is a Japanese former musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of the rock band Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded, he went on to have a successful solo career, becoming one of Japan's best-selling artists, with 16.25 million sales. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Boøwy at number 22 and Himuro himself at number 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts. Himuro retired from live performances in 2016 due to hearing impairment. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Career
Himuro has frequently played music with American guitarist Steve Stevens, best known for his work with Billy Idol. Stevens participated in Himuro's album as a guitarist and his concert tour after his album I·DÉ·A.
Himuro's fourth album, 1993's Memories of Blue, became his first to sell over one million copies.
On August 22, 2004, he held a concert entitled "21st Century Boøwys Vs Himuro" at the Tokyo Dome. It marked the first time he sang Boøwy songs in sixteen years.
"Wild Romance" was used as the ending theme song for the Japanese dubbed version of Van Helsing and for the Japanese releases of Yakuza 5.
Himuro's song "Calling", from his 1989 album Neo Fascio, was used in the ending credits to the 2005 film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. The film's director, Tetsuya Nomura, noted that Himuro's music has been highly influential in his own work. When asked about his contribution to the film, Himuro said that he was happy his work would be used in "the best CG movie ever made in Japan".
From August 5 to August 6, 2006, he held a concert called "Kyosuke Himuro + Glay 2006 at Ajinomoto-Stadium "Swing Addition"" with Japanese rock band Glay in Ajinomoto Stadium. In addition, Himuro released his first collaborated single with Glay, called "Answer", on August 2, 2006.
Himuro released the compilation album 20th Anniversary All Singles Complete Best "Just Movin' On" ~All The-S-Hit~ on June 11, 2008. It became his tenth number-one album, making Himuro the solo artist with the most number one albums after breaking off from a group.
The Japanese release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete featured a new ending song by Himuro, "Safe and Sound", which features American rock band My Chemical Romance's lead singer Gerard Way and replaces "Calling". "Safe and Sound" was released on the iTunes Store on April 29, 2009. However, the North American release continues to use "Calling" instead of "Safe and Sound".
thumb|upright|Fans outside Himuro's June 12, 2011, concert at the [[Tokyo Dome]]
Himuro held two consecutive sold-out charity concerts at the Tokyo Dome on June 11 and 12, 2011 which attracted over 104,000 people, making them the biggest charity live event ever held in Japan. The raised sum of 669,220,940 yen (around US$8.7 million) was donated to Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures for recovery after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
In 2016, he held a retirement tour in Japan, called "Kyosuke Himuro Last Gigs", and officially retired from live performances due to his hearing impairment.
In 2020, he revealed he was working on music for a new album, but as of 2025, nothing has officially been announced.
Discography
Studio albums
- Flowers for Algernon (September 1, 1988), Oricon Weekly Albums Chart Peak Position: No. 1
- Neo Fascio (September 27, 1989) No. 1 Tokio Hot 100 1988 Year-End Position: 91
- "Dear Algernon" (October 7, 1988) No. 2
- Neo Fascio Turning Point (July 25, 1990 / DVD 2009) No. 26