Daily Archives: April 17, 2005

“Folk Charisma” Dies

Folk singer Takata Wataru died of heart failure at a hospital in Hokkaido on Saturday. He was 56. He played his last gig just two weeks ago and his health deteriorated the following day. He was one of the leading figures of the Japanese folk music boom in the 1970s.

• Impressionist Hori (28) married a 27-year old Hokkaido native named only as “A-san” today in Tokyo. He announced his marriage plans yesterday on one of his regular TV slots. The pair met a year and a half ago and have been living together since last year.

• About 1,000 fans from across the country turned up without tickets for Saturday’s Morning Musume concert to appeal for the return of Yaguchi Mari (22). Yaguchi suddenly quit the group last week after her romance with actor Oguri Shun (22) became public. the concert at the Hachioji Public Hall was delayed by 30 minutes as the group hurried to fill in the gaps left in their song and dance routines by Yaguchi’s absence.