# Huwie Ishizaki

Huwie Ishizaki (Japanese: 石崎ひゅーい, Hepburn: Ishizaki Hyūi, born March 7, 1984) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He began writing and performing when he was in middle school and later became the vocalist of the band Astrocoast. In 2012, at the age of 26, he became a solo artist after being persuaded by the music producer Akira Sudo. He debuted in July 2012 with his mini album Dai-san Wakusei Kōkyōkyoku. As of March 2025, he has released six full albums. He charted on Billboard Japan's Hot Lyricist and Composer in November 2021.
He also made various film and television appearances beginning with his debut role in 2016 film Japanese Girls Never Die as Yuji Soga. He appeared as Takashi Nozoe in the 2019 film Sora no Restaurant, and as Kamiya Yusuke in the TV drama series Hidarikiki no Eren.
He wrote songs for other artists such as Masaki Suda and Aina the End. He also performed theme songs for some Japanese film and TV dramas such as "Yakan Hikō", which was used as the ending theme for 2013 TV drama series Minna! ESPer Dayo!. He performed "Parade" which served as the second ending theme of the 2019 anime Case File nº221: Kabukicho.

## Early life

Ishizaki was born on March 7, 1984, in Mito, Ibaraki. His name was derived from David Bowie's son Zowie, as his mother was a fan of Bowie's. Ishizaki said in an interview with Music Natalie that he was often asked with disbelief to "write his real name", even though Huwie was his real name.

## Career
### Early career

He began his music career when he was in his first year in middle school. He has said that he particularly liked Speed and was a member of the fan club. A friend of his joined a band that covered Hi-Standard's songs, and he joined the band as a vocalist. He also wrote songs and performed live in local live houses in Mito, Ibaraki. At this time he also joined a children's theater group because his mother wanted him to become an actor.
He was part of the Hi-Standard cover band until he was in his first year of college in Tokyo, when he left the band because he was tired of singing English lyrics without understanding them. He founded the rock band Astrocoast in 2004, which focused on singing Japanese songs. One of the first songs that he wrote was "History of Gandhi", which is about Mahatma Gandhi.
He was a member of Astrocoast for two years, but left as their songs' sales remained stagnant. Later, he met Akira Sudo, a music producer in a live venue in Yokohama where Astrocoast often performed. He was persuaded to become a solo artist, and went solo when he was 26. Astrocoast disbanded in November 2010.

### Solo artist

He debut as a solo artist came on July 25, 2012, with the mini album Dai-san Wakusei Kōkyōkyoku. It followed his appearance in a live show by Rake that year. The album's songs were based on his feelings about real life events such as the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. Some of the songs were personal, such as one about his mother's death four years prior. After his father told him that his mother would not have liked sad songs, he rewrote the song about her. He released his first single "Fantastic Radio" on November 21. He was selected as one of the "12 Artists to Watch" for 2012 by iTunes Japan.
He released his single "Yakan Hikō" on June 5, 2013, which served as the ending theme song for the Japanese drama series Minna! ESPer Dayo!, the first episode of which featured a cameo from him. He released his first full album, Dokuritsu Zen'ya, on July 17, the one-year anniversary of his debut. The album's title, which literally means "Eve of Independence", is a reference to his decision to become a solo artist. On November 27, he released another single, "Mayday, Mayday", which was used as the theme song for the 2013 Judo Grand Slam Tokyo.
On April 2, 2014, he released his second mini album, Dakara Carnation wa Sukidenai, which was about his feelings for his mother. On June 25, he released his double-A single "Peanut Butter/Nakimushi Hacchi". "Peanut Butter" was used as the ending theme for the Japanese film Shin Kaishaku/Nipponshi [ja]. He released the song "Hoshi o Tsukamaete", which was used as the ending theme of Haikyū!! Riēfu Kenzan!, a spin-off film of the anime Haikyu!!.
On February 26, 2015, he published his first novel, Sayonara, Tōkyō Merīgōrando. In March of that year he released the song "Boku ga Iruso!", which was used as the ending theme of the spin-off series of Minna! ESPer Dayo!. He made his stage debut in June, in the play Kanojo no Kigen by the Gekidan Shikagoroshi Theater Company [ja]. On September 4, he released his song "Otamajakushi", which served as the opening theme of the film version of Minna! ESPer Dayo!.
He released his second full album Kabin no Hana on May 18, 2016, and on May 14 a special short film with the same title was released. He starred as Yuji Soga in the 2016 film Japanese Girls Never Die. On August 27, he released his single "Pino to Amélie", which served as the second ending theme of the 21st season of the anime Naruto: Shippuden. On December 7, he released his third album Atarazumotookarazu, produced by Akira Sudo.
In 2017, he wrote the song "Sayonara Elergy [ja]" which was performed by Masaki Suda. On March 28, 2018, he released Huwie's Best, a compilation album of his fans' favorite songs as selected through online voting. In December 2018, he performed "Encore" which served as the theme song for the 2018 drama series Heisei Bashiru [ja], in which he had a cameo. He also performed "Anata wa Doko ni Iruno" which served as the theme song of the 2019 drama series Sasurai Onsen Endō Ken'ichi [ja], in which he also had a cameo as a Kokeshi doll craftsman.
In January 2019, he starred as Takashi Nozoe in the film Sora no Restaurant [ja]. In February, he wrote and directed the J-Wave's 30th anniversary musical performance. In March 6, he released another mini-album, Golden Age. In June, he performed both the theme song "Namida" and the ending theme song "Ano Natsu no Hi no Mahō" of the anime film For Whom The Alchemist Exists: The Movie [ja]. He wrote another song for Masaki Suda entitled "Clover" which served as the theme song of a short film of the same name. He had his first regular acting role in the TV drama series Hidarikiki no Eren as Kamiya Yusuke.
In 2020, he performed the second ending theme of the anime Case File nº221: Kabukicho entitled "Parade", with lyrics about his own loneliness. He performed the ending theme song of the film Tread [ja], in which he also made an appearance. He performed "Flowers" which served as the theme song of the film Underdog. He wrote the song "Niji", sung by Masaki Suda, which served as the theme song of the anime film Stand by Me Doraemon 2. In 2021, he performed the theme song "Ayame" of the 5th season of the TV drama series Keishichō - Sōsaikkachō [ja]. He also had a cameo in the 8th episode of that season. In February, he performed a cover of "Sayonara Elergy", a song he wrote originally for Masaki Suda, on The First Take YouTube channel. He wrote the debut song of Ninety-nine's Hiroyuki Yabe. He performed "Black Star" which served as the theme song of the film Watashi wa Hakuchō. He wrote the song "Last Scene", performed by Masaki Suda, which served as the theme song of the TV drama series Japan Sinks: People of Hope. He charted three times on both Billboard Japan's Hot Composer and Hot Lyricist charts, peaking at 14 and 15 respectively on November 17, 2021. On December 21 he released his fourth full album Diamond.
In 2022, he performed "Hanataba" as the theme song of the 6th season of Keishichō - Sōsaikkachō, in which he also appeared. The song was based on a true story about how Ishizaki's friend met his wife. He collaborated with Masaki Suda on a song entitled "Aimokawarazu". He acted in the TV drama series Japanese Style [ja] as Ringorou Asatsuki. In 2023, He performed "Wasuregataki" which served as the opening theme of the anime Dr. Stone: New World. He wrote the song "Ai Kotoba [ja]", performed by Aina the End, as the ending theme of the anime series The Apothecary Diaries. He also released his fifth album, Uchuu Hyakkei, on July 26, 2023, in celebration of his 10th year as a solo artist.
On September 11, 2024, he released his single, "Season2", which was produced by Yaffle. On November 27, he released his sixth album, "night milk", featuring his cover of songs by Fujii Kaze, Mrs. Green Apple and others. He appeared in the live-action movie of Ya Boy Kongming! as Higashiyama.

## Artistry

He said in an interview with Music Natalie that he writes songs to express the "emotion that builds up" about his daily life and he believes that songs that "come out" that way are more human that the ones that are "created". He also said that most of his songs were heavily influenced by his late mother. Aina the End describes Ishizaki as someone who writes songs in a straightforward manner. Billboard Japan describes him as "a cutting-edge singer-songwriter with a presence like that of a 'singing monster'". American guitarist Marty Friedman commented in Nikkei Business Publications that Ishizaki's vocals are "his own style, but very emotional" and added that his vocals are "absolutely impossible to auto tune." Hirokazu Suzuki of RealSound said that the "core" of his expression is "real" adding that he writes "beautiful songs", but he does not sing "pretty words".

## Personal life

Ishizaki describes himself as "a sloppy person who does not understand other people's feelings, but he is deeply aware that he lives his life with the support of others". Ishizaki has stated that he is "bit of an alcoholic" and said that he almost died twice in about a month when he was in college due to acute alcohol poisoning and after that he began slowly reducing his alcohol intake. He often mentions that he likes to be naked, and said in an interview that "if it were allowed, I'd like to be naked forever."

## Discography
### Albums
#### Mini-albums

| Album Title | Release date | Peak Ranking |
| Album Title | Release date | JPN Hot |
| Dai-san Wakusei Kōkyōkyoku | July 25, 2012 | — |
| Dakara Carnation wa Sukidenai | April 2, 2014 | — |
| Golden Age | March 6, 2019 | 72 |

#### Full albums

| Album Title | Release date | Peak Ranking |
| Album Title | Release date | JPN Hot |
| Dokuritsu Zen'ya | July 17, 2013 | — |
| Kabin no Hana | May 18, 2016 | 58 |
| Atarazumotookarazu | December 7, 2016 | 96 |
| Diamond | December 21, 2021 | 65 |
| Uchuu Hyakkei | July 26, 2023 | 27 |
| night milk | November 27, 2024 | 95 |

#### Compilation album

| Album Title | Release Date | Peak Ranking |
| Album Title | Release Date | JPN Hot |
| Huwie's Best | March 28, 2018 | 90 |

### Singles

| Single | Release date | Peak Ranking |
| Single | Release date | JPN Hot |
| "Fantasic Radio" | November 21, 2012 | 31 |
| "Yakan Hikō" | June 5, 2013 | 30 |
| "Mayday, Mayday" | November 27, 2013 | — |
| "Peanuts Butter / Nakimushi Hacchi" | June 25, 2014 | 72 |
| "Hoshi o Tsukamaete" | March 4, 2015 | — |
| "Boku ga Iruso!" | March 25, 2015 | — |
| "Otamajakushi" | September 4, 2015 | — |
| "Pino to Amélie" | August 27, 2016 | — |
| "Namida / Ano Natsu no Hi no Mahō" | June 12, 2019 | — |
| "Parade" | March 11, 2020 | — |
| "Ito" | July 17, 2020 | — |
| "Flowers" | November 24, 2020 | — |
| "Ayame" | May 17, 2021 | — |
| "Black Star" | July 7, 2021 | — |
| "Hanataba" | May 19, 2022 | — |
| "Aimokawarazu" | August 2, 2022 | — |
| "Wasuregataki" | May 24, 2023 | — |
| "Season2" | September 11, 2024 | — |
| "Sunny Days" | November 13, 2024 | — |

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Film | Role |
| 2016 | Japanese Girls Never Die | Yuji Soga |
| 2019 | Sora no Restaurant | Takashi Nozoe |
| 2020 | Thread | |
| 2025 | Ya Boy Kongming! | Higashiyama |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Minna! ESPer Dayo! | | Cameo (EP1) |
| 2018 | Heisei Bashiru | | Cameo |
| 2019 | Sasurai Onsen Endō Ken'ichi | Kokeshi doll craftsman | |
| 2019 | Hidarikiki no Eren | Kamiya Yusuke | |
| 2021 | Keishichō - Sōsaikkachō Season 5 | | Cameo (EP8) |
| 2022 | Keishichō - Sōsaikkachō Season 6 | | Cameo |
| 2022 | Japanese Style | Ringorou Asatsuki | |
| 2023 | Ya Boy Kongming! | Higashiyama | Episode 9 |

### Stage play

* Kanojo no Kigen (2015)

## Concerts and tours

* Huwei Ishizaki TOUR 2013 Nationwide! Huwie Expo (2013)
* Huwei Ishizaki Acoustic Solo Tour 2018 'Period' (2018)