Mamiko Takai
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Mamiko Takai (高井麻巳子, Takai Mamiko, born December 28, 1966) is a
Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...
from the eighties, who debuted in 1985 with the
J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
girl band
Onyanko Club was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. Some members of the group participated in spin-off groups, such as Nyangilas, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi and Ushirogami Hikaretai. Many of the latter two groups' songs were used as theme ...
, and its first sub-group, duo Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi with her co-worker Yukiko Iwai. She quit those two bands in 1987, becoming a solo artist, and released four albums before marrying producer
Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ma ...
and subsequently retiring. Her older sister Masayo made her record debut in July 1986 as a part of a 20-member dance group named . She has two other younger sisters.


Biography

Takai's family owned a
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. She played
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at . After entering , she became popular among the students and was dubbed (Jakkō is an abbreviation for Wakasa High School). At that time, she dreamed of becoming an actress in the future. After graduating from high school, she moved to
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
to attend Joshibi Junior College. On April 15, 1985, she was approached by Katsunobu Itō ( 伊藤克信, Itō Katsunobu), a reporter for the variety show , while she was shopping in
Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesandō, Tokyo, Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya, Tokyo, Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 Japanese a ...
. This led to an audition for that show, which was accepted, and she became a member of Onyanko Club. Note that since she already was affiliated with an entertainment agency, some say that her being approached in Harajuku was a staged act disguised as a coincidence. She became a center of attention as soon as she joined Onyanko Club because she was considered a legitimate beauty. In October 1985, she teamed up with Yukiko Iwai and made their record debut as Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi. In June 1986, she made her solo debut with the song , which became number one on the
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chart in its first appearance. This song was very different from
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novelty songs A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of Comedy music, humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with Comedy music, comedy songs, which are more explic ...
of Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi, and was a
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
with a calm and quiet tone. Since then, three more of her songs reached number one in a row. On July 6, 1986, a large-scale was held at
Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi, Osaka, Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of , part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of Osaka Castle ...
and she shook hands with 16,000 fans who gathered there. In October 1986, her radio program, , was launched on
Nippon Broadcasting System , or JOLF, is a Japanese radio station based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, headquartered near the Tokyo Imperial Palace. It is also the main company of the Nippon Broadcasting Group. Nippon Broadcasting System is a subsidiary of Fu ...
. In December 1986, Tōhō premiered the movie , in which she co-starred with Yuki Saitō and
Haruko Sagara Haruko Sagara (相楽 晴子, Sagara Haruko; born March 1, 1968, in Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan) is a Japanese actress and ex-idol singer in the 1980s. She debuted in 1985 with her role as Okyo in the cult TV series ''Sukeban Deka II''. She won ...
. In this film she played the role of a fun-loving
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
queen. In reality, however, she had never been to a disco, and her character was considered to be sober and reserved, the opposite of a playful person, which made her role terribly perplexing to her fans. She also starred in the idol dramas and . In April 1987, she graduated from Onyanko Club along with
Sayuri Kokushō is a Japanese actress, singer, and tarento. She was an original member of Onyanko Club. She works for the talent management firm Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Sony Music Artists. Her debut single, "Valentine Kiss", is the most popular Valenti ...
, Aki Kihara, Rika Tatsumi, and Kazuko Utsumi ( 内海和子, Utsumi Kazuko). Along with this, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi also disbanded. She mentioned that Onyanko Club's first concert, held at
Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall The is an outdoor music venue in Hibiya Park, located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and managed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, music events are limited to weekends and holidays between April and October out of consideration for the surr ...
in October 1985, was one of the most memorable events for her as a member of the group. She then became a solo singer and actress. She was oriented more toward acting than singing. As an actress, she appeared in dramas such as and . In addition, she starred in the drama . In July 1987, she released two videos: a feature-length promotional video titled filmed in
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and a video titled featuring her first solo concert at
NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's Public broadcasting, public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other e ...
in June of that year. She also published a photo book titled , taken in Southern Europe. On May 23, 1988, just three weeks after the official fan club was formed, she married Yasushi Akimoto and retired from the entertainment industry. They then lived in
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for a year and a half. In March 2001, after 13 years of marriage, she finally had a baby girl. In the 2000s, she published three books of essays on food under the name of Mamiko Akimoto: , , and . Moreover, in December 2002, she and her husband published a picture book titled . In October 2013, they invited
Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving pri ...
, then
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, to their home and served him dinner. She also became an statutory auditor of Yasushi Akimoto's office.


