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Yoshie Kashiwabara (柏原芳恵, Kashiwabara Yoshie, born on October 1, 1965) is a Japanese pop singer and actress currently signed under Freeload agency. In early 1980's, she gained her popularity as a teen idol and made singing debut with single No.1.

History

Born in Osaka, Yoshie Kashiwabara took part in, and won, the "Star Tanjo" contest in 1979, and rose to fame in 1980 as a teen idol, making her debut with the song "No.1" when she was only 14 years old. With determination and strong will, plus a good voice, Yoshie finally made it with a top 10 song "Hello Goodbye" – her 7th single – in autumn 1981, bringing her instant fame and popularity.

Yoshie's strong performance continued in 1982, with all four of her singles in that year making it into the top 10, and many were expecting her to be selected for the year-end NHK Red and White Song festival, but she was surprisingly dropped while Junko Mihara, who also debuted in 1980 along with Yoshie, was chosen, making it the headline news for that year's annual show.

Yoshie continued to work hard the next year (1983) not only by singing; she acted in a few dramas as well, and as expected, she was finally rewarded by being selected for that year's Red and White Song Festival. One of her biggest hits, "Haru na no ni", composed by Miyuki Nakajima, which was released in spring 1983, was a song about graduation, and is still one of the most popular graduation-themed songs, which is performed all over Japan during graduation period.

In 1985, Yoshie tried to leave her teen idol image behind by portraying a more mature, sexier image, and was well recognised. Her sexy posters for her hit song "Shinobi no Ai", which were hung on buildings and advertisement venues, were all stolen within days, and in this year it was found out that the then Crown Prince of Japan was a big fan of Yoshie, and instantly she was the talk of the town, pushing her to return to the stage of Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Red and White) for a second (and final) appearance.

From 1986 onwards, Yoshie began writing lyrics for her own songs, but in the ever-competitive Japanese music industry, her popularity began to decline precipitously. She then began to focus on acting and releasing many photography album, mostly featuring her in swimsuits and/or sexy lingerie. After 1990, she temporarily suspended her music activities and focuses more on releasing photo books, television appearances as a host and actress on the movies, theatre stage and television dramas.

In 2007, she released her first enka cover-album Encore under enka recording label Freeload.

In 2020, to commrate her 40th singing debut, released new single Ku・zu:Watashi no Kare. As of now, Yoshie still sings and held her annual gala dinner show.

Personal life

Yoshie is married to common-law husband, the name hasn't been revealed to the public. In 2020, it was reported of Kashiwabara's husband being diagnosed with leukemia and has been taking care of him on daily basis.

She is very much into fine clay art work, cooking, movies, photography and scuba diving.

Legacy

In 2011, one of the most famous Japanese music programs, Music Station, held a special program where they counted down the Top 50 Idols of All-Time (the list spanning over four decades) based on their sales total; Yoshie Kashiwabara was in the 40th position, with total sales of 4,400,000 copies.

Other than producing 18 top-ten singles from 1981 to 1986 and performing twice (1983 and 1985) on the annual Kohaku, Yoshie's biggest achievement during her career was perhaps, despite being labelled as a pop idol, to be nominated for the best singing female artist for three consecutive years (1985–1987).

Discography

Singles

Studio albums

Live albums

Cover albums

Compilation albums

Box sets

External links

• Official website
• Official profile at Freeboard

References

1. ^ "少し翳あるオトナの女？ 1980年組、柏原よしえは14歳デビュー！". reminder.top. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
2. "柏原よしえ「ハロー・グッバイ」はアグネス・チャンと讃岐裕子のカバー曲". reminder.top. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
3. "柏原芳恵、出会いに恵まれた42年　中島みゆきとの「春なのに」レコーディング秘話語る". crank-in.net. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
4. ^ "誰もが認める柏原芳恵の歌唱力！アイドルという冠を被らされた若き実力派歌手". reminder.top. 17 December 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
5. "歌手・柏原芳恵　これからは〝微笑みプレゼンター〟に　良い意味で、えっ！と裏切るようなことも". Zakzak. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
6. "男演歌の柏原芳恵に放送関係者も注目！". nikkansports. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
7. "柏原芳恵、デビュー40周年記念シングルは「KU・ZU ～ワタシの彼～」". Natalie Music. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
8. "柏原芳恵、１２年ぶりシングル　デビュー４０周年記念日６・１発売". Sankei Sport. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
9. "【ヒューマン】柏原芳恵、追い続ける夢". Sankei Sport. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
10. "柏原芳恵がコンサート 2023 を開催！". fujimix.com. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
11. ^ "柏原芳恵　事実婚の22才年上夫が白血病患い献身介護の日々". news-postseven.com. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
12. "柏原芳恵デビュー40年目の覚悟…白血病患う恋人を献身介護". nikkan-gendai.com. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
13. Yamamoto, Takao (producer) (2011). MUSIC STATION（Mステ）史上最強アイドルBEST50 [Music Station "Strongest Idols in History Best 50"]. Music Station (in Japanese). TV Asahi.
14. ^ "柏原芳恵のCD・DVDリリース一覧". Oricon. Retrieved July 28, 2018.

• 1965 births
• Japanese women pop singers
• Living people
• People from Nishinari, Osaka
• Singers from Osaka
• Singing talent show winners
• Japanese actresses
• 20th-century Japanese singers
• 21st-century Japanese singers
• 20th-century Japanese women singers
• 21st-century Japanese women singers