Blind traveling singer Haru Kobayashi dies at 105

NIIGATA, Japan - Renown blind traveling singer and samisen player Haru Kobayashi (in undated file photo) died April 25 of old age at a nursing home in Kurokawa, Niigata Prefecture, the nursing home said. She was 105. Kobayashi, who lost her vision some three months after birth, joined a troupe of traveling entertainers called goze at the age of 5. Since then, she traveled, providing entertainment for people living in mountainous areas for 68 years until she entered a nursing home in 1973.