TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Fumiko Yonekawa II, a Japanese koto musician named a Living National Treasure, died Friday from chronic heart failure at a Tokyo hospital, her family members said. She was 98.

Born as Misao Yonekawa in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan, she was adopted by her aunt, the first Fumiko Yonekawa, under whom she studied the traditional Japanese stringed instrument similar to a zither or a harp.

She assumed the name Fumiko in 1999 and was recognized as a Living National Treasure in 2008. In 2018, she released a compilation album of her aunt's creative works.

The aunt, who died in 1995 at age 100, headed the Ikuta school of koto and was certified as a Living National Treasure in 1966.