Watanabe Hamako, born Kato Hamako (加藤濱子) in Hirano, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan) was a Japanese singer who was active in the music scene from before World War II through the post-war era. Her maternal grandfather was Japanese American. She graduated from Sohma Girls' School in 1929 and from Musashino Music School in 1933, where she studied under Fusa Tatematsu. That year, she also worked as a music teacher at Yokohama High School for Girls.

In 1933, Watanabe recorded "Mogami River Song" with Polydor, which won a prize in a Yamagata Newspaper contest. Following this, she debuted with Victor Records in December 1933 with the song "Uminaru Sora," thanks to a recommendation from her teacher Tokuyama Rei. Her departure from teaching to pursue a singing career led to controversy, including protests from her guardians. She resigned from her teaching position in the fall of 1935 and focused on her singing career.

Due to internal conflicts at Victor and controversy surrounding "Nee Kouta," Watanabe took a year-long hiatus before transferring to Columbia Records in April 1937.

During World War II, Watanabe was in Tianjin, China, where she was detained as a prisoner of war for a year. Despite her circumstances, she continued to sing for her fellow prisoners. After returning to Japan, she was reunited with her brother, who later passed away due to illness.

In 1947, Watanabe married and later ran a flower shop in Yokohama while continuing her singing career. She remained active on television and radio until the 1980s when she began to show signs of dementia, exacerbated by her husband's death in 1985. Following family advice, she retired in 1989. After retirement, her condition worsened, and she suffered a stroke, making communication with anyone other than her family difficult. She passed away on December 31, 1999, at the age of 89.

(Source: MyDramaList) Edit Biography