Michiyakko

Life Michiyakko was born in Hamatonbetsu, Hokkaido, eldest of four siblings. Her father Yurita Kubo went by the stage name Tamajiro Nakamura. He was from Tokushima Prefecture and led a traveling kabuki troupe from the late Meiji period to the early Taisho period. He ended up in Hamatonbetsu and married the daughter of a local woodworker. He came to Hamatonbetsu because Yurita's sister ran a kimono shop there. Influenced by her father, she developed an interest in performing arts from a young age and aspired to make a living playing the .

Career She came to Tokyo to train in the shamisen, initially relying on a relative who ran a called "Michinoya" in Asakusa. The following year, her relative's business ran into financial difficulties, and 15-year-old Someko became a geisha under the name Michiyakko. Michiyakko became a popular geisha in Asakusa.

Death After the war, she led a turbulent life, having lost her parents, whom she had brought to live with her, in the Tokyo air raids, and experiencing romantic entanglements. She entered a nursing home with Hiroko Nakano, a female sword-fighting performer with whom she had shared hardships in the same troupe after the war. She died from colon cancer in 1996, and on the night of the 49th-day memorial service, Nakano died shortly after the service. She was 78 years old.