was a Japanese ball-jointed doll maker, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She became recognized in Japan for her doll work. Worldwide, Shizuka is best known for having been the founder and front woman of the rock band Shizuka.

Biography

Shizuka Miura initiated in the art of dollmaking under the influence and mentorship of master dollmaker . Shizuka became recognized in Japan notably for her gothic ball-jointed dolls. In circa 1992, Shizuka started her musical career by adapting her poetry into music. Initially, she rented venues and performed by herself. Shizuka soon formed an eponymous band with musicians from the Tokyo psychedelic underground scene. With the group, she worked on the release of a studio album, three live albums, and two video albums. Shizuka also performed in many live shows in Japan, two tours in the United States, and a festival in Scotland. Shizuka died on circa 31 January 2010. Her cause of death was suicide. Mason Jones wrote that "it may have been due to medication", but it remains publicly unknown. On 25 April, a DVD-video album was released by PSF Records as a tribute to Shizuka containing one of the last live performances by her group recorded at the ShowBoat live venue in Tokyo on 30 December 2008.

Artistry

Dollmaking

Shizuka made modern ball-jointed dolls. Her dolls have been described as "haunted, ethereal-looking", "stunning", "sickly-looking", "beautiful and spooky".

Musical influences

Shizuka was prompted to compose music after seeing Maki Miura adapting a poems of hers to music. When asked about her favorite band, Shizuka mentioned Les Rallizes Dénudés in regards to the Japanese psychedelic scene.

Musical styles and voice

Shizuka's music, together with her band, spanned psychedelic,

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 Fo ...

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

acid rock Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, d ...

, and

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

. Musical instruments she played included guitar, and bells. Shizuka possessed distinctive vocals: chanted, slow, plaintive, and tremulous, often connoting

sadness Sadness is an emotional pain associated with, or characterized by, feelings of disadvantage, loss, despair, grief, helplessness, disappointment and sorrow. An individual experiencing sadness may become quiet or lethargic, and withdraw them ...

and a "gothic atmosphere". Her vocals were imperfect and sometimes tuneless, but these aspects added an emotional edge as part of the band's style.

Songwriting

Shizuka's band usual creative process started by listening to Shizuka singing lyrics, jam together, and only then arrange the song. She attributed the slow tempo in most of her music to she writing them at her natural pace, and not to a deliberate endeavor. She also said that she presented her inspirations, which in turn came from her personal experiences, in music. She wrote the song based on her experience of having stomach cancer in the late 1980s while she also had a child who was one and a half years old, and often performed this piece with her band because she considered it important to her.

Personal life

Shizuka was married to Japanese guitarist Maki Miura. She had a child in the late 1980s, and also had stomach cancer around that time.

Discography

Notes

References

External links

Shizuka (band)
at Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Miura, Shizuka Dollmakers 20th-century Japanese artists 20th-century Japanese musicians 20th-century Japanese women artists 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese artists 21st-century Japanese musicians 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women artists Japanese folk singers Japanese rock guitarists Japanese rock musicians Japanese women artists Japanese women rock singers Japanese women singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Artists from Tokyo Singers from Tokyo P.S.F. Records artists 2010 deaths 2010 suicides Artists who died by suicide Year of birth unknown Suicides in Tokyo