He was very poor due to the effects of World War II, and was forced to work while he studied.

He has many famous songs, including "Namida Bune" (1962), "Kyōdai Jingi" (1965), "Yosaku" (1978) and "Kita no Ryōba" (1986).

Kitajima regularly appeared on Kōhaku Uta Gassen, an annual end-of-year TV program where many major Japanese singers gather to perform, before announcing his retirement from the show in 2013.

[2] His participation included the infamous DJ Ozma performance at the 57th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

[citation needed] In addition to his singing career, Kitajima acted in the role of Tatsugorō on the television series Abarenbō Shōgun.