Chiyoko Shimakura

Chiyoko Shimakura
Birth name	Chiyoko Shimakura
Born	March 30, 1938 (1938-03-30) (age 73)
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Enka
Occupations	Singer, lyricist
Years active	1954–present
Labels	Columbia Music Entertainment

Chiyoko Shimakura (島倉 千代子, Shimakura Chiyoko^?) (born March 30, 1938) is a female enka singer and TV presenter in Japan.

She has a long career as a singer - almost 50 years. Despite her long career, Chiyoko remains cute and lovely in her stage work.

Chiyoko is considered as "the Goddess of Enka". Her 1987 song "Jinsei Iroiro" (人生いろいろ^?), the meanings are "my long history" and "long careers as an Enka singer", is popular among young people, politicians (the prime minister Junichiro Koizumi is one of her devoted fans) and elderly girls.

Career

Chiyoko was born in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, Japan on March 30, 1938. Her pretty impressions were seen in her stage debut in earlier years.

In 1954 Chiyoko won the 1st prize of the Columbia Music Entertainment singers competition. In 1955, she debuted with the single "Konoyo no Hana." Her discography is so numerous, the exact number registered is uncertain.

Chiyoko is one of enka singers who have appeared in Kohaku Uta Gassen. She has starred 35 times. However, she forgot the lyric of her song in 1996. Although she has had difficulty attending Kohaku after that, she participated again in the Kohaku in 2004.

Enka Discography

• Konoyo no Hana (この世の花) (1955): The Fruit and Bloom in the world : Chiyoko herself is featured in the movie of the same name.
• Tōkyō Dayo Okkasan (東京だョお母さん) (1957) : Mummy, here we are in Tōkyō.
• Jinsei Iroiro (人生いろいろ) (1987)

Filmography

• A Farewell to the Woman Called My Sister (別れの茶摘歌　姉妹篇　お姉さんと呼んだ人 Wakare no chatsumi-uta shimai-hen: Oneesan to yonda hito) (1957)

External links

• Chiyoko's Official Website (Japanese)
• Chiyoko Shimakura at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Shimakura, Chiyoko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 30, 1938
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death