Hirakawachi Itchōme is a former Japanese folk music group consisting of brothers Ryūnosuke Hayashi (born 1988) and Naojirō Hayashi (born 1990).  Their name is more often romanized as Hirakawachi 1-chome.  The name is actually a reference to where they were originally from in Shizuoka Prefecture, and references the Japanese addressing system. 1-chome is like "first district".

Growing up on Sado Island, the brothers' musical influence came from their father who taught them to play guitar.  Ryūnosuke, the oldest, started copying folk songs from the 1970s and 1980s and then began writing his own and asked his younger brother, Naojirō, to join him.  They began playing locally at music events and festivals (hence the name Hirakawachi Itchōme which is the district they lived in growing up) and eventually participated in a New Year countdown event in Sado, gaining them invitations to perform from all over Japan.  Their professional debut occurred in November 2003 when they released their first CD single, Tokyo.

Tokyograph News provided the following explanation for the formation of the group:
"Originally from the island of Sadogashima in the Niigata Prefecture, Ryunosuke revealed that they have three other siblings, though their mother had run away from home with their youngest brother.  By starting Hirakawachi Itchōme, the duo had hoped to find their mother and brother.  They recalled that playing their music had been sad and painful at first, but with the support of their fans they eventually grew to enjoy it.  As of now, their family has been reunited."

In light of the above, the choice to call themselves Hirakawachi 1-chome may have been a further effort to gain their mother's attention, via their media exposure, as her whereabouts were unknown at that time.  In fact, the impetus for their reunion was their mother noticing them on television