Voice of Snow and Passion--Sayuri Ishikawa, Songs of a Woman Across the Straits and Mountain Pass (1973-)

Voice of Snow and Passion--Sayuri Ishikawa, Songs of a Woman Across the Straits and Mountain Pass (1973-)

Sayuri Ishikawa, born in 1958 in Kumamoto, Japan, made her debut in 1973 with "Hide and Seek. Her debut was "Hide and Seek" in 1973. Her idol-like appearance and clear voice attracted attention, but it was in 1977 with "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyunkei" that her true brilliance shone through. This song, which depicted the loneliness of a woman at a station in the snowy northern countryside, thinking of her departed lover, catapulted Ishikawa to the top of the enka world.

Later, she showed her true value as an emotional songstress in "Amagi koshi" (Crossing the Amagi Pass). In the image of a woman crossing a mountain pass in Izu, she expresses the obsession of love that transcends both morality and life. Her fists are deep and her voice is filled with melancholy and determination. Her songs are more than just songs. She has always sung about "women," deepening with the times and adding a touch of modernity through collaborations with Ringo Shiina, for example. Her voice has become wind and snow, and still sinks deep into the hearts of those who listen to her.