was a Japanese female soprano

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...

and popular music (''

ryūkōka is a Japanese musical genre. The term originally denoted any kind of "popular music" in Japanese, and is the sinic reading of ''hayariuta'', used for commercial music of Edo Period. Therefore, ''imayō'', which was promoted by Emperor Go-Shirak ...

'') singer. She was dubbed the "Queen of Blues" in Japan.

Life and career

Awaya was born as in Aomori,

Aomori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the eas ...

, Japan. She was the oldest daughter of a wealthy merchant, whose business went bankrupt while his daughter was in her teenage years. In 1910, her family's home was destroyed in the Aomori City fire. In 1923 she, along with her mother and younger sister, went to Tokyo. There, she was admitted to the piano department of a music school. Later, her disposition towards singing was discovered and she was admitted to the vocal department. With the aim of becoming an opera singer, she made an extensive study of classical music. However, due to her family's poverty, she was forced to leave school for a year and worked as a nude model. Eventually, she returned to the music academy, and graduated top of her class in 1929. She became a classical singer. However, she soon began to sing popular songs because the salary of a classical music performer was very low. Her 1937 song became a hit. In 1938, she also released . In Taiwan, the song was later given the alternative title "Han Yu Qu" (寒雨曲). In 1939, she recorded the song as an insert song of the movie ''Tokyo no Josei'', in which

Setsuko Hara Setsuko (written: or in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, later of Japan *, actress *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese actress and model *Setsuko Klossowska de Rola (born 1942), Japane ...

played the main role. However, the song was banned by Japanese authorities. Awaya had a daughter outside marriage. In her old age, she criticized

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...

. She also criticized Hideki Saijo and

Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she is still actively releasing new singles and albums, doing annual summer concert tours, win ...

because Saijo enjoyed dancing and Matsuda sang songs without feeling. She said that songs without pain, distress and effort were frauds.

Kenichi Mikawa is a Japanese singer and TV personality, known for his outspoken views and style. Mikawa was born in Suwa, Nagano as . He recorded a number of hit songs as a male ''enka'' singer in the 1960s and 1970s. The most well-known of his songs include ...

respected her. In 1996, Awaya gave Mikawa her song "Rainy Blues" at her final live performance. She was elected an honorary citizen by her hometown Aomori City in 1998 and died in 1999. In 2007,

Hideaki Tokunaga is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter and actor. Although Tokunaga failed to pass the test of ''Star Tanjō!'' in 1982, he debuted as a recording singer in 1986. After he released hit songs such as " Yume o Shinjite" (the first ending theme of t ...

covered Awaya's song "Farewell Blues" at a concert. The use of the term 'blues' in some song titles is misleading; as the songs bear no resemblance to western blues. Instead, they referred to slow melancholic songs, known commonly in Japan as

kayōkyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. ''The Japan Times'' described ''kayōkyoku'' as "standard Japanese pop" or " Shōwa-era pop". ''Kayōkyoku'' represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music ...

Discography

Singles

* : 1929 * Love Parade : 1930 * Veny Ven : 1934 * Dona Marriquita : 1935 * Poema : 1935 * Barcelona : 1935 * Teresina : 1935 * Dardanella : 1936 * Morucha : 1936 * : 1936 * : 1937 * Madiana : 1937 * Amapola : 1937 * : 1938 * Rumba Tambah : 1938 * La Cumparsita : 1939 * La Seine : 1952 * My Shawl : 1952 * Romance : 1953 * Maria la O : 1959 * Adieu : 1959 * : 1960 * : 1982 * : 1993

Albums

* : 1971 * ''Noriko Awaya 50th Anniversary'' : 1978 album including song "Charmaine" * ''Last Song'' : 1982 * : 1988 * : 1993 * : 2000 – Triple-CD greatest-hits album set just after her death * : 2003 compilation * : 2004 compilation * : 2005 compilation * : 2007 compilation * ''Golden Best Noriko Awaya: Chanson Album'' : 2009 compilation * : 2010 compilation

''
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 ...
'' appearances

References