EPO

Eiko Miyagawa (宮川榮子), née Eiko Sato (佐藤栄子), born May 12, 1960), known professionally as EPO, is a Japanese singer, songwriter and alternative medicine therapist who had success in the Japanese music industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Known as one of the "RCA Three Girls" in the mid-1980s alongside artists Taeko Onuki and Mariya Takeuchi on the same label, she is a prominent figure in the city pop genre that saw a revival in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Early life and education Eiko Sato was born in Tokyo on May 12, 1960. She attended Setagaya Municipal Tamon Elementary School, where she was given the nickname 'Epo' by a friend, a mispronunciation of 'Eiko', which would later become her stage name. Sato attended and , also in Setagaya.

During her time in Matsubara High School, Sato formed a band with classmates and , with Sato singing backing vocals, writing and arranging songs, and playing piano. Shimizu and Sahashi would go on to become independently successful, Shimizu as a producer and keyboardist, and Sahashi as a guitarist. The two would also be frequent musical collaborators with Sato across her career as a solo artist. In 1977, in her second year of high school, Sato enrolled at the Japan Women's College of Physical Education, while recording music part-time as a session singer. Due to her dyfunctional home life, Sato moved out at 19 years old.

Music career Debut - 1980s In 1979, Sato, working with RCA Records, recorded vocals for the chorus of Mariya Takeuchi's single "September". The song's vocal arrangement is credited to Sato, but she only sang on the chorus, with actually arranging the vocals. This was done to promote Sato's musical ability, as she was due to make her debut as a solo artist with RCA. Sato dropped out of Japan Women's College of Physical Education in her second year to focus on progressing her musical career. Sato was a fan of Sugar Babe, and shared a label with one of its members, Tatsuro Yamashita. Prior to the release of "Down Town", Sato was struggling with choosing a debut song. By chance, she encountered Yamashita in the lobby of RCA's recording studios, and asked him directly if she could cover "Down Town" for her debut single as EPO, to which he agreed. EPO's cover of "Down Town" was used as the ending theme of sketch comedy TV show , as Yamashita is said to have refused permission for Sugar Babe's version to be used.

On November 21, 1980, EPO's second album Goodies (stylised in all caps) was released with the single "Park Avenue 1981". Some songs on Goodies were recorded in Los Angeles and New York in the United States, and featured musical contributions from both American and Japanese artists such Luther Vandross and Sugar Babe band member Taeko Onuki, both of whom performed backing vocals.

EPO's third album JOEPO ~ 1981KHz was released on September 21, 1981. A concept album, it was recorded in the style of a live radio program, with songs interspersed with jingles.

EPO released her fourth album, Uwasa ni Naritai (うわさになりたい, lit. "I Want To Become a Rumour", stylised as U・Wa・Sa・Ni・Na・Ri・Ta・I), on May 21, 1982, which included a new version of "Down Town".

On April 5, 1983, EPO released her fifth album, Vitamin E・P・O (stylised in all caps). This would be her first album released under the Dear Heart label, a sub-label of RCA founded by producer Shigeki Miyata that would later become the record label. The album reached number 1 on the Cash Box LPs chart and number 2 on the Music Labo albums chart. The album's single, "U, Fu, Fu, Fu" (う、ふ、ふ、ふ) became EPO's most successful single, and was used in a commercial for Shiseido cosmetics. "U, Fu, Fu, Fu" peaked at number 7 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and sold 263,000 copies in 1983. Another song from Vitamin E・P・O, "Doyō no Yoruwa Paradise" was once again used as the ending theme for Oretachi Hyokin-Zoku.

On February 21, 1984, EPO released her sixth album, Hi・Touch-Hi・Tech (stylised in all caps). The album contained a self-cover of "Kuchibiru Nude" , a song which EPO had written for idol singer Chika Takami earlier the same year. EPO began writing songs for other idol singers around this time up until the end of the 1980s, including Yukiko Okada, Noriko Matsumoto, Akina Nakamori, Kyoko Koizumi, Miho Nakayama, and Hiroko Yakushimaru. Hi・Touch-Hi・Tech was EPO's final album under RCA records.

