Hideo Murata

Hideo Murata (村田英雄) was a Japanese rōkyoku and enka singer. He took part in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen 27 times.

Murata was born as a son of rōkyoku singer Senyu Hirosawa (広沢仙遊) and Tsutako Yano (矢野ツタ子). However, he was immediately adopted by Sumiko Deriba (出利葉スミ子) and Haruo Kajiyama (梶山春雄) became his stepfather. His real name was Isamu Kajiyama (梶山勇). He studied rōkyoku under one of Kumoemon Tochuken's disciples, Kumo Sakai.

Murata was scouted by Masao Koga, debuting with "Muhōmatsu no Isshō" (無法松の一生) in 1958. His 1961 single "Ōshō" sold over one million copies. Along with Hachiro Kasuga and Michiya Mihashi, he became a famous enka singer and Haruo Minami was regarded as his rival. He died on June 13, 2002.