Kanazawa Akiko

Artist

Akiko Kanazawa is a folk (minyo) singer born in 1954, widely recognized for canonical minyo such as 'Esashi Oiwake' and 'Kuroda Bushi', and with Kohaku Uta Gassen appearances to her name. She has long been one of the leading voices of the Japanese folk music world. In anime, she performed 'Pokemon Kazoe Uta', an ending theme of 'Pokemon Advanced Generation', a minyo-flavored counting song written by Shogo Toda and composed by Hirokazu Tanaka. Her authentic kobushi vocal ornamentation added a uniquely traditional flavor to a children's anime ending sequence, securing the track a distinctive place in her anime discography.