Kō Machida (町田 康 Machida Kō, born Machida Yasushi on January 15, 1962 in Sakai, Osaka) is a Japanese author, punk rock singer, poet and actor.
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Machida formed a punk rock band called Inu (meaning "dog" in Japanese) in 1978, for which he used the stage name Machida Machizō (町田町蔵). Inu released their first album, Meshi Kuuna! (literary "Don't eat food!") in 1981. The band split shortly after the album release. He went on to form a number of bands and released several albums. His albums earned reasonable critical acclaims but the commercial success was limited.
His first literary work, Kūge, was published in 1992, and included a selection of his poems. His first novel, Gussun Daikoku, was published in 1996. It earned him the Bunkamura Deux Magots Literary Award. His unique style of story-telling marked by non-sense, irrelevance and slapstick is influenced by Kamigata (Kansai) Rakugo and Jidaigeki (samurai dramas). Some critics link him to self-destructive I Novel writers before the World War II such as Kamura Isota and Chikamatsu Shūkō. Oda Sakunosuke is also cited as his influencer.
He won the 123rd Akutagawa Prize with Kiregire ("Shreds") in 2000 and the Tanizaki Prize with Kokuhaku ("Confession") in 2005.
Albums
Singles
He played major roles in the following films.