| Minako Honda 本田美奈子 |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Minako Kudo (工藤美奈子) |
| Born | July 31, 1967 |
| Origin | Katsushika, Japan |
| Died | November 6, 2005 (aged 38) |
| Genres | Pop, operatic pop, classical crossover |
| Occupations | Singer, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1985-2005 |
| Labels | Toshiba-EMI, Columbia Music Entertainment |
| Associated acts | Sarah Brightman, Madonna |
| Website | Official site |
Minako Honda (本田 美奈子 or 本田 美奈子. Honda Minako), born Minako Kudo (工藤 美奈子 Kudō Minako, July 31, 1967 – November 6, 2005) was a Japanese "idol" pop-star and musical singer. She became famous and popular as "Japan's Madonna" because of her sexy fashion and live performances in the mid to late 1980s. She was also one of the singers to sing Japanese and English languages.
She was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia on January 5, 2005. At 4:38 A.M. on November 6, 2005, Honda died at the Juntendo University Hospital in Bunkyō, Tokyo, officially from acute myelogenous leukemia.
Contents |
Minako Kudo was born in Shibamata, Katsushika, Tokyo (a district made famous by the Otoko Wa Tsurai Yo movie series), and was raised in Asaka, Saitama Prefecture. She had one sister, Ritsuko (律子). She has attented Horikoshi High School with other singers and actresses such as Yoko Minamino and Yukiko Okada.
As with most teenaged "idol" singers, her J-Pop career was spectacular but short. In 1989, at the advanced age of 22, she made an attempt to revive her flagging career and attain "street cred" by forming the edgy all-girl band "Minako with Wild Cats". This effort was unsuccessful, and it seemed that she would fade into obscurity.
By 1992, however, she had reinvented herself. She took formal acting and singing lessons, and became a notable theatrical singer and actress. In auditions for the Tokyo production of Miss Saigon, she won out over 12,000 other candidates for the part of Kim, earning the nickname "Tokyo's Miss Saigon". She also appeared in numerous other theatrical performances.
Towards the end of her life, she released several classical albums demonstrating her soprano singing voice, including religious works such as Amazing Grace and Ave Maria. She also sang the theme songs for several anime programs.
She did not abandon pop music in her adult career; indeed, she became recognized for her vocal improvement in the adult pop genre. Her song "Tsubasa" (Wings) is famous for the "long note" that she holds for 30 seconds.
Her career was cut short by leukemia. After she became ill in late 2004, she served as a celebrity spokesperson for the Live for Life Project, a campaign for the treatment of leukemia. At that time, she also changed her name to add a dot after the end of her name (本田美奈子．in kanji), thus increasing the number of strokes to 31. In Japanese "uranai" (占い) fortune-telling, a person's fate is associated with the number of strokes in the name. Following a severe misfortune, many Japanese change their name to change their fortune. As a result, albums released after 2004 show her name as "本田美奈子．" in kanji and/or "Honda Minako." in romanization.
Since her death, numerous posthumous albums and videos have been released, including some previously-unreleased songs.
Kudo changed her name as she pursued a professional career in singing. Supposedly, she chose Honda because she liked Honda cars and in imitation of another popular singer, Seiko Matsuda (Matsuda is how Mazda is known in Japan).
In 1985, Honda appeared on the music scene with her debut EP Satsui No Vacance. She was known for appearing in revealing outfits and for exposing her belly (hesodashi in Japanese).
Her career discography included:
M' / Temptation <New Mix Version> / Sanbika Wa Utaenai (I Can't Sing Hymns) / November Snow / Aperitif / Doubt / Charlie / Hard To Say "I Love You" / Mahattan No Hotaru (= The Light Of Manhattan)
Sold Out / Ribbon Ga Hodokenai (I Can't Untie The Ribbon) / 1986Nen No Marilyn (Marilyn Of 1986) / Schedule / Joe / Bathroom Angel / Marionette No Yuutsu (Marionette Blue) / Dramatic Escape / Yokosuka Rule / Ai Ga Sugiyukumamani (= As Love Goes By)
Cancel / Tomaranai Railway (Non-Stop Railway) / Lovesong For Somebody / Shikashi (However) / Bond Street / 24Jikan No Hankou (=The 24-Hour Rebellion) / Roulette / Feel Like I'm Running / No Problem / Namida Wo F.O. Shite (=Fade Out The Tears)
Sneak Away / Playboy / Plaything / That's The Way I Want / Let's Start Again / Heart Break / You Can Do It / Take It Or Leave It / Girl Talk
One Shot / Passenger / Kodoku Na Hurricane (The Solitary Hurricane) and 9 other music tracks
One Shot / Do You Remember? / Yumemigokochi (Dreams Come True) / About – Adult / Hajimeteiukedo (Although It Is Said The First Time) / Kanashimi Swing (Sadness Swing) / Konya Wa Beat Ni Noranai (I Can't Follow The Beat Tonight) / Destiny / Kodoku Na Hurricane (The Solitary Hurricane) / Eye Kodoba Wa Lonely (The Message In My Eyes Is Lonely)
We Are Wild Cats / Let It Burn / Virginity / Bang Bang / Kiri No Viel (The Misty Veil) / Because You're Mine / Full Metal Armor /School Girl Blues / Kasis No Kajitsu (The Fruit Of Kasis) / Anata To Nettai (The Tropic And You)
Katte Ni Sasete (=Let Me Follow My Way) / Hearts On Fire / Walk Away / Helter Skelter / Slow Walk / Ai Ga Kikoeru (The Call For Love) / Heat Me Up / Asamade (Until Dawn) / Surrender / Kill me
After her J-pop career, Honda briefly recorded anime songs, including:
By the 1990s, Honda became a musical singer, with appearances as Kim in the Japanese production of Miss Saigon, supra. She also starred in Fiddler on the Roof, Les Misérables, and The King and I. According to Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam by Robert Templer, Honda was fined and expelled from Vietnam after being photographed in the Cu Chi tunnels draped only in a Vietnamese flag.
Honda has recorded with a number of non-Japanese artists, including:
Honda became ill in late 2004, but still performed in December in spite of a fever and fatigue. When her cold-like symptoms failed to improve, she sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia on January 5, 2005. Honda recovered after treatment and came home to Asaka.
Honda was able to celebrate her 38th birthday at home feeling relatively well, but had a relapse shortly afterwards. Chromosome aberration was discovered and she received a dose of anticancer medicine from the United States to treat it. It is reported that her blood type changed to type A from type O because of a transfusion of umbilical cord blood after the detection of her illness. She recovered again briefly, but then suffered another relapse.
Honda developed lung complications on October 21, and she lapsed into a coma on November 3. At 4:38 A.M. on November 6, 2005, Honda died at the Juntendo University Hospital in Bunkyō, Tokyo, officially from acute myelogenous leukemia. She was 38 and unmarried at the time of her death.
"Minako Was A Little Angel," said Brian May on his web page after her death. The message can be seen in May's November 6 and November 8 contributions at WET [1]
| Preceded by Yukiko Okada |
FNS Music Festival for Best New Artist 1985 |
Succeeded by Shonentai |
| Preceded by Kōji Kikkawa, Yukiko Okada |
Shinjuku Music Festival for Gold Prize 1985 (with : Shigeyuki Nakamura) |
Succeeded by Shonentai, Mariko |