Aki Yashiro (????, Yashiro Aki), real name Akiyo Masuda (???? Masuda Akiyo) (born Akiyo Hashimoto (???? Hashimoto Akiyo)) on August 29, 1950 in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan), is a Japanese enka singer and painter. Her stage name "Yashiro" is adopted from her hometown, "Yatsushiro" (??).Yashiro originally sang jazz standards in hostess clubs, but made her debut as an enka singer in 1971, with the single "Ai wa Shindemo (??????)", under the label of Teichiku Records. Seeing the single's lack of success, she appeared on the YTV's Zen Nihon Kay? Senshuken (????????) audition, winning it for 10 consecutive weeks. In 1973, her single and album "Namida Koi" (????) sold up up to 1.2 million copies. Since then, her songs like "Shinobigoi" (????), "Ai Hitosuji" (?????), "Onna no Yume" (?????), "M? Ichid? Aitai" (????????), "Onna Minatomachi" (?????), and "Ai no Sh?chakueki" (?????) also became great hits at the time, in which the songs portrayed a woman's emotion. In 1979, her single "Funauta" (??) also made a great hit, followed by "Ame no Boj? (????)" in 1980. "Ame no Boj?" won the 22nd Japan Record Award of the year. She continued collaborating with Teichiku until 1981, before turning to Century Records, where she released singles like "Umineko" (??), "Nihonkai" (???), and "Koisegawa" (???), until 1986. Currently, she is recording under the Nippon Columbia label since 1986.Yashiro was the first female enka singer to have seven top 10 singles on the main Oricon chart, as well as being listed as the fourth enka singer behind male singers Kiyoshi Hikawa, Hiroshi Itsuki and Shinichi Mori. She also achieved top 10 on the Oricon album charts for three consecutive years (1974–1976).