Haru Kobayashi

Haru Kobayashi was a Japanese female musician, singing goze songs accompanied by shamisen. Kobayashi was blind, and had been since the age of three months. She started goze training at age five and started her career at age eight. She continued until 1978, traveling throughout most of Niigata Prefecture as well as through parts of the Yamagata and the Fukushima Prefectures. In 1978, she was named as one of the Living National Treasures of Japan, as a key figure of the traditional goze art form. In 1979, she was awarded the Medal of Honor with Yellow Ribbon.