Akari Uchida

Akari Uchida is a Japanese actress and singer. Her birth name is Kuniko Ōgata (大形 久仁子). She was born in Osaka Prefecture. She was previously known by the stage name Akari Uchida (内田 明里), which is pronounced the same. Under her birth name Kuniko Ōgata, she gained recognition as a jazz cafe singer in her hometown. At the age of 16, she was scouted and made her acting debut in the TBS TV drama "土曜日の虎" (Saturday's Tiger) in 1966, using the name Fujiku Ōgata. In 1967, she made her record debut under Toshiba Records with the song "限りある日を愛に生きて" (Living for Limited Days in Love). In 1968, she had a hit duet titled "私って駄目な女ね" (I'm Such a Useless Woman) with Hiroshi Wada and Mahina Stars, which sold 500,000 copies. However, she struggled to achieve solo success.

In 1973, after seven years in the industry, she moved to CBS Sony and changed her stage name to "Akari Uchida." This stage name was given to her by composer Ichirō Sase, who considered both spiritual inspiration and physiognomy. The name "Uchida" was chosen due to its visual resemblance to her round face, and "Akari" (meaning "light") was chosen to signify that light always shines on her round face. Her hit song "浮世絵の街" (Ukiyo-e Town) with elaborate designs by Kansai Yamamoto and a jacket illustration by Kazuo Uemura became a huge hit, selling 700,000 copies. The kimono-style blouse costume designed by Yamamoto cost 1.2 million yen, and it's said that she performed without panties on television.