On June 5, 1986, EPO released her eighth album Pump!Pump! (stylised in all caps), her first self-produced album.

EPO released her ninth album, Go Go EPO, on April 21, 1987. On December 5, 1987, EPO released her tenth album, Poptracks (stylised in all caps), a cover album of largely Japanese pop songs by her musical contemporaries, such as Tatsuro Yamashita and Minako Yoshida, as well as songwriter Yumi Matsutoya.

The same year, EPO moved to London, England, and released her eleventh album, Freestyle (stylised in all caps), on August 21, 1988. Freestyle was recorded between London and Tokyo, and became EPO's best-selling album, peaking at number 9 on the Oricon Chart. The following year, on March 21, 1989, EPO's first live album, Sparks, was released with recordings from her Freestyle tour in Japan.

On July 21, 1989, EPO released her twelfth album, Supernatural. While all the songs on Supernatural were recorded in Japanese (with the exception of an English version of the track "Everybody Knows"), the album was produced entirely in London.

1990s In 1991, EPO, having signed with Virgin Records in the UK, released her thirteenth album, Fire and Snow, on March 6. The album was produced by two English music producers, Steve Lovell and Steve Power.

EPO returned to Japan the same year, EPO met , guitarist for the Brazilian music inspired band , while working on Wica. Sasago would become a frequent musical collaborator with EPO.

On February 24, 1993, EPO released her fifteenth album, EPO Works, an acoustic self-cover album. On March 9, 1994, EPO released her sixteenth album, Voice of Ooparts, which would be her final album to appear on the Oricon Chart, peaking at number 36.

EPO released her second live album, UVA EPO Works Vol. 2, on September 27, 1995. The album contains live recordings from a month-long South American tour the same year with Choro Club and percussionist Ryo Watanabe. (Another source On March 11, 1998, EPO released her eighteenth album, Soul Kitchen.) This album contained the song "Bleeding Heart", which EPO wrote about the pain and grief she experienced from her mother's treatment of her. On her website, EPO wrote that this period of time around 1998 was "a period of great turmoil." Her father died during the production of her nineteenth album, Peach, released on June 16, 1999.

2000s - 2010s On July 25, 2001, EPO released her twentieth album, Air (stylised in all lower case). The album contains several live recordings of self-covers. Following the release of Air, EPO would not release a new album until 2009.

On July 8, 2009, EPO released her twenty-first album Aqua Nome, her first album released by her independent label, Eponica Record. Inspired by various musical genres and world cultures, Aqua Nome includes the sounds of the morin khuur, oud, harmonium, and Mongolian throat singing. The album also includes contributions from past collaborators Shigeharu Sasago and Ryo Watanabe.

In 2011, EPO was scheduled to play two live shows on March 25 and 26 at the music venue Suidobashi Tokyo Club as part of her 30th anniversary tour. However, due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, these concerts became fundraising concerts in aid of relief efforts in the aftermath of the disaster. The shows were recorded and released as two separate live albums. Later the same year, EPO released two more live albums of recordings from concerts with the soft rock band .

On December 4, 2013, EPO released her twenty-second album, Sacred Note〜Shinseina Oboegaki〜 (Sacred Note〜神聖な覚え書き〜).

On September 16, 2015, EPO released her twenty-third album, Ai wo～Love is On～ (愛を～Love is On～), to commemorate the 35th anniversary of her debut.

On July 5, 2017, EPO released Aquanome Live at Valley of Gangala in Okinawa, her sixth live album. EPO performed her first show at the historic Gangala Valley in Okinawa in 2016, and continued to perform there annually until 2020.

2020 - Present Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, EPO had to postpone her plans to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her debut, including a live tour. The same year, EPO's music was made available on music streaming platforms, which, coinciding with the rise in popularity of city pop, began to receive increased attention via streaming from outside Japan.

On September 19 and September 21, 2025, EPO Best Hit Live 45th Anniversary PARTY!!, two live shows commemorating EPO's 45th debut anniversary, were performed in Tokyo and Osaka respectively. Both shows were fully sold out. Long-time collaborators and former classmates Nobuyuki Shimizu and Yoshiyuki Sahashi formed part of EPO's band for the shows.

