| Aki Yashiro | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Akiko Hashimoto |
| Born | August 29, 1950 |
| Genres | Enka, Kayōkyoku, jazz |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Website | yashiro.mirion.co.jp |
Aki Yashiro (八代亜紀 Yashiro Aki), real name Akiko Masuda (増田明子 Masuda Akiko) (born as Akiko Hashimoto (橋本明子 Hashimoto Akiko)) on August 29, 1950 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese enka singer and painter. Her stage name "Yashiro" is adopted from her hometown, "Yatsushiro" (八代).
Yashiro originally sang jazz standards in hostess clubs, but made her debut as an enka singer in 1971, with the single "Ai wa Shindemo (愛は死んでも)", under the label of Teichiku Records. Seeing the single's unsuccess, she appeared on the YTV's Zen Nihon Kayō Senshuken (全日本歌謡選手権) audition, winning it for 10 consecutive weeks. In 1973, her single and album "Namida Koi" (なみだ恋) sold up up to 1.20 million copies,[1] which was a great hit. Since then, her songs like "Shinobigoi" (しのび恋), "Ai Hitosuji" (愛ひとすじ), "Onna no Yume" (おんなの夢), "Mō Ichidō Aitai" (もう一度逢いたい), "Onna Minatomachi" (おんな港町), and "Ai no Shūchakueki" (愛の終着駅) also became great hits at the time, in which the songs portrayed a woman's emotion. In 1979, her single "Funauta" (舟唄) also made a great hit, followed by "Ame no Bojō (雨の慕情)" in 1980. "Ame no Bojō" won the 22nd Japan Record Award of the year. She continued collaborating with Teichiku until 1981, before turning to Century Records, where she released some of her top 80s singles like "Umineko" (海猫), "Nihonkai" (日本海), and "Koisegawa" (恋瀬川), until 1986. Currently, she is recording under the Columbia Records label (since 1986).
Since she entered her heyday period, enka singers have become rare. She become the only female enka singer to have seven Top 10 singles on the Oricon charts, as well as being listed as the fourth enka singer behind male singers Kiyoshi Hikawa, Hiroshi Itsuki and Shinichi Mori. She also achieved Top 10 on the Oricon album charts for three consecutive years (1974–1976), while Hikawa achieved it for seven consecutive years, and Itsuki for four years.
Aki has performed 23 times in Kōhaku Uta Gassen. She performed consecutively for 15 years (1973–1987), with a total of 38 shows and made her debut performance at the 24th Kōhaku (1973). She lost the qualification in 1988, but then was qualified again in 1989. Then, she performed for the next consecutive 5 years (until 1993). She lost the qualification again in 1994, and won again in 1999. She last performed in 2001, before she lost in 2002. She also refused to perform in 2005 with the popularity poll "Sukiuta" (スキウタ).
She has 3 singles which have been sung more than once, which are "Namida Koi" (2 times (in 1973 & 2000)), "Mō Ichidō Aitai" (2 times (1976 & 1993)), and "Funauta" (3 times (1979, 1991, and 1999)).