Relationship with Yukiko Iwai

She and Yukiko Iwai, who were partnered in Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi, were said by those around them to be not on good terms with each other. However, at least in the early days, it is considered otherwise. They often took a cab home together after appearing on Yūyake Nyan Nyan at the time, since they were going home in the same direction. When Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi disbanded, they both said that it was a very pleasant memory and that they loved this subgroup. Kazuji Kasai, chief director of Yūyake Nyan Nyan, supervisor of Onyanko Club, explained the relationship between the two as follows. "This subgroup was originally formed by our decision without regard to their wishes. So it is true that there were differences in orientation between the two, but they were not as incompatible as they were said to be." However, Iwai subsequently admitted on a TV program that she and Takai did not get along well. She mentioned that since they were in different groups, they spent little time together and had no conversations with each other outside of work. Iwai felt that Takai was privileged by Akimoto, which was also not amusing to her. Iwai made a curt comment about the successive marriages of Takai and Ruriko Nagata ( 永田ルリ子, Nagata Ruriko), saying that they should not have rushed into marriage since they were only 21 years old. Note that
Eri Nitta is a Japanese singer, actress, lyricist, and tarento. She made her professional debut as the fourth member of the all-female singing group Onyanko Club in 1985. She made her solo debut with the hit song on January 1, 1986. Nitta performed the ...
, one of the most popular members of Onyanko Club, considered Takai to be one of her best friends. On the other hand, Takai herself recalled that when she was in Onyanko Club, there were no members she was particularly close to, and she was frequently alone.


Takai's characteristics and Yasushi Akimoto

Many of Takai's fans interpreted her sudden marriage as Akimoto forcibly taking her away from them. Although they directed their uncontrollable anger toward Akimoto, sometimes even directly harassing him, they accepted this fact over time. In the summer of 1986, she was secretly being stalked by the
paparazzi Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...
of the photo magazine
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, which was brought to her attention by one of her most enthusiastic fans. She was also stalked by Akimoto when she and Aki Kihara went to see the movie Year of the Dragon at midnight. On this occasion, Akimoto approached Takai at the movie theater, feigning coincidence. On the other hand, actress Yuki Saitō, who admits to being Takai's close friend, In her collection of essays, , she claimed that, contrary to popular perception, Takai was in fact actively courting Akimoto. He wrote many lyrics for the members of Onyanko Club, but only one song was written for her. In addition, when Akimoto talked with her in the summer of 1986, he made the following comments about her. "She is naive because she was nurtured by the warm love of her family. Such characteristics of hers make her very clean image stand out in the greasy entertainment industry. While Sonoko Kawai and Eri Nitta will definitely have affairs, she will never commit adultery." In July 1985, when the members of Onyanko Club stayed at a hotel near in
Ōiso file:OISO.jpg, 260px, Ōiso Long Beach resort is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 31,262 and a population density of 1820 persons per km². The total area of the town ...
,
Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, While all of them excitedly watched the pornographic videos, the "pure-hearted" Takai was the only one who was shocked into silence by them. She was considered by the members of Onyanko Club to be the most feminine of the group. Her plain, unassuming, ordinary manner was described as her greatest appeal. On the other hand, Akimoto and others described her as having an awkward and quirky side, despite her calm outward appearance.


Singles


Albums


Studio albums

* (1987) * (1987) * (1988) * ''Message'' (1988)


Compilation albums

* series ** (2002) ** (2010) * (2004) * (2004)


Videos

* *


References

* * * * *


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links

*
Mamiko Takai on Idollica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takai, Mamiko Japanese women pop singers Japanese idols Living people 1966 births Onyanko Club Yasushi Akimoto Singers from Fukui Prefecture