Saaya Irie
Saaya Irie | |
---|---|
Born | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan | November 15, 1993
Other names | Saaya |
Occupation(s) | Actress, voice actress, junior idol, singer |
Years active | 2005 — present |
Saaya Irie (入江紗綾, Irie Saaya, born November 15, 1993, in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan) is a Japanese actress, voice actress, junior idol and singer. Her stage name is simply her given name, Saaya.
She has recently been appearing in numerous films, radio, and television programs including the recent live action TV drama adaptation of the Jigoku Shoujo series. She has also done voice work, appearing in the anime OVA Kyo no Gononi as Chika Koizumi. She was formerly a member of Japanese musical group Sweet Kiss before it disbanded on May 12, 2006 to be replaced by the group Chase.
As a gravure junior idol
During her childhood she idolized Yoshika, a fashion model from Kitakyushu, but she gained fame for her professional glamour modeling as a U-15 idol. Her bikini pictures soon received widespread distribution over the Internet.[1]
2005 anti-Japanese demonstrations
In May 2005, during the anti-Japanese demonstrations in China and Korea, pictures of Saaya taken by Japanese photographer Garo Aida captioned "Please listen carefully to what I say my lovely Chinese brothers, please stop the riot!" were posted on a major Chinese forum by a third party, along with a message pleading for better bilateral relations between China and Japan.[1] Tabloid stories soon followed with raunchy headlines like "Busty 11-Year-Old Girl with F Cup Eases Cross-Strait Relations". Shuukan Bunshun (週刊文春), a serious and conservative news weekly, reported that her pictures and words of peace led to a reduction in anti-Japanese attitude among the Chinese people. In the aftermath of this incident, Saaya's manager said they will refrain from having more bikini photoshoots of her, although she has done more bikini photoshoots since then.
Personal life
After making her debut as a gravure idol, she still lived in Fukuoka Prefecture where she attended elementary school and middle school,[2] but moved to Tokyo when she hit 16.
Filmography
TV programs
- Kyuyo Meisai (TV Tokyo)
- Gekito! Idol Yokibou (July 2006)
- Government Crime Investigation Agent Zaizen Jotaro (TV Asahi)
- Jigoku Shoujo (Live action adaptation, playing as Tsugumi Shibata, started airing across Nippon TV from November 4 2006)
- Manga-Kissa Toshi-Densetsu Noroi no Manna san (BS-i)
Radio programs
- Gekito! Idol Yokibou (Osaka Broadcasting Corporation, released on July 2006)
OVA
- Kyo no Gononi (as Chika Koizumi; produced by avex)
- Note: She only sang for the Sweet Kiss version of the opening and ending songs and did not play Chika in the OVA itself. Mai Kadowaki played Chika. On the special edition of the DVD series there was a special audio track. Saaya and Chase were on the second audio track.
Films
- God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand or Kami no hidarite Akuma no migite (神の左手 悪魔の右手) 2006.
- Shibuya Kaidan (渋谷怪談 THEリアル都市伝説) 2006. official site
- Kani Goalkeeper (かにゴールキーパー) 2006. official site
- Kuchisake Onna (口裂け女) 2007
- Pussy Soup or Neko Râmen Taishô (猫ラーメン大将) 2008 official site
Web programs
- It's your CHOICE! episode 2
Discography
Chase
- Chase Me! (1st single)
Sweet Kiss
- Baby Love (opening to the anime OVA Kyo no Gononi)
- Yakusoku (ending ot the anime OVA Kyo no Gononi)
Photobooks
- Saaya, Tsubomi (紗綾「ボミ」) ISBN 4-08-780435-6,2005.
- Saaya, Saaya 11 years old (紗綾「紗綾11歳」) ISBN 4-8211-2660-5, 2005.
- Saaya, Saaya 11 years old Fugue (紗綾「さあや11歳(フーガ) 」)
- Saaya, Pastel Time. (紗綾「ぱすてるたいむ 「紗綾」」)
DVDs
- 紗綾 さあや11歳 [Saaya at 11] (February 2005, Elk Heart Promotion) ISBN 4-341-78004-2
- 入江紗綾 紗綾11歳 [Saaya at 11] (May 2005, Bunkasha) ISBN 4-8211-3091-2
- Little Legend 紗綾in沖縄 [Saaya in Okinawa] (October 2005, Elk Heart Promotion)
- BLOOM~さあやから入江紗綾へ~ [From Saaya to Saaya Irie] (June 2006, Elk Heart Promotion) ISBN 4-902972-30-1
- アクアガール 入江紗綾 [Aqua Girl] (December 2006, Elk Heart Promotion) ISBN 4-903590-29-1
- アクアガール2 入江紗綾 [Aqua Girl 2] (February 2007, Elk Heart Promotion) ISBN 4903590431
- 紗綾の休日 [Saaya's Holiday] (December 2006, King Records)
- Pure Smile (December 2007, Takeshobo)
- 紗綾 THE BEST (March 2008, E-Net Frontier)
- 紗綾 SA-YA! (April 2008, E-Net Frontier)
Sweet Kiss
- Sweet Kiss (May 2005, Elk Heart Promotion) ISBN 4-341-78006-9
- Very Sweet Vol.2 (December 2005, Elk Heart Promotion)
Chase
- 激闘!アイドル予備校 紗綾・留奈・梨央 [Battle! Idol Prep-School - Saaya, Runa, Rio] (September 2006, E-Net Frontier)
References
- ^ a b "Monthly Bunshun (Ja:週刊文春)" No.May 19, 2005 (was published on May 11, 2005)
- ^ 紗綾:留奈、梨央と中学生アイドルが主演 ドラマ「激闘!アイドル予備校」Template:Jp icon - MSN / Mainichi shimbun
External links
- Official site Saaya Template:Jp icon (visited Dec 22, 2009)
- Official weblog Saaya Template:Jp icon
- Saaya Irie at IMDb