"Akihiro Miwa"
Akihiro Miwa (美輪 明宏), is a Japanese singer, actor, drag queen, director, composer and author from Nagasaki in Nagasaki Prefecture. His real name is Akihiro Maruyama (丸山 明宏). He writes most of his own music and has written over 20 books. An open homosexual, he is also a drag queen who often dyes his shoulder-length hair bright yellow.
Miwa was born on May 15 in 1935 to a family which ran a small cafe. After seeing the movie Boy Soprano at the age of 11, he claims to have had a dream in which he was standing on stage in a concert hall, singing. It was this which inspired his interest in music. He then attended the Kunitachi College of Music High School at the age of 15.
He started his career at 17 as a professional cabaret singer in the Ginza district in Chūō, Tokyo, when moving to Tokyo in 1952. He started working in various nightclubs singing his favourites from the French chansons such as those of Édith Piaf, Yvette Guilbert and Marie Dubas. His claim to fame came rather early in 1957, with a smash-hit called "Me Que Me Que", which included a string of profanities not used in media at the time. He was also renowned for his effeminate beauty, making him a hit with the media. He performed a monthly show at Shibuya Jean-Jean called "Akihiro Miwa no Sekai" (the world of Akihiro Miwa) from the 1970s until its closure in 2000, as well as touring Japan.
Miwa has written many books as well, and is known for his outspoken stances on social issues and war. This can be attributed to his having experienced the worst of it; he was in Nagasaki when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb, but he escaped relatively unhurt. He is highly critical of the government at all his concerts.
