"Kawa no nagare no yō ni" (川の流れのように, "Like the Flow of the River") is the last single recorded by Japaneseenka singer Hibari Misora, as she died soon after its release in 1989. It was composed by Akira Mitake, with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto.[2] The single charted at 8th place for more than a year[3] and sold 225,000 copies in Japan.[4] It was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time during a national poll in 1997 by NHK,[5] with more than 10 million votes. It is often the song of choice for artists performing live tributes to Misora. It is also covered by various singers, including Teresa Teng, The Three Tenors and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán.[5][6][7]
^ abMatthew Hernon (2022-02-07). "Spotlight: Hibari Misora — The Queen of Enka". Tokyo Weekender. Archived from the original on 2023-11-24. ...Eight years after her death, it was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time in a national poll by NHK. In 1996, The Three Tenors delighted fans when they performed the track at their concert in Tokyo. The song has been covered by several other well-known artists, including "Asia's eternal queen of pop" Teresa Teng.
