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Minayo Watanabe

Minayo Watanabe (渡辺 美奈代, born September 28, 1969) is a Japanese idol and singer.She debuted as member number 29 of the idol group Onyanko Club.^[1][2] As she was one of the most popular members, in 1986 she started releasing solo songs. Her solo career continued after the group disbanded in 1987.^[1]

She has an elder brother, an elder sister, and a younger sister.^[3] She was born in Gifu Prefecture, but moved to Nishikasugai DistrictinAichi Prefecture when she was two years old.^[4] Her father owned a construction company.^[3] Once she enrolled at Tenjin Junior High School (天神中学校), she became obsessed with table tennis.^[5]

In April 1985, she enrolled at Inazawa Girls' High School (稲沢女子高校) in the local area and also attended a celebrity training school in Nagoya.^[6] This led to her being scouted by CBS Sony Records.^[6][7] She also joined Burning Production (バーニングプロダクション), a leading entertainment agency, thus she quit high school and moved to Tokyo.^[8][9][10] Note that since Burning Production had limited the number of celebrities belonging to the agency, Megumi Mori (森恵), who was waiting for her debut as a singer, was released to its affiliate agency after Watanabe, who was highly favored by Ikuo Suhō (周防郁夫), the president of Burning Production, joined the agency.^[10] In November 1985, she auditioned for the variety show Yūyake Nyan Nyan("Sunset Meow Meow") (夕やけニャンニャン)onFuji TV and was accepted along with Mutsumi Yokota (横田睦美), Chiaki Mikami (三上千晶), and Yūko Yajima (矢島裕子).^[7][11][12] Unlike usually, the audition at this time was a joint project with the popular radio program Young Paradise (ヤングパラダイス), featuring comedian Yūji Miyake (三宅裕司) as DJ, and they were also looking for a poster girl for the radio program.^[7][11] In December 1985, she and Yokota became regular performers on a radio program called Onyanko no Abunai Yorudayo (おニャン子のアブない夜だよ), featuring Sonoko Kawai and Sayuri Kokushō as DJs.^[13][14]

In February 1986, when Kokushō made her solo debut with the song Valentine Kiss, she and Mako Shiraishi served as backing vocalists.^[15][16] In March 1986, Kawai and Kokushō left the radio program, and Shiraishi was joined as a new DJ.^[13][14][17] Shortly thereafter, Watanabe caused controversy by saying on the program that "the old ladies were no longer here".^[13][17] In response, Kawai retorted, "When Minayo-chan turns 20, will you be able to maintain your youthfulness like I have?" ^[13][17] In April 1986, she enrolled at Horikoshi High School, where many celebrities have attended.^[8] In July 1986, a large-scale Handshake Event (握手会, Akushukai) was held at the Nippon Budokan, and she shook hands with 12,000 fans who gathered there.^[15][18][19] Shortly thereafter, she made her solo debut with the song Hitomi ni Yakusoku (瞳に約束), which ranked No. 1 on the Oricon in its first appearance.^[20][21] As a result, she had five consecutive No. 1 songs since her debut as a solo singer.^[6][22][23] In November 1986, she released her debut album called Alfalfa (Alfalfa).^[24][25]

In January 1987, she suddenly started crying while singing her new song Too Adult (Too Adult) on Yūyake Nyan Nyan.^[17][26] The reason was that she was emotionally unstable due to a poor rehearsal for a popular singing show called Yoru no Hit Studio (夜のヒットスタジオ).^[17][26] In April 1987, she started a radio program called Senobishite Rouge (背のびしてルージュ, Senobishite Rūju).^[13][14] She remained with the group until September 1987, when Onyanko Club disbanded.^[15][27] She was positioned as a new leader of Onyanko Club.^[7][9][28] She was considered a legitimate beauty among the Onyanko Club members, many of whom were said to be not very good looking.^[27] In addition, Yasushi Akimoto, who was deeply involved with Onyanko Club, described her as "like she was born to be an idol."^[29] Since her debut as a solo singer in July 1986, she remained one of the most popular members of the group.^[15][27] She and another popular member, Marina Watanabe, were referred to as W Watanabe (W渡辺, Daburu Watanabe), and the two were frequently compared.^[15][27][28]

After the disbandment of Onyanko Club, she often appeared not only as a singer but also on variety shows such as Ken Shimura's I'm All Right (志村けんのだいじょうぶだぁ).^[6][15] In the mid-1990s, she released several semi-nude photo books.^[28][30] In 1996, she married Masaki Yajima (矢島昌樹, Yajima Masaki), a member of the rockabilly band Hot Sox, and had two children.^[6][15][28] When she gave birth to her first son in 1997, she released a video of the birth.^[28] In 2002, she participated in the reunion of Onyanko Club.^[31] She has since continued her entertainment career while also being involved in a nail salon and an interior design store.^[6][15] In addition, her two sons also made their debut in the entertainment industry.^[6]

• 壁の向うに誰かいる! [Someone is behind the wall!] (Videotape) (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: BMG JAPAN (BMG JAPAN). 1992-02-05. ASIN B000064MWD.
• スリル [Thrill] (Videotape) (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: BMG JAPAN (BMG JAPAN). 1993-02-05. ASIN B00005FSYA.

• Yamauchi, Yorihito (December 10, 1988). Look at! (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847020995.
• Kimura, Sei (May 26, 1990). Darlin'!. Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847021428.
• Inomoto, Kōji (December 17, 1991). No Problem! (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847022333.
• Hamilton, David (September 28, 1992). BLOOMING-MINAYA (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Scholar (スコラ). ISBN 978-4796200882.
• Inomoto, Kōji (January 7, 1994). Trap. Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847023514.
• Inomoto, Kōji (August 26, 1995). POSE (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847024054.
• Yamauchi, Yorihito (April 3, 1997). EGOIST (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Wani Books. ISBN 978-4847024580.
• Watanabe, Minayo (April 1, 2000). いつまでもアイドル! [Idol forever!] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Neko Publishing (ネコ・パブリッシング). ISBN 978-4873662008.
• Watanabe, Minayo (November 19, 2008). ひとりでできるジェルネイルBOOK [Gel nail polish book for doing it by yourself] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Futabasha. ISBN 978-4575300826.
• Watanabe, Minayo (March 4, 2014). 渡辺美奈代の美ゅーてぃふる弁当 [Minayo Watanabe's Beautiful packed lunches] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Shōgakukan. ISBN 978-4091046550.

• Iwakiri, Jun, ed. (August 24, 1987). おニャン子白書 [The White Paper On Onyanko Club] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Fusosha Publishing. ISBN 4-594-00169-6.
• Komukai, Shōji, ed. (1989-03-01).『巻頭大特集 渡辺美奈代』[Cover Story Minayo Watanabe]. BOMB (BOMB) (in Japanese). No. March 1989. Tokyo, Japan: Gakken.
• Ino, Ryōsuke, ed. (November 18, 2003). おニャン子クラブと永遠のグループアイドル [Onyanko Club And Eternal Group Idols] (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Takarajimasha. ISBN 978-4796636919.

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Official profile at Ever Green Entertainment Group (in Japanese)
• Official profile at Cast Corporation & Office May (in Japanese)
• Minayo Land - Official blog (in Japanese)
• Minayo WatanabeonInstagram