Haru Kobayashi

Who was Haru Kobayashi?

Haru Kobayashi was a Japanese female musician, singing goze songs accompanied by a shamisen. Kabashi was blind and had been since the age of 3 months. She started goze training at age 5 and started her career at age 8. She continued until 1978 and traveled throughout most of Niigata Prefecture as well as through parts of the Yamagata and the Fukushima Prefectures. In 1978, she was named as one of the Living National Treasure of Japan, as a key figure of the traditional goze art form. In 1979, she was awarded the Medal of Honor with Yellow Ribbon.