Mothra Loses Her Original Shobijin, Yumi Ito Passes Away

Yesterday various Japanese outlets reported the sad news that Yumi Ito, sister of the late Emi Ito (who died June 15, 2012), passed away. Although Yumi had died May 18th of this year, press is only just now getting word of it.

Yumi and her identical twin sister were best known in Japan as the vocal duet, "The Peanuts". Yumi (the eldest of the two) and Emi debuted with the chart dropping single, "Kawaii Hana" in 1959. (1)(2)

Godzilla fans know The Peanuts as the "Shobijin" (or "little beauties") from Infant Island--Mothra's tiny priestesses. Yumi and Emi were miniaturized by special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya's trick photography in Mothra (1961). After Mothra's debut in the United States, The Peanuts were given the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show where they preformed "Lover Come Back to Me" for American audiences. (1)

Successful in both pop music and film, Yumi and Emi reprised their roles as the Shobijin in Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster (1964). Director Ishiro Honda gave them high praise for their professionalism and talent, despite not being traditional actresses. (3) Ghidorah, however, would be their last appearance as The Shobijin; Yumi and Emi were replaced by Yuko and Yoko Okada of The Pair Bambi.

Yumi retired in 1975 after Emi married pop singer Kenji Sawada. (1) Yumi turned her attention toward fashion while making periodic returns on stage alongside her sister over the years. (1)(2) With The Peanuts gone so is another piece of the Godzilla franchise's soul. Mothra's little beauties have come home. Yumi Ito was 75.

Credit to Gormaru Island's moderators for the image above.

--
Sankei
1) Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of The Big G
2) The Good, The Bad and the Godzilla
3) Mothra vs. Godzilla DVD commentary