A cult icon on the international film scene, Japanese actress Meiko Kaji, born in Tokyo, has been put into the spotlight internationally by Quentin Tarantino when he heavily based his Kill Bill film on the 1973 revenge genre film Lady Snowblood. By the time she appeared in it, she had already made almost fifty feature films (she began her career in 1965) and she was one of the most famous exploitation actresses in Japan doubling as a sex symbol. This gave the studios the idea of getting her to start a singing career and release music closely associated with the films she starred in often singing the theme songs. Thus, she began releasing records at the dawn of the '70s, recording several 7" singles and five albums for Teichiku which have become sought-after and almost as cult as her films. Drawing on her film roles, the music on these albums were an uber-cool mix of kayokyoku (Japanese pop), traditional enka music, acid folk, and funky beats arranged by the best producers of the time in a cinematic way that could sound like Ennio Morricone or Jean-Claude Vannier.