Hibari Misora

Hibari Misora
Hibari Misora in 1953
Born	加藤 和枝 (Katō Kazue) May 29, 1937 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Died	June 24, 1989(1989-06-24) (aged 52) Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Singer, Actress
Musical career
Genres	Kayōkyoku Jazz Enka
Years active	1945–1989
Website	misorahibari.com
Musical artist
Japanese name
Kanji	美空 ひばり
Hiragana	みそら ひばり
showTranscriptions Romanization Misora Hibari

Hibari Misora (美空 ひばり, Misora Hibari, May 29, 1937 – June 24, 1989) was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon.^[1][2] 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.^[3][4]

Misora recorded a total of 1,200 songs and sold 68 million records.^[5] After she died, consumer demand for her recordings grew significantly, and, by 2001, she had sold more than 80 million records.^[6] By 2019, record sales surpassed 100 million.^[7][8] Her swan-song "Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni" (川の流れのように) is often performed by numerous artists and orchestras as a tribute to her, including notable renditions by The Three Tenors (Spanish/Italian), Teresa Teng (Taiwanese) and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan (Mexican).

Each year there is a special on Japanese television and radio featuring her songs. 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.^[3]

Biography[]

Life and career[]

Misora was born Kazue Katō (加藤 和枝, Katō Kazue) in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, Japan. Her father was Masukichi Katō (加藤 増吉, Katō Masukichi), a fishmonger, and her mother Kimie Katō (加藤 喜美枝, Katō Kimie), a housewife. Misora displayed musical talent from an early age after singing for her father at a World War II send-off party in 1943. He invested a small fortune taken from the family's savings to begin a musical career for his daughter. In 1945 she debuted at a concert hall in Yokohama, at the age of eight. At the same time, she changed her last name, Katō, to Misora (美空, lit. "beautiful sky"), at the suggestion of her mother. A year later, she appeared on a NHK broadcast, and impressed the Japanese composer Masao Koga with her singing ability. He considered her to be a prodigy with the courage, understanding, and emotional maturity of an adult. In the following two years, she became an accomplished singer and was touring notable concert halls to sold-out crowds.

Her recording career began, aged 12, in 1949. She changed her stage name to Hibari Misora, which means "lark in the beautiful sky," and starred in the film Nodojiman-kyō jidai (のど自慢狂時代). The film gained her nationwide recognition. She recorded her first single Kappa Boogie-Woogie (河童ブギウギ, Kappa bugiugi) for Nippon Columbia later that year.^[9] It became a commercial hit, selling more than 450,000 copies. She subsequently recorded "Kanashiki kuchibue", which was featured on a radio program and was a national hit.^[9] As an actress, she starred in around 160 movies from 1949 until 1971, and won numerous awards. Her performance in Tokyo Kid (1950), in which she played a street orphan, made her symbolic of both the hardship and the national optimism of post-World War II Japan.^[10]

On January 13, 1957, Misora was attacked with hydrochloric acid, and injured in Asakusa International Theater. The attacker was described as an overly enthusiastic fan of hers.

In 1962, Misora married actor Akira Kobayashi. They divorced in 1964.

In 1973 Tetsuya Katō, Misora's brother, was prosecuted for gang-related activity. Although NHK did not acknowledge any connection, Misora was excluded from Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the first time in 18 years.^[9] She then refused to appear on NHK for years afterwards.^[9]

In 1978, she adopted her 7-year-old nephew, Kazuya Kato, who was her brother Tetsuya’s son.

In 1981, on the 35th year anniversary of her debut she performed a recital at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

Illness and death[]

The 1980s were incredibly difficult years for Misora. Her mother passed away in 1981, and a year later her best friend, fellow singer and actress Chiemi Eri, died. Misora’s brothers both died in 1983 and 1986, respectively. To deal with the sadness, Misora increased her drinking and smoking.^[11]

In April 1987, Misora suddenly collapsed on stage at a concert performance in Fukuoka. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was diagnosed with avascular necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. She was immediately admitted, but eventually showed signs of recovery in August. She commenced recording a new song in October, and in April 1988 performed at her comeback concert at Tokyo Dome. Despite the great pain in her legs, Misora performed a total of 40 songs.^{[citation needed]}

Misora's health improvement was, however, temporary, as her liver weakened from decades of heavy drinking and her condition worsened. In February 1989, Misora held her final concert in Kokura. It was the start of a nationwide tour which had to be cancelled due to her failing health. On March 21, she wrapped up her nearly four-and-a-half-decade career with a 10-hour live radio show for Nippon Broadcasting System. She was later hospitalized at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo with pneumonia.^[12]

On the morning of June 24, 1989, Misora died from heart failure at Juntendo. She was 52. Her death was widely mourned throughout Japan. The major television networks had to cancel their regular programming that evening to bring the news of her death and instead aired various tributes.^[13]

Legacy[]

In 1993, a monument depicting Misora's portrait with an inscribed poem was erected in her memory near Sugi no Osugi in Ōtoyo, Kōchi. In 1947, a 10-year old Misora had been involved in a serious bus collision in Ōtoyo. While recovering from her injuries, she remained in the town and reportedly visited Sugi no Osugi and wished to become a famous singer. She eventually returned to Tokyo, where she began her recording career in 1949 at the age of 12.^[14]

In 1994, the Hibari Misora Museum opened in Arashiyama, Kyoto. This multi-story museum complex traced the history of Misora's life and career in various multimedia exhibits, and displayed various memorabilia. It attracted more than 5 million visitors, until it's closedown November 30, 2006 as to allow a scheduled renovation of the building. The main exhibits were relocated to the Shōwa period section of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, until a renovation was completed. The brand new Hibari Misora Theater opened in its place on April 26, 2008, and includes a CD for sale of a previously unreleased song.^[15] A bronze statue of her debut was built as a memorial in Yokohama in 2002 and attracts around 300,000 visitors per year.^[16]

Beginning in 1990, television and radio stations play Misora's song "Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni" (川の流れのように) annually on her birth date to show respect. In a national poll by NHK in 1997, the song was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time by more than 10 million people. The song is still performed by numerous artists and orchestras as a tribute to her, including notable renditions by The Three Tenors (Spanish/Italian), Teresa Teng (Taiwanese) and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan (Mexican). On November 11, 2012, a memorial concert for Misora was held at the Tokyo Dome. 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.^[3]

In September 2019, Misora's voice became focused on after "Arekara" (あれから) was used for a version of the Vocaloid engine known as "VOCALOID:AI", which tried to recreate her singing vocals. The Vocaloid performance also used a full 3D rendering of the singer.^[17][18][19]

After Misora's death in 1989, a TBS television drama special aired later that same year under the title The Hibari Misora Story (美空ひばり物語), in which Misora was portrayed by Kayoko Kishimoto. In 2005, also on TBS, Aya Ueto portrayed Misora in The Hibari Misora Birth Story (美空ひばり誕生物語).

Question of Korean ancestry[]

Hibari Misora's ancestry has been a matter of dispute.^[20] Prior to her death in 1989, there had been assumptions that she was of ethnic Korean ancestry, and that she and her family held Korean passports. This claim spread around widely.^{[21][22][23][24][9]} Upon her death, however, author Rō Takenaka and journalist Tsukasa Yoshida launched a thorough investigation into her background, and concluded that Misora was not Korean, but 100% Japanese.^[25][26][27]

Notable songs[]

• Kappa Boogie Woogie (河童ブギウギ, 1949)
• Kanashiki Kuchibue (悲しき口笛, 1949)
• Tokyo Kiddo (東京キッド, 1950)
• Echigo Jishi No Uta (越後獅子の唄, 1950)
• Omatsuri Mambo (お祭りマンボ, 1952)
• Ringo Oiwake (リンゴ追分, 1952)
• Minatomachi 13-banchi (港町十三番地, 1957)
• Hanagasa Dōchū (花笠道中, 1957)
• Yawara (柔, 1964)
• Kanashii Sake (悲しい酒, 1966)
• Makkana Taiyō (真赤な太陽, 1967)
• Jinsei Ichiro (人生一路, 1970)
• 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)
• Arekara (あれから, 2019; posthumous)^[28]

Filmography[]

Japanese movie poster for Kanashiki kuchibue (1949) showing Hibari Misora.

Hibari Misora appeared in 166 films:^[29]

1940s[]

(1940s complete)

• Nodo jimankyō jidai (のど自慢狂時代)(1949)
• (新東京音頭　びっくり五人男)(1949)
• Odoru ryū kyūjō (踊る龍宮城, lit. "Dancing Dragon Palace")(1949)
• Akireta musume-tachi (あきれた娘たち), alternate title: Kingorō no kodakara sōdō (金語楼の子宝騒動)(1949)
• Kanashiki kuchibue (悲しき口笛, lit. "Sad whistling")(1949)
• Odoroki ikka (おどろき一家)(1949)
• (ホームラン狂時代, lit. "The Age of Home run Madness")(1949)

1950s[]

Japanese movie poster for (1951) featuring Hibari Misora.

(1950s is complete)

• Hit Parade (ヒットパレード – 1950)
• Akogare no Hawaii kōro (憧れのハワイ航路 – 1950)
• Hōrō no utahime (放浪の歌姫, lit. "The Wandering Songstress" – 1950)
• (続・向う三軒両隣　第三話　どんぐり歌合戦 – 1950)
• (エノケンの底抜け大放送 – 1950)
• (続・向う三軒両隣　第四話　恋の三毛猫)(1950)
• Aozora tenshi (青空天使, lit. "Blue Sky Angel" – 1950)
• Tokyo Kid (東京キッド – 1950)
• Sakon torimonochō: senketsu no tegata (左近捕物帖　鮮血の手型, lit. "Sakon Detective Story: The Fresh Blood Handprint" – 1950)
• (黄金バット　摩天楼の怪人, lit. "Golden Bat: Mysterious stranger of the Skyscraper" – 1950)
• Tonbo kaeri dōchū (とんぼ返り道中 – 1950)
• (1950) – as herself, the short film^[30]
• Chichi koishi (父恋し – 1951)
• (唄祭り　ひばり七変化, lit. "Song Festival: Hibari Quick Change" – 1951)
• (泣きぬれた人形, lit. "The Doll Wet from Crying" – 1951)
• (鞍馬天狗　角兵衛獅子 – 1951)
• (母を慕いて, lit. "Yearning for Mother" – 1951)
• Hibari no komoriuta (ひばりの子守唄, lit. "Hibari's Lullaby" – 1951)
• (鞍馬天狗　鞍馬の火祭 – 1951)
• (あの丘越えて, lit. "Cross that Hill" – 1951)
• (陽気な渡り鳥 – 1952)
• (鞍馬天狗　天狗廻状 – 1952)
• (月形半平太 – 1952)
• Hibari no Sākasu Kanashiki Kobato (ひばりのサーカス　悲しき小鳩, lit. "Hibari's Circus: Sad Little Dove" – 1952)
• (牛若丸 – 1952)
• Futari no hitomi (二人の瞳) a.k.a. Girls Hand in Hand US title (1952)
• Ringo-en no shōjo (リンゴ園の少女, lit. "Girl of Apple Park" – 1952)
• (ひばり姫初夢道中 – 1952)

• 

  Japanese movie poster for (1952) featuring Hibari Misora.

• 

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• 

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• 

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• (三太頑れっ！ – 1953)
• (ひばりの歌う玉手箱, lit. "Hibari's Singing Treasure Chest" – 1953)
• (姉妹, lit. "Sisters" – 1953)
• (ひばりの陽気な天使 – 1953)
• (ひばり捕物帳　唄祭り八百八町, lit. "Hibari Detective Story: Song Festival Across Tokyo" – 1953)
• Hibari no kanashiki hitomi (ひばりの悲しき瞳 – 1953)
• (山を守る兄弟, lit. "The Brothers who Protect the Mountain") (1953)
• Ojōsan shachō (お嬢さん社長, lit. "Madame Company President" – 1953)

• 

  (1953)

• 

  (1953)

• 

  (1953)

• (美空ひばりの春は唄から, lit. "Hibari Misora's Spring is from Song" – 1954)
• (ひよどり草紙 – 1954)
• The Dancing Girl of Izu (伊豆の踊子, Izu no odoriko – 1954), a film adaptation of Yasunari Kawabata's story The Dancing Girl of Izu
• (唄しぐれ　おしどり若衆 – 1954)
• (青春ロマンスシート　青空に坐す – 1954)
• (びっくり五十三次, lit. "Surprising 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō" – 1954)
• (八百屋お七　ふり袖月夜 – 1954)
• Wakaki hi wa kanashi (若き日は悲し – 1954)
• (歌ごよみ　お夏清十郎 – 1954)
• Shichihenge tanuki goten (七変化狸御殿, lit. "Quick Change Tanuki Palace" – 1954)

• 

  (1954)

• 

  (1954)

• 

  (1954)

• (大江戸千両囃子 – 1955)
• (娘船頭さん – 1955)
• (青春航路　海の若人 – 1955)
• (歌まつり満月狸合戦 – 1955)
• (ふり袖侠艶録 – 1955)
• Takekurabe (たけくらべ, Adolescence a.k.a. Growing Up Twice a.k.a. Growing Up a.k.a. Child's Play) (1955) – a film adaptation of Higuchi Ichiyō's novel Takekurabe
• So Young, So Bright (ジャンケン娘 Janken musume – 1955)
• (ふり袖小天狗 – 1955)
• (笛吹若武者 – 1955)
• (唄祭り　江戸っ子金さん捕物帖 – 1955)
• (力道山物語　怒濤の男 – 1955)
• (旗本退屈男　謎の決闘状 – 1955)
• (歌え！青春　はりきり娘 – 1955)

• 

  (1955)

• 

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• 

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• 

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• 

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• 

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• 

  (1955)

• (銭形平次捕物控　死美人風呂) (1956)
• (おしどり囃子) (1956)
• (恋すがた狐御殿 Koi sugata kitsune goten) (1956)
• Peach Boy (宝島遠征 Takarajima ensei) (1956)
• Romantic Daughters (ロマンス娘, Romansu musume, 1956)
• (ふり袖太平記) (1956)
• (ふり袖捕物帖　若衆変化) (1956)
• (鬼姫競艶録) (1956)
• (銭形平次捕物控　まだら蛇 ) (1957)
• (大江戸喧嘩纏) (1957)
• (旗本退屈男　謎の紅蓮搭) (1957)
• (ふり袖捕物帖　ちりめん駕籠) (1957)
• (ロマンス誕生 Romansu tanjō) (1957)
• (おしどり喧嘩笠 Oshidori kenkagasa) (1957)
• (怪談番町皿屋敷) (1957)
• On Wings of Love (大当り三色娘, Ōatari sanshoku musume) a.k.a. Big Hit Three Color Daughters (1957)
• (青い海原) (1957)
• (ふり袖太鼓) (1957)
• (ひばりの三役　競艶雪之丞変化) (1957)
• (ひばりの三役　競艶雪之丞変化　後篇) (1957)
• (娘十八御意見無用)
• (おしどり駕籠)
• The Badger Palace a.k.a. The Princess of Badger Palace (大当り狸御殿 ) (1958)
• (丹下左膳)
• (ひばり捕物帖　かんざし小判 ) (1958)
• (恋愛自由型) (1958)
• (花笠若衆) (1958)
• (女ざむらい只今参上 ) (1958)
• (おこんの初恋　花嫁七変化) (1958)
• (ひばりの花形探偵合戦) (1958)
• (希望の乙女) (1958)
• (隠密七生記) (1958)
• (ひばり捕物帖　自雷也小判 ) (1958)
• (娘の中の娘 ) (1958)
• (唄祭り　かんざし纏) (1958)
• 　(いろは若衆　ふり袖ざくら ) (1959)
• 　(忠臣蔵　桜花の巻　菊花の巻 ) (1959)
• (鞍馬天狗) (1959)
• (東京べらんめえ娘 ) (1959)
• (孔雀城の花嫁) (1959)
• (紅だすき喧嘩状 ) (1959)
• (お染久松 そよ風日傘) (1959)
• (水戸黄門 天下の副将軍) (1959)
• (江戸っ子判官とふり袖小僧) (1959)
• (血闘水滸伝 怒濤の対決) (1959)
• (いろは若衆 花駕籠峠 ) (1959)
• (べらんめえ探偵娘 ) (1959)
• (ひばり捕物帖 ふり袖小判) (1959)
• (べらんめえ芸者 ) (1959)

1960s – 1980s[]

• () (1960)
• (Tonosama – Yaji kita) (1960)
• () (1960)
• Sword of Destiny () (1960)
• (Hibari no mori no ishimatsu) (1960)
• () (1961)
• () (1961)
• () (1961)
• () (1962)
• (Hibari no Hahakoi Guitar) (1962)
• (Minyo no Tabi Akita Obako) (1963)
• () (1964)
• () (1966)
• (Gion matsuri) (1968) a.k.a. Gion Festival a.k.a. Kurobe's Sun a.k.a. The Day the Sun Rose

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Songs in films[]

Her songs also appeared in 5 Japanese films:^[29]

• Shichihenge tanuki goten (七変化狸御殿 – 1954)
• Janken musume (ジャンケン娘 – 1955)
• (天竜母恋い笠 – 1960)
• (魚河岸の女石松 – 1961)
• (花と龍 青雲篇 愛憎篇 怒濤篇 – 1973)

See also[]

• Best selling music artists

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Takenaka, Rō. Kanpon Misora Hibari. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō. ISBN 4-480-42088-6.

External links[]

• Official website
• Official museum website
• Hibari Misora at IMDb

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