, professionally known as , is a Japanese

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. Born in

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

, Japan, she began to sing traditional Japanese music when she was four years old. Later, at the age of 15, Rikki was the youngest winner ever to win the "Grand Prix" of the Japanese traditional folk music awards (known as All Japan Minyo awards). She first performed in Tokyo, Japan, at the prestigious Festival Konda Lota in 1992. She released her first single "Maten no Hoshi" (which means 'Sky Full of Stars') in December 1993, originally released in the Kyūshū region of Japan. Shortly thereafter, she produced her debut album, . In 1998, Rikki was chosen to participate at the opening ceremony of the 1998

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

, Japan, to sing the Paralympics theme song "". Rikki sang the '' Final Fantasy X'' main theme, " Suteki da ne", released as a single on July 18, 2001. The single also included an instrumental version of "", "Pure Heart" (a vocal arrangement of Aeris' Theme from '' Final Fantasy VII''), and a new song entitled "" (which means 'The Moon'). In 2001, she produced a picture album alongside

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...

for the motion picture ''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...

'' (directed by

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

). In 2006, Rikki joined the band

Sound Horizon Sound Horizon is a Japanese symphonic rock musical group with composer () as the leader and only permanent member. They describe themselves as a "fantasy band" and have released works that closely resemble classical suites. Their songs often r ...

for the release of ''5th Story CD: Roman''. She was involved in Sound Horizon's releases until 2008, when she gave birth to twins and returned to Amami Ōshima, as she said in her blog. She returned to Sound Horizon in 2009 for their Triumph III live tour. She also returned to Sound Horizon in 2015 for their newest album to date, ''9th Story Nein''.

Discography

Albums

* (21 May 1993) – re-released on 21 August 2002 * (16 December 1993) * (24 August 1994) * (16 December 1995) * ''Miss You Amami'' (15 November 1998) – re-released in the UK on 15 June 2004 * (3 October 2001) * (21 August 2002) * (25 September 2002) * (19 January 2005)

Singles

* "" (1 December 1993) * "" (1 May 1994) * " Suteki da ne" – featured in ''Final Fantasy X'' (18 July 2001), re-released by Square Enix on 22 July 2004 * "" (19 March 2003)

References

External links

Rikki Official Website
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rikki 1975 births Japanese folk singers Living people Musicians from Kagoshima Prefecture Video game musicians 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers People from the Amami Islands