In April of 1987, on the way to a performance in Fukuoka, she suddenly collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with bilateral femoral necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. Until August she was confined to hospital and eventually showed signs of recovery. She commenced recording a new song Midaregami in October, and in 1988 performed at a concert called Fushichou konsaato (Phoenix Concert) at the Tokyo Dome. Against overwhelming pain in her legs, she performed a total of 39 songs while assuring her fans that she had completely recovered. However, on 24 May 1989, having been re-admitted to the Juntendou hospital in Tokyo, she died from interstitial pneumonitis at the age of 52.
In July 1989 after her death, she became the first female recipient of the National Prize of Honour (国民栄誉賞) for her longstanding contributions to the music industry.
In 1993, the Misora Hibari-kan opened in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Its popularity with fans and tourists has endured through to the present.
Her most famous song, "Kawa no nagare no yō ni," (1989) was voted #1 in a 1997 NHK poll of the best Japanese songs of all time.
ひばりのマドロスさん
美空ひばり Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
白い夜霧の ながれる波止場
縞のジャケツの マドロスさんは
パイプふかして
アー タラップのぼる
左様ならよと つぶやくように
咽ぶ汽笛は 別れの合図
粋なマフラー
アー 夜風になびく
泣いちゃまけない 出船の錨
さすが男よ 笑顔で巻いて
港離れる マドロスさんは
切れたテープに
アー 名残りを惜しむ
These lyrics are for the song ひばりのマドロスさん (Madros-san of Hibari), performed by the well-known Japanese singer 美空ひばり (Miyuki Hoshino) in 1954. The song tells a story about a man called Madros, who works as a dockworker and is about to set sail on a ship. The setting is a lonely pier at night, with a white misty fog surrounding Madros and the ship. He is dressed in a striped jacket and smoking a pipe, as he boards the ship, while the ship's lamp shines brightly in the damp darkness of the harbor.
As Madros begins to climb aboard the ship, a mournful whistle sounds, signaling the departure and leaving the pier. Madros states that he cannot break down and cry as he hoists the anchor, showing his strength and masculinity. He's wearing a dapper scarf, and it flows freely in the wind. The final moments of the song show Madros waving goodbye to the people he's leaving behind as he departs, with the tape to his scarf (which has been severed) representing a symbol of the memories and emotions left behind.
Line by Line Meaning
船のランプを 淋しく濡らし
The lamp on the ship is wet and lonely
白い夜霧の ながれる波止場
The white night fog flows through the dock
縞のジャケツの マドロスさんは
Madros-san, wearing a striped jacket
パイプふかして
Smoking a pipe
アー タラップのぼる
Watching the tar bubbles rise
左様ならよと つぶやくように
Whispering 'if that's how it is'
咽ぶ汽笛は 別れの合図
The choking steam whistle is a sign of farewell
誰のかたみか マドロスさんの
Madros-san's souvenir
粋なマフラー
Elegant scarf
アー 夜風になびく
Fluttering in the night breeze
泣いちゃまけない 出船の錨
The anchor of the departing ship won't cry and give up
さすが男よ 笑顔で巻いて
As expected of a man, rolling it up with a smile
港離れる マドロスさんは
Madros-san, departing from the harbor
切れたテープに
On the cut tape
アー 名残りを惜しむ
Regretting the lingering feeling
Writer(s): 石本 美由起, 上原 げんと, 石本 美由起, 上原 げんと
Contributed by Tristan K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.