# Masayoshi Takanaka (高中正義)
**Masayoshi Takanaka** (高中正義, born 1953 in Tokyo) is a Japanese guitarist, producer, and composer who helped drive Japan's fusion boom of the late 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Sadistic Mica Band and Fried Egg, then from 1976 as a solo instrumental artist.[1](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075) • [2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, Tokyo[1](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075) |
| First professional band | Fried Egg, 1971, as bassist, invited by Tsunoda Hiro and the late Shigeru Narumo[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) |
| Breakthrough band | Sadistic Mica Band, guitarist from 1972; UK tour with Roxy Music in October 1975[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/) |
| Solo debut | *Seychelles*, 1 July 1976, Kitty Records[4](https://takanaka.com/discography-2/) |
| Signature work | *虹伝説 THE RAINBOW GOBLINS* (1981), described by his label as a monumental work in Japanese instrumental music[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) |
| Own label | Lagoon Records, founded 2000, with annual national tours since[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) |
| Recent recognition | First world tour in 2026, covering 8 cities including London, Los Angeles, and Sydney, all sold out[5](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/90767) |
## Early career: Fried Egg and the Sadistic Mica Band
Takanaka began performing while still a student and was billed as a prodigy high-school guitarist. In 1971, invited by drummer Hiro Tsunoda (つのだ☆ひろ) and the late guitarist Shigeru Narumo (成毛滋), he joined the rock band Fried Egg as a bassist, which started his professional career.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/)
In 1972 he joined the Sadistic Mica Band (サディスティック・ミカ・バンド), formed in 1971 by Kazuhiko Kato, formerly of The Folk Crusaders, with his then-wife Mika Kato. The band debuted in June 1972 with the single "Cycling Boogie" (サイクリング・ブギ); Takanaka played guitar alongside [Yukihiro Takahashi](https://www.edgepedia.org/yukihiro-takahashi) on drums and Osamu Ohara on bass.[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/)
The band's first album, *Sadistic Mica Band* (1973), was also released in Britain on [Harvest Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvest-records), and its reception there raised the group's standing in Japan in reverse import.[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/) The second album, *Kurofune* (黒船, 1974), was produced by Chris Thomas, the British producer known for work with [The Beatles](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-beatles) and [Pink Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/pink-floyd), and was selected among the UK's top-10 albums of that year.[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/) In October 1975 the band toured Britain as the opening act for Roxy Music and appeared on the BBC music program *The Old Grey Whistle Test*, performing "WA-KAH! CHICO" and "Hei Made Hitotobi". The band dissolved after releasing its third album, *Hot! Menu*, in November 1975.[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/) Takanaka later recalled that the 1973 debut album had been received in Britain even better than in Japan, and that the group had set its sights on international success.[6](https://www.kateigaho.com/culture/entertainment/182879)
After the band's breakup, its rhythm section continued as the Sadistics, with Takanaka among the members.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) The band reunited in 1989 as "Sadistic Mica Band" with Kato, Takanaka, Ohara, and Takahashi, adding Karen Kirishima as guest vocalist, and released the album *Applause* (天晴) in April 1989.[3](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/)
## Solo career
Takanaka debuted as a solo guitarist with the album *Seychelles*, released on 1 July 1976 on Kitty Records, a label founded in 1972 whose 1970s catalog ranged across rock, city pop, and instrumental music.[4](https://takanaka.com/discography-2/) • [7](https://clockworkpeach.jp/music/masayoshi-takanaka-seychelles) The album appeared amid Japan's disco boom, when even Beethoven's Fifth was being arranged in disco style, and it contains "Tokyo Reggae" (トーキョー レギー), a vocal track that decades later became one of his most-streamed songs abroad.[6](https://www.kateigaho.com/culture/entertainment/182879) • [8](https://article.yahoo.co.jp/detail/eb48852e49a117a270f11369e29dab4fcabf3f98)
Through the late 1970s he released a steady run of albums on Kitty, including *Takanaka* (1977), *An Insatiable High* (1977), and *Brasilian Skies* (1978), with tracks such as "Ready To Fly", "Sweet Agnes", and "Blue Lagoon" becoming staples of his catalog.[4](https://takanaka.com/discography-2/) • [1](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075) In 1981 he released *虹伝説 THE RAINBOW GOBLINS*, which his label describes as a monumental work in the history of Japanese instrumental music and which triggered a "Takanaka boom" in Japan.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) • [1](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075) A concert built around the album, "Rainbow Goblins Story", was staged at [Nippon Budokan](https://www.edgepedia.org/nippon-budokan) in Tokyo in March 1981, with rainbow neon and then state-of-the-art laser effects; a live recording of that show was released in 2026.[9](https://takanaka.com/)
