Sakamoto Kyû (坂本 九) - Eng

As indicated in my article on Ue wo muite arukô (Sukiyaki), Sakamoto Kyu, its first singer gained an international fame and even became one of the most known Japanese, at least indirectly, of his too short era. Beyond this Japanese song, the best sold in the world, and many other Japanese standards some of them may sound familiar to you 😲, he was a very popular actor and animator, in particular a supporter of handicaped people. 

Sakamoto Kyû (坂本 九)

The King of J-Music

French version here.

1e publication : 16/09/2017

Dernière MaJ: 16/09/2017

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Yamaguchi Yoshiko (山口 淑子) aka Li Xianglan - Seven Great Singing Stars (Eng)

She may not be the official inspiration source of Satoshi Kon for one of his famous animation movies, yet here is an actress-singer-deputy whose life seems coming straight out from a book, turning from the darkness of the Chinese-Japanese war into the light of the fight for peoples' reconciliation: Yamaguchi Yoshiko (山口 淑子) aka Yamaguchi Shirley, aka Ri Kôran, aka Pan Shuhua, aka Li Xianglan... !!

Yamaguchi Yoshiko (Li Xianglan...)

Millenium Actress

Version française ici.

1st publication : 08/08/2017

Last updated: 07/05/2020

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Ue wo muite arukou (Sukiyaki) - 上を向いて歩こう (Eng)

Open wide your ears 👂, here comes the world best-seller Japanese song (lone n°1 in the USA, 13 millions sales worldwide) ! Its original name and the one of its first performer, Sakamoto Kyu, may seem unknown to you, but whatever your age may be, there is good chance you already heard it somehow. Its secret ? Traveling incognito with other names 😉...

Ue wo muite arukou (Sukiyaki) - 上を向いて歩こう

Undercover Empress

Version française ici.
1st French version: 30/09/2015.
1st English version: 17/10/2015.
Last update: 18/09/2017.

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Ye Lai Xiang - 夜来香 (Eng)

In counterpart to my article on Shinda onna no ko, I'm going to introduce a love song that could probably call the Japanese Lili Marleen due to its history which confounds with the one of the Chinese-Japanese war and due to the extraordinary destiny of her first performer with multiple aliases, Yamaguchi Yoshiko (山口 淑子) aka Li Xianglan...

Ye Lai Xiang - 夜来香

Lili and the Twilight Tuberose



Version française ici.
English version: 18/09/2015.
Last update: 08/08/2016.

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