Meiko Kaji , (born March 24, 1947 in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese E… Read Full Bio ↴Meiko Kaji , (born March 24, 1947 in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese Enka singer and actress.

Meiko Kaji first began work in the film industry under the name Masako Ota at Nikkatsu studio in 1965. In 1970, with little success but extensive experience in the movie business, Meiko Kaji signed up with the Nikkatsu movie studio and was subsequently cast in more or less important roles in the Stray Cat Rock series. The films concern juvenile girl gang confrontations and, although inventive, they suffer from poor scripts throughout the series. In 1971 Nikkatsu started moving into the financially lucrative pink film business. To avoid this Kaji moved to Toei where she met director Shunya Ito and made four women in prison films in the Female Prisoner Scorpion series, which made her famous throughout Japan. The films were adapted from a well-known manga by Toru Shinohara. In the fourth installment Toei replaced director Shunya Ito with Yasuharu Hasebe, a decision that Kaji was unhappy about, and she subsequently left the series, which continued until 1998 with six new installments of markedly lesser quality.

In 1973 she took on the role of Yuki in the revenge-themed film Lady Snowblood, which later gained popularity as a cult film in the West. It was based on a manga by Kazuo Koike who also created the Crying Freeman and Lone Wolf and Cub manga series. The film was one of the inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. It was followed by the sequel, Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance.

Kaji went on to appear in several of Kinji Fukasaku's films, most notably Yakuza Graveyard (1976). In 1978, she starred in a film adaptation of Sonezaki Shinju, for which she earned nominations for Best Actress at five different awards shows, winning four of them. However, the film remains unseen by many of her fans, due to the fact that it has never been released on video or DVD.

Kaji's singing career was closely tied to her movie career, and she often sang on the soundtracks of films she starred in. The theme song to Lady Snowblood, "Flower of Carnage" (Shura no Hana), and the theme song of the Sasori series, "Urami Bushi" (lit. Grudge Song), both sung by Kaji, were used in Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Owing to this, she has seen a surge of renewed interest in her work.

In 1989 Kaji portrayed Omasa, an informant, in the television jidaigeki Onihei Hankachō (the Shochiku-Fuji Television version starring kabuki actor Nakamura Kichiemon II).

あかね雲
梶芽衣子 Lyrics

We have lyrics for 'あかね雲' by these artists:

HOBBLEDEES 祈りの鐘の音が町に時を告げる夕日にたゆたう船は明日を目指す子どもの頃見てたありふれた日々が今は愛しい忘れ…
梶芽衣子 (Meiko Kaji) 風呂敷包み　小脇にかかえ女は下駄で　男を追ったみぞれが頬うつ　線路みち女は不幸でいいと　思った南京豆…

We have lyrics for these tracks by 梶芽衣子:

Hotaru no Hashi SHA LA LA いつかきっと僕は手にするんだはかなき胸にそっとひかり燃えていけ逢いたくなるの「衝動」…
Jeans Blues 札つきオトコと知らないで抱かれてつくして捨てられて気づいたときには丸はだか夏の祭りの夜だった恋などしないと決め…
Shura No Hana Shindeita Asa ni Tomorai no Yuki ga furu Hagure inu no Toub…
The Flower of Carnage Begrieving snow falls in the dead morning Stray dog's howls …
Urami Bushi 花よ綺麗とおだてられ咲いてみせればすぐ散らされる馬鹿なバカな馬鹿な女の ... 怨み節運命哀しとあきらめ…

Urami-Bushi 花よ綺麗とおだてられ咲いてみせればすぐ散らされる馬鹿なバカな馬鹿な女の ... 怨み節運命哀しとあきらめ…
怨み節花よ綺麗とおだてられ咲いてみせればすぐ散らされる馬鹿なバカな馬鹿な女の怨み節運命哀しとあきらめて泣き…

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