His solo career ran through Kitty Records and Toshiba EMI before he founded his own label, Lagoon Records, in 2000, and he has toured nationally every year since.[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/) He has performed and recorded with Japanese artists including Yosui Inoue and Eikichi Yazawa, and internationally with [Lee Ritenour](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-ritenour), Santana, Narada Michael Walden, and [Sheila E.](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheila-e)[2](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/)
## Style and the fusion context
Takanaka's music sits in [Japanese jazz](https://www.edgepedia.org/japanese-jazz) fusion, the instrumental blend of jazz, rock, Latin, and funk that spread in Japan in the late 1970s alongside groups such as CASIOPEA and THE SQUARE (now T-SQUARE).[10](https://www.thefirsttimes.jp/news/0000893535/) His sound is often described as resort-like guitar music; the Bunshun profile calls his work "city pop that doesn't sing", exemplified by *Blue Lagoon* (1979).[5](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/90767) His melodies have been used widely in commercials and television, which broadened his audience in Japan.[1](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075)
A trademark of his live show is the surfboard guitar, weighing 7 kilograms, which he plays on stage.[6](https://www.kateigaho.com/culture/entertainment/182879) He gave the instrument away years ago and had it returned for his first world tour at age 72, according to a [Guitar World](https://www.edgepedia.org/guitar-world) report.[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/masayoshi-takanaka-on-bringing-back-his-surfboard-guitar)
## International revival since the 2020s
For decades Takanaka's audience at home was largely in its 50s and 60s, and in the 1990s rare-groove era major fusion artists like him were rarely reevaluated.[10](https://www.thefirsttimes.jp/news/0000893535/) That changed with the streaming-era revival of Japanese city pop and fusion. Around three years before his 2026 interviews, staff told him that listeners abroad were streaming his music heavily on Spotify; he then played Shanghai, his first show in China, followed by a two-day sold-out run at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, his first American performances in 40 years.[12](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2458425/full/)
In March 2026 he began his first career world tour, visiting 8 cities including London, Los Angeles, and Sydney, with every date sold out.[5](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/90767) At the London show at O2 Academy Brixton, audiences sang his guitar riffs back to him, and the concert was filmed for the Blu-ray release *SUPER TAKANAKA WORLD LIVE 2026*.[13](https://news.j-wave.co.jp/2026/08/content-5517.html) • [9](https://takanaka.com/) Overseas crowds, mostly in their 20s, chant "TAKANAKA" and sing the melodies of instrumental tracks, a scene Japanese media have covered extensively as part of the broader J-fusion reevaluation that also lifted CASIOPEA and Himiko Kikuchi.[10](https://www.thefirsttimes.jp/news/0000893535/) • [14](https://news.j-wave.co.jp/2026/07/content-5457.amp.html) Takanaka has also been working on songs with bassist [Cory Wong](https://www.edgepedia.org/cory-wong) and has said his dream is for the two of them to win a Grammy together.[13](https://news.j-wave.co.jp/2026/08/content-5517.html)
## References
1. [高中正義 | PROFILE & DISCOGRAPHY | 記憶の記録LIBRARY](https://www.kiokunokiroku.jp/artist/000075)
2. [BIOGRAPHY - 高中正義, UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/takanaka-masayoshi/biography/)
3. [BIOGRAPHY - サディスティック・ミカ・バンド, UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/sadistic-mika-band/biography/)
4. [DISCOGRAPHY – TAKANAKA OFFICIAL WEB](https://takanaka.com/discography-2/)
5. [「自分はこんなに人気があったのか」デビュー50年後に海外で"大バズり"…高中正義（73）に聞いた"現地の反応", 文春オンライン](https://bunshun.jp/articles/-/90767)
6. [世界で鳴り響く"TAKANAKA"コール 高中正義さん 特別インタビュー, 家庭画報.com](https://www.kateigaho.com/culture/entertainment/182879)
7. [Masayoshi Takanaka - Seychelles (1976), Clockwork](https://clockworkpeach.jp/music/masayoshi-takanaka-seychelles)
8. [世界で大ブレイクした高中正義！いま最も聴かれる50年前のボーカル曲「トーキョーレギー」, Yahoo! JAPAN](https://article.yahoo.co.jp/detail/eb48852e49a117a270f11369e29dab4fcabf3f98)
9. [TAKANAKA OFFICIAL WEB](https://takanaka.com/)
10. [世界が熱狂するJ-FUSION――いま再評価される高中正義、CASIOPEA、菊池ひみこの魅力に迫る, THE FIRST TIMES](https://www.thefirsttimes.jp/news/0000893535/)
11. [Cult Japanese guitar hero Masayoshi Takanaka gave away his iconic surfboard guitar. Now he's got it back, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/masayoshi-takanaka-on-bringing-back-his-surfboard-guitar)
12. [高中正義「生きててよかった」 50年越しに世界で夢叶う〖インタビュー〗, ORICON NEWS](https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2458425/full/)
13. [「夢はふたりでグラミー賞を獲りたい」高中正義が明かす、現在進行中のコリー・ウォンとの共作秘話, J-WAVE NEWS](https://news.j-wave.co.jp/2026/08/content-5517.html)
14. [高中正義のダジャレに、海外の会場が沸いた!? "ジャパニーズ・フュージョンの再評価"の理由も語る, J-WAVE NEWS](https://news.j-wave.co.jp/2026/07/content-5457.amp.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Funk, soul, and R&B bands*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license