like many, Females: Misia, Ayaka +Mai Fukui
males: Yuya Matsushita (I just found about today he is amazing)

I think Yuna Ito, Ayaka, and Hiro (member of SPEED) have the best vocal because they can reach very high note an steady vocal and also powerful

hmm
I can't say who's the best because everyone has a unique voice...
but I do like misia's and ayu's voice...

1. Yuna Ito
2. MISIA
3. Ayaka
4. Ayumi
5. Koda

Yuna has the BEST voice ever. Period.

Yuna Ito, Atsushi Sakurai

Hmmm... Aya Kamiki, B'z, Gackt, alan

Lyrico has a great voice, she has an amazing range, and can actually do whistle notes. But there are a lot of good artists with singing voices. Gackt, Onitsuka Chihiro, Itou Yuna, Hinouchi Emi, Ayu, etc., etc.

Can't really pick one.

Kana of course!!

LOL

ayaka for sure ~! her voice is like the best female voice ever lol! Utada hikaru and aiko are very good too :) ~!!!

Ayu chan???

Yuna ito and hikki and ayu and kuu ! and ayaka

Chihiro Onituska - epic win.

The greatest vocalist in Japan is Chitose Hajime. No one else comes close.

I agree that Misia is the best Western-influenced voice. Other greats are Ayaka Hirahara, Rimi Natsukawa, and Hitoto Yo (I'm surprised no one has mentioned her). For the men, there's Ken Hirai and Atari Kosuke.

I'm glad someone mentioned Kohmi Hirose. What about Miyuki Nakajima? And there are the countless enka artists out there. Kaori Mizumori is fantastic, as is Sayuri Ishikawa.

Yuki Koyanagi could have been a legend. Too bad her career was terribly mismanaged.

One of the best Kohmi Hirose songs, and a personal favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBZ7Y...eature=related

To me, Koda Kumi. She's an awesome vocalist and I've never heard her sing actually off-key.

Hikki just sounds bad in TV performances. At least the ones I've watched.

@^: Chitose Hajime?? Her vibrato or w/e she does makes her sound like a goat. It's painfully annoying.

^And yet you offer Koda Kumi as the best vocalist in Japan? :P No offense. Yuki Koyanagi, who has the same musical style, is technically way way way better than her.

The reason I chose Chitose Hajime is because her voice is a voice that only Japanese culture can produce, and because she sounds like no other artist. When she first came out with Wadatsumi no Ki, I didn't like her voice too, but that was because my ears were used to Western voices and the Western scale. Having listened to more traditional Japanese music, Japanese folk music, enka, and Chinese opera and folk music, her voice doesn't sound as strange or, as you say, goat-like. Like fine wine, it's a voice only people of a certain musical inclination and exposure can appreciate. The heavy use of vibrato and falsetto is because she sings within a Japanese musical tradition.

I don't think she sounds like a goat. What you call a goat, I call a voice that only comes once a century.

^ Chitose Hajime does have an unbelievably excellent voice, but personally I think she's just topped by Natsukawa Rimi and Miyuki Nakajima, but as i said, that's "personally". All 3 of them are absolutely amazing singers.

As for Sayuri Ishikawa, her voice is fantastic, and also Yoko Nagayama. From the pop side of things, I really have to mention Nakamori Akina... such a fantastic singer.

With males singers... I can't deny Ken Hirai has a great voice, but i'm not personally a big fan of it. My favourite male singer and one that i believe to have one of the best voices in the industry is Toshi from X Japan. There's also Ryuichi Kawamura from Luna Sea. Finally I have to mention Saburo Kitajima. Though I'm not overly familiar with his work (which i'm ashamed of due to his status) his voice is so amazing!


-edit- er this was a reply to Uemarasan's previous post ^^;; And there's no way Koda Kumi is the best voice in Japan, not by a LOOOOOOONG shot

Can I just say you have excellent musical taste? :D I'm glad someone else is mentioning enka! I should have included some rock vocalists, and more old school vocalists, too. I prefer Japanese female voices in general, but Naotaro Moriyama is very good as well.

Haha! Actually I shouldn't have been so defensive, but suggesting that Koda Kumi is better than Chitose fricking Hajime? I just cannot let that go! :P

Heh thanks ^^;;. 2 or 3 years back I decided I wanted more exposure to where modern Japanese music came from so I ended up checking out a lot of 80's stuff and picked up a bit on enka aswell ^^. I can't imagine NOT having this stuff to listen to anymore, and in a lot of cases i prefer it to modern Jpop.

I can't say i'm familiar with Naotaro Moriyama so I'll have to check him out some time. I too favour female singers over male, I've always been the same heh ^^ I didn't bother mentioning Chihiro Onitsuka as i noticed her name further back, though I will say UA and, another from the 80's, Minako Honda. Both are excellent, and that makes it more of a shame that Minako is no longer alive.

And i do think Koda has a great voice, but i don't see her as anything more than a pop singer. Her voice just isn't enough to lift her to the level of some of Japans older singers.

How strange, I was just about to mention UA myself :) Then there's Hibari Misora, of course. I agree regarding Chitose Hajime. She doesn't have the range of say, even Koda, but the emotional intensity of her voice. Just powerful. Angela Aki might also turn into something wonderful.

Like you say, the problem with Koda is that although she is a good singer, I don't think her voice is as great as those of the people previously mentioned, pop or otherwise.