Rake, born on July 26, 1983, in Sendai, Japan, is a singer-songwriter who began his musical journey by playing an antique guitar at home. He initially gained experience as a member of a hard rock band during high school and later considered singing professionally while in university. Rake's breakthrough came when he performed as the opening act for Japanese band Kimaguren's 2009 tour Kid in the Sky. In January 2010, he debuted under Sony Music Entertainment Japan with the single "Fly Away", which served as the theme song for the Tokyo MX drama Taxmen and topped Billboard's Japan Hot 100 chart for two weeks despite modest sales. Following his debut extended play All You Need Is, Rake performed his first solo concert in July 2010 and appeared at the Summer Sonic festival in August. In 2011, he released his hit single "Hyakuman-kai no "I Love You"", which debuted at number 6 on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart but faced promotional challenges due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Rake's notable albums include First Sight (2011), WONDERFUL WORLD (2012), and This is Rake〜BEST Collection〜 (2015). In 2015, he retired from his singing career but resumed activities in 2018 under new project "Samurai Japan Project".
