Stephanie Nonoshita Topalian (born August 5, 1987), known simply as Stephanie (ステファニー, Sutefanī), is an American-born…
Stephanie Nonoshita Topalian (born August 5, 1987), known simply as Stephanie (ステファニー, Sutefanī), is an American-born singer and actress of Armenian and Japanese descent who is signed with SME Records Japan, which is a part of Sony Music. She released two albums: her self-titled debut in 2008 and Colors of my Voice in 2009. She has won the Japanese Music Awards in 2007. A number of her songs have been featured in several Japanese films. She had roles in a few Japanese films, notably Pride and Tokyo Tribe. In 2015, she represented Armenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 as a member of Armenian super group project Genealogy with the song "Face the Shadow".
Famous Alumni of Aoyama Gakuin High School
Aoyama Gakuin High School: 39 people
Rie Funakoshi (Japanese: 舩越 里恵, Hepburn: Funakoshi Rie; born January 11, 1985) better known by her stage name Rie fu…
Rie Funakoshi (Japanese: 舩越 里恵, Hepburn: Funakoshi Rie; born January 11, 1985) better known by her stage name Rie fu (リエ フゥ, Rie Fū), is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She resides in Tokyo but frequently travels to the United Kingdom, where she is known as Rié, to record and promote her work. Rie fu's songs are often bilingual, since she is fluent in both English and Japanese. Although most of her songs are primarily sung in Japanese, many feature entire verses written in English (such as Life is Like a Boat). Of her songs written entirely in Japanese, several have later been released as English-language versions.
Emi Kobayashi (小林 恵美, Kobayashi Emi; born January 1, 1983) is a former Japanese gravure idol. She is from Tokyo, and…
Emi Kobayashi (小林 恵美, Kobayashi Emi; born January 1, 1983) is a former Japanese gravure idol. She is from Tokyo, and belongs to the show-business production Suns Entertainment. She belonged to Yellow Cab before 2004. She portrayed the hostess who became a nun named Saori in Lion-Maru G.
Mari Hoshino (星野 真里, Hoshino Mari; born July 27, 1981 in Kamifukuoka, Saitama) is a Japanese actress and singer.
Megumi Matsushita (松下 恵, Megumi Matsushita; born 16 January 1981) is a Japanese actress.
Eriko Mukoyama, known as Anyango, is a female nyatiti player who is well known in Kenya.
Jiro Hatoyama (鳩山二郎, Hatoyama Jiro; born 1 January 1979) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of…
Jiro Hatoyama (鳩山二郎, Hatoyama Jiro; born 1 January 1979) is a Japanese politician serving as a member of the House of Representatives since 2016. From 2013 to 2016, he served as mayor of Ōkawa. He is the son of Kunio Hatoyama and Emily Hatoyama.
Kensuke "Kenny" Iwabuchi (岩渕健輔 いわぶちけんすけ; born December 30, 1975, in Tokyo) is a Japanese rugby player and coach. He…
Kensuke "Kenny" Iwabuchi (岩渕健輔 いわぶちけんすけ; born December 30, 1975, in Tokyo) is a Japanese rugby player and coach. He plays at stand off, and has 20 caps for the Japan national rugby union team. He also captained the Japan sevens team in the third sevens World Cup and was the first Japanese player to play professional rugby in England.
Aya Kawai (河合 彩, Kawai Aya; born April 4, 1975) is a Japanese former competitive ice dancer. She competed with Hiroshi…
Aya Kawai (河合 彩, Kawai Aya; born April 4, 1975) is a Japanese former competitive ice dancer. She competed with Hiroshi Tanaka. They placed 23rd in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. They were two-time Japanese national champions.
Motoya Yamawaki (山脇 元彌, Yamawaki Motoya; born June 4, 1974), known professionally as Izumi Motoya (和泉 元彌), is a…
Motoya Yamawaki (山脇 元彌, Yamawaki Motoya; born June 4, 1974), known professionally as Izumi Motoya (和泉 元彌), is a Japanese kyōgen actor, known for his appearances on television in NHK Taiga dramas, and for the scandal surrounding his assumption of the position of 20th sōke (head) of the Izumi school of kyōgen.
Shinobu Terajima (寺島 しのぶ, Terajima Shinobu; born December 28, 1972) is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include…
Shinobu Terajima (寺島 しのぶ, Terajima Shinobu; born December 28, 1972) is a Japanese actress. Her feature films include Akame 48 Waterfalls (2003) and Vibrator (2003). For her role in Caterpillar (2010), Terajima won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 60th Berlin Film Festival while her performance in Oh Lucy! (2017) earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress.
Chisako Takashima (高嶋 ちさ子, Takashima Chisako; born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese tarento and violinist. She was born…
Chisako Takashima (高嶋 ちさ子, Takashima Chisako; born August 24, 1968) is a Japanese tarento and violinist. She was born in Tokyo.
Renhō Saitō (斉藤 蓮舫, Saitō Renhō; née Hsieh (謝), formerly Murata (村田); born 28 November 1967), known mononymously as…
Renhō Saitō (斉藤 蓮舫, Saitō Renhō; née Hsieh (謝), formerly Murata (村田); born 28 November 1967), known mononymously as Renhō, is a Japanese politician and former journalist who has served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2004 to 2024, and again since 2025. She was the leader of the now-defunct major opposition party, the Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017. Renhō was a candidate for the 2024 Tokyo gubernatorial election with the support of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japanese Communist Party (JCP), and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but was defeated by incumbent Yuriko Koike, placing third behind Shinji Ishimaru.
Yōji Matsuda (松田 洋治, Matsuda Yōji; born October 19, 1967) is a Japanese actor and voice actor from Tokyo, Japan.
Yutaka Ozaki (尾崎 豊, Ozaki Yutaka; November 29, 1965 – April 25, 1992) was a Japanese singer-songwriter. His hit debut…
Yutaka Ozaki (尾崎 豊, Ozaki Yutaka; November 29, 1965 – April 25, 1992) was a Japanese singer-songwriter. His hit debut single "Jūgo no Yoru" and debut album Jūnanasai no Chizu were released in 1983. He died in 1992 at the age of 26.
Katsunori Takahashi (高橋 克典, Takahashi Katsunori; born December 15, 1964, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a…
Katsunori Takahashi (高橋 克典, Takahashi Katsunori; born December 15, 1964, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese singer and actor who is represented by the talent agency, K-Dash.
Yasuaki Tsukada (塚田 泰明, Tsukada Yasuaki; born November 16, 1964) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan.…
Yasuaki Tsukada (塚田 泰明, Tsukada Yasuaki; born November 16, 1964) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 9-dan. He is a former Ōza title holder and the inventor of the influential Tsukada Special strategy, which he used to win numerous games in the 1980s, is named after him.
Karen Tanaka (born April 7, 1961) is a Japanese composer.
Bandō Mitsugorō X (Japanese: 十代目 坂東 三津五郎) (January 23, 1956 – February 2, 2015) was a Japanese television presenter and…
Bandō Mitsugorō X (Japanese: 十代目 坂東 三津五郎) (January 23, 1956 – February 2, 2015) was a Japanese television presenter and kabuki actor. He was the grandson of Bandō Mitsugorō VIII and son of Bandō Mitsugorō IX.
Akiko Yano (矢野 顕子, Yano Akiko; born Akiko Suzuki (鈴木 顕子, Suzuki Akiko); February 13, 1955) is a Japanese pop and jazz…
Akiko Yano (矢野 顕子, Yano Akiko; born Akiko Suzuki (鈴木 顕子, Suzuki Akiko); February 13, 1955) is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer. Born in Tokyo, she was raised in Aomori and began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world". Her vocals and eclectic style have often been compared to her slightly later English contemporary Kate Bush. She has recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra and its members Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, as well as with Swing Out Sister, Pat Metheny, The Chieftains, Lyle Mays, members of Little Feat, David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Kenji Omura, Gil Goldstein, Toninho Horta, Mino Cinelu, Jeff Bova, Charlie Haden, Peter Erskine, Anthony Jackson, David Rhodes, Bill Frisell, Thomas Dolby, the band Quruli, Rei Harakami as Yanokami and her daughter Miu Sakamoto.
Toshiyuki "Toshi" Watanabe (渡辺 俊幸 Watanabe Toshiyuki; born February 3, 1955) is a Japanese musician and composer, known…
Toshiyuki "Toshi" Watanabe (渡辺 俊幸 Watanabe Toshiyuki; born February 3, 1955) is a Japanese musician and composer, known for writing film scores.
Tsugutoshi Gotō (後藤 次利, Gotō Tsugutoshi), born February 5, 1952, is a Japanese songwriter, bassist and music producer.…
Tsugutoshi Gotō (後藤 次利, Gotō Tsugutoshi), born February 5, 1952, is a Japanese songwriter, bassist and music producer. Gotō broke into the Japanese music industry playing bass on tour for artists like Sadistic Mika Band, Bread & Butter and Shiro Kishibe. He went on to write and produce songs for other artists including Kenji Sawada, Miyuki Nakajima, Shizuka Kudō, and various idol singers. In 1980, Gotō won Song of the Year at the Japan Record Award for his work on Kenji Sawada's song "Tokio". In 1983, Gotō married former idol singer and actress Midori Kinouchi. The pair divorced four years later. In 1987, he contributed the soundtrack for the Famicom/NES version of the video game Ultima III: Exodus. In 1994, he married former Onyanko Club member Sonoko Kawai. Gotō also joined several musical units like Draw4 in 1990, gym in 2003, Non-Chords in 2004 and WAIP in 2006.
Fusanosuke Natsume (夏目 房之介, Natsume Fusanosuke; born August 18, 1950) is a Japanese columnist and cartoonist.
Jirō Kawasaki (川崎 二郎, Kawasaki Jirō; born 15 November 1947) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Health…
Jirō Kawasaki (川崎 二郎, Kawasaki Jirō; born 15 November 1947) is a Japanese politician who served as Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Kawasaki was born in Iga, Mie. His father and grandfather were both politicians. He attended Keio University and graduated with a degree in Commerce. After several years working at Matsushita, Kawasaki won a seat in the House of Representatives, representing Mie Prefecture in 1980. Kawasaki is a long-time rival of Hiroshi Nakai of the Democratic Party of Japan, and the two have repeatedly challenged each other for seats representing Mie in the Diet. He served as Minister of Transportation under Keizō Obuchi, and later as Director of the Hokkaido Development Agency. On 31 October 2005, Junichirō Koizumi chose Kawasaki to head the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Hirotaka Takeuchi (竹内 弘高, Takeuchi Hirotaka) is a professor of management practice in the Strategy Unit at Harvard…
Hirotaka Takeuchi (竹内 弘高, Takeuchi Hirotaka) is a professor of management practice in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. He co-authored The New New Product Development Game which influenced the development of the Scrum framework.
Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (十二代目 市川 團十郎, Jūnidaime Ichikawa Danjūrō; August 6, 1946 – February 3, 2013) was a Japanese actor.…
Ichikawa Danjūrō XII (十二代目 市川 團十郎, Jūnidaime Ichikawa Danjūrō; August 6, 1946 – February 3, 2013) was a Japanese actor. He was the twelfth kabuki actor to hold the illustrious name Ichikawa Danjūrō.
Muga Takewaki (竹脇無我, Takewaki Muga; February 17, 1944 – August 21, 2011) was a Japanese actor.
Teruhiko Yumura (湯村 輝彦, Yumura Teruhiko; born November 1, 1942) is a Japanese illustrator, designer, cartoonist and…
Teruhiko Yumura (湯村 輝彦, Yumura Teruhiko; born November 1, 1942) is a Japanese illustrator, designer, cartoonist and music critic. He is one of the exemplars of the heta-uma illustration aesthetic. Born in Hakuzu, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (currently Nishi-Shinjuku), he signed works under the pen names "Terry Johnson" (Gonzo), "FLAMINGO TERRY", "FRAMINA TERRENO GONZO", "TERRINO FLAMINI 'GONZAREZ" and "KURUZURU Terumanta". Yumura is known by the nickname "King Terry". Yumura studied at Tