Biography

Famous Japanese singer. Her most hit songs were "Ringo Oiwake" (lit. "Apple trees at intersection"; 1952), "Yawara" (Softness; 1964), "Kanashii Sake" (Lonesome with sake; 1966), "Makkana Taiyo" (Bright red sun; 1967) and "Kawa no nagare no yoni" (Like a river run; 1989). The most successful of them was judo-related "Yawara" (almost two million sells) that became an unofficial anthem of the Japanese judo team at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo (the first that introduced judo as an olympic sport).

She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award which was conferred posthumously for giving the public hope and encouragement after World War II.

In April 1987, on the way to a performance in Fukuoka, Misora suddenly collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with avascular necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. She was confined to a hospital in Fukuoka, and eventually showed signs of recovery in August. She commenced recording a new song in October, and in April 1988 performed at her final concert at the Tokyo Dome. Her triumph was short-lived. Misora died on June 24, 1989 from pneumonia at the age of 52, at a hospital in Tokyo. Her death was widely mourned throughout Japan.

After she died consumer demand for her recordings grew significantly and by 2001 she had sold more than 80 million records.

A memorial concert for Misora was held at the Tokyo Dome on November 11, 2012. It featured numerous musicians such as Ai, Koda Kumi, Ken Hirai, Kiyoshi Hikawa, Exile, AKB48 and Nobuyasu Okabayashi amongst others, paying tribute by singing her most famous songs.