is a Japanese singer and actress. She was born as Akiko Yasuda ( in

Kiryū, Gunma is a Cities of Japan, city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 108,991 in 49,745 households, and a population density of 400 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kiryū is in the so ...

, Japan and raised in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

. She started her singing career with her older sister Sachiko (b. 1941) as a child singer. In 1965 she debuted with the single "Hitchhike Musume (Hitchhiking girl)" on King Records (Japan) as Akiko Yasuda.

History

In 1969, Saori Yuki had a hit with "Yoake no Scat (Scat at dawn)", which sold 2 million units in two months, stayed at the top spot for 10 weeks and in the top ten for four months. The song's success led her to appear at the

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

's ''

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

'', the annual year-end music show (after that, she continued to appear consecutively up until 1978). In 1970, the single "Tegami (The Letter)" peaked at No. 1 and was the second best-selling single in Japan of 1970. For "Tegami", she won the vocal award at the 12th Japan Record Awards. She received the Best Vocalist Award at the

15th Japan Record Awards The 15th Annual Japan Record Awards took place at the Imperial Garden Theater in Chiyoda, Tokyo, on December 31, 1973, starting at 7:00PM JST. The primary ceremonies were televised in Japan on TBS. Award winners Japan Record Award Hiroshi It ...

for her hit "Koibumi (Love Letter)". She quickly became a popular TV personality, appeared on a number of variety shows, and acted in several movies. She received the Award of Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Japan Academy Prize in 1983 for her role of Chikako Numata, a mother of two difficult sons in ''

The Family Game is a 1983 Japanese comedy and family drama film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita. It follows the story of a nuclear family of four whose father hires a tutor for the younger son, a distracted and low-ranking middle school student who will soon be ta ...

''. In 1985, she started appearing on stage with her sister, Sachiko. They toured around Japan with their specialty of Japanese

children's song A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studie ...

s and received the Best Planning Award in 28th Japan Record Awards for their hit album ''Ano-toki, Kono-uta'' (あの時・この歌 ("Those Times, These Songs"). Their repertoire was not limited to children's songs, but also included pop, classical, and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

songs. In 2009, she released her first original album since 1984, commemorating the 40th anniversary of her singing career as Saori Yuki. A collaboration album with

Pink Martini Pink Martini is an American band founded in 1994 by pianist Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon. Group members call it a little orchestra that crosses several styles, such as Classical music, classical, Latin music, Latin, traditional pop, and ...

titled ''

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

'' was released in November 2011 in more than 20 countries, and quickly gained popularity in various places including the United States, Canada, Singapore and Greece. She also appeared as guest soloist on Pink Martini's festive album, ''

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason's 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Fride ...

'', singing the Japanese language version of " White Christmas". In 2012, Saori Yuki won the US

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Publisher's Award.

Filmography

*''

'' (1983) – Chikako Numata, the mother *''Blue Heaven wo Kimi ni'' (2020)

Discography

As Akiko Yasuda: *Hitchhike Musume (1965) *Doko ni iruno Papa? (1965) *O-wakare no Namida (1965) *Furusato no Bokujō (1966) *Kuore no Uta *Roman "Uki Uki" As Saori Yuki: * Yoake no Scat (1969) (#1) * Tenshi no Scat (1969) (#15) * Kareha no Machi (1969) (#29) * Suki yo (1970) * Tegami (1970) (#1) * Cleopatra no Namida (1970) * Ikigai (1970) (#6) * Kono Ai o Eien ni (1971) (#57) * Otoko no Kokoro (1971) (#80) * Valerie/Tōsui no Waltz (1971) * Hatsukoi no Oka (1971) (#68) * Tsuchi ni Kaeru made (1972) * Furusato (1972) * Rindō no Hana (1972) (#64) * Room Light (1973) (#23) * Koibumi (1973) (#32) * Hakata Ningyō ni Yosete (1973) * Haru no Arashi (1974) (#67) * Michiko (1974) * Banka (1974) (#15) * Kisetsufū (1975) (#68) * Sayonara no Hashirigaki (1975) * Bojō (1975) * Katachi-bakari no Kōfuku (1976) * Tsukanoma no Ame (1976) * Kokoromochi Kimagure (1976) * Furari Furarete (1976) (#38) * U・Fu・Fu (1977) * Yarinaoshitai no (1977) * Garasu no Hibi (1978) * Tokyo Babylon (1978) * Ai o Kirifuda ni Shite (1979) * Aishita mou Koto na Kare (1979) * Tasogare Tapestry (1980) * Otoko Tomodachi (1980) * Kanashii Akuma (1980) * Ryōgokubashi (1981) * Atsumi Chihō no Komori-uta (1981) * Adieu (1982) * Straight (1982) * Single Night (1983) * Konomama ga Ii no (1984) * TOKYO Waltz (1984) * Kiyari Sodachi (1985) * O-saki ni dōzo (1987) (#62) * Yagurumasō〜Yumeji no Onna〜 (1988) * Kokoro no Ieji (1988) * Yurayura (1988) * HIROSHIMA (1989, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Nedoganse (1990, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Akai Hoshi Aoi Hoshi (1995) * Koimatsuri (1996) * Suite Waltz no Nagareru Kawa ni (1998) * Yume Mousukoshi (1998) * Yorimichi (1999) * Toruko-kōshinkyoku (1999, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Kono Hoshi no Doko ka de (2000, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Asakiyumemishi (2001) * Nijiiro no Sunadokei (2002, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Yotte Hizamakura (2002) * Saikai Love Song (2003) * Kisei (2003, with Sachiko Yasuda) * "Ryokka Fair・Image Song Taiyō Sanka" Who are you? (2005, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Izayoi no Tsuki (2005, with Sachiko Yasuda) * Kono Yo no Hate made Soba ni Ite (2006) * Komoro Waga Omoide (2006) * Shiawase no Canon〜Chapter 2〜 (2007) * Kisetsu no Ashioto (2011) * Ai da Toka (2013) (#145) * Watashi no Uta (2013) Duet with Pink Martini : * ''

'', with

(2011)

Honours

Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette (2019)

References

External links

Saori Yuki official website

Yuki Saori& Yasuda Sachiko official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuki, Saori 1948 births Living people People from Kiryū, Gunma Actresses from Yokohama Singers from Yokohama Japanese women singers Singers from Gunma Prefecture Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Universal Music Japan artists Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Japanese film actresses