Yui Ichikawa

Name: Yui Ichikawa

Japanese name: 市川由衣
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 samename. 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 呪怨 Chiharu
2003 Ju-on The Movie 呪怨 THE MOVIE Chiharu
2003 Ju-on 2 呪怨2 Chiharu
2004 Zebraman ゼブラーマン Midori Ichikawa
2005 ZOO ZOO Rimiko
2005 About Love アバウト?ラブ／関於愛 Yuka
2005 School Daze スクールデイズ Ayako Hayatsu
2006 Forbidden Siren サイレン Yuki Amamoto
2006 Rough ラフ ROUGH Yuki Amamoto
2006 NANA 2 NANA 2 Nana Komatsu
2008 Onpun to Konbu 音符と昆布 Momo Kogure
2008 Kurosagi クロサギ Yukari Mishima
2008 Hyakuhachi ひゃくはち --

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] Vison¨ar 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