並木路子

Michiko Namiki (September 30, 1921 – April 7, 2001) was a Japanese singer. Her real name was Tsuneko Nango, maiden name Kobayashi. She was born in Asakusa, Tokyo Prefecture, and lived in Taiwan until she was 5 years old. As a leading actress in the Shochiku Opera Company, she was active from before the war, through the war, and into the postwar period. Her song "Ringo no Uta" (Apple Song), which she sang as the theme song and insert song for the Shochiku film "Soyokaze" (Gentle Breeze), in which she starred during the chaotic postwar period, became a massive hit, and she is considered one of Japan's leading singers. "Ringo no Uta" has become a song that will remain not only in the history of popular music but also in the history of Japan. Her stage name is derived from Miss Columbia's song "Ame no Namiki" (Rain on the Tree-lined Street), with the character for "road" (路) from the lyrics "On the tree-lined road..." being combined with the character for "child" (子). Her stage debut was on July 3, 1937 (Showa 12), in the operetta "Green Album" at the Kokusai Theatre. Her record debut was in January 1942 (Showa 17) with Columbia Records, with the song "Sekai Tonarigumi" (World Neighborhood Association). She sang many songs with the Shochiku Opera Company, and "Sekai Tonarigumi" was one of them. It was recorded at the Columbia Records studio and released. She lost her mother in the Tokyo air raids on March 9th and 10th, 1945. She herself suffered damage to her left eye, which left her with lasting effects. In addition, her second eldest brother and father also died in the war when the ship they were on was sunk by an American submarine. Furthermore, her first love, Shiro Ueda, a student at Rikkyo University, also died in a suicide attack mission as part of the student mobilization. It is often written that she lost all her relatives in the war, but this is incorrect. Her older sister and eldest brother, who were already married at the time (although they were out of contact at the time of the Tokyo air raids and returned home some time after the war), were safe. In 1936 (Showa 11), she enrolled in the Shochiku Girls' Opera School as a fourth-generation student. Her classmates included Yuri Akebono, Saeko Kozuki, Haruko Kato, Akiko Tsukishiro (later wife of Hanshiro Iwai), and Terumi Wakazono (Yoko Yaguchi, later wife of Akira Kurosawa). In 1937 (Showa 12), she made her stage debut in the operetta "Green Album" at the inaugural performance of the Asakusa International Theatre, "The 8th Tokyo Dance Festival." In 1945 (Showa 20), she made her film debut as the lead in the Shochiku film "Soyokaze" (Gentle Breeze). The theme song and insert song she sang in the film, "Ringo no Uta" (Apple Song), became a massive hit. On December 31st, she performed "Ringo no Uta" on NHK's "Kohaku Ongaku Shiai" (Red and White Music Competition). (This was the predecessor to the "NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen" (NHK Red and White Song Contest). Namiki never appeared on the later "NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.") In 1946 (Showa 21), she left the Shochiku Opera Company (SKD). In 1955 (Showa 30), she married Hayato Nango, a publicity producer at Toho. In 1961 (Showa 36), she gave birth to her eldest son. "Ringo no Uta" (Apple Song) was the theme song for the Shochiku film "Soyokaze" (Gentle Breeze), in which Namiki, who was cast in the lead role, appeared while still a member of the Shochiku Opera Company and sang the song in the film. The original record version of "Ringo no Uta" is a duet with Noboru Kirishima because Kirishima, who happened to be at the studio, thought "this song will definitely be a hit" and asked the staff to make it a duet, and also because she was a newcomer. In exchange, the B-side track, "Soyokaze," was changed from a solo by Kirishima to a duet with Namiki. Kirishima, who had many hit songs before and after the war, rarely sang this song on television or on stage. For this reason, the fact that "Ringo no Uta" was a duet with Kirishima became less known later on, partly because Namiki's solo version is the most widely circulated. Incidentally, "Soyokaze" on the B-side was a favorite of Kirishima, and he re-recorded it several times in stereo in later years. In 1995, when she visited Nagata Ward in Kobe, the area most severely affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, newspapers at the time reported with the headline, "The 'Ringo no Uta' (Apple Song) played again amidst the ruins." Coincidentally, this was the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. That same year, a cover single of "Ringo no Uta" by Satoko Yamano (under the name Tomoko Yamano) was released (they later performed a duet of the song on stage). In 1999 (Heisei 11), she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class. After the death of Nango, her health began to decline. On April 7, 2001 (Heisei 13), she died suddenly of a myocardial infarction while bathing at home. She was 79 years old. Her grave is at Kegonji Temple in Honjo, Sumida Ward. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.