Yasuha

Yasuha Ebina was born on January 17, 1961 in Taitō, Tokyo, as the second child of a rakugo performer Hayashiya Sanpei I and a novelist Kayoko Ebina. Her grandfather, Hayashiya Shōzō VII was also a rakugo performer, as well as her two brothers, Hayashiya Shōzō IX and Hayashiya Sanpei II. Her sister, Midori Ebina is a former actress. As a child, Ebina learned classical music, however, after failing to enter college of music, she began pursuing a career as a J-pop singer instead.

In 1979, Ebina began her tarento career, appearing in the numerous television and radio programs such as the Japanese television variety shows Variety Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do (1979-1982) and Gogo wa MaruMaru Omoikkiri TV (1987-1988).[2]

Ebina established her singing career in 1981, releasing her debut single "Flyday Chinatown" via Polydor Records.[3] The song was a moderate success, peaking at number sixty-nine on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and selling approximately 56,000 copies. Her third single, “Mizuiro no ame” (literally: “Light blue rain”) was also a hit, chosen as a part of Minna no Uta series. As a singer, she has released seven studio albums and two compilation albums as of June, 2020. She has also written few songs for other artists, including Shohjo-Tai's hit "Motto Charleston" (1986), which reached number sixteen in Japan.

In June, 1988, Ebina married a rakugo performer Shūnpūtei Koasa, and subsequently retired from the entertainment industry to support Koasa as a president of his production company, Haru Haru Dō. However, in November 2007, the couple announced the divorce in the press conference at the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, and the relaunch of Ebina's entertainment career. Ebina drew a mass public attention for publishing a book about the divorce, "Kaiun Rikon", and appearing in the professional wrestling match with Yoji Anjo as a player. In November 2008, she released her first single in the last twenty-two years, "Ohisama yo Hohoende" via her own record label, Iron Candles.

• Yasuha Official Blog (in Japanese)