May 27th is Sakai Day, in memory of ZARD’s vocalist, Sakai Izumi

It has been 12 years since the death of Sakai Izumi, the talented vocalist/songwriter of the rock band, ZARD.

One of Japan’s legendary rock bands and also one of the most mysterious (Sakai was the opposite of most famous female music stars, she was down to earth, rode the subway everyday, performed on television without wearing any makeup, used a 1950’s vacuum tube microphone made in Germany and Austria for her recording equipment, she was very shy but also very talented but also ZARD rarely made any TV appearances).

As many publications remember Sakai and ZARD, it was said that ZARD is based on the concept of “a Showa woman living in the Heisei” and it was all about the music, not being trendy or fashionable and what has made ZARD so appealing to generation after generation.

On May 27th, Sakai passed away while receiving chemotherapy for cervical cancer.  She went on her daily walk near the hospital and accidentally fell almost 10 feet from an emergency exit slope (slippery due to the rain the night before) and was discovered around 5:00 a.m. and was taken to the emergency room and died from head injuries.

On May 27th, the day is known as Sakai Day for ZARD fans and the Being buildings in Tokyo and Osaka will have a flower stand setup with her favorite sunflowers and people come to pay their respect to Sakai and the flowers and her photo and offer a prayer.

To this day, with the new Reiwa era, Sakai’s songs still live forever in the hearts of people.

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