Singer-Songwriter
Keiji Kawashima
Profile
Keiji Kawashima was born in Wakayama Prefecture. Keiji Kawashima is the Hometown Ambassador for Minabe Town.
He had his major label debut in 2016 (Universal Music).
He pursues an ever-expanding scope of musical activities at World Heritage, including the Koyasan Kongobu-ji Head Temple, Tomioka Silk Mill, and the Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine Dedication Concert, as well as the Suntory Hall Blue Rose, the Kinan Cultural Hall (Great Hall), and live music venues across the country. The audience for Kawashima’s music both in Japan and overseas continues to grow, as evidenced by his participation as a guest performer in the “Chage Hall Tour 2017” and the “Toki no Hibiki Special: Yukie Nishimura and Ryo Sonoda - Chopin Chord,” his appearance on Fuji Television’s “MUSIC FAIR” and TV Tokyo's “THE☆Karaoke Battle,” as well as his appearance as the last performer during the “WEIBO Account Festival in Japan 2019” 3which was broadcast around the world.
Ever since I was a little I have visited Koyasan once a year without fail to offer prayers, making it a place which is near and dear to my heart.
After becoming a singer, I have performed a dedication concert at Koyasan Kongobu-ji Head Temple (in the Okuden), as well as at Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine (at the Oyunohara) on the occasion of the 2,050th year anniversary of the shrine’s establishment.
Whenever I see the giant cedars of Koyasan’s Okuno-in, their looming presence fills me with quiet awe and mystery.
One memory which stands out in particular from all my time in Kumano is from the dedication concert I played at the Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine; while I was singing, I remember looking up to see a large flock of black kites begin wheeling about the cloudless blue sky. As the chief priest tells it, this represented a connection with the heavens, whereby our hopes and prayers will be answered.
I will continue to strive, in my own way and in my own words, to communicate the essence of Koyasan and Kumano to everyone.