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Actress, Singer, Dancer Yukiji Asaoka Passes Away at 82
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Newspapers in Japan reported on Sunday that actress, singer, and dancer Yukiji Asaoka (real name Yukie Katō) passed away on April 27. She was 82. Her close relatives held a funeral.
While the cause of death is unknown, Asaoka was seeking treatment for Alzheimer's Disease.
Asaoka was interested in dancing from a young age. Her father, painter Shinsui Itō, encouraged her to attend the Takarazuka Music School. She performed in the Takarazuka Revue's Moon Troupe from 1952-55. After graduation, she started performing in movies, on television, and on stage. In 2011, she was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette.
Her final public performance was in 2014 in the musical Hana ya... Chō ya..., which her husband Masahiko Tsugawa also performed in, and her daughter Mayuko produced.
In anime, she voiced Matsuko in My Neighbors the Yamadas, Kitanokata in The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Euterpe in The Mouse and His Child.
Image via Yukiji Asaoka's Agency's blog
Sources: Sponichi Annex, Nikkan Sports via Hachima Kikō
