Toshiko Sekiya Explained

Toshiko Sekiya
Native Name:関屋敏子
Birth Date:March 12, 1904
Birth Place:Tokyo, Japan
Death Date:November 23, 1941 (age 37)
Death Place:Japan
Native Name Lang:ja
Other Names:Sekiya Toshiko
Occupation:Singer, composer
Relatives:Matsudaira Yoshinaga (great-grandfather)
Charles Le Gendre (grandfather)
Ichimura Uzaemon XV (uncle)

Toshiko Sekiya (March 12, 1904 – November 23, 1941, in Japanese 関屋敏子, in kana せきや としこ), also written Sekiya Toshiko, was a Japanese singer and composer.

Early life and education

Sekiya was born in Tokyo, the daughter of businessman Yonosuke Sekiya.[1] Her maternal grandfather was French-born American diplomat and Union Army veteran Charles Le Gendre.[2] [3] Her uncle was a kabuki actor, . Matsudaira Yoshinaga was her great-grandfather.

Sekiya began studying and performing music as a small girl, including an event where she sang two songs for the Empress Shōken. She studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and with opera singers Tamaki Miura, Rosina Storchio, and Adolfo Sarcoli. She moved to Italy for further studies.[4] In 1928, she earned a diploma from the Royal Academia Filarmonica di Bologna.[5] [6]

Career

Sekiya had a lyric soprano voice.[7] [8] She sang on opera stages and gave recitals in Spain,[9] Germany, Italy, England, and the United States.[10] [11] A Los Angeles critic in 1931 described her as possessing "an indescribable sweetness and charm", and Sekiya's own compositions in the program as "oddly beautiful and fascinating."[12] Her clothing, hairstyles, shoes, and skin were described in press reports.[13]

Sekiya made several recordings as a singer, in 1929 for the Gramaphone label, and in 1932 for the Victor label.[14] She appeared in one of the first Japanese sound films, Komoriuta (1930).[15] She wrote and published an opera, Onatsu Kyoran (1933). She starred in the first production of the opera; she also designed the sets and contributed to the choreography.[16] Her second opera, Futari Kuzuba, was first produced in Japan in 1935. In her later years, she mentored a young American singer, Elizabeth Misako Russell, and encouraged a young Canadian singer, Aiko Saita.[17] [18]

Personal life

Sekiya married Goro Yagiyu in 1937.[19] [20] She died by suicide in 1941, at the age of 37, in Japan.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 1934 . Opera Singer Toshiko Sekiya (photograph) . 2024-11-20 . The Japanese Association Singapore Collection, National Archives of Singapore.
  2. News: September 28, 1929 . East and West Meet in Her . The Oregon Daily Journal . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: October 12, 1929 . A Songbird of Nippon, Miss Toshiko Sekiya . Midweek Pictorial . 12 . Internet Archive.
  4. December 9, 1928 . Artisti dell E.I.A.R. . Radiocorriere . it . 37 . 27 . Internet Archive.
  5. News: February 20, 1932 . Toshiko Sekiya . The Birmingham News . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: Beebe . Katherine . February 18, 1932 . Japanese Opera Star Makes Debut Tonight . News and Record . 10 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: Tong . Ahuna . April 3, 1931 . Toshiko Sekiya, Japanese Soprano, Charms Audience at Song Recital . Honolulu Star Advertiser . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Sakamaki . George . April 3, 1931 . Sekiya Wins Her Audience . Honolulu Star-Bulletin . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  9. October 1928 . Visita de la sopran japonesa Toshiko-Sekiya . Revista Musical Catalana . ca . 25 . 298 . 364-365.
  10. Book: Taylor, Quintard . The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle’s Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era . 2022-06-07 . University of Washington Press . 978-0-295-75065-1 . 133 . en.
  11. News: Mitchell . O. J. . June 12, 1931 . Famous Japanese Singer WIll Again Visit Pismo . Pismo Times . 1, 2 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Murrill . Jan . June 12, 1931 . Toshiko Sekiya Scores at Shrine . Los Angeles Evening Post-Record . 12 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: March 6, 1932 . Japanese Opera Star Can Sing in Six Languages . Grand Forks Herald . 12 . Newspapers.com.
  14. Web site: Toshiko Sekiya . 2024-11-20 . Discography of American Historical Recordings.
  15. News: June 6, 1930 . Japanese Soprano; To Make Talkie for 20,000 Yen Weekly . China Mail . 11 . Internet Archive.
  16. October 10, 1937 . Mephisto's Musings . Musical America . 57 . 15 . 9 . Internet Archive.
  17. News: April 24, 1940 . Honolulu Girl Soloist Wins Acclaim in Tokyo Debut . Honolulu Star-Advertiser . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  18. https://nikkeimuseum.org/www/collections_detail.php?col_id=F1156 Aiko Saita collection
  19. News: March 9, 1937 . Toshiko Sekiya to Marry in Tokyo Next Month . Shinsekai asahi shinbun . 7 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  20. News: April 28, 1937 . Singer T. Sekiya Weds Viscount Kin . Shinsekai asahi shinbun . 7 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  21. News: December 3, 1941 . Death Due to Suicide; Despondency Causes Unfortunate End of Well-known Singer, Toshiko Sekiya . Shinsekai asahi shinbun . 7 . California Digital Newspaper Collection.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Toshiko Sekiya".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.