Shokichi Kina is to Okinawan music what Bob Marley was to reggae: The Man. Kina, born in Okinawa in 1948, is perhaps best known as the composer of "Subete no Hito no Kokoro ni Hana wo (Blooming Flowers in the Hearts of All)," an undisputed Japanese pop-music classic that's best-known simply as "Hana". Kina and his backing band, Champloose, first became known in 1972 when they scored a hit with "Haisai Ojisan (Hey Man)". In 1980 Kina and Champloose released Blood...

Shokichi Kina is to Okinawan music what Bob Marley was to reggae: The Man. Kina, born in Okinawa in 1948, is perhaps best known as the composer of "Subete no Hito no Kokoro ni Hana wo (Blooming Flowers in the Hearts of All)," an undisputed Japanese pop-music classic that's best-known simply as "Hana". Kina and his backing band, Champloose, first became known in 1972 when they scored a hit with "Haisai Ojisan (Hey Man)". In 1980 Kina and Champloose released Blood Line, one of the best ethnic/rock fusion albums ever to come out of Japan. That album featured Ry Cooder on four tracks, by the way, including a heartbreakingly beautiful slide-guitar solo on "Hana." Like Marley, Kina has tremendous natural charisma and a strong political/spiritual outlook that in Kina's case is expressed in his opposition to the continued U.S. military presence on Okinawa and in his outspoken advocacy of Okinawan independence from Japan. Over the years Kina has continued to work with musicians from other parts of the world, including African and Caribbean musicians, and in 2004 he was elected to the Japanese parliament's House of Councillors under the Minshuto (Democratic Party) banner.