Utada Hikaru’s grandmother Sumiko passed away on November 4th due to liver
Utada Hikaru’s grandmother Sumiko passed away on November 4th due to liver cancer. She was 80 years old. According to Yahoo! news, Utada and her mother haven’t seen Sumiko in over 20 years. Utada’s mother and grandmother apparently had a huge falling out over money issues.
Sumiko was a “gozé” (blind shamisen player), the above picture is Sumiko performing with her daughter in 1974.