Record album covers on show in memorial hall for composer Funamura in Nikko

Record album covers on show in memorial hall for composer Funamura in Nikko

The covers of albums of Japanese popular music composed by Toru Funamura are on display in a newly built memorial hall dedicated to him in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, on April 21, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Memorial hall for composer Funamura opens at ceremony in Nikko

Memorial hall for composer Funamura opens at ceremony in Nikko

Japanese popular music composer Toru Funamura (R) and veteran "enka" ballad singer Saburo Kitajima attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 27, 2015, to open a memorial hall honoring Funamura on the premises of Michi no Eki (roadside station) in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Memorial hall opens for Japan pop music composer Funamura in Nikko

Memorial hall opens for Japan pop music composer Funamura in Nikko

A memorial hall honoring Japanese popular music composer Toru Funamura is shown to the press on April 21, 2015, on the premises of Michi no Eki (roadside station) Nikko in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo. ==Kyodo

Funamura celebrates 60th anniversary of career as composer

Funamura celebrates 60th anniversary of career as composer

TOKYO, Japan - Toru Funamura, considered a king composer of Japanese ''enka'' songs, speaks about his life at a Tokyo hotel on June 12 as he celebrates his 60th anniversary as a composer. (Kyodo)

Funamura celebrates 60th anniversary of career as composer

Funamura celebrates 60th anniversary of career as composer

TOKYO, Japan - Toru Funamura (C), considered a king composer of Japanese ''enka'' songs, participates in a ceremonial sake-barrel cracking flanked by four top Japanese singers -- (from L to R) Ichiro Toba, Saburo Kitajima, Akira Kobayashi and Hiroshi Itsuki. (Kyodo)

Toru Funamura, composer of popular Japanese songs, dies at 84

Toru Funamura, composer of popular Japanese songs, dies at 84

File photo taken in April 2015 shows Japanese singer Saburo Kitajima (L) and Toru Funamura, a celebrated composer of popular Japanese songs, at the opening ceremony for the Toru Funamura Commemorative Museum in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. Funamura, who composed over 5,000 songs, including hits such as "Yagiri no Watashi" (Ferry at Yagiri), died Feb. 16, 2017, aged 84, his office said. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

6 recipients of top cultural award at Imperial Palace

6 recipients of top cultural award at Imperial Palace

(From L) Renowned contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama, Japanese literature scholar Mitsutoshi Nakano, novelist Yumie Hiraiwa, geneticist Tomoko Ota, Nobel Prize laureate Yoshinori Ohsumi, and composer Toru Funamura take a commemorative photo after receiving the Order of Culture from Emperor Akihito during a Culture Day ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2016. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo