Ryoko Moriyama is a Japanese folk singer and actress, dubbed the “Japanese Joan Baez” and the “queen of college folk”, whose 1969 recording “Kinjirareta Koi” sold over a million copies.[1][2]
Background and debut
Born in Shibuya, Tokyo, on 18 January 1948, Moriyama is the daughter of jazz trumpeter Hisashi Moriyama, a pioneer of Japanese jazz, and jazz singer Yōko Asada; musician Hiroshi Kamayatsu was her first cousin. She debuted in 1967 with the single “Kono Hiroi Nohara Ippai”, released on 2 January, which, like her “Dona Dona”, later entered school textbooks.[1][2]
Career
“Kinjirareta Koi” became a million seller and earned her a popular award at the 1969 Japan Record Awards; Kunihiko Murai and Kōichi Morita were among her principal writers in that period. Her best-known song, “Satokibi Batake”, about a tragedy in the Battle of Okinawa, won a gold award at the 44th Japan Record Awards in 2002, and she first recorded “Nada Sōsō” before Rimi Natsukawa’s hit version. She sang a theme at the opening ceremony of the 1998 Nagano Olympics and has acted in film and television, including voice roles in When Marnie Was There (2014) and Belle (2021). Her son is singer Naotarō Moriyama.[1][2]
Discography
Notable songs
References
- “Ryoko Moriyama”. Wikipedia. Retrieved 11 October 2026.
- “森山良子”. Wikipedia (Japanese). Retrieved 11 October 2026.
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