The Legend Lives On

Project Kokoro presented the Grateful Crane Ensemble’s “Misora Hibari: A Tribute to a Legend” on Oct. 25 at Orange County Buddhist Church. From left: Helen Ota, Fusako Shiotani, Merv Maruyama, Susan Haruye Ioka and Keiko Kawashima told the singer’s life story and sang songs from different stages in her career.

From left: Kawashima, Ota, Maruyama, Shiotani and Ioka sing “Kawa no Nagare no You ni” (Like the Flow of a River), one of “Hibari-chan’s” greatest hits. They were accompanied by Scott Nagatani on piano, Danny Yamamoto on drums, taiko and Japanese percussion, and Hiro Morozumi on keyboards and acoustic guitar.

The show, which played to a full house at OCBC, will be performed at Buddhist Church of San Francisco on Saturday, Nov. 21. For more information, visit http://gratefulcrane.com. Misora Hibari (1937-1989), whose real name was Kazue Kato, was a beloved singer and actress both in Japan and the Japanese American community.

Photos by J.K. YAMAMOTO/Rafu Shimpo