Kim moved to the country of her idol Misora Hibari in 1988, in order to master her favorite enka songs. In an era before the internet, she said singing on Japanese TV shows was her way of becoming ...

Sultry-voiced Aki Yashiro, beloved as the “queen of enka” (Japanese ballads), died of rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia on Dec. 30, her office announced on Jan. 9. She was 73.