Noriyuki Higashiyama (東山 紀之, Higashiyama Noriyuki, born September 30, 1966 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan) is a Japanese businessman, former singer, actor, and member of the idol group Shonentai. He is married to actress Yoshino Kimura.[1]
According to his book Kawasaki Kid, Higashiyama's paternal great-grandfather was Russian.[3] When he was still a baby, his grandfather drunkenly poured boiling water on his leg,[4] which left him with a deformity in his left foot. Because of this burn, he said, his leg remained bandaged until he was about three years old.[5] Higashiyama was known to train very hard, doing 1,000 sit-ups daily and running 100 kilometres (62 mi) a month and maintain a body fat percentage of 9%.[6]
The reason he worked out so hard is because without muscle training, the deformity in his leg causes pain in his hip joint.[5] Even with his leg deformities, he was athletic and could do a backflip at the age of nine.[7]
His parents divorced when he was three years old because of his father's drinking problem. His mother was worried that Higashiyama would become a drunkard like his father and grandfather, so she taught him repeatedly, "When you grow up, be careful that alcohol doesn't ruin your life." He said that this helped him to avoid getting deeply intoxicated when he did drink.[4] His mother later remarried when he was fourth grade, but his stepfather also gradually began to drink and became violent not only with his mother and Higashiyama, but also with his sister. He spent his days hungry from poverty and frightened by his stepfather's violence.[8] He and his younger sister were raised by their mother, who worked at a barber shop. They lived in poverty and sometimes had difficulty finding food, but a Korean family who ran a barbecue restaurant in the neighborhood would share their food with them, and they were able to stave off hunger.[note 1][10]
In 1979, his mother, who worked at a barbershop for NHK employees in ShibuyaTokyo, gave him tickets to watch a singing show, so Higashiyama went with a friend to see the show at NHK.[11] On their way home, he was waiting at a traffic light at Shibuya Crossing when he caught the eye of Johnny Kitagawa, who was driving by and scouted him directly. He was in the sixth grade at the time.[12][11]
Higashiyama, who had always suffered from hunger, said that after he joined Johnny's, he was glad that Johnny Kitagawa would take him out to eat after dance lessons. When he entered high school, he left home to escape his stepfather and began living at Johnny's dormitory.[8]
Higashiyama said that for a while after he joined Johnny's, he could not dance well because he thought it was weird that a man singing and dancing as an idol at that time.[13] However, he was "struck by lightning"[14] when he saw a Michael Jackson video at dormitory, and he honed his dancing skills in admiration of Michael.[15] In the dormitory, he also practiced acrobatics with the trainees who lived with him.[16]
In 1981, "B Team" was formed with Kazukiyo Nishikiori, Katsuhide Uekusa and Yasuyuki Matsubara. The following year, in 1982, Matsubara was replaced by Higashiyama, and the group was renamed Shonentai. They mainly worked as back-up dancers for Toshihiko Tahara and Masahiko Kondō.[17]
Shonentai made their record debut on December 12, 1985 with the single Kamen Butōkai.[18] At the time of their debut, all three could do backflips and back somersault, and their advanced acrobatic skills, such as throwing and catching microphones, were much talked about.[19] Higashiyama was a prince-like character who was calm and didn't talk much.[19]
After his debut, in addition to his group activities, he mainly worked as an actor, mainly in TV dramas, movies, and stage performances.
In 1988, Shonentai became popular among young women, and the term "soy sauce face," (soft facial features) coined to describe a Japanese-looking, fair-skinned, cool-looking man like Higashiyama's,[20] and the term "sauce face," (defined facial features) coined to describe a tanned, chiseled face like Nishikiori's, became popular to describe good-looking men. They were selected for the "Basic Knowledge of Modern Terms" published every December It won the Popular Award in the Popular Words category of the 1988 U-CAN Inc.[21]
On September 20, 2020, it was announced that Nishikiori and Uekusa would leave Johnny & Associates within the same year. Shonentai name would remain and Higashiyama would continue his performing career.[27]
2023 appointment at Johnny & Associates and retirement
On September 5, 2023, Higashiyama succeeded as president of Johnny & Associates (later renamed Smile-Up on October 17 of the same year), replacing Julie Keiko Fujishima, who had resigned after the sexual assault scandal involving the office's founder, Johnny Kitagawa, surfaced and the "negative effects of family management" were pointed out in the investigation report process (later renamed Smile-Up. on October 17 of the same year).[28] On the same day, he held a press conference and announced that he would retire from show business by the end of 2023 and concentrate on his company business.[29]
Higashiyama and Julie are the same age[30] and have been close since they met when they were 14, "like childhood friends," he said.[31][32] Julie also did styling and management work for Shonentai, a boy band that Higashiyama belongs to, since she was still a college student,[33] and over the years they are said to have developed a trusting relationship where they could consult each other about anything.[31] Julie is the niece of Johnny Kitagawa and the daughter of Mary Yasuko Fujishima, Kitagawa's elder sister. Mary had served as vice president of the Johnny's for many years.[34] She was reportedly in charge of management aspects, including the substantive operation of the company.[35] It is said that Mary was particularly fond of Masahiko Kondō and Higashiyama, and it was sometimes said that "Kondō is the first son" (the most powerful person of Johnny's talents), and "Higashiyama is the second son" (second powerful person).[36] After Kondo left Johnny's in 2021 due to his own adultery scandal, Higashiyama had be regarded as "Johnny's first son" in both name and reality.
After the Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse scandal came to light in 2023, Julie initially looked for an outside president, but all requests were turned down.[37]Hideaki Takizawa, who had retired as a talent and became vice president after Kitagawa passed away in 2019,[38] who was considered another strong successor,[39][40] left the company in October 2022 and later founded his new entertainment agency Tobe.[41] Takizawa was close to Kitagawa in his later years and was said to have been directly nominated as the successor to Johnny's.[42] Julie's mother Mary had already passed away in August 2021.[43] Finally, Julie asked Higashiyama to be president in early August in 2023, with whom she had a long-standing and trusting relationship.[37] Higashiyama said he was very worried when he received the request and thought about it overnight, but decided to accept it because he thought it was his destiny.[44] He also reportedly took over as president to fulfill his responsibilities as the "first son" of the company.[45]
With this announcement, his appearances on TV Asahi's information variety program Sunday Live![46] and the TBS Television documentary program "Birth Day,"[47] in which he has served as a host since the program's inception in 2005, also ended their appearances after the second episode in the same month.
On December 26, he made his last appearance on stage before his retirement at his solo dinner show "Noriyuki Higashiyama Dinner Show 2023" held at ANA InterContinental Tokyo.[48] Higashiyama performed for the last time as an entertainer. The show had last taken place in 2002, was held in Osaka and Tokyo, for the 2023 edition. Surrounded by excited voices, applause and audience singing, Higashiyama sung a total of 24 songs, which included songs from his time as a member of Shonentai, while in the background, nostalgic images from several moments of his artistic life, as well as a sort of an end roll with a record of his performances until then, ended with a thank you message.[49]
Higashiyama's last appearance on television was in TV AsahiHissatsu Shigotonin broadcast on December 29, 2023. This drama was a popular jidaigeki that had been ongoing since he took over the lead role in 2007.[50][51]
On December 31, 44 years after he entered show business in 1979, he retired from the public stage with a last message on his paid member blog, saying, "I would be grateful if someday people could understand that I chose this kind of life".[52]
On October 23, 2010, he married actress Yoshino Kimura. They had been going steady for about two and a half years since they performed together on stage in March 2008.[53] Their first child, a daughter, was born in 2011,[54] and their second child, a daughter, was born in 2013.[55]
30th Hashida Awards (2022) - Reason for Award: He has been active in a wide range of TV dramas and host roles, including Seven Detectives (TV Asahi) and Sunday Live! (TV Asahi) and other dramas and host for many years. He is also a hero in the hearts of Sugako Hashida's works (On Inochi, The Tale of Genji (TBS Television (Japan)), etc.).[58]
Noriyuki Higashiyama (December 17, 1998, Magazine House, ISBN9784838711024) - A photo essay based on the serial "Higashiyama Noriyuki's My favorite scene" in the magazine "Raku", with new photos and articles added.
Noriyuki Higashiyama talking about Makoto (February 18, 2005, Pia) - Dialogue and Photobook (published by Pia, Feb. 18, 2005, ISBN9784835615097)
Show Lovery River (Written by Show Aikawa / Published by Pia on March 3, 2005, ISBN9784835615073) - Appeared as one of the guests in a book written by Show Aikawa. Talk 3: Noriyuki Higashiyama and Show Aikawa, two men who keep on running.
^Higashiyama says he dislikes ethnic discrimination because of his own Russian heritage and because of the help he received from Korean family in the neighborhood.[9]
^"森光子・東山紀之 出演『ツキコの月 そして、タンゴ』製作発表" [Production announcement of "Tsukiko's Moon And Tango" starring Mitsuko Mori and Noriyuki Higashiyama]. theater-forum (in Japanese). Theater forum. August 10, 2005. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
^"東山紀之 ミュージカル8年ぶり単独出演" [Noriyuki Higashiyama to appear in a solo musical for the first time in 8 years]. daily (in Japanese). July 4, 2009. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2024.