Yamaguchi Momoe Photobook "Momoe" Reminds Me: Shinoyama Kishin Is My Hero!

Smouldering Momoe bu Kishin Shinoyama

As a huge fan of Momoe Yamaguchi, I’m always on the lookout for nice pics of her, and in this regard, the internet has been a real godsend- soooo many pretty pics of the eternal idol herself and in such high quality, too! Through my collecting, besides the usual bright idol stuff, occasionally I’d come across pics of Momoe showing a decidedly more risqué tone- shots of her in very sexy and sultry poses (and in equally provocative outfits), far removed from the freshly scrubbed innocent face of her early “schoolgirl” years.

    As I collected more and more of these interesting pictures, I noticed that among these tantalizing shots were off-shots of what I identified as past Momoe Album covers, and it was here, checking the album credentials, that I discovered that the photographer who’d taken all of these sexy Momoe pics was none other than Legendary Photographer extraordinaire Kishin Shinoyama. KISHIN SHINOYAMA!

   Like most people out there, I first heard the name of Kishin Shinoyama as the photographer for that classic and highly controversial Celebrity Photobook “Santa Fe”, Miyazawa Rie’s infamous nude “Shashinshuu”, but I really began loving his work when when I began getting into Japanese dramas: Shinoyama shot the photobooks of two pretty actresses I loved, Riona Hazuki and Saki Takaoka, and I mean to tell you, those bawdy photobooks blew me AWAY! This guy is a MASTER of the sexy and seductive stuff, I tell you! Eventually getting ALL THREE books, I would look at them impressively and tell my friends “Kishin Shinoyama is my HEROOOOOO!”

My Other Shinoyama Books: Miyazawa Rie, Hazuki Riona & Takaoka Saki

 So yeah, it was pretty cool to realize that this gentleman, who had shot three of my favorite Photobooks was ALSO the guy who shot all of Momoe Yamaguchi’s iconic covers- as well as those sexy photos I’d found online…but where did these pics COME FROM?    
  Come to find out that these awesome pics came from a limited Momoe Yamaguchi Photobook Kishin Shinoyama shot called MOMOE:

 WHAT! A Momoe Photobok shot by Kishin Shinoyama!? When I found out THAT, I REALLY wanted to get my hands on it, but the funny thing about collectibles- it's their scarcity that MAKES them collectible, so I didn't get much chance to buy one. But only a month ago I'm browsing around online and...JACKPOT! Now, through the magic of that wonder called Ebay, after all these YEARS of desire, I can happily say that I'VE FINALLY GOT A COPY!!

Damn, this Photobook is SOO damn beautiful, roughly the same dimensions as a regular 12” Album with the thickness of about an inch, this glossy hardcover book is like a collectible COFFEE TABLE BOOK, such high quality glossy paper pages and BOY is it heavy! Such awesome details to quality, no wonder the Japanese love their collectible goods, this book is really a beauty!

And the PHOTOGRAPHS inside, Oh My GOSH, these were as SEXY as ANY that I’d seen before, turning the pages, I was constantly BLOWN AWAY by how RISQUE is was- Momoe is shot in the most seductive of poses in bikinis, lacy gowns, and even (clutches heart) see-through blouses, sooo smoky and sultry, this is Momoe at her most entrancing, the moment when idol becomes GODDESS, and we have it all on print!

Gazing longingly at these shots, I once again loudly proclaimed, O YEAH, after all these years, KISHIN SHINOYAMA is STILL my HEROOO!” Man, one cannot ignore the awesome strides he made during the “golden” age of J-actresses and Idols!! My Hat’s off to this guy.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

PS: Shinoyama is married to Saori “Seventeen” Minami? RESPECT!

PPS: Kishin Shinoyama shot the cover to John Lennon’s Double Fantasy Album? Holy Crap! Respect keeps going up and UP!!!

And For the Counter Argument...

Riona Hazuki

Aside from the Eight pretty Idol Girls featured in the earlier article, the magazine (was it FRIday?) ALSO featured a pictorial on some of the popular actresses/gravure idols who were shot in a decidedly more SEXY vein than the “Cute” predecessor!  So here's a whole 'nother set of eight lovely ladies to feast your eyes on...

Whoo! A Smouldering Aiko Sato

... a Devastatingly Gorgeous Yumi Aso

...and a luscious Yuka in her Curvy Salad Days

Ahhhn, Looking over the girls, It’s kind of the same dilemma I had with the Idol Article, in that it’s so funny how some of these girls have endured and some of them were never heard or seen from again!

Nanako Okochi

Senna Matsuda

Jun Matsuda

As we all know, actresses Aiko Sato, Aso Yumi and Yuka went on to popular and successful  (and in the case of Hazuki Riona, perhaps infamous) careers, but for some like Jun Matsuda, and Nana Okohchi, they just fell off the grid! It’s hard to relate to someone now just how hugely popular someone like Senna Matsuda was back in the day, but she was strictly the Cat’s Meow of Gravure back then, and someone like Mariya Yamada (a personal fave of mine)- heck, besides acting bits, this girl was a regular on Tamori’s Waratte Ittomo show, so you’d think she’s still be around in SOME capacity, right? 

A Fave of Mine, Cute Mariya Yamada

Well, it’s just been announced that Yuka’s going to be releasing an all-new Bikini Shashinshuu (Awww, Hell YEAH!) , and from what they've shared with us so far, she’s looking GREAT! I think this is a good opportunity to tell all of these OTHER former Gravure Idols to get back in the groove and follow suit! LOL