Yui Ichikawa

Name: Yui Ichikawa

Japanese name:

Nickname: Yuinyan

Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

Birthday: February 10th, 1986

Current age: 23

Occupation: idol, actress, and singer

Height: 158cm

Bust: 83cm

Waist: 55cm

Hips: 80cm (different sources will range from 80-85cm)

Talent: Swimming

Blood Type: A

Information

When Ichikawa was a first-year student in a Harajuku junior high, she was scouted to join a NAMCO-sponsored audition in 1999. She won and subsequently began gravure modeling for various magazines in 2000. Her first photobook was released in 2001 at the age of 15. That same year, Ichikawa began her career as a talent, participating in Shibuyakei Joshi Pro-Wrestling, an idol wrestling program. In the months to follow, she was in the sentai-spoof series Jikuu Keisatsu Wecker D-02 with five other up-and-coming gravure idols, including Ogura Yuko and Sakuragi Chikako. She continued to have minor parts in dramas, but when the hit drama Hotman aired in 2003, Ichikawa was bumped up to supporting actress as a sister of the main character. In 2003 again, Ichikawa was in Ringu parody film The Jurei. 2003 also marked Ichikawa's headway into the music business, and in November she released her first single Ame, a cover of the Moritaka Chisato song. By now the young gravure idol had released seven photobooks, participated in six television shows, and two actual movies (Ju-on 1 and 2), and she was still only 17. She had also done voice work for the console game Chaos Legion.



Ichikawa continued to release CDs until December of 2004. Her final single, Ai wa Katsu, was a cover of the KAN song of the same name. Yamauchi Nana, the young girl who had played her niece in Hotman, was able to sing in the chorus for this song.

After her debut as a musical artist, Ichikawa's photobook releases were little to none and fans feared it was the end of her days as a gravure idol. However, Ichikawa was still releasing annual calendars featuring herself in bikinis, and a month after her first single she released her eighth photobook Shiritsu Ichikawa Yui Gakuen, complete with pictures. Even then, Ichikawa focused more on her career as an artist. After that was over, she was devoted completely to acting and was able to land spots in two movies in 2005 and a supporting role in the TV series, H2~Kimi to Itahibi alongside Yamada Takayuki and Ishihara Satomi . In February 2006, nearly two and a half years after her last photobook, Ichikawa released Hatachi ~ The Golden Best. It contained 192 pages of photographs with Ichikawa in bikinis and also had a bonus DVD. In April 2006 the TV series Kurosagi aired with Ichikawa starring as Mishima Yukari.

Ichikawa was in the movies Siren and Rough in the year 2006. It was also announced on August 4th, 2006, that she would be replacing Miyazaki Aoi in the sequel to the movie adaptation of NANA . The movie premiered December 9th, 2006.

Movie works

Year English Title Japanese Title Role

2003 Ju-on Chiharu

2003 Ju-on The Movie THE MOVIE Chiharu

2003 Ju-on 2 2 Chiharu

2004 Zebraman Midori Ichikawa

2005 ZOO ZOO Rimiko

2005 About Love ? Yuka

2005 School Daze Ayako Hayatsu

2006 Forbidden Siren Yuki Amamoto

2006 Rough ROUGH Yuki Amamoto

2006 NANA 2 NANA 2 Nana Komatsu

2008 Onpun to Konbu Momo Kogure

2008 Kurosagi Yukari Mishima

2008 Hyakuhachi --

TV Shows

Tantei Gakuen Q (NTV, 2007, ep3)

Doubutsu 119 (NTV, 2007)

Saigo no Nightingale (NTV, 2006)

Kurosagi (TBS, 2006)

Ai to Shi wo Mitsumete (TV Asahi, 2006)

Rondo (TBS, 2006)

Kikujirou to Saki (TV Asahi, 2005)

H2~Kimi to Itahibi (TBS, 2005)

Out Limit (WOWOW, 2005)

HOTMAN 2 (TBS, 2004)

Wonderful Life (Fuji TV, 2004)

Ryuuten no ouhi - Saigo no koutei (TV Asahi, 2003)

Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru (TBS, 2003)

HOTMAN (TBS, 2003)

Taiho shichauzo (TV Asahi, 2002)

Gokusen (NTV, 2002, ep7)

Photobooks

[2001.07.07] Yuiism BEAM!

[2001.12.xx] Visonar Petit Photo Collection

[2002.04.xx] Ichikawa-kun

[2002.08.21] Yuirus2002

[2002.09.xx] Pin-up Book

[2002.12.06] Yuiche! Grazie

[2003.02.18] Seifuku Collection

[2003.12.04] Shiritsu Ichikawa Yui Gakuen

[2006.02.10] Hatachi ~ The Golden Best

[2008.02.07] Ichikawa-san