Draft:Kyounosuke Yoshitate

Kyounosuke Yoshitate (佳館杏ノ助) is a Japanese singer, songwriter and a voice actor. In addition to his solo work, he is a vocalist and costume designer in a music duo Yatagarasu (formerly Bangetsutei) formed with his younger sister Fuyu. He is a voice provider for the Vocaloid Nekomura Iroha. He is mostly know for his covers of anime and Vocaloid songs, traditional Japanese arrangements and Shōwa kayō singing style. He is learning to play the shamisen. His blood type is A Rh+.

He is a transgender man and uses he/him pronouns.

He is represented by the artist management company Rush Style.

Music career
Kyounosuke's parents love music and he liked to sing ever since he was a child. Apparently he noticed his above-average vocal range after trying to sing "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. He has been aiming to become a vocalist ever since junior high school. In 2010 he started his career as an utaite singer, publishing covers of Vocaloid songs on Niconico and registered as an artist with Puresound Inc.

Collaborations with Kineie Nami
In August 2011, a renowned shamisen player Nami Kineie published on Niconico and Youtube an instrumental cover of Touhou Project's Bad Apple!! in traditional Japanese arrangement. After hearing this version, Kyounosuke decided to record the song using Kineie's audio. Kyounosuke's sister Fuyu, who is a poet and an expert on Japanese literature, translated the lyrics into classical Japanese. The cover was immediately noticed by Kineie, and Kyounosuke got permission to include the song on his albums and make a music video. The video, published on Kyounosuke's Youtube channel in December 2014, got over 2,7 mln views (as of June 2024). In the meantime, Kyounosuke got invited to a collaboration project "Wagaku" with Kineie's band (Kineie Nami Shachū). Their most notable work is a music video to Senbonzakura in traditional arrangement. It was included on 2 albums, and the digest version published in 2012 on Kineie's channel amassed over 4,5 mln views (as of June 2024).

Bangetsutei/Yatagarasu
Kyounosuke is a member of a creative unit Yatagarasu (夜tagarasu) he formed with his younger sister Fuyu. Former name of the unit was Bangetsutei (萬月邸), and was a reference to Kyounosuke's birthday month, June. The new name refers to the Japanese god Yatagarasu; they changed it on May 5, 2024. On the same day they also started a podcast. (Up to 2020 they used to do live talk sessions on Kyounosuke's Twitcasting account, but stopped when Kyounosuke started doing broadcasts exclusively for his Campfire fan club.)

It is not know when exactly the unit's activity started, but Bangetsutei's official website has already existed in 2012. Their focus is on creating music commemorating Japanese historical figures. Kyounosuke provides vocals and designs stage costumes while Fuyu writes lyrics and provides backing vocals.

Rush Style
Kyounosuke used to be a freelance artist through most of his career. After being rejected by many talent agencies for being transgender, on March 1, 2023 he finally got accepted by the seiyū agency Rush Style. Although he identifies as a male, he can do voice acting also for female roles, so he got listed under "genderless artists" category.

Other works

 * 2010 October 22 - Vocaloid 2 Nekomura Iroha, produced by AHS
 * 2013 August 19 - theme song for a Second World War historical reenactment movie Kotō no Chikai (directed by Mera Yoshiya)
 * 2014 July 31 - a song for the Panpaka Pants character, "Panpaka Pants Ondo" produced by DLE, Inc.
 * 2014 July 31 - vocals for Shizupuro (SYZ Project) songs of Zettai Rinne Taimu-chan character, produced by DLE, Inc.
 * 2015 June 18 - Vocaloid 4 Nekomura Iroha (natural+soft), produced by AHS
 * 2015 August 14 - vocals for Shizupuro (SYZ Project) songs of Sakiotome Gyappu-kun character, produced by DLE, Inc.
 * 2021 March 12 - vocals for a song "Tengu Yokagura" produced by LSCM Records

Guest stage appearances
(Kyounosuke's and Bangetsutei's own concerts are not listed)

