Yoko Nagayama
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Yoko Nagayama (長山洋子 Nagayama Yōko; born January 13, 1968) is a Japanese Enka singer and actress.
Yoko was born in Tokyo. She started singing pop music in 1984. The first song she released was Haru wa SA-RA SA-RA (春はSA-RA SA-RA), but it did not become famous. Her cover version of Shocking Blue's Venus finally brought her success in 1986. Her next song You're My Love was also a hit.
Jidaigeki fans know her for her role as Ochō in the 1990 television series Sanbiki gi Kiru.
In 1993, she started her second life. That is, she began to sing Enka, a kind of melodramatic Japanese popular song. She received three prizes for her first Enka song Higurashi(蜩). Suterarete(捨てられて) also became famous.
In 2003, she released Jonkara Onnnabushi(じょんから女節). On TV or in her concerts, she sings this song with her shamisen, a three stringed Japanese music instrument.