Ryoko Shinohara, who also stars in the April drama “I’ve been kissed by many people”, on her way to becoming a great actress

In junior high school, she often hung out with a group of delinquents.

Ryoko Shinohara (co-starring with Bakarhythm) plays a writer who can no longer write novels in the drama “Yips” (Fuji TV), which will air from April. She has played a wide range of roles, from cool roles in “Unfair” (Fuji TV) and “Haken no Hinkaku” (NTV) to roles as a mother, and she is about to show us a new side of her. This range of acting may be due in part to the tumultuous path she has taken so far.

Shinohara was born on August 13, 1973, in Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture. He describes his hometown as “konnyaku, leeks, and gambling,” and “pachinko is very popular. Also, boat races and auto races” (Weekly Playboy, March 25, 2003 issue). She has admired singers since childhood, especially Akina Nakamori, and often hung out with delinquent groups in junior high school, but she applied for an audition on her own and debuted as a member of Tokyo Performance Doll (TPD) in 1990.

I was kissed by so many people. So many that I don’t remember.”

While performing live as TPD, he also appeared on the legendary variety show “Downtown no Gottsu-eki” (Fuji TV). In the comedy, he put his body on the line, including being hooked on the nose, and even though he was physically touched and hit on the head by Hitoshi Matsumoto, Masanori Hamada, and others, he got through it with his guts. He later said, “A lot of people kissed me. I don’t remember how many people kissed me because there were so many.” Perhaps it was her natural competitive spirit that enabled her to overcome such a number of hardships that would be unthinkable in today’s world of compliance.

A major turning point for her came in 1994, when her single “Koishisato, Setsunasato, Kokoroikata,” produced by Tetsuya Komuro, became a huge hit, selling over 2 million copies. This song became the first million-seller of the Komuro sound that would later take Japan by storm. In 2011, he released “Koishisato, Sasenashisato, Kokkyo-kosatte 2023,” a retake of “Koishisato, Sasenashisato, Kokkyo-kosatte 2023” with vocals. She says that she still cherishes the song that changed her life. “My children always request me to sing ‘Koishisato~,’ so I definitely sing that song” (Weekly Post, August 31, 2006 issue).

Komuro and Shinohara’s first encounter goes back several years before the hit, when “there was a man (*Komuro) who had been staring at Ryoko since there were still only about 10 customers in Harajuku’s ‘Louido'” (View, January ’96 issue). Furthermore, Tetsuya Komuro, who would go on to become a hit maker of rare caliber, had the foresight to know that “when he shot the promotional video for TMN’s single ‘Love Train’ in 1991, he had already asked Ryoko by name to appear in the video” (Komuro).