On October 1, 2025, EPO released her twenty-fourth studio album, Epoful, as part of her 45th anniversary commemorations.

On May 31, 2026, EPO performed a Tiny Desk Concert, in a collaboration with American broadcater NPR and Japanese broadcaster NHK. She performed alongside Nobuyuki Shimizu, Yoshiyuki Sahashi, and four members of (stylised in all caps), a Japanese city pop inspired band who had collaborated with EPO previously.

Artistry EPO has cited Karen Carpenter as a major influence on her music, having referred to her as a "role model". Other western artists such as The Eagles, The Raspberries, and Barry Manilow influenced her work, as did songwriters Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. contrasted against the traditional music mainstream of Japan in the 1970s and 1980s, also served as a major influence for EPO. EPO, having had an existing love for Brazillian music, She graduated in 2010.

EPO runs her own therapy practice together with her husband, MUSIC&DRAMA, which she opened in Hayama, Kanagawa in April 2004. EPO has said that in 1987, her mother charged at her with a kitchen knife. After the attack, she lost consciousness, and was diagnosed with acute stress disorder in hospital. Her father died in the late 1990s, Her mother died in 2017, and her brother died in 2021. She only learned that her mother had been diagnosed with mental health issues after her death from her medical records.

EPO met her husband, actor Masahiko Miyagawa, in 2003. The pair were co-stars in a production of The Little Prince. They married in 2012.

Discography Albums Studio albums Title Details Peak chartpositions Japan (Oricon) Down Town Released: March 21, 1980 Label: RCA Records — Goodies Released: November 21, 1980 Label: RCA Records — JOEPO ~ 1981KHz Released: September 21, 1981

Label: RCA Records — Vitamin E・P・O Released: April 5, 1983 Label: RCA Records / Dear Heart — Hi・Touch-Hi・Tech Released: February 21, 1984 Label: RCA Records / Dear Heart — Harmony Released: February 21, 1984 Label: Dear Heart/Midi Inc. — Pump!Pump! Released: June 5, 1986 Label: Dear Heart/Midi Inc. — Go Go EPO Released: April 21, 1987 Label: Dear Heart/Midi Inc. — Poptracks Released: December 5, 1987 Label: Dear Heart/Midi Inc. 15 Label: Hoy-Hoy Records — <td Temple Tōhoku Kantō Daishinsai Fukkō Shien Live Vol. 2 (Music Temple 東北関東大震災復興支援 Live Vol. 2) Released: March 26, 2011

Label: Hoy-Hoy Records — Aquanome Live at Valley of Gangala in Okinawa Released: July 5, 2017 Label: Eponica Record — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Compilation Albums Title Details Peak chartpositions Japan (Oricon) The Best Station JOEPO 1980-1984 Released: March 21, 1989 Label: RCA / Dear Heart — The Very Best of EPO Released: December 5, 1986 Label: Dear Heart / Midi Inc. — The Ballads Released: December 10, 1989 Label: Dear Heart / Midi Inc. 47 Label: Dear Heart / Midi Inc. — Single Tracks Released: November 1, 1991 Label: Midi Inc. — The Best 1980-1990 Released: December 21, 1992 Label: Midi Inc. — <td no Tani(カウイ 唄の谷 ) Released: December 7, 1994 Label: Toshiba EMI — Epocha 1980-1986 Released: June 23, 1999 Label: RCA Ariola — Travessia ~ EPO'S Best 1980-1999 Released: December 1, 1999 Label: Midi Inc. — <td EPO(ゴールデン☆ベスト EPO) Released: April 20, 2005 Label: Midi Inc. — <td EPO EMI YEARS(ゴールデン☆ベスト EPO EMI YEARS) Released: February 23, 2011 Label: Toshiba EMI — Golden☆Best EPO ～The BEST 80’s Director’s Edition～ Released: December 7, 2011 Label: Sony Music Direct — "—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Singles 1980s

1990s - 2000s