was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

singer. Her nickname was Mico (also spelled ''Miko''). Hirota was born in

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. She grew up listening to pop and jazz in places like

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 households, and a populat ...

, which was frequented by

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troops. She made her debut in 1961 at age 14. In 1965, Mico became the first Japanese singer to sing the song " Sunny" on album and the first to appear at the

Newport Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hire ...

. Mico appeared on the

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

New Year's Eve ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'' eight times. Her first performance was in 1962, when she sang the

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

tune "Vacation." NHK tapped her for the next four years in succession, and again in 1969, 1970, and 1971. She sang the theme song, "Leo no Uta", for the animated television series ''

Kimba the White Lion ''Kimba the White Lion'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese '' shōnen'' manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka which was serialized in the ''Manga Shōnen'' magazine from November 1950 to April 1954. An anime based on ...

''. Hirota's commercial career included endorsements for

Nescafé Nescafé is a brand of coffee made by Nestlé. It comes in many different forms. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Nestlé" and "café". Nestlé first introduced their flagship coffee brand in Switzerland on 1 April 1938. History Nestl� ...

Nippon Oil , formerly , or NOC or ''Shin-Nisseki'' (新日石) is a Japanese petroleum company. Its businesses include exploration, importation, and refining of crude oil; the manufacture and sale of petroleum products, including fuels and lubricants; and ...

Daikin Industries is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational air conditioner, air conditioning manufacturing company headquartered in Osaka. It has operations in Japan, China, Australia, the United States, India, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle Eas ...

, Fujiya, Renown, and Sapporo Beer. Hirota died on July 21, 2020 at the age of 73 following a fall. She became one of eight recipients of the Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the

62nd Japan Record Awards The was held on 30 December 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Best Album Award, Songwriting Award, Composition Award, Merit Award, and Planning Award were not presented. Presenters * Riho Yoshioka * Shinichiro Azumi (TBS Announcer) W ...

Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances

Sources

This article incorporates material from 弘田三枝子 (''Hirota Mieko'') in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on February 10, 2008.

External links

TEZUKA OSAMU @ WORLD : ANIME STATION
ジャングル大帝 site
Official blog
1947 births Japanese women singers Musicians from Setagaya 2020 deaths Japanese women jazz singers {{Japan-singer-stub Deaths from falls