Noriko Awaya in her fifties. From 「淡谷のり子：わが放浪記」

Awaya Noriko (淡谷のり子) was a Japanese soprano and blues singer born in Aomori, Japan on August 12, 1907. Because her family was quite wealthy, she was able to go to school for a time at Toyo Conservatory of Music (東洋音楽学校, present day Tokyo College of Music). However, her father’s business became bankrupt and she was forced to leave school for a year, working part-time as a nude model. Eventually she returned to school, finished her studies, and began her 70-year long career. Her most famous songs include the 1937 hit 「別れのブルース」 (Wakare no burūsu) and 「雨のブルース」 (Ame no burūsu).

Rekion access in OSUL — Noriko Awaya’s popular songs can be found with the following Rekion identifiers:

  • 「別れのブルース」
    • info:ndljp/pid/2915506
  • 「雨のブルース」
    • info:ndljp/pid/8272244

Aside from her music, Awaya was known for her glamorous appearance. During World War II, entertainers went in groups known as imon-dan (慰問団) to perform for soldiers before they went off to war. Awaya was one such entertainer, but according to one interview, she boldly refused to follow strict war-time policies which banned make-up, flashy clothing, and above all–the singing of Western music. She was punished by being made to write a thick stack of apologies for crimes which included “facing Western prisoners of war while singing songs in English”.

OSUL carries a Japanese language autobiography of Noriko Awaya:

NOTE: This is one of a series of posts highlighting content available in Rekion (れきおん), the Historical recordings collection of the National Diet Library (Japan), which is available at a dedicated computer in the Music and Dance Library at Ohio State.  See the Introductory post in this series for more information about the database.