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In The Memory Of Izumi Sakai
Posted May 23, 2008 at 5:59 AM, Last Edited May 23, 2008 at 6:05 AM
Thank you for going to this memorial post. Please leave comments as an acknowledgement.
Izumi Sakai was the singer of the band ZARD. She was also a lyricist. Izumi's actual name was Sachiko Kamachi. She was born on the 6th of February 1967 in Kurume, Fukuoka and died on the 27th of May 2007 in Shinjuku, Tokyo at the age of 40. Izumi sung some songs for anime like Dragon Ball GT and Detective Conan. ZARD's best single was called Makenaide which translates to 'Don't Be Defeated'. This is a post in memory of her. Below I have a reference from wikipedia on how she died.
Despite her healthy lifestyle, which included abstaining from tobacco and alcohol, Sakai was seriously ill at times. She had to stop her career temporarily due to an unnamed illness in 2001, and did not begin working in full mode until 2003. In June 2006, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which she immediately underwent treatment. She appeared to have healed, but discovered that her cancer had spread to her lungs, indicating a Stage 5 cancer. She began undergoing treatment at Keio University Hospital in April 2007. She never fully recovered.
However, Sakai was neither discouraged nor thought she was dying. After her death, the Japanese weekly magazine 'Friday' ran an interview in which her said Sakai thought that modern treatments would enable her to live long. Her mother said that she greeted her visitors cheerfully and did not seem to show the effects of her illness. A fellow patient later said that they walked together at times and Sakai sang "Makenaide" for her when she could not walk. Finally, Sakai sent an e-mail to her staff saying that she was anxious to return producing music and was looking forward to another concert in late 2007.
Sakai died suddenly on 27 May 2007. Police judged her death accidental, the result of a fall from the landing of an emergency-exit slope at Keio University Hospital, where she was undergoing chemotherapy. The slope appeared to be very slippery due to rain the day before. According to police, the fall took place during a walk on the morning of 26 May 2007, from a height of about 3 meters. Sakai was discovered unconscious at around 5:40 a.m. by a passer-by and taken to the emergency room, where she died the following afternoon of head injuries. Due to the unusual and unlikely nature of her passing, police investigated for possibility of suicide, but concluded that it was indeed an accident. In the Friday article, her mother said that she took walks in rehabilitation and the location where she fell was her favorite place to meditate. Sakai had been planning to release a new album in fall 2007, as well as launch her first live tour in three years. She was 40. Her family was at her side, but it was reported that she never recovered consciousness.
This is a translated version of the interview she had with Friday magazine.
"I hope my song could bring people hope, hope I can always be singing hopeful songs."
According to Ms. Sakai's original saying, "nowadays, (having cancer) doesn't mean we have to die. Shiozawa Toki got cancer when she was 30, but she made it live until 79. There are many people who have cancer, have been admitted into hospital many times but continue to live for a long time, so I must hold hope and live on."
This saying took place about a week before the accident, when Ms. Sakai wanted to express her won't lose the battle of cancer by showing the example of Shiozawa Toki.
In fact, her doctor was optimistic as well. The outcome of the therapy wasn't bad, the tumor had become smaller. Ms. Sakai said she must recover her health soon. So she would take a walk in the hospital when her body's condition was good. And recently, she wished she could be recovered soon so she could go travelling with her family.
Ms. Sakai's mother said she often took walk with T-Shirt and boots. The place where the accident occured is the one where Ms. Sakai would rest after taking a walk. As for the reason for the accident, her mother said it was the big side effects of the anti-cancer drugs she was taking that made the accident happened. The side effects included vomiting, anemia and loss of appetite. She assumed Ms. Sakai fell because of sudden anemia when she rested in the platform. And that platform wouldn't be an easy place to commit suicide.
According to her office's related people, Ms. Sakai was rather optimistic and strong, completely unlike what ordinary people would do, fighting the disease. When she was good enough, she often went to gallery for art exhibit and Noh plays. Others wouldn't think she was ill. When the cancer recurred, she could even comfort her grief mother instead. For related people going to hospital visting her, she would say "Thank you for visiting me" in a bright and full-of-energy voice. Ms. Sakai didn't plan a marriage in the first place but concentrated in music instead. In order to show her filial piety to her parents, she lived with them in a newly-built mansion in Tokyo. Even when she was ill in bed, she wrote lyrics while she was free, hoping for a comeback. Saying a member of her company, she planned to release an album this autumn and hold another tour. Ms. Sakai also expressed her will to hold another concert in Budokan again for several times. But, all these have become a dream that can never come true.
The last is what Ms. Sakai has said, "I hope my song could bring people hope, hope I can always be singing hopeful songs."
Source: Friday Magazine Translated by: Milliardo
Please leave anything you'd wish to say here on this post. We miss you Izumi.
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