Hitomi Shimatani, born on September 4, 1980, in Kure, Hiroshima, Japan, is a
Japanese pop singer. At the age of 17, while still attending high school,
Shimatani participated in The Japan Audition 1997, emerging as the winner from a
pool of approximately 200,000 contestants, securing her a recording contract
with the Avex label. Despite this achievement, she continued her high school
studies in Hiroshima and took vocal lessons in Tokyo on weekends. Her debut Enka
single, titled "Ōsaka no Onna,” was released in 1999 and while it received
critical acclaim, topping the Oricon's Enka ...