Mori Masako is a former Japanese enka singer, idol and actress. She is considered one of the first Japanese idols.
History[]
Mori was born to working class parents in 1958. She developed a love for singing at a young age, so her father began strictly tutoring her to better develop her voice. However, Mori was very shy and socially awkward, so she did not pursue any entertainment opportunities despite her talent. In 1971, her aunt secretly sent in an application to the very first Star Tanjou! audition, and she was invited to audition. She accepted under the guise that her aunt would buy her some new clothes if she participated. Eventually she would be crowned the program's very first Grand Champion in history, and she was signed to a record label the following year.
Although her music was more traditional than other artists of the time due to her singing style, she did not become a full fledged enka singer until 1977.
In 1985 she announced her engagement to fellow enka singer Mori Shinichi and that she would be retiring from entertainment upon her marriage. She retired in 1986 following a final concert performance.
In 2001 she briefly returned to entertainment as a duet partner with her husband. However, in 2006, she announced that she had formally divorced from her husband, and would be returning to entertainment full time. She performed semi regularly until she retired from entertainment for good on December 25th, 2019.
Discography[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- She was socially awkward as a child and was severely bullied in school before making her debut as an idol. She often skipped school because of the bullying.
- She was on very good terms with Misora Hibari, who often gave her private singing lessons, and affectionately called her "Macchakko."
- She is often associated with Yamaguchi Momoe and Sakurada Junko who debuted around the same time. The three were known as the "Hana no Chuusan Trio" since they were all in the eighth grade at the time of their professional debut.
- She has three sons with her ex-husband:
- Moriuchi Takahiro/TAKA of ONE OK ROCK (森内貴寛), born 1988
- Middle son (name and birthdate unknown)
- Moriuchi Hiroki/Hiro (森内寛樹), born 1994
- Her youngest son reported she was a strict parent who was very big on proper honorifics, especially towards her eldest son.
- She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2010 and underwent medical treatment.
- In 2005, she was hospitalized after suddenly passing out. She was then diagnosed with panic disorder and anemia.