Famous Japanese actress Momoe Yamaguchi is a descendent of a Chinese family surnamed Yang, a family of the same origin as a well-known ancient concubine of China's Tang Dynasty (618-907), some recently revealed documents show.

Yamaguchi believes that this is more evidence that she is related to concubine Yang Yuhuan, one of the legendary "four beauties" of ancient China. In an interview last year Yamaguchi claimed that she was related to Yang.

A village called Xitouyang in Sanmen County, Zhejiang Province is where the Yamaguchi line originated, the family history books of both Yamaguchi and Yang show.

A 1690 version of the Yamaguchi's family history book showed that Yamaguchi was descended from Yang Mingzhou. Legend has it that Yang had lived at a village called Yang Village, which is located near a stream in Zhejiang Province. On his way to Ningbo, Yang was blown to Okinawa after his ship was hit by a typhoon and drifted on the sea for 28 days. Yang then settled in Okinawa.

This record coincides with the history book of the Yang family in Xitouyang Village, Zhejiang Province. The village is inhabited by a large clan surnamed Yang, and Xitou means "near a stream."

According to the book, "Anlei, whose literary name is Mingzhou, was lost on his way to Ningbo."

More than 300 years after Yang Mingzhou's disappearance, some members of the Yamaguchi family went to Zhejiang to look for their origins. In February 1998, the Yamaguchi family was finally written into the Zhejiang Yang family history book.

Yang Mingzhou, who was well educated, became a Chinese-language professor of the then Japanese Government. Yang got married in Okinawa and had two sons and one daughter. His second son was widely known as the ancestor of the Yamaguchi line.

Momoe Yamaguchi was one of the most popular singers and actors in Japan in the 1970s. She retired from show biz at the height of her career at age 20 in 1980. A TV series starring the actress brought her name to China in the 1980s where she became a household name.

(Shenzhen Daily November 6, 2003)