Ballsack’s J-Pop Midlife Crisis, pt. 13: 梶芽衣子

Starting sometime last year, I started really getting into Japanese music. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, because I had always thought I hated singing in Japanese. Turns out I don’t! In the night threads for the following week, I’ll write a little about each of my favorite artists that I’ve discovered, and share a streaming album for you to dutifully ignore.

Meiko Kaji (梶芽衣子) is probably the most famous person in the West in my night threads. But she’s much more known for being an actress, particularly in the 70s Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion and Lady Snowblood movies.

Kaji’s singing career isn’t quite as well known in the West as her 70s films, but she released a number of albums, particularly in 70s, and is still somewhat active in that endeavor today (releasing an album just last year). French label Wewantsounds is also rereleasing her albums on vinyl.

Here’s her 1973 album, 『梶芽衣子のはじき詩集』 (Kaji Meiko no hajiki shishū)