Hibari Misora

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Hibari Misora (美空 ひばり, Misora Hibari^?), (May 29, 1937 - June 24, 1989) was a Japanese singer and the predominant figure in postwar enka music.

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Death 1.2 Posthumous reputation 2 Notable songs 3 Claims of Korean ancestry 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Life and career

Hibari was born Kazue Kato (加藤和枝, Katō Kazue^?) to a fishing family in Yokohama, as a daughter of Masukichi Kato (加藤増吉, Katō Masukichi^?) and Kimie Kato (加藤喜美枝, Katō Kimie^?) . She showed musical talent from an early age, and had become an accomplished singer by the age of seven. She became best known for her performance of enka, the emotional, sentimental form of Japanese popular music which became popular during the early part of the 20th century.

As the first major Japanese celebrity of the postwar era, Misora was popularly known as the "Queen of Showa". She appeared in film for the first time at age 12. Between 1949's Kanashiki kuchibue and 1971's Onna no Hanamichi, she appeared in over 60 movies. In her musical career, she released about 1,200 songs.^[1] Her songs sold 68 million records by Misora, including 45 million singles. She received numerous awards and was an actress in many Japanese musical movies and plays.

Misora was married to popular singer/actor Akira Kobayashi in 1962, but the marriage ended in divorce two years later in 1964.^[2]

[edit] Death

In April of 1987, on the way to a performance in Fukuoka, she suddenly collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with bilateral femoral necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. Until August she was confined to hospital and eventually showed signs of recovery. She commenced recording a new song "Midaregami" in October, and in 1988 performed at a concert called Fushichou konsaato (Phoenix Concert) at the Tokyo Dome. Against overwhelming pain in her legs, she performed a total of 39 songs while assuring her fans that she had completely recovered. However, on 24 May 1989, having been re-admitted to the Juntendou hospital in Tokyo, she died from interstitial pneumonitis at the age of 52. Her death was widely mourned throughout Japan.

[edit] Posthumous reputation

In July 1989 after her death, she became the first female recipient of the National Prize of Honour (国民栄誉賞) for her longstanding contributions to the music industry.

In 1993, the Misora Hibari-kan opened in Arashiyama, Kyoto. It was popular with fans and tourists for a number of years, but due to declining turnout it closed on November 30, 2006.

In a 1997 NHK poll, Misora's most famous song, "Kawa no nagare no yō ni" (1989), was voted the best Japanese songs of all time.

[edit] Notable songs

• Kappa Boogie Woogie (河童ブギウギ, 1949)
• Kanasiki Kuchibue (悲しき口笛, 1949)
• Tokyo Kiddo (東京キッド, 1950)
• Omatsuri Manbo (お祭りマンボ, 1952)
• Ringo Oiwake (リンゴ追分, 1952)
• Minatomachi 13banchi (港町十三番地, 1957)
• Yawara (柔, 1964)
• Kanashii Sake (悲しい酒, 1966)
• Makkana Taiyo (真赤な太陽, 1967)
• Aisansan (愛燦燦（あいさんさん）, 1986)
• Midaregami (みだれ髪, 1987)
• Kawa no nagare no yō ni (川の流れのように, 1989)

[edit] Claims of Korean ancestry

There exists Korean sources as well as English-language non-Korean sources that claim that Hibari Misora was ethnic Korean^[3][4][5][6]. However, this claim is not substantiated by any Japanese source. On July 9, 1989, a weekly magazine in South Korea wrote that Hibari Misora was Korean. Shukan Bunshu, a weekly magazine in Japan wrote that it investigated this claim in detail on August 10, 1989. Shukan Bunshu concluded that she was not Korean. ^[7] Ohshita Eiji, a Hibari Misora expert, has investigated the ancestry of the parents of Hibari as well, and concluded that they were not Korean. ^[8]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Hibari Misora at the Internet Movie Database
• Hibari Misora, Japanese Singer, 52 Obituary at The New York Times, June 25, 1989. Accessed January 13, 2007.
• 美空ひばり (Misora Hibari) Filmography at jmdb.ne.jp (in Japanese)