Yoko Minamino - History

History

While attending the private Shoin High School in Kobe, Minamino successfully passed an audition in 1982. During the summer of her second year of high school, she moved to Tokyo where she attended Horikoshi High School along with fellow entertainers Miharu Morina and Minako Honda. Minamino and Honda met when they both took the entrance examination.

Minamino made her debut television role in 1984 in Meimon Shiritsu Jōshi Kōkō. She began working for the talent agency S1 Company at this time. Despite being a mostly unknown face in Japanese entertainment, Minamino was given an unusually large number of photos in a seinen manga magazine.

This led to her being cast in 1985 in the role of Saki Asamiya in the second season of Fuji TV's Sukeban Deka, a popular live action TV series about a juvenile delinquent being forced to go undercover for the police in a high school known for its rough gangs. This role made Minamino an instant star, and many phrases from this season became fashionable. She was also nominated at the 11th Annual Japan Academy Prize event as "Rookie of the Year" for her performance in the movie version released in 1987. Her "Saki Asamiya" character was used in a wide range of adverts.

She made her singing debut on 1985-06-23 with her song Hazukashi Sugite. Along with Shizuka Kudo, Miho Nakayama, and Yui Asaka, Minamino was considered one of the Four Divas (四天王, Shitennō?) of the time until she temporarily suspended her career in 1992. In 1988 she played two roles, including the starring role, in the Taiga drama Takeda Shingen. That same year, she reached the number one spot for sales of publicity photo shots sold, setting a new record. Minamino was also honored by the country of Grenada when they issued postage stamps featuring two different head shots.

In 1989, Minamino switched talent agencies, moving from S1 Company to the private Southern Field agency. In the 1992 film Kantsubaki, she made her first nude appearance, closely followed by her second in Watashi o Idaite, Soshite Kiss-shite that same year. Minamino was nominated for the 16th Annual Japan Academy Prize for "Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" (basically "Best Actress") for her performances in both of these films.

Minamino has appeared multiple times in interviews and photo shots in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy magazine since 1984. In the 1989-08-01 issue, she appeared on the cover.