As Kyounosuke

 * 2008 February 29 - Performance "STRAY CHILDREN: Chūseitekina enja ni yoru performance event", roles: young boy, fox spirit
 * 2009 July 17 - live concert at the event "Taishū bunka no yukue" organized by Language and Culture Center at Hosei University, Tokyo
 * 2010 April 7-8 - live concerts at the summer festival at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Narashino, Chiba
 * 2011 July 16 - an offering performance during Mitama Matsuri at the Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo
 * 2012 April 29 - live concert at Avex's both during Niconico Chō Kaigi at Makuhari Messe, Chiba
 * 2012 April 29 - live concert on the main stage of Niconico Chō Party at Makuhari Messe, Chiba
 * 2013 January 28 - live concert with Kineie Nami Shachū at Tower Records Shibuya Store (promotional event for the CD Wagaku Hana Dōchū), Tokyo
 * 2013 February 1 - live concert with Kineie Nami Shachū at Yamano Music Ginza Store (promotional event for the CD Wagaku Hana Dōchū), Tokyo
 * 2013 March 8 - performance during a cultural event "Wagakki no Ima" with Kineie Nami Shachū at Art Forum Azamino, Kanagawa
 * 2013 March 24 - performance during the 20th "Namikai" - a concert produced by Kineie Nami at Ushigome Tansu Kumin Hall, Tokyo
 * 2013 April 20 - performance during a stage event "Senbonzakura de Ohanami Live" at Senbonzakura Matsuri in Ueda Castle, Nagano
 * 2014 September 25 - TV appearance at Nippon TV during the show "Music Arrange Battle! Song Edition" together with Kineie Nami Shachū
 * 2015 March 15 - performance during the 21st "Namikai" - a concert produced by Kineie Nami at Ushigome Tansu Kumin Hall, Tokyo
 * 2015 September 19 - performance as pre-opening artist during fashion event "SHIZUOKA COLLECTION 2015" at GRANSHIP, Shizuoka
 * 2015 December 6 - performance during Kineie Nami Shachū's concert "Aratana Jidai E~ Wagakki Evolution" at Yamanami Hall, Kyoto
 * 2018 March 18 - performance during the 23rd "Namikai" - a concert produced by Kineie Nami at Ushigome Tansu Kumin Hall, Tokyo
 * 2018 December 2 - live concert during EMERGENZA JAPAN 2019 preliminary competition at Shimokitazawa Era, Tokyo
 * 2019 August 10-11 - performance during a swordfight show, the 8th "Tatematsuri" at Itabashi Culture Hall, Tokyo
 * 2019 September 1 - performance during the "Genroku-ryū 25th Anniversary Showcase" at Machida Civic Hall
 * 2020 March 15 - performance during the 24th "Namikai" - a concert produced by Kineie Nami at Ushigome Tansu Kumin Hall, Tokyo
 * 2020 November 27-28 - performance during a swordfight show, the 9th "Tatematsuri" at the Edo-Tokyo Museum, Tokyo
 * 2021 April 11 - opening performance during the Prowrestling A-Team's tournament in Kitasenju White Studio, Tokyo
 * 2021 May 30 - singing and dancing performance during the Wakayagi-ryū Wakatokai's 10th Anniversary Showcase in Atsugi City Cultural Hall, Kanagawa
 * 2021 December 23 - performance during a concert "Winter of Soul: Kazutoki Umezu's Fuyu no Buriburi 2021" in Shinjuku Pit Inn, Tokyo
 * 2022 April 10 - singing and dancing performance during the "Genroku-ryū Kotoyū-kai Nihonbuyō Osarai-kai" in Sagamihara Minami Shimin Hall, Kanagawa
 * 2022 April 23 - performance on the main stage of Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2022
 * 2022 September 9-10 - live concert during the 59th Masamune-Kō Festival and participation in the samurai parade, Ōsaki, Miyagi
 * 2023 July 2 - offering performance (singing and dancing) during the Natsumōde events at the kagura-den of the Asakusa Shrine

As Bangetsutei/Yatagarasu

 * 2018 September 8 - live concert during the 55th Masamune-Kō Festival in Ōsaki, Miyagi
 * 2019 September 7- live concert during the 56th Masamune-Kō Festival in Ōsaki, Miyagi
 * 2019 November 16 - live concert (together with Kineie Nami and a swordfighting team) during the 50th Design Festa at Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo
 * 2023 April 1 - live concert during Machida Sakura Festival 2023 in Machida, Tokyo
 * 2023 September 9 - live concert during the 60th Masamune-Kō Festival in Ōsaki, Miyagi
 * 2024 March 31 - live concert during Machida Sakura Festival 2024 in Machida, Tokyo
 * 2024 April 13 - performance during the "Genroku-ryū 30th Anniversary Showcase" at Machida Civic Hall

Personal life
He was born in Yokohama, but grew up in Machida, where he lives with his family. He has a younger sister Fuyu, with whom he performs as Yatagarasu, and a younger brother.

Kyounosuke's family has always had 2 dogs. After their beloved golden retriever Komachi passed away in 2019, 2 years later they've got another golden retriever and named her Alice. However, Kyounosuke's favourite is a Westie called Iroha (named after Irohahime, the daughter of Date Masamune). Kyounosuke often publishes pictures of his dogs on X and even runs a separate Instagram account dedicated to their photos.

Coming out
On December 23, 2020, Kyounosuke published a video on his Youtube channel confirming that he is a transgender man. In the video he says that, because of his ability to sing very high notes and his gender-neutral appearance, there has been a lot of speculations regarding his assigned gender, but during the first 10 years of his career, he didn't feel like doing the coming-out yet, struggling with gender dysphoria. He says that being trans has been a big obstacle while pursuing his dreams of being an artist and that he has been teased and mocked by people from the music industry. Apparently he even planned to abandon his career if he had not been able to release Byakurenshō album.

He reveals that he started receiving HRT in the summer of 2017, but quitted it after 5 months out of fear that if his voice became too low, he wouldn't be able to make a living as a singer. Before receiving HRT his voice range was over 4 octaves, but afterwards it dropped to 2 octaves; by doing voice training he was able to restore it to 3 octaves and 6 tones. Apparently his fans started noticing a difference in his voice and were worried for him, but he was afraid they would reject him if he came out as trans.

Kyounosuke says that when in the beginning of 2020 the pandemic hit Japan, he decided to live without regrets and resumed HRT in July 2020. That also inspired him to finally make a public coming-out.

After the coming-out, in January 2021 he created a Youtube subchannel where he publishes videos discussing LGBTQ+ related topics.