The Flower of Song Blossomed in Beauty and Beautiful Voice - Mitsue Nara (1923-1952)

The Flower of Song Blossomed in Beauty and Beautiful Voice - Mitsue Nara (1923-1952)

Mitsue Nara was born in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture, in 1923. She had good looks and a beautiful voice from an early age, and was recommended to the Toyo Music School by her brother's friend, the composer Akemoto Kyosei. However, due to a lack of vocal ability, she gave up her career as a classical singer and turned to songwriting. In 1940, she passed a test for Columbia and became their exclusive singer at the age of only 16. Her debut song "Kokyu Aika" was banned due to censorship, but her next song "Nanjing Hana Chikako" drew much attention. During the war, military songs were at their peak and it was difficult for her to have a hit, but at her father's request, she joined Masao Koga's group and eventually achieved her first success with "Blue Pasture," a duet with Ichiro Fujiyama.

She later had a series of hits, including "Ai no Toukage," "Shin Aizen Katsura," "Kimi Hence," and "Ame no Yoru Kisha," and with the great success of "Blue Mountains" with Ichiro Fujiyama, she rose to become a representative figure in the postwar world of Japanese songs. This song symbolized the youth of postwar Japan, and the brightness and elongated voice of the singer drew national sympathy. In "Akai Shoes no Tango" (Tango with Red Shoes) in 1950, she showed her broad appeal with an expression of both sadness and passion, and it has been passed down as one of her masterpieces.

She also made her presence felt in the film industry, and was chosen to star in Daiei's "A Night of Kissing," which became a topic of conversation when the kissing scene with Masao Wakahara was advertised as the first ever in Japanese film history. Although the scene was actually staged with an umbrella covering their mouths, Nara's innocent beauty and graceful singing voice presented a new image of women and captured the hearts of the audience.

In the same era, Hibari Misora sang with overwhelming power and Michiko Namiki symbolized hope for the common people with "Ringo no Uta," but Mitsue Nara used her pure and graceful voice to delicately sing the lyrics of youth and love. Her presence added color like a single flower to the postwar Japanese song world and established a unique position for herself. She passed away prematurely in 1977 at the age of 55, but her voice continues to shine brightly in the history of Showa music.