Shizuru Ootaka

Shizuru Ootaka, real name 大高静子, was a Japanese J-pop singer from Tokyo, born on April 11, 1953. Associated with King Records, she studied classical music from the age of seven and began musical activities while attending Musashi University, initially working under the name 大高静子. Her work ranged beyond j-pop to jazz, world music, Japanese traditional music, and Western traditional vocal music, and she performed voice, percussion guitare, and piano. In 1989 she debuted in the unit dido with 加藤みちあき, and in 1990 she made her solo debut on Teichiku. She also built a career in commercial music. Her 1990 cover of Shoukichi Kina's "Hana" won the Japan Advertising Music Association's 1991 Best Vocalist Award of Commercial Music. Ootaka also performed for anime and film. This included "Natsu wo Miteita (夏を見ていた)", the ending theme of "Hotarubi no Mori e", as well as music used in I'm Gonna Be An Angel!, Spirited Away, and .hack//Legend of the Twilight. She was also a regular cast member on the NHK Educational TV program Nihongo de Asobo. In 2022 she withdrew from a scheduled August 10 concert for health reasons and died of cancer on September 5 at the age of 69. Her official website is http://sizzle-ohtaka.com/.