Chitose Hajime

Chitose Hajime (元ちとせ, Hajime Chitose, born January 5, 1979) is a singer from Japan. She is from Amami Ōshima and sings in a style particular to that region, with distinctive falsetto effects. Chitose Hajime began learning shamisen under her mother's encouragement from a young age. At age 10 she began to pick up "Shima-Uta" [island songs], a style of singing passed down through generations and part of the Ryukyuan music tradition. She won many folk song competitions during her teens, traveling to events across Japan. She released two traditional folk albums on cassette on an indie label, the first at age 15, and at age 18 was approached by numerous record labels following a grand prize win at a local folk song contest. Stating in a later...