Yukiko Okada

Yukiko Okada (岡田 有希子, Okada Yukiko, August 22, 1967 – April 8, 1986) was a Japanese idol and winner of the talent show Star Tanjō! in Tokyo, Japan.

Yukiko Okada
岡田 有希子
Okada Yukiko.jpg
Yukiko Okada in 1984
Born
Kayo Satō (佐藤 佳代)

(1967-08-22)August 22, 1967
Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan
DiedApril 8, 1986(1986-04-08) (aged 18)
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Cause of deathSuicide
Burial placeAisai, Aichi
NationalityJapanese
Other namesYukko
Education
OccupationSinger, actress, model
Years active1983–1986
AgentSun Music (Japanese Wikipedia article)
Label(s)
Pony Canyon

Early lifeEdit

Okada was born as Satō Kayo (佐藤佳代) on August 22, 1967, the second daughter of the Satō family. The family later moved to Nagoya. In elementary school, Okada loved to read, especially manga, and she was a talented artist. In junior high school, Okada wanted to become a singer and applied for every possible audition, anything from major productions to the smallest talent recruitment, hoping to become a star. She was rejected every time until she was finally accepted to a TV talent program, Star Tanjō! on Nippon Television – similar to Star Search, though the final stage was her singing to get interest from talent agents – singing Kitahara Sawako's MY BOYFRIEND for the audition, and Nakamori Akina's Slow Motion for the final round, which she won in March 1983.

CareerEdit

On April 1984, Okada released her first single, "First Date", written by Mariya Takeuchi.[1] She was nicknamed "Yukko" (ユッコ) by her fans, which is a common abbreviation for the name "Yukiko" in the Japanese language.

She rocketed to stardom in the ’80s thanks not only to her talent but to her sweet personality and infectious smile — a smile so famous that it had a name: the “Yukko smile.”[3]

That year, Okada won Rookie of the Year, and was awarded the 26th Japan Record Awards Grand Prix Best New Artist Award[2] for her third single, "-Dreaming Girl- Koi, Hajimemashite", also written by Takeuchi. She expected reappearance of Seiko Matsuda.

Okada played the leading role in her first television drama Kinjirareta Mariko (The Forbidden Mariko), in 1985. Her 1986 single "Kuchibiru Network" [ja], written by Seiko Matsuda and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, reached number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986. (It was later covered by idol girl group Sunmyu as its debut song in 2013.)[4]

DeathEdit

 
The Sun Music Building, located in Yotsuya, Tokyo

On April 8, 1986, Okada was found with a slashed wrist in her gas-filled Tokyo apartment, crouching in a closet and crying. She was discovered by a rescue team called in by the apartment's manager after other residents noticed the smell of gas. Okada's manager eventually arrived and took her to the nearby Kitano Aoyama Hospital, where her injuries were treated.

In a 2016 article on the Asahi Weekly, Sun Music former managing director[5] Tokio Fukuda recalled that Sun Music founder Hideyoshi Aizawa called him to pick up Okada from the hospital. When he met her, she was crying softly. He then asked her where she wanted to go: to her parents' home in Nagoya, her apartment, or the office. She replied that the office was good, so she was brought to the sixth floor of the Sun Music building. Aizawa then called Fukuda, leading him to step out.[6]

While Fudaka, the manager of the building and the staff were discussing how to avoid a media scandal, Okada ran up to the stairs, took off her shoes and jumped from the seven-story building, resulting in instant death. It was 12:15 PM, JST.[7][8]

The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Okada was reported to have been "[u]pset and depressed about an unhappy love affair"[9] and had "an unrequited love for" actor Tōru Minegishi,[10] a co-star in Kinjirareta Mariko. Minegishi said that "he thought of her more as a younger sister".[10] When asked if a relationship with an actor (who the article cited did not name) was the cause, Fukuda replied that he did not know.[6]

Her fans were shocked and shattered by her untimely death. It resulted in many copycat suicides in Japan,[9] soon christened with the neologism "Yukiko Syndrome"[9] or "Yukko Syndrome."[11][12] In turn, it has been suggested that Okada may have had in mind idol Yasuko Endō, who also committed suicide by falling from a rooftop ten days earlier.[11][12] showbiz weekly magazines were made mourning special volume.

Okada's remains were cremated,[12] and were interred at the Jōman-ji Temple, Aisai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.[2]

DiscographyEdit

SinglesEdit

  • "First Date" (1984) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
  • "Little Princess" (1984)
  • "Dreaming Girl-Koi, Hajimemashite" (1984) Glico's "Special Chocolate" jingle
  • "Futari Dake no Ceremony" (1985) Toshiba's "Let's Chat" jingle
  • "Summer Beach" (1985) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
  • "Kanashii Yokan" (1985)
  • "Love Fair" (1985) Glico's Cecil Chocolate jingle
  • "Kuchibiru Network" (1986) Kanebo's lipstick commercial
  • "Hana no Image" (1986) [released posthumously]
  • "Believe in You" (strings version 2002) [released posthumously]

AlbumsEdit

  • Cinderella (シンデレラ))
  • Okurimono (贈りもの, Gift) (Compilation Album)
  • Fairy
  • Jyūgatsu no Ningyo (十月の人魚, October Mermaid)
  • Okurimono II (贈りものII, Gift II) (Compilation Album)
  • Venus Tanjō (ヴィーナス誕生, Birth of Venus)
  • Okurimono III (贈りものIII, Gift III) (Heritage, released posthumously) (Compilation Album)
  • All Songs Request (posthumous singles collection)

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ a b "竹内まりやも「希有な存在」と評す　没後30年、岡田有希子とは何だったのか" [Mariya Takeuchi also describes her as a "rare being" 30 years after her death, who was Yukiko Okada?] (in Japanese). Weekly Asahi (published April 15, 2016). April 8, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "岡田有希子、没後30年　南野陽子が「"ゴミ箱"が私だった」と思い出語る" [Yukiko Okada, 30 years after her death; Yoko Minamino recalls, "Trash can was me"] (in Japanese). Weekly Asahi (published April 15, 2016). April 8, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Pulvers, Roger (September 20, 2009). "Now suicide has become a political issue, how will Japan address it?". The Japan Times. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  4. ^ 鈴木亮 (August 25, 2016). "昭和の王道アイドル路線　さんみゅ～、シニアを魅了" (in Japanese). The Nikkei. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ^ "サンミュージック波乱の50年　引きずった岡田有希子の死「お父さんの一言に救われた」" [50 years of Sun Music upheaval, Yukiko Okada's death, "I was saved by a word from her father"] (in Japanese). Oricon News. November 11, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  6. ^ a b 藤村かおり (August 12, 2016). "「愛情をください」と訴えた岡田有希子　死の直前、シクシク泣いて「事務所へ行きたい」" [Yukiko Okada complained, "please love me", just before her death, she cried, and "I want to go to the office"] (in Japanese). Weekly Asahi (published August 19, 2016). Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  7. ^ "Yukiko Okada"[permanent dead link]. ACA Music. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  8. ^ Yosha Research[dead link]
  9. ^ a b c John Greenless, Paradox ò Japan Epidemic of suicides among young people, The Glasgow Herald – 11. Apr. 1987, page 37
  10. ^ a b "Actor Minegishi Toru Dies at 65". October 13, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Japanese Society Since 1945 by Edward R. Beauchamp, Taylor & Francis, 1998, ISBN 0-8153-2732-3, trang 97
  12. ^ a b c William Wetherall, "The suicide of Okada Yukiko: Japanese youth and the Yukko Syndrome", Far Eastern Economic Review, July 17, 1986

External linksEdit

Preceded by
The Good-Bye 		Japan Record Award for Best New Artist
1984 		Succeeded by
Miho Nakayama
Preceded by
The Good-Bye 		FNS Music Festival for Best New Artist
1984 		Succeeded by
Minako Honda
Preceded by
The Good-Bye, Sayuri Iwai, Yasuko Kuwata 		Shinjuku Music Festival for Gold Prize
1984 (with : Koji Kikkawa) 		Succeeded by
Shigeyuki Nakamura, Minako Honda
Preceded by
The Good-Bye 		Ginza Music Festival for Grand Prix
1984 		Succeeded by
Noriko Matsumoto
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