At age 12, Kazue Katō changed her name to Hibari Misora, meaning “lark in the beautiful sky” in Japanese. Over the following four decades, she became exactly that, rising as a musical and cultural icon and even receiving a Japanese Medal of Honor for her musical contributions to the country. Misora's music bridged styles including symphonic, orchestrated pop, lush balladry and more traditional Japanese folk. Though Misora died when she was only 52, she left behind a musical legacy of well over 1,000 recorded songs—many of which remain Japanese classics today.