Japanese Singer, Actor Akihiro Miwa Dies at 91

Tokyo, June 28 (Jiji Press)–Japanese singer Akihiro Miwa, known for “Yoitomake no Uta” and other songs, died of old age on June 20, his talent agency said on its website Sunday. He was 91. Miwa, whose real name was Akihiro Maruyama, also worked as an actor. Born in the southwestern Japan city of Nagasaki, Miwa was exposed to radiation from a U.S. atomic bomb dropped on the city on Aug. 9, 1945, in the closing days of World War II. He moved to Tokyo and entered Kunitachi College of Music Senior High School. After dropping out of the school, Miwa started professional activities as a singer at the age of 16. Miwa came to be known as a good-looking singer at Ginpari, a chanson cafe in Tokyo’s fashionable Ginza district. His “Meke Meke” became a hit in 1957, and Yoitomake no Uta, which was written and composed by himself, gained popularity in 1965. He was close to Yukio Mishima, a Japanese literary giant, and played the leading role of a thief in Mishima’s play “Kurotokage.” Miwa also played the main role in Japanese dramatist Shuji Terayama’s “La Marie-Vison” from the first performance in 1967. As a voice actor, Miwa played in “Princess Mononoke” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” both animation movies by famed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki. He appeared in television variety shows, such as “Aura no Izumi.” In 2012, Miwa attracted attention by joining the “Kohaku Uta Gassen” year-end music show of Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK, the country’s public broadcaster, for the first time at the age of 77. Miwa was hospitalized in 2019 for a mild stroke. After recovering from the disease, he vigorously continued his entertainment activities. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]