is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined

Hello! Project Kids is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but has ...

and later became one of the lead vocalists of the

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015.

Career

2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids, 4Kids

Sugaya was born in

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

, Japan. In 2002, she auditioned for

with the song " Minimoni Hinamatsuri" by Minimoni. Her audition tape was aired on

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...

's variety show '' Hello! Morning''. She was placed in the group with 14 other girls. She made her first appearance as an angel in the 2002 film '' Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken!''; she also was one of the featured artists in the movie's ending song as a member of 4Kids. In 2003, Sugaya starred in the movie '' Hotaru no Hoshi'' (蛍の星), as Hikari, a fragile elementary school student who, with the help of her caring teacher, has a chance to be momentarily reunited with her deceased mother and overcome her emotional problems. She also starred in the drama, ''Shonan Kawarayane Monogatari''. That year also marked her first appearance on

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

, as one of

Aya Matsuura is a Japanese actress and pop singer, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan. Career 2000–2009: Hello! Project Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part o ...

's backup dancers, during the 54th edition of the renowned NHK New Year program.

2004–2015: Berryz Kobo

In early 2004, Sugaya became part of the newly formed group Berryz Kobo. Since joining the group, she has also participated in the band's weekly radio show ''Berryz Kobo Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki!''. She has also, like other Hello! Project members, appeared in the Musume Dokyu! segments, namely episodes 39, 40, 54, 55, and 56. Additionally, Sugaya has done a commercial for the Nihon Shokuniku Shōhi Sōgō Center in October 2003. Later, in 2004, she participated in singing "

All for One & One for All! ''All for One & One for All!'' is the first (and only) mini album by Hello! Project unit H.P. All Stars, released on December 1, 2004 in both a normal and limited edition, the limited edition having a different cover. It reached a peak of #5 on th ...

", a collaboration single released by all Hello! Project artists under the name "H.P. All Stars." In August 2006, Sugaya was interviewed by MC Maki Goto in the 12th installment of the online only show Hello! Pro Hour. She later re-appeared alongside Momoko Tsugunaga on the 20th and final episode. On 12 October 2006, Sugaya became the first member of Berryz Kobo, and the youngest of all the Hello! Project members, to release a solo photobook. Even prior to its release, the photobook was met with mixed feelings both by Japanese and overseas fans. Sugaya herself admitted, in an interview with Sanspo.com, to initially having doubts regarding the photoshoot, but claims to have had a pleasant experience and hopes her fans enjoy the various facets of her personality. On 31 December 2006, Sugaya once again took the stage at the

57th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The , referred to from hereon as "Kōhaku," aired on December 31, 2006. This event was filmed and aired from NHK Hall in Japan. Air time was from 19:20 to 23:45 (with an interruption from 21:25 to 21:30 for news). All times are JST. Viewership ra ...

as a backup dancer in

's performance of ''

Aruiteru is the thirty-first single of J-pop group Morning Musume, released on November 8, 2006. "Aruiteru" sold approximately 55,694 copies and reached number one in both the daily and weekly Oricon charts. There are three different versions of the singl ...

'', along with the remaining members of Berryz Kobo,

Country Musume was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .Cute. In mid-2009, Sugaya became a member of new unit

Guardians 4 , also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her clas ...

. On 2 August 2014, it was announced that Berryz Kobo would be going on an indefinite hiatus from 3 March 2015. Further, Sugaya announced she would be taking a break from show business following the cessation of group activities.

Personal life

In October 2017, Sugaya announced her marriage to a man whose identity is undisclosed, and they met through a mutual friend. In addition to this, she was five months pregnant at that time. She gave birth to a girl at 1 March 2018.

Discography

Singles

DVDs

* (21 January 2003) * (18 June 2003) * (30 June 2004) * (22 December 2004) * (7 December 2005) * (14 December 2005) * (22 February 2006) * (24 January 2007)

Solo DVDs

= Limited edition DVDs

= * (13 December 2005, 15 March 2006) * (14 February 2006) * "Risako Sugaya DVD on Hello! Project Sports Festival 2006" (1 July 2006) * (16 December 2006) * (1 April 2007) * (26 January 2008) * (16 March 2008) * (1 April 2008)

Radio

* (30 March 2005 – 31 March 2009) * (3 July 2009 – 30 March 2012) (Co-hosts: Miyabi Natsuyaki and Yurina Kumai)

Photobooks

* (12 October 2006, Wani Books) * (20 July 2007, Wani Books) * (6 February 2008, Kadokawa Group Publishing) * (27 November 2009, Wani Books)

References

External links

Berryz Kobo: Official Hello! Project profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugaya, Risako 1994 births Berryz Kobo members Hello! Project Kids members V-u-den members Japanese idols Japanese child actresses Japanese child singers Japanese voice actresses Japanese women pop singers Living people Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers