Eri Kawai was a Japanese singer from Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and both composed and sang not only classic but also pop and world music. She was also friends with well-known video game composer Yasunori Mitsuda and had collaborated with him on some of his works. She died on August 4, 2008, at age 43 after being hospitalized as the result of liver cancer.