience; he does not sing.May 16, 2018 Dies of acute heart failure at a hospital in Yokohama, aged 63.May 26, 2018 Funeral at Aoyama Funeral Hall, Tokyo. Goro Noguchi gives a eulogy; more than 10,000 colleagues and fans attend, singing along to "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" before the hearse leaves.March 25, 2020 Footage of the January 1985 Budokan concert, '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-, is released on Blu-ray for the first time.October 2, 2021 NHK BS Premium airs a 50th-anniversary special including the 1985 Budokan concert.April 14, 2022 HIDEKI SAIJO CONCERT 2022 THE 50 in Osaka (Orix Theater), pairing archive footage with the band from his 2017 concerts; the first date was at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, Yokohama, on April 3.April 13, 2026 His complete singles begin to appear on streaming services, starting with 43 singles from 1972 to 1982.May 20, 2026 Release date of HIDEKI SAIJO BIG GAME 1978 Stadium Live in Tokyo (Blu-ray/DVD), filmed at Korakuen Stadium on July 22, 1978.April 14, 2018
  1. Active years (March 25, 1972 – April 14, 2018)
  2. Final show
  3. Attends the Japan Singers Association's 23rd Kohaku concert at Nerima Culture Center, Tokyo, as a member of the audience; he does not sing.
  4. Dies of acute heart failure at a hospital in Yokohama, aged 63.
  5. Funeral at Aoyama Funeral Hall, Tokyo. Goro Noguchi gives a eulogy; more than 10,000 colleagues and fans attend, singing along to "YOUNG MAN (Y.M.C.A.)" before the hearse leaves.
  6. Footage of the January 1985 Budokan concert, '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-, is released on Blu-ray for the first time.2 years later
  7. NHK BS Premium airs a 50th-anniversary special including the 1985 Budokan concert.3 years later
  8. HIDEKI SAIJO CONCERT 2022 THE 50 in Osaka (Orix Theater), pairing archive footage with the band from his 2017 concerts; the first date was at the Kanagawa Kenmin Hall, Yokohama, on April 3.4 years later
  9. His complete singles begin to appear on streaming services, starting with 43 singles from 1972 to 1982.8 years later
  10. Release date of HIDEKI SAIJO BIG GAME 1978 Stadium Live in Tokyo (Blu-ray/DVD), filmed at Korakuen Stadium on July 22, 1978.8 years later

We may earn a commission if you buy through these links. Details

These are not recordings of this show, but releases mentioned in the article and key works by the artist.

  • '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-

    '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs-

    Blu-ray · Released March 25, 2020 · Cat. no. MHXL-75

    Footage of the January 1985 Budokan concert at which he sang all 50 of his singles, mentioned in the article (Blu-ray, 2020). Not this show.

    CDJapanAmazon.co.jp楽天市場

  • GOLDEN☆BEST 西城秀樹 シングルコレクション

    GOLDEN☆BEST 西城秀樹 シングルコレクション

    CD · Released July 18, 2012 · Cat. no. MHCL-2088

    A best-of collecting his singles.

    CDJapanAmazon.co.jp楽天市場

  • History of Hideki Saijo Vol.2～Best of Best

    History of Hideki Saijo Vol.2～Best of Best

    CD · Released September 22, 1993 · Cat. no. BVCH-705

    A best-of focused on his later signature songs.

    CDJapanAmazon.co.jp楽天市場

Supported by Rakuten Developers

Sources

26 sources
  1. 西城秀樹さん早すぎる… 63歳、さらば永遠のヤングマン — デイリースポーツ, May 18, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  2. BIOGRAPHY - 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション） (accessed 2026-11-02)
  3. 西城秀樹さん告別式（野口五郎の弔辞） — ORICON NEWS, May 26, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  4. 西城秀樹が体現したロックシンガーとしてのダイナミズム サエキけんぞうによる復刻ライブアルバム徹底解説 — Real Sound（文：サエキけんぞう）, January 31, 2022 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  5. '85 HIDEKI SPECIAL IN BUDOHKAN -For 50 Songs- — ブックオフオンライン（商品ページ） (accessed 2026-11-02)
  6. ＜金口木舌＞スターと原爆 — 琉球新報, May 20, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  7. 同窓会コンサート 2018.4.14 足利市民会館 — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, February 16, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  8. 西城秀樹さん最後のステージで共演の小川知子号泣「ありのままを見せた」 — デイリースポーツ, May 17, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  9. 同窓会コンサート5.8 呉市文化ホール — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, February 14, 2015 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  10. 同窓会コンサート6.24 八尾市文化会館 — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, January 1, 2016 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  11. 還暦ヒデキ感激…盟友・五郎登場に涙 — デイリースポーツ, April 14, 2015 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  12. 西城秀樹 デビュー45周年の集大成！ DVD3枚組BOXが11/15発売決定 — Billboard JAPAN, September 14, 2017 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  13. HIDEKI SAIJO CONCERT 2022 THE 50 - 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, 2022 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  14. 西城秀樹、デビュー50周年記念スペシャルコンサート開催決定 2017年のバンドメンバー＆全スタッフが集結 — ぴあ, January 7, 2022 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  15. 西城秀樹さん七回忌であべ静江が初告白「“秀樹スイッチ”入る瞬間」と「脳梗塞闘病」 — 女性自身（光文社）, May 16, 2024 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  16. 足利新市民会館、市民プラザが候補地、新本館 大ホールを建設 — 日本工業経済新聞社（栃木建設新聞）, February 27, 2021 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  17. 新御三家 悲しみの勢ぞろい…郷ひろみ「心に穴」野口五郎「毎日泣いている」 — デイリースポーツ, May 26, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  18. ヒデキに届け！ １万人のＹ．Ｍ．Ｃ．Ａ． 西城さんの歌声とファンが大合唱 — デイリースポーツ, May 27, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  19. NHK BSプレミアム 待望の再放送決定！！「伝説のコンサート西城秀樹・デビュー50年スペシャル」 — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, February 10, 2022 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  20. 西城秀樹、デビュー55周年記念に全シングルをサブスク解禁 後楽園球場でのライブ映像作品も — Real Sound, April 13, 2026 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  21. BIG GAME2026 - 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト — 西城秀樹オフィシャルサイト（アースコーポレーション）, 2026 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  22. 足利市民会館 — いこーよ (accessed 2026-11-02)
  23. 【Ｑ＆Ａ】（仮称）新足利市民会館及び市役所本庁舎等の整備について — 足利市, April 22, 2026 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  24. 楽天市場の検索結果「MHXL-75」 — 楽天市場 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  25. 【超ネタバレです！】4/14 同窓会コンサート@足利市民会館 — 楽天ブログ「With HIDEKI…」（ファンのブログ）, April 19, 2018 (accessed 2026-11-02)
  26. 同窓会コンサート in 足利 — アメーバブログ（ファンのブログ） (accessed 2026-11-02)

Revision history

  • Page created