Mayumi Itsuwa


Mayumi Itsuwa

Mayumi Itsuwa is very famous in Japan, and like many others, should be known more world wide. I'm sure you'll find her voice compelling and her songs magnetic. She was born on January 24 1951, and made her debut in 1972. She was recording folk/pop albums since the early 1970's, recording in Japan, the US and Europe. Mayumi Itsuwa has a quiet power in her voice and melodic styling most of her contemporaries lacked. She's commonly known as the Carol King of Japan and was in fact a good friend of hers. [Carol King appears in the credits on a few of Itsuwa's recording as a pianist].

She had a few folk hits in the 1970's, most notably "Shojo" [Virgin], but rose to superstardom in 1980 with "Koibito-yo" which rose number one in Japan as well as number one in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore where it was re-recorded in Chinese. "Koibito-yo" [O Lover] was a departure from her signature folk style. Recorded in Paris France, it has lush string arrangements and a very latin air of melancholy drama. It is a tragic love song, beautifully written, the story of a break-up where the woman is freezing on a park bench broken by rain, waiting for her lover to come back and laugh, that the talk of leaving was just a joke. She had three other top ten hits from that album titled the same.

Music Files

These Windows Media Audio files are playable with the Windows Media Player or Winamp. These are the two players I know of, but I'm sure there are others that would work.

  1. Sora (Sky)

  2. Koibito Yo (Oh Lover)
    (with Japanese Lyrics)

  3. Wind and Roses

  4. Ribaibaru (Revival)

  5. Nokoribi

  6. Yakusoko

  7. Kokoro no tomo  
    (with Japanese Lyrics)

  8. Amayadori


  9. L'ecrivain

 

 

Pictures of Mayumi Itsuwa

 

Mayumi Itsuwa Links

YesAsia.com
YesAsia.com is an impressive and user-friendly site where you can locate and purchase all kinds of Asian music, videos, magazines, books, etc.

If you'd like to purchase Japanese CDs in America, one place to go is Kinkuniya Bookstores. West Coast locations are:

Seattle, WA (206) 587-2477
San Francisco, CA (415) 567-7625
Los Angeles, CA (213) 687-4480
Portland, OR (503) 641-6240
San Jose, CA (408) 252-1300, 675 Saratoga Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA (714) 434-9986



 

Back to The Heartflyer