On Sunday, the agency of Akihiro Miwa announced that the legendary singer and actor had died at the age of 91. A trailblazing performer who challenged gender norms, Miwa was best known for his hit chanson ballads, including “Yoitomake no Uta,” and for his unforgettable voice performances in the Studio Ghibli films Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle. He also won critical acclaim for portraying the femme fatale and notorious jewel thief Madame Midorikawa in both the stage and film adaptations of Edogawa Rampo’s The Black Lizard.
Akihiro Miwa: From Nagasaki Survivor to Cultural Icon
Miwa, birth name Akihiro Maruyama, was born on May 15, 1935, in Nagasaki. At age 10, he was at home when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city. A few days later, as he made his way to his grandmother’s house, he encountered scenes of unimaginable devastation. “It seemed almost the end of the world,” he later recalled. “The landscape looked like a world where human beings had died out.” Though not directly injured by the blast, Miwa suffered long-term effects of radiation exposure, including hair loss and anemia.
The catastrophe had a profound impact on his worldview. He became a vocal advocate for pacifism, regularly speaking out against war and weapons of mass destruction. “I can never forget all the cruel scenes of those days,” he once said. “These memories are the mainspring of my songwriting.” One of Miwa’s best-known tracks, “Furusato no Sora no Shita ni,” reflects the harrowing experience of surviving the atomic bombing of his hometown, while “Sokoku to Onnatachi” highlights the plight of former Japanese comfort women after World War II.
The Songs and Roles That Defined Miwa
Other major hits included a cover of “Me Que Me Que” and Japanese renditions of Edith Piaf’s signature songs “Hymne à l’amour” (“Ai no Sanka”) and “La Vie en Rose.” Miwa’s own masterpiece, “Yoitomake no Uta” (“The Song of the Yoitomake”), is a six-minute, heart-wrenching ballad about a devoted mother who toils as a laborer to put her son through school. Long regarded as an anthem for Japan’s working class, Miwa regularly performed the song on Kohaku Uta Gassen, NHK’s annual New Year’s Eve music special.
Away from music, Miwa enjoyed an acclaimed acting career, appearing in cult classics such as Kinji Fukasaku’s Black Rose Mansion and Shuji Terayama’s Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets. He also collaborated with Fukasaku on Black Lizard, reprising the role he had originated in Yukio Mishima’s celebrated stage adaptation. Overseas, Miwa was perhaps best known for voicing the majestic wolf goddess Moro in Princess Mononoke and the Witch of the Waste in Howl’s Moving Castle. His commanding presence and unmistakable voice made him one of Japan’s most distinctive performers.
