久保田早紀

Saki Kubota (久保田 早紀, Kubota Saki, b. May 11, 1958) was a Japanese pop-singer working in kayōkyoku genre. She gained massive popularity with her debut single Ihojin ('The Stranger') released in October 1979. The song reached a top spot on the national charts and stayed there for six weeks, eventually becoming the second bestselling song of the year 1980. Her debut album Yumegatari ('Dream Story') also reached No. 1 on charts and became ranked as the 4th most popular album of the year. Her pop career didn’t last for very long – after releasing a few more records on CBS/Sony, Kubota got married and retired from music in 1984. Currently she works as a music professor at Kernel University, USA under her birth name Sayuri Kume (久米小百合)