Birth name Yoshie Kato Role Singer Occupation(s) Singer Genres Ryukoka | Years active 1936–2003 Record label Nippon Columbia Name Akiko Futaba | |
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Born February 2, 1915
Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan ( 1915-02-02 ) Labels Columbia Music Entertainment Died August 16, 2011, Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan Similar People 霧島昇, Ichiro Fujiyama, 伊藤久男 | ||
Akiko Futaba 二葉 あき子 Columbia / Nipponophone Japanese 78
Akiko Futaba (二葉 あき子, Futaba Akiko, born Yoshie Kato (加藤 芳江); February 2, 1915 – August 16, 2011) was a Japanese popular music (ryūkōka) singer. At of the end of World War II, she was one of the most popular female singers in Japan, competing with Hamako Watanabe and Noriko Awaya. In addition, she took part in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen, one of Japan's most famous annual musical television shows, ten times.
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Biography
She was born in the city of Hiroshima, and raised in Miyoshi city, Hiroshima Prefecture. She graduated from the Tokyo Music School. Impressed by Takeo Masunaga (also known as Ichiro Fujiyama) at a performance held by the music school, she debuted in 1936. Her famous song "Furuki Hanazono" (古き花園, lit. "Old Flower Garden") was released in 1939. On August 6, 1945, she narrowly avoided the atomic bombing of Hiroshima because she was riding a train traveling through a tunnel at the time of the explosion.
She ceased activity as a singer in 2003, and retired in Hiroshima Prefecture. She died in Hiroshima on 16 August 2011.