Who Is Kenshi Yonezu?

Last updated: October 2026

Name (Japanese)	米津玄師 (Yonezu Kenshi)
Born	March 10, 1991 (Tokushima, Japan)
Category	Singer-songwriter / music producer / illustrator
Active since	2009 (as Vocaloid producer "Hachi"); under his own name since 2012
Known for	"Lemon," "Kick Back," "Iris Out" and other anime and film theme songs
Platform	YouTube — more than 8 million subscribers as of mid-2026

Kenshi Yonezu is widely regarded as the defining Japanese pop musician of his generation. A singer-songwriter, producer and illustrator, he is the voice behind era-defining hits such as “Lemon,” “Kick Back” and “Iris Out,” and his career traces one of the most unusual paths in J-pop: he started out as an anonymous internet producer making songs with a synthetic voice, and went on to sell out stadium shows and top global streaming charts.

Yonezu writes, composes, arranges and produces his own music, and he often draws his own cover art as well. Much of his biggest work is tied to anime, film and television, which has helped him build the kind of global fanbase that is still rare for an artist who sings almost entirely in Japanese. As of mid-2026, his YouTube channel has more than eight million subscribers, and his combined physical and digital record sales have passed eleven million.

Rise to Fame

Yonezu was born in 1991 in Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku in western Japan. In 2009, while still a teenager, he began uploading original songs to Niconico — a Japanese video-sharing site that was the heart of online otaku culture at the time — under the alias “Hachi.” Instead of singing himself, he used Vocaloid, singing-synthesizer software best known for the virtual pop idol Hatsune Miku. His 2009 track “Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro” surpassed one million views, and follow-ups such as “Matryoshka” became some of the most beloved songs the Vocaloid scene has ever produced.

In 2012 he stepped out from behind the software, releasing the album “diorama” under his real name and singing every track himself. A major-label debut followed in 2013 with the single “Santa Maria,” and over the next few years he grew from internet favorite into a mainstream hitmaker.

The turning point came in 2018 with “Lemon,” a ballad about grief written as the theme song for the TV drama “Unnatural.” The song became a national phenomenon, topping Billboard Japan’s year-end singles chart two years in a row, and its music video remains one of the most-viewed Japanese music videos of all time. In the same period he wrote and produced “Paprika,” a children’s song for public broadcaster NHK performed by the kids’ unit Foorin, which became ubiquitous across Japan.

What Kenshi Yonezu Is Known For

For overseas listeners, Yonezu is above all the artist behind some of modern anime’s biggest theme songs, delivered in an instantly recognizable, slightly melancholy voice. His signature works include:

“Kick Back” (2022) — the opening theme of the “Chainsaw Man” TV anime, and the first Japanese-language song ever certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
“Iris Out” and “Jane Doe” (2025) — the theme songs for “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,” the latter a duet with J-pop legend Hikaru Utada
“Spinning Globe” (2023) — the theme song for Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning film “The Boy and the Heron”
“M87” (2022) — the theme for “Shin Ultraman,” a modern take on Japan’s classic tokusatsu (live-action special-effects) hero
“Plazma” and “Bow and Arrow” (2025) — themes for the anime “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX” and “Medalist”; the latter’s music video featured figure-skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu

He is also known for ambitious live projects. In August 2020 he performed a virtual concert inside the video game Fortnite, and his “2025 WORLD TOUR / JUNK” included his first shows at Tokyo Dome — one of Japan’s most prestigious concert venues — as well as his first-ever headline dates in Europe and the United States, with stops in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. The 26-show tour drew roughly 440,000 people in total.

Recent Years

In September 2025, Yonezu released “Iris Out,” the main theme for “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc,” and it became the biggest hit of his career on the global stage. The song reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Global 200 — the highest position ever achieved by a Japanese-language song — and reached 100 million streams in just four weeks, faster than any song in Japanese chart history, overtaking the record held by YOASOBI’s “Idol.” It also topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and led Oricon’s weekly streaming chart for 24 consecutive weeks, a run no solo artist had ever managed before.

In June 2026 he released “Karasu – Raven,” the official 2026 NHK soccer theme, used for the broadcaster’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup. The single arrived on June 15, 2026 — the day of Japan’s opening match of the tournament — and Yonezu drew the cover artwork himself. The title means “crow” in Japanese; the emblem of Japan’s national soccer team features the Yatagarasu, a mythical three-legged crow.

As of October 2026, his most recent album is “Lost Corner” (2024), and his next domestic tour, “Kenshi Yonezu 2026 TOUR / GHOST,” is set for fourteen arena shows across six Japanese cities from early November to mid-December 2026.

FAQ

Is Kenshi Yonezu the same person as Hachi?

Yes. Before debuting under his real name in 2012, Yonezu released Vocaloid songs on Niconico under the alias "Hachi" starting in 2009, including classics like "Matryoshka."

What anime songs has Kenshi Yonezu made?

His best-known anime themes are "Kick Back" and "Iris Out" / "Jane Doe" for the Chainsaw Man TV series and movie, "Plazma" for Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX, and "Bow and Arrow" for Medalist. He also wrote "Spinning Globe" for the Studio Ghibli film The Boy and the Heron.

Has Kenshi Yonezu performed outside Japan?

Yes. His 2025 WORLD TOUR / JUNK included his first-ever headline shows in Europe and the United States — London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles — along with dates in Asia and his first Tokyo Dome concerts.