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A Buddhist ceremony commemorating the death of one of Japan's most beloved entertainers, Hibari Misora, was held in Tokyo this week at the Imperial Hotel, where she performed her final dinner show. Some 620 relatives and acquaintances attended the ceremony.
Her eldest son Kazuya Kato, 39, who is the president of Hibari Production, a company that continues to serve her fans, announced that a luxury box set of Misora's songs, featuring 1,001 songs on 58 CDs will go on sale for 120,000 yen on Aug 3. He also announced plans to hold a music festival in his mother's memory.
Misora died in a Tokyo hospital in 1989 at the age of 52 after contracting pneumonia. Her death was mourned by millions of people across Japan. From the year following her death, television and radio stations began to play her song "Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni" annually on her birthday to show respect. In 1997, an NHK poll showed that over 10 million people believed it to be the greatest Japanese song of all time.
The altar at the ceremony was adorned with the image of a phoenix to represent her continued popularity and success even after death. After Misora passed away, demand for her albums grew significantly. During her lifetime, she recorded some 1,200 songs. By the year 2001, Misora had sold 80 million records. It wasn't until after her death that she was awarded the People's Honor Award for her notable contributions to music. She became the first woman to win the accolade.
© Compiled from news reports
13 Comments
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WildWill
@ asianTourist...yes that's one big set...amazing that there are so many songs yet to my knowledge no definitive biography in English of this mega-star...
TorafusuTorasan
A paltry 1001 songs? I think Indian film soundtrack singer Ashe Bosle has that beat by a large margin.
At least they didn't release it on 500 of those dreaded mini-discs that were popular for a year or two in the nineties. Those things have the flimsiest packaging.
Bartholomew Harte
I think of Misora Hibari as the "Judy Garland "of Japan! Always singing from the Heart as well as life experiences An All Time Great! !
nath
It would be interesting to know how many of these sell. It might be a larger number than you might think.
WildWill
Judy Garland?! I have seen her described as Japan's Shirley Temple, especially when she was a child talent. I suspect that like many Japanese pop stars she was a manufactured artist one that represented Shôwa Japan. In this respect she reminds me of Carmen Miranda as a stereotyped puppet of the Americans...a case of Latin-ism eprhaps? I was speaking with a Japanese colleague and she suggested that when she was growing up in the 1970s in Japan she was expected to be a Hibari fan since everyone else was...but she was being influenced by American soft power amongst others musical influences...
Bartholomew Harte
There are many things in common ,both began their careers as children and both singers were used & abused by many people including in their careers and sadly both were gone before their time.
nath
Not to denigrate Carmen Miranda's considerable accomplishments, but somehow, I don't think she ever sold 80 million albums, or filled a 70,000 seat venue for a triumphant 40-song concert when she was almost literally on her last legs, or inspired an entire generation. There may have been an element of manufactured artifice in Misora Hibari's persona as a performer (much of it created at her own direction), but her artistry as a singer across multiple genres takes her well beyond the realm of the "pop singer" label.
LoveNot
I genuinly love two Japanese singers, ones is Hibari Misora, the other one is Hirai Ken. Hibari Misora is the Japanese Edith Piaff.
Ninoh
God bless her soul.
asianTourist
1001 songs in 58 CDs set is one of the world's music records.
asianTourist
Only foreign markets need English version, but her son only focuses on Japanese audiences - 127 millions of consumers. Many producers in Japan, only care Japanese customers so that their products and services are exclusively developed and produced for Japanese customers. Depending on Positive responses, the result is expected.
techall
i have always had trouble listening through a double album before ------58 CD and 1001 songs-----sounds like some sort of capital punishment!
asianTourist
Most of singers in old generations composed many songs compared to new generation singers. High-tech living environment has changed people's minds, but 58 CDs containing 1001 songs quite a long marathon list. Some CD player holding up to 100 CDs.