The Peanuts were one of Japan's first pop sensations, and one of the few that has become well known internationally. The duo comprised identical twin sisters Emi and Yumi Ito, born Hideyo and Tsukiko Ito on April 1, 1941 in Aichi prefecture. They were discovered by Watanabe Pro founder Sho Watanabe. The music impresario first saw them performing at a club in Nagoya as the Ito Sisters, and in 1958 brought them to Tokyo, where they were dubbed The Peanuts. Watanabe was able to get them work as presenters...

The Peanuts were one of Japan's first pop sensations, and one of the few that has become well known internationally. The duo comprised identical twin sisters Emi and Yumi Ito, born Hideyo and Tsukiko Ito on April 1, 1941 in Aichi prefecture. They were discovered by Watanabe Pro founder Sho Watanabe. The music impresario first saw them performing at a club in Nagoya as the Ito Sisters, and in 1958 brought them to Tokyo, where they were dubbed The Peanuts. Watanabe was able to get them work as presenters on the newly launched TV program The Hit Parade. In April 1959 they made their successful recording debut with the single "Kawaii Hana (Cute Flower)", and followed with the smash "Jyonetsu no Hana (Passion Flower)". Their fame was cemented by their twelve year run, 1961 thru 1972, as the hostesses of TV show Shabondama Holiday" (Soap Bubble Holiday). The name of the show came about as it was sponsored by a soap company, which insisted on the title. Their career had many other highlights however. In 1963 they had a huge hit with "Koi no Bakansu (Vacation of Love)". Also in 1963 they befriended the Paris-born German singer Caterina Valente, whose songs they had covered. This led to The Peanuts performing and becoming popular in Germany. Later Valente in turn recorded a cover of The Peanuts' hit "Koi no Bakansu". The Peanuts also appeared on popular US variety TV shows, including Ed Sullivan's and Danny Kaye's. Other major hits included "Koi no Fuga (Love Fugue)" and "Sayonara wa Totsuzen Ni (Good-bye Is Sudden)". "Koi no Fuga" was covered in 2003 by Yuki Koyanagi, and by W, a Morning Musume side project in 2005. However, what made The Peanuts most famous internationally was singing in monster movies. They were featured in, and sang the theme songs, to three Mothra movies - Mothra (1961), Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), and Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster (1965). They appeared as fairies or pixies, called "shobijin" (small beauties) who had telepathic communication with Mothra, giving The Peanuts a somewhat supernatural aura. In fact they were in many other films, but the others were not shown around the world as the Mothra films were. Being identical twins, Emi and Yumi looked very much alike. Emi however had a mole next to her left eye, so in order to keep the twin image Yumi drew on a mole of her own. Emi married famed singer/actor Kenji Sawada, but later divorced. The Peanuts retired from show business with a sayonara appearance on Nihon TV on May 25, 1975. They appeared on Kohaku Uta Gassen all sixteen years of their life in the "geino kai", or celebrity world. They exited while still young and popular, and remain fondly remembered show business legends.