Hako Yamasaki

Hako Yamasaki (山崎ハコ), (birth name Hatsuko Yamasaki (山崎 初子)) is a Japanese folk singer-songwriter, actor, and writer. She recorded her first album in 1975. In 1991, she made her acting debut.

Biography
In 1974, while attending high school, Yamasaki won the Grand Prix Prize at the "Join Us Folk Competition". During the contest, music producer Tomoi Hoshino scouted and recruited her into his agency Imadoki. She made her debut in 1975 with the album "Tobimasu", which was released under Pony Canyon records. During her debut, she received the nickname "a rival to Miyuki Nakajima", who similarly wrote dark lyrics about love. Yamasaki had moderate success with her career, with albums that sold over 50,000 copies.

During the 1980s, there was a decline in album sales coupled alongside a growing unpopularity of the folk genre of music. In 1985, Yamasaki transferred to Universal Music Japan. Following the release of her live album in 1986, Yamasaki went on a temporary hiatus. In 1994, Yamasaki's first cover album of the year received an award for the Best Planning album at the 36th Japan Music Awards. It was during the 1990s however, when Yamasaki's agency Imadoki went bankrupt. In 2002, Yamasaki made her major musical comeback with her single "Yasashii Uta" which was released under the Tokuma Japan label. In the same year, she made her voice acting debut in the anime television series Chibi Maruko-chan.

With the 2020s, Yamasaki's popularity has seen a rise online worldwide, with millions of views of her songs on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube.

Personal life
Following the bankruptcy of her musical agency Imadoki in 1998, Yamasaki was left on the verge of homelessness, working part-time as a dishwasher to make a living. In 2001, she married guitarist Hiromi Yasuda. Their marriage lasted until 2020, when Yasuda passed away due to colorectal cancer.