User:Omotecho/Koja Misako

Koja Misako (古謝 美佐子 (Misako Koja), 11 May 1954 - ) is a Japanese singer, lyricist and sanshin player born in Kadena, Okinawa. She was the leader of the original Nēnēs.

Biography
Koja started to practice singing Okinawan folk songs when she was 2 or 3 years old as she learnt to play sanshin from her aunt, and at the age of 9, she recorded her first album. During the junior high school days on weekends, Koja sang at folk music clubs and later appeared on radio and television shows. Koja continued to record with young Okinawan folk music singers including Maekawa Shuken.

Since 1986, Koja was joined by Ganeko Yoriko and Tamashiro Kazumi to play on Ryuichi Sakamoto's Neo Geo (1987), Beauty (1989). For Beauty, they were featured as Okinawa-chans to accompany Sakamoto touring to the U. S. A. (1988) and the world (1990). For LIFE a ryuichi sakamoto opera 1999 (ja), the "Okinawa-chans" performed Tinsagu nu Hana and played on Sakamoto's 1999 opera presentation in Tokyo and Osaka.

It was in 1990 when China Sadao produced the female Okinawan folk unit Nēnēs consisting of Yoshida Yasuko, Miyazato Namiko, Hiyane Yukino with Koja as the leader. The band debut to the major music market in 1991, signed contract with Ki/oon Music in 1992 to gain national popularity. It became the main act at the revived 1995 Ryukyu Festival at Osaka Castle park.

Koja released her first solo album as an adult in 1994 from China's label titled "Shima jurasa" (島美らさ). Retiring from Nēnēs in 1995, Koja started a solo carrier accompanied by Sahara Kazuya, the keyboardist from a 1980s ska band No Comments who used to produce Nēnēs. They have performed regularly in Tokyo and other major cities on mainland Japan. Koja married to Sahara in 1997.

Kuriyama Tamiya invited Koja to take part in his play in July 1996, and Koja debut as an actress and played on "Yoshiya Chirū monogatari/Ima wo ikiru", a biography of a female Ryūka poet (1650?–1668?) along with Kyan Hitomi.

Sahara wrote Kuroi ame (Black rain) in 1995 which Koja released as a single in 2005, and Koja sang the song on a digital picture book, Futatsu no kuroi ame illustrated by Kuroda Seitarō (ja) and music contributed by Kondō Toshinori (ja). It was during a newspaper interview at that time when Koja publicly spoke about why she agreed to appear on a project themed around peace and war, and what it meant to her as a native of Kadena.

Since the summer of 2005, Koja has been leading Okinawa Music Festival in Shinjuku, Tokyo, sponsored by the local government. She is also invited by local government in Okinawa for their memorial and peace events such as "the third Okinawa Peace Prize Campaign" on 8 September 2006. Koja and Sahara was awarded the Special Prize at the 7th Miyara Chōhō Music Award on 10 December 2009.

Musicology
Koja plays sanshin on Okinawan scale and as a song writer, wrote lyrics for Warabigami and released as a single with Sahara's music in February 1997, commemorating her first grandchild's birth. Warabigami has since been covered by various singers after Yamamoto Junko transcribed into standard Japanese (Yamatoguchi) in 2002, followed by Tokiko Kato and Hayley Westenra from New Zealand. Rimi Natsukawa won the Golden Prize at 45th Japan Record Awards in 2003 with Yamatoguchi version, Mongol800 and Minami Kizuki sang with lyrics in Okinawan dialect. On 15 August 2008, Koja guest starred on Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra with "Warabigami" and "Hana".

One example of working with music players outside of Okinawan folk music, Sakamoto Ryūichi invited Koja with Unaigumi to join his single Mirukuyu gafu - undercooled (弥勒世果報 (みるくゆがふ) . Koja interprets Okinawan (and Japanese traditional) music as World music that had her to meet Ry Cooder and Reggae artists, as well as to collaborate with Celtic music band The Chieftains and Carlos Núñez Muñoz. As lyricist, Koja adopted the Largo or the second movement of Antonín Dvořák to Iyeji on "Ama kakiru hashi", Irish folk songs ”Amazing Grace” and ”The mountains of Pomeroy” into Okinawan dialect.

Female units
From the first generation members of Nēnēs, Miyazato, Hiyane and Koja rejoined in 2005 to form a new unit Samsara. Unaigumi, literally meaning "Sisters' Unit", is the band Koja leads with Miyazato, Hiyane and Shimabukuro Emiko since 2014 when they released a CD with Sakamoto Ryuichi coupled with his "undercooled".

Albums

 * As solo
 * , remastered edition.
 * , remastered edition.
 * , remastered edition.
 * , remastered edition.

Koja was a member of this female chorus band between 1990 and 1995. CHORO CLUB joined as a guest on "Kinō, Kyō, Ashita" on the album Unaijima.
 * As Nēnēs
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi
 * As Unaigumi

Singles

 * As solo
 * "日々是好日 (Hibi kore īhi)" (DM-010, 2011.)
 * "黒い雨 (Kuroi ame)" (2005.)
 * "黄金ん子 (Kuganinko)" (2005.)
 * "別りヨンスラ節/ゆくさ節 (Wakari yonsura-bushi/Yukusa-bushi)" (CD, Marufuku Record, SFD-1007, 1998)
 * "童神 (Warabigami)" (CD, Disk Milk, 1997)
 * "うんじゅどう頼らりる (Unjudu tayurariru)" (vinyl, Marufuku Record, 1971)
 * "母の想い (Hahano omoi)" (vinyl, Marufuku Record, 1971)
 * "にんぐる小 (Ningurukwa)" (vinyl, Marufuku Record, 1971)
 * "国頭サバクイ/結び (Kunigami sabakui/mushibi)" (vinyl, Marufuku Record, 1966)
 * "すーしすーさ (Sūshi sūsa)" (vinyl, Marufuku Record, 1965)
 * As Unaigumi
 * "弥勒世果報 — undercooled (Miroku-yu kafu — undercooled)" with Ryuichi Sakamoto, produced by Sahara Kazuya (CD, October 2015.)
 * "弥勒世果報 — undercooled (Miroku-yu kafu — undercooled)" with Ryuichi Sakamoto, produced by Sahara Kazuya (CD, October 2015.)