is a pop singer famous in her native Japan for her piano ballads. She rose to fame after performing the end-title track "Garnet" for the Madhouse film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in 2006. She was signed to a major record label the preceding year.
Biography Oku's musical training began at age 5 with piano lessons, but by age 9 she was also learning the trumpet and was a member of her school's brass band.
In 2004, Oku began to perform on the streets of Tokyo, mainly in Shibuya ward, but once sold 402 CDs in four hours outside Kashiwa railway station. Later that same year she released her first mainstream single Fireworks and performed her debut one-woman show to an audience of 135. Approached by Chiba TV, she made an appearance on the show Chiba Fighting Spirit.
Over the next year she toured western Japan and self-produced two more CD singles before releasing an album in April 2005. Soon afterwards she was signed up by record company Pony Canyon.
In April 2006, the animated film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was released, with the theme songs "Garnet" and "Kawaranai Mono" sung by Oku.
Come spring 2007, Oku performed to a sell-out crowd at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall, and with the release of her album Time Note, she once again performed sold-out concerts there over three nights in July 2007.
Oku still occasionally busked in Tokyo railway stations in 2007, drawing a crowd, and selling her CDs there.
Since June 2005, Hanako Oku has hosted her KameKameHouse radio show on bayfm78 every Sunday night from 22:30 to 23:00. At the end of 2009, the show was renamed Lagan de Talk!. In 2010, Oku began hosting a new radio show E-Tracks Selection once a fortnight on FM OSAKA. Starting January 12, the show airs from 21:00 to 21:30.
An animated music clip of the album version of Oku's song "Kimi no Egao" was released, through Pony Canyon's official YouTube channel, on May 7, 2017. Directed by Takuya Satō and titled Your Light: Kase-san and Morning Glories, the video is an adaptation of Hiromi Takashima's yuri manga Asagao to Kase-san. The album version of the song comes from Oku's sixth album, titled Good-Bye, released in 2012.
Discography
Albums
Release Date: Title: April 20, 2005 Vol. Best (Indies Best) March 1, 2006 March 21, 2007 Time Note March 5, 2008 July 15, 2009 Birthday August 18, 2010 February 22, 2012 Good-Bye March 19, 2014 October 28, 2015 May 17, 2017
Singles
Release Date: Title: Notes: August 26, 2004 Independently released single July 27, 2005 January 18, 2006 February 15, 2006 July 12, 2006 End-title track for the Madhouse film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time November 29, 2006 January 23, 2008 July 23, 2008 Theme song to NHK's November 19, 2008 June 3, 2009 August 7, 2009 Re-mastered and re-released March 17, 2010 August 5, 2010 Used as the theme song for the video game Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X. January 11, 2012 January 22, 2014 March 18, 2015 September 21, 2016 February 22, 2017
DVD
Release Date: Title: July 18, 2007 Hanako Oku: 2007 Spring Concert: Time Note at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall March 18, 2009 Hanako Oku Live Tour 08: Hajimete Band de Utaimasu! March 18, 2009 Hanako Oku Live Tour 08: Mochiron Hitori de Hikigatari! March 20, 2013 Band Live Tour '11 "Cinderella"/ CONCERT TOUR'12 Hikikatari – 5th Letter - March 16, 2016 Oku Hanako 10th Anniversary Special Concert 2015
Blu-ray March 16, 2016 Oku Hanako 10th Anniversary Special Concert 2015
References
External links (In Japanese) Hanako Oku's profile on Pony Canyon's website (In Japanese) Hanako Oku's personal blog (24 February 2010 to present) (In Japanese) Hanako Oku's personal blog (21 January 2008 to 24 February 2010) (In Japanese) Hanako Oku's personal blog (4 October 2004 to 22 January 2008) (In Japanese) KameKameHouse radio show blog (In Japanese) Your Light ～Kase-san and Morning Glories～ on Pony Canyon's YouTube channel