Fans rejoice! Erika Yamakawa makes an exclusive confession in her return to gravure after 20 years: “I wonder if people still call me a ‘younger sister’ type.

–I think that many fans did not think that Ms. Yamakawa would return to gravure. What made you decide to do it?

It has been 25 years since my debut. After being in the entertainment industry for such a long time, what is it that I want to do now? I was talking with my manager about what I wanted to do now that I have been in the entertainment industry for such a long time, and I thought that gravure was something I could experience only because I am in the industry. I have had friends take pictures of me and look at them, but it is not easy to shoot on location, and I decided that I wanted to do it again.

So I asked Kodansha, the company that helped me make my debut, for advice. They immediately said, “Let’s shoot! I am very grateful to Kodansha, who gave me the opportunity to make my debut.

–Did you do any physical preparation for the shoot?

“I had a body that tends to lose weight easily, so I worked hard on my body make-up, thinking, “Would I be more suitable for gravure if I were a little more plump? I worked hard on my body make-up. While weight training at the gym to build up my muscles, I started eating ramen noodles, gyoza (Chinese dumplings), and white rice with a lot of effort to put on weight. I also tried to be more conscious of my posture at home.”

–Do you also study the recent gravure scene?

I have heard that people of all ages and from all walks of life are doing gravure, and since I decided to do it, I have been looking at gravure in various magazines with great interest. On the other hand, I sometimes got scared and stopped looking at the magazine halfway through because of all the wonderful people who appeared in it (laughs).

–How was your first gravure shoot in 20 years?

When I was a teenager, I didn’t have a nou-bra, and I had to wrap my breasts in duct tape or something like that.

(Laughs.) Also, our office was very strict, so in the past, we were not allowed to shoot on the bed. I think the demands of gravure have changed with the changing times, and I was happy that we were allowed to shoot on the bed.

–What do you want fans to enjoy?

I think all the photos are great, but the best photo is the one where she is like a little girl in the garden, spraying water with a hose and saying, “Wow! I think the best photo is the one where she’s like a little girl in the garden, using the hose to splash water on the garden and saying, “Wow! I believe my catchphrase at the time of my debut was “national younger sister,” and I wonder if readers still refer to me as a younger sister-type.

I would like those who have known me for a long time to think, “Erika Yamakawa, you look so happy now! I hope that the younger generation will be inspired to learn that there is such a sister in their lives. If everyone appreciates my work, I would like to work on photogravure again.

<Profile> Erika Yamakawa
Erika Yamakawa/ Born on March 7, 1982 in Iwate Prefecture ( T157 ), she debuted in 1998 with a special prize in “Miss Young Magazine” and has appeared on Nippon TV’s “Uuchan Nanchan no Urinari! She married in 2007 and is now a mother of two children. She recently became the official ambassador for the Iwate Big Bulls professional basketball team, and now she is making her comeback to the gravure world with a photo shoot for FRIDAY. For the latest information, please visit her Instagram ( @erika_3_official ).

Click here to see Erika Yamakawa’s gravure photos!