is a Japanese

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer. She grew up on the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest o ...

(in

Setouchi, Kagoshima is a town located primarily on Amami Ōshima, in Ōshima District, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. As of June 2013, the town had an estimated population of 9,379 and a population density of 39.1 persons per km². The total area was 239.91 km ...

) which are famous for spawning popular singers of

shima-uta is a genre of songs originating from the Amami Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture of southwestern Japan. It became known nationwide in the 2000s with the success of young pop singers from Amami Ōshima such as Hajime Chitose and Atari Kōsuke. Nam ...

, Amami's traditional music genre. Her father influenced her early music strongly during her upbringing. Her musical style sometimes resembles the style of

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

. Her most famous albums are ''Utabautayun'' with traditional Amami songs and lyrics, and ''Minya'', with Akira Takahashi accompanying her on the piano. She lived for ten years in Yokohama and served from 1984 in the

National Theatre of Japan The is a complex consisting of three halls in two buildings in Hayabusachō, a district in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Arts Council, an Independent Administrative Institution of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Tec ...

. In 1990 she gave concerts in the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, in New York, Los Angeles, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Ikue Asazaki participates every year at the Ryukyu Festival in

Hibiya is a colloquial name for a neighborhood of Chiyoda Ward in Tokyo. The area along Hibiya Street ( National Route 1) from Yūrakuchō to Uchisaiwaichō is generally considered Hibiya district. Administratively, it is part of the Yūrakuchō dist ...

. In 2007 she gave a concert in the

Ikegami Honmonji is a temple of the Nichiren Shū south of Tokyo, erected where Nichiren is said to have died. Also Nichiren's disciple Nikkō spent the rest of his life at this temple. The temple grounds also include Nichiren Shū's administrative headqu ...

temple. She currently lives in Tokyo and her first best of album was released under

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

in 2008. Obokuri-Eeumi, the opening track of the ''Utabautayun'' album, was used in episode 14 of the ''

Samurai Champloo is a 2004 Japanese historical adventure anime television series. The debut television production of studio Manglobe, the 26-episode series aired from May 2004 to March 2005. It was first partially broadcast on Fuji TV, then had a complete ai ...

'' anime series.

Discography

Major Labels

* Utabautayun (2002) * Uta Ashiibi (Uta Asobi) (2003) * Obokuri (2005)

Independent Labels

* Amami (1997) * うたじま「詩島」(2002) * Shimayumuta (2006) * Hamasaki (2007)

References

External links

* (in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Asazaki, Ikue Japanese women singers 1935 births Living people Musicians from Kagoshima Prefecture People from the Amami Islands Japanese folk singers