Iruka

Overview

Iruka (born Toshie Kanbe, née Hosaka) is a Japanese folk singer and picture-book author, born on December 3, 1950 in Nakano, Tokyo. Signed with Iruka Office, she is best known for her huge hit cover of "Nagori Yuki," written by Shozo Ise. Beyond music, she has worked as an illustrator and author, served as a goodwill ambassador for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and taught as a visiting professor at her alma mater.

Career

Early life

She graduated from Yato Elementary School, Tokyo Bunka Junior High and High School, and the Joshibi University of Art and Design junior college. In elementary school she played the glockenspiel in the school's marching band; her classmates included the composer and arranger Motoki Funayama. Her stage name, which means "dolphin," came about at Joshibi's folk song club, when she remarked that everyone carrying guitar cases home looked like a pod of dolphins, and the nickname stuck.

1970s: debut and hits

She debuted in 1971 as a member of the group Shrieks. In 1972 she married fellow member Kazuo Kanbe, who stepped back from performing after her solo debut to become her producer and manager. In 1973, during her Shrieks days, she sang the Shiseido commercial song "Natsu wa Iroiro." She made her solo debut in 1974 with "Ano Koro no Boku wa" and hosted the radio show "Iruka's All Night Nippon" on Nippon Broadcasting System from 1974 to 1975.

Between 1975 and 1976 her cover of "Nagori Yuki," written by Shozo Ise of Kaguyahime, became a major hit. Further hits followed, including "Ame no Monogatari" (1977) and "Kaigandori" (1979), another cover of a Shozo Ise song. In 1978 she sang and appeared in the Meiji Dairies "Queen Cup" commercial with "Gekka Bijin no Saku Yoru ni." From 1977 to 1980 she published the four-volume picture book series "Chiisana Sora." She took a break from performing from mid-1978 to early 1979 for the birth of her son, Toma Kanbe.

1980s to 2000s

In 1980 she sang "Maarui Inochi" for Sumitomo Life Insurance; the song returned for the company's commercials in 2006, and a choral version was released in 2007. She appeared on NHK's "Minna no Uta" four times: "Yumemiru Power" (1981, written, composed and arranged by herself), "Chanto Kao ni Kaite Aru" (1987), "Ringo no Ki no Shita de" (1999–2000, a duet with Kosetsu Minami), and "Itsuka Miru Niji: Moldau kara" (2008). In 1983 she appeared in the TBS drama "Osaraba-zaka ni Hi ga Noboru" and provided the original story and music for the animated works "Jeremy's Tree" and "Noel's Mysterious Adventure." In 1989 she sang "Hikaru Green City" for the 100th anniversary of Kumamoto City; it was re-recorded as a prayer for recovery after the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake and included on the album "Wakusei Nisshi: Ima, Tsutaetai Koto." She published the book "Koko wa Watashi no Gakko" in 2003. From 2004 she served as a goodwill ambassador for the IUCN and contributed its theme song, "We Love You Planet!" That year she also acted in the film "Chilsung Summer" as Teacher Shimizu and performed its theme song. In 2007 a CD book of interviews and the picture book "Mafuyu no Tenshi" were published.

2010s onward

In 2010 she became a visiting professor at Joshibi University of Art and Design. She released the single "We Love You Planet!" in July 2014 and has continued her "Iruka Archive" reissue series (Vols. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) from 2016 to 2024. The 2017 album "Wakusei Nisshi: Ima, Tsutaetai Koto" was followed by an appearance at the 2nd Momoiro Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve 2018. She released "Iruka Best" and "Genseki Jidai" in 2020, "Atashi datte Love Song!" in 2021, and "Uta no Kodomo" in 2022. In 2025 she put out the singles "Ai no Tane Makou!" (September) and "Tenkakeru JOSHIBI-chan (Dance Version)" (October), and in March 2026 the single "8-bun Onpu no Uta." On October 17, 2025, she performed at J:COM Hall Hachioji in "Pre-55th Anniversary! Iruka with Friends vol.19." A film, tentatively titled "Iruka ga Semete Kita zo," is planned for the end of 2026.

Personal life

Her father, Toshio Hosaka (1928–2025), was the star tenor saxophonist of the jazz band Star Dusters and conducted Hibari & SKY, Hibari Misora's backing band. Through that connection Iruka befriended Hibari and released the single "Yume Hitori," setting Hibari's poem to music. Her father died on October 21, 2025, at age 97, four days after performing on stage with Iruka and her grandson Toma Kanbe for the last time. Her husband Kazuo Kanbe developed Parkinson's disease in 1986 and died of acute renal failure on March 21, 2007, aged 59. Her only son, Toma Kanbe, is also a singer-songwriter.

Takuro Yoshida, a "big brother" figure from her struggling days on the regional circuit, advised that she should compete with serious songs, which strongly shaped her solo career. She has publicly stated that she has been vegetarian (vegan) since 1972, and plays a 1973 Martin D-35 guitar. Her voice is strikingly similar to that of TARAKO, the voice of Momoko Sakura in "Chibi Maruko-chan," and the two sang chorus together on that anime's ending theme.

Musical style

Rooted in folk, Iruka is a singer-songwriter who writes and performs her own material, with kayokyoku and enka-tinged touches in her J-pop. Her warm, clear voice and acoustic-guitar-centered, lyrical songs are hallmarks, as are works themed around nature conservation and life, and a fairy-tale worldview linked to her picture books and animation projects.