is a pop singer famous in her native Japan for her piano ballads. She rose to fame after performing the end-title track for the Madhouse film ''

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a science fiction novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui. Originally serialized from 1965 to 1966, it tells the story of a high-school girl who accidentally acquires the ability to Time travel in fiction, time travel, which leads to a time loop where sh ...

'' in 2006. She was signed to a major record label the preceding year.

Biography

Oku's musical training began at age 5 with piano lessons, but by age 9 she was also learning the trumpet and was a member of her school's brass band. In 2004, Oku began to perform on the streets of Tokyo, mainly in

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

ward, but once sold 402 CDs in four hours outside Kashiwa railway station. Later that same year she released her first mainstream single ''Fireworks'' and performed her debut one-woman show to an audience of 135. Approached by

Chiba TV , doing business as , is a Japanese commercial terrestrial television broadcasting company headquartered at 11-25 Miyako-chō 1-chōme, Chūō-ku, Chiba serving Chiba Prefecture but spill-over is received in the neighbouring prefectures. It is a mem ...

, she made an appearance on the show ''Chiba Fighting Spirit''. Over the next year she toured western Japan and self-produced two more CD singles before releasing an album in April 2005. Soon afterwards she was signed up by record company

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

. In April 2006, the animated film ''The Girl Who Leapt Through Time'' was released, with the theme songs "Garnet" and "Kawaranai Mono" sung by Oku. Come spring 2007, Oku performed to a sell-out crowd at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall, and with the release of her album ''Time Note'', she once again performed sold-out concerts there over three nights in July 2007. Oku still occasionally busked in Tokyo railway stations in 2007, drawing a crowd, and selling her CDs there. Since June 2005, Hanako Oku has hosted her ''KameKameHouse'' radio show on bayfm78 every Sunday night from 22:30 to 23:00. At the end of 2009, the show was renamed ''Lagan de Talk!''. In 2010, Oku began hosting a new radio show ''E-Tracks Selection'' once a fortnight on

FM OSAKA is an FM radio station in Osaka, Japan. The station is an affiliate of Japan FM Network (JFN). FM Osaka started broadcasting on April 1, 1970. It was the second commercial FM radio station to launch in Japan after FM Aichi. During its early ...

. Starting January 12, the show airs from 21:00 to 21:30. An animated music clip of the album version of Oku's song "Kimi no Egao" was released, through Pony Canyon's official YouTube channel, on May 7, 2017. Directed by Takuya Satō and titled ''Your Light: Kase-san and Morning Glories'', the video is an adaptation of Hiromi Takashima's

yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

'' Asagao to Kase-san''. The album version of the song comes from Oku's sixth album, titled ''Good-Bye'', released in 2012.

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVD

Blu-ray

References

External links

* (In Japanese)
Hanako Oku's profile on Pony Canyon's website
(In Japanese)
Hanako Oku's personal blog (24 February 2010 to present)
(In Japanese)
Hanako Oku's personal blog (21 January 2008 to 24 February 2010)
(In Japanese)
Hanako Oku's personal blog (4 October 2004 to 22 January 2008)
(In Japanese)
''KameKameHouse'' radio show blog
(In Japanese)
''Your Light ～Kase-san and Morning Glories～''
on Pony Canyon's YouTube channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Oku, Hanako Japanese women singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Japanese women pop singers 1978 births People from Funabashi Living people Pony Canyon artists Musicians from Chiba Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers