Date and time: 10/17 (Thu) 11:00
Location: Hibari-no-en, Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture
〒970-0223 Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, Hirausu Isoyado Sakichi
[Unveiling ceremony guest]
Masahiko Kondo, Fukuko Ishii, Kazuo Tokumitsu (host), Kazuya Kato (President of Hibari Productions), Hiroyuki Uchida, Mayor of Iwaki City
Today, October 17th (Thursday), the life-sized statue of Hibari Misora, which had been watching over fans at the entrance of the Hibari Misora Memorial Hall in the Kyoto Uzumasa Eigamura, was moved to Hibari-no-en in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, due to the museum’s demolition. The decision was made to move the building to , and an unveiling ceremony was held in front of 600 fans and local residents, with Hibari Production president Kazuya Kato, TV producers Fukuko Ishii, Masahiko Kondo, and Kazuo Tokumitsu in attendance. I did.
The life-sized bronze skylark statue that will be relocated is the work of sculptor Toshihisa Kawai (born 1930 – died in 2021). In 1994, five years after Hibari’s departure, it was installed at the entrance of the Misora Hibari Memorial Museum built in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Uzumasa Misora Hibariza” has been working with fans for 30 years.
The image of the statue in Japanese clothing, with its hands folded in front of its chest, coincides with the skylark mourning the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, so it has now been decided to relocate it to Hibari-no-en, a sacred place for skylark fans.
Hibari Misora recorded “Midaregami” on October 9, 1987, as her first comeback after a serious illness. The lyrics were written by Tetsuro Hoshino, and the music was composed by Toru Funamura. Tetsuro Hoshino visited Shioyasaki in Iwaki City to come up with the concept for a new song, and wrote “Midare-Kami,” which begins with “If you put your hands on the hair, the red kicks will dance in the wind.”
On December 10, 1987, the first product in its comeback, “Midaregami”, was released. The next day, on April 11, 1988, Hibari stood on the stage at the Tokyo Dome “Phoenix Concert” and enthusiastically sang “Midaregami.” Hibari made a spectacular comeback, and her “midare-kami” style became a huge hit.
In response to this, on October 2, 1986, six months after the Phoenix Concert, a monument commemorating Miderekami was erected by local people under the lighthouse at Shioyasaki in Iwaki City.
Hibari was looking forward to attending the unveiling ceremony, but was unable to do so because she was not feeling well. Even after that, I continued to desire to visit this place, but without being able to fulfill my wish, I departed on June 24, 1989.
However, even after his death, the people of Iwaki City still had strong feelings for Hibari, and a monument was erected next to his monument, and the place was named Hibari no Sono.
Now, with the cooperation of the people of Iwaki City, the Hibari Misora statue has been relocated to Hibari-no-en.
Mr. Kato, who attended the unveiling ceremony, thanked the people of Iwaki City for their efforts in relocating the statue, and said, “I feel like this statue was meant to be here.I want to make sure that something sad never happens again.” I’m thinking of asking my mom to continue praying for us as well.”
Kondo has an anecdote about how he once saw Hibari rehearsing for a TV program and said, “That lady doesn’t sing,” and said, “In the corner of the stage, Hibari said to me, “Mahiko-chan, I’m so happy.” I was really happy because they didn’t ask me to sing anymore.”Afterwards, I was invited to the dressing room and even got an autograph,” he said, looking back on that episode.
Since then, Kondo, who has remained close friends with Hibari, said, “Mr. Ishii and I talked about whether there would be another singer who would be able to hold an unveiling ceremony like this, decades after her death.” I did.
In addition, Mr. Ishii, who is close friends with Mr. Hibari and is Mr. Kato’s guardian, said, “I think Mr. Hibari is happy to have everyone here. I want you to come here even if you don’t have free time.” Regarding hosting the unveiling ceremony, he said, “I’ve never had such an honor, and I don’t think I’ve ever received a greater honor than this as a master of ceremonies.” Kato said, “I would like many people to see the Hibari Misora statue, and I would like them to visit not only Hibari-no-en but also many other famous spots in Fukushima.”
