Sayuri Ishikawa

Overview

Sayuri Ishikawa (石川さゆり, born January 30, 1958 in Kumamoto Prefecture) is a Japanese enka singer and actress. Her real name is Kinuyo Ishikawa, and she records for Teichiku Entertainment. She debuted in 1973 with "Kakurenbo" and rose to national fame in 1977 with "Tsugaru Kaikyō Fuyugeshiki." With a career spanning five decades, she is one of the most recognized and successful enka singers in history. She holds the record for the most NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances by a female artist, and received the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts (2018) and the Medal with Purple Ribbon (2019).

Career

Early life and debut

Inspired by a Chiyoko Shimakura show she saw as a first-grader, Ishikawa resolved to become a singer. After moving to Yokohama she took singing lessons, paying for them with a milk-delivery job. In the summer of 1972, at age 14, she entered a Fuji TV children's singing contest in place of a friend, passed, and was scouted by Horipro. That autumn she appeared in the TV drama Hikaru Umi as Masaya Oki's younger sister; her stage name "Sayuri" was given by the show's producer, Taro Okada.

She debuted on March 25, 1973 on Nippon Columbia with "Kakurenbo," marketed as an idol under the tagline "Columbia Princess." Overshadowed by the contemporaneous "Hana no Chūsan Trio" (Masako Mori, Momoe Yamaguchi, Junko Sakurada), she did not initially break through. She became a pupil of Yuriko Futaba to relearn singing from the ground up, and also trained in folk song and Japanese dance. Futaba's rōkyoku (naniwabushi) tradition left a lasting influence on her art.

Breakthrough and peak

In 1977, "Tsugaru Kaikyō Fuyugeshiki," released as a single from the 1976 album 365-nichi Koi Moyō, became a massive hit. It earned the Vocal Award at the 19th Japan Record Awards and the Grand Prix at the FNS Music Festival, and brought her first appearance on the 28th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. "Noto Hantō," "Danryū" and "Jinchōge" followed as hits.

The 1980s brought "Hatoba Shigure" (1985, Best Vocal Award at the 27th Japan Record Awards), "Amagi-goe" (1986, Gold Prize), "Meoto Zenzai" (1987, Gold Prize), "Taki no Shiraito" (1988) and "Kaze no Bon Koiuta" (1989, Best Vocal Award). "Amagi-goe" in particular is widely credited with cementing her status as a top-tier enka star. Other notable songs include "Hi no Kuni e" (1978), "Kizudarake no Koi" (1979), "Kamome to Iu Na no Sakaba" (1980), "Tokyo Meguri-ai" (1984), "Echizen Takemai" and "Minatouta" (1991), and "Korogaru Ishi" (2002). Her labels were Nippon Columbia (1973–1993), Pony Canyon (1993–1999) and Teichiku Entertainment (2000 onward).

Personal life and independence

She married her former manager Kenji Baba in 1981, gave birth to their daughter Saori in February 1984, and divorced in February 1989. From 1989 she ventured into the karaoke-box business, but withdrew after the bubble economy collapsed; a lawsuit over loan guarantees was ultimately settled with roughly 1 billion yen in compensation. In 1997 she left Horipro, her agency since debut, and founded her own office, Big One Corporation.

2000s to the present

Since 2007 she has alternated "Tsugaru Kaikyō Fuyugeshiki" and "Amagi-goe" on the Kōhaku stage in alternating years. In 2008, Major League baseball player Ichiro Suzuki chose "Amagi-goe" as his walk-up song, and Ishikawa re-recorded it with Marty Friedman for him. In 2010 she released a rare non-enka single, "Baby Baby," a duet with rock singer Tamio Okuda. Since 2012 she has pursued the X-Cross collaboration album series with artists of various genres and generations. In 2015 she recorded "Chanto Iwanakya Aisanai," the ending theme of Lupin the 3rd Part IV, and received the Japan Composer's Association Encouragement Award at the 57th Japan Record Awards. In July 2017 she performed, with Yūzō Kayama and Takehara Pistol, a new version of "Tokyo Gorin Ondo" with updated lyrics for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics countdown.

In November 2013 she delivered the eulogy on behalf of younger singers at Chiyoko Shimakura's funeral. She received the Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts in March 2018, and in May 2019 it was announced that she would receive the Medal with Purple Ribbon. After the January 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, she became a Special Ambassador for Reconstruction Support for Noto Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, in December 2024, owing to her long ties to the region since "Noto Hantō."

Recent releases

Her recent output includes the KREVA collaboration "Stoton Bushi" (January 2020), the album Iki (February 2020), "Shiawase ni Naritai ne" (March 2020), "Nadeshiko de Sōrō / Izuko e" and "Hitori Zake" (2021), "Zansetsu" and "Niji ga Mieru deshō" (2022) along with the album X -Cross IV- (May 2022), "Yakusoku no Tsuki" (2023), "Ai Sareru Tame ni Kimi wa Umareta" with KREVA and Seiji Kameda (May 2023), "Echigo Goze," "Damedan Kazoeuta," "Azuki ni Shio Kaketara?!" (2023), "Tokoshie no Tabi" (June 2024), and "Iyasaka Yassai / Wata no Hana" (March 2025). In 2025 she also appeared on NHK's tiny desk concerts JAPAN with fox capture plan.

NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen

Ishikawa first appeared in 1977, four years after her debut. She sat out the 34th edition in 1983 while heavily pregnant, but still took the stage as a special guest cheering on the red team. She holds the record for the most appearances by a female artist; at the 73rd edition she became the first red-team singer to reach 45 appearances. Her number of times closing the red team's show ranks second only to Hibari Misora's 13.

Acting

Her film credits include Toshigoro (1973), Izu no Odoriko (1974, as Okimi) and Truck Yarō: Furusato Tokkyūbin (1979). On television she appeared in Ōkūkō (1979–1980) and in NHK's taiga dramas Kōmyō ga Tsuji (2006, as Setsu) and Kirin ga Kuru (2020, as Maki). She played the bar owner "Mama" in Wim Wenders' Perfect Days (2023), which won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In January 2024 she also appeared on stage in Love Letters.

Musical style

Rooted in enka and kayōkyoku, Ishikawa's singing is shaped by the rōkyoku tradition she absorbed from Yuriko Futaba and by her training in folk song and Japanese dance. She has released more than 100 albums (including compilations) and over 120 singles, a few of them rock or jazz rather than enka. Contributors such as Sheena Ringo and Naotaro Moriyama have written songs for her, and the X-Cross series continues her cross-genre collaborations. Her circle also extends to other creators: manga artist Hirohiko Araki painted the cover of the album X -Cross-.