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Yoko Yamaguchi (山口 洋子, Yamaguchi Yōko, May 10, 1937 – September 6, 2014) was a Japanese lyricist and novelist. In 1985, Yamaguchi won the Naoki Prize for her novels, Enka no Mushi ("Japanese Ballad Lover") and Robai ("Old Japanese Plum").[1]

Life and career

Yamaguchi was born in Nagoya as the illegitimate child of a wealthy restaurant owner and a waitress.[2] She dropped out of high school at 16 and opened a coffee shop named "Yoko" with backing by an elderly widower. Although it was successful, she quit after about three years.[2] In 1957, Yamaguchi passed Toei's 4th New Face competition of 1,000 people, becoming an actress. However, she only ever had small parts, and quit acting after two years.[2]

When she was 20 years old, Yamaguchi met then-yakuza boss Noboru Ando. She became his mistress, known to members of his crime family, the Ando-gumi (ja:安藤組), as "Hime" ("princess").[3] When Ando was on the run from the police in 1958 for having a hitman shoot businessman Hideki Yokoi, Yamaguchi hid him in her apartment in Yoyogi.[3]

On August 5, 1959, she opened an upscale bar in the Ginza district of Tokyo, which she named "Hime".[1][3] Yamaguchi wrote song lyrics during the slow times while managing her bar, leading to a series of successful songs during the 1970s.[1] In 1971, Yamaguchi's song "Yokohama Tasogare" ("Yokohama Twilight Time"), performed by Hiroshi Itsuki, became a major hit within the enka genre.[1] Yamaguchi penned another hit with "Brandy Glass", performed by actor and singer, Yujiro Ishihara.[1] She began writing novels during the 1980s.[1]

Yamaguchi died from respiratory failure on September 6, 2014, at the age of 77.[1]

References

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