About Aki Yashiro
Aki Yashiro, real name Akiyo Masuda, née Hashimoto, was a Japanese enka singer and painter. Her stage name "Yashiro" was adopted from her hometown Yatsushiro. Yashiro originally sang jazz standards in hostess clubs, but made her debut as an enka singer in 1971, with the single "Ai wa Shindemo (愛は死んでも)", under the label of Teichiku Records. Yashiro was the first female enka singer to have seven top 10 singles on the main Oricon chart, as well as being listed as the fourth enka singer behind male singers Kiyoshi Hikawa, Hiroshi Itsuki and Shinichi Mori. In 1979, her single "Funauta" (舟唄) also became a great hit, followed by "Ame no Bojō" (雨の慕情) in 1980. "Ame no Bojō" won the 22nd Japan Record Award of the year.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.