Aki Yashiro

Who is Aki Yashiro?

Aki Yashiro, real name Akiyo Masuda on 29 August, 1950 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese enka singer and painter. Her stage name "Yashiro" is adopted from her hometown, "Yatsushiro".

Yashiro originally sang jazz standards in hostess clubs, but made her debut as an enka singer in 1971, with the single "Ai wa Shindemo", under the label of Teichiku Records. Seeing the single's lack of success, she appeared on the YTV's Zen Nihon Kayō Senshuken audition, winning it for 10 consecutive weeks. In 1973, her single and album "Namida Koi" sold up up to 1.2 million copies. Since then, her songs like "Shinobigoi", "Ai Hitosuji", "Onna no Yume", "Mō Ichidō Aitai", "Onna Minatomachi", and "Ai no Shūchakueki" also became great hits at the time, in which the songs portrayed a woman's emotion. In 1979, her single "Funauta" also made a great hit, followed by "Ame no Bojō" in 1980. "Ame no Bojō" won the 22nd Japan Record Award of the year. She continued collaborating with Teichiku until 1981, before turning to Century Records, where she released singles like "Umineko", "Nihonkai", and "Koisegawa", until 1986. Currently, she is recording under the Nippon Columbia label since 1986.