Singer Mitsuko Sawamura (real name Mitsuko Nakajima) died of heart failure on Tuesday morning at her home in Setagaya, Tokyo. She was 66.

Sawamura grew up in Okinawa and began singing as a child at a U.S. military base there. She later moved to Tokyo after being scouted and rose to popularity.

Sawamura was also active in film and theater. One of her biggest roles was in the 1956 movie "The Teahouse of the August Moon," which starred Marlon Brando.