, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She resides in Tokyo but frequently travels to the United Kingdom, where she is known as Rié, to record and promote her work. Rie fu's songs are often bilingual, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Although most of her songs are primarily sung in Japanese, many feature entire verses written in English. Of her songs written entirely in Japanese, several have later been released as English-language versions. Personal life Rie fu was born in Tokyo. From 1992 to 1995, she lived in Maryland with her family, including a younger brother who plays a woodwind instrument. It was during this time that she started playing the piano and gained a lot of musical inspiration, from artists such as Sheryl Crow and 1970s pop musicians such as The Carpenters. She cites Carole King, Joni Mitchell, The Carpenters, and Yumi Matsutoya as influences. After returning to Japan, Rie finished her primary and secondary education in Tokyo at Aoyama Gakuin from 1995 to 2003. In 2007, she graduated from the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design of the University of the Arts London in fine art (having shifted in interest from fashion design and graphic design). Upon graduation, she returned to Tokyo, Japan, and has since resided there full-time. Rie often designs much of her own album and single booklets and features her own paintings in them as well. She is active in both music and art. Her artwork is published under the Roman transliteration "Rie Funakoshi" and her music under "Rie fu," the abbreviation of her full name. On November 29, 2013, she announced on her Facebook page that she had married a 'funky British gentleman' (the identity of the man in question has not been revealed), presumably sometime recently during the month. Music career In 2002, while in high school, Rie fu learned guitar, and almost immediately began coming up with songs and recording them with a small tape recorder. She sent the demo tape off to a record company (Sony) and they signed her to their Palm Beach label. Her first single, "Rie who!?", featuring the song "decay," was released in March 2004, while she was attending university in London. Later that year, her song "Life Is Like a Boat" was chosen as the first ending theme for the anime series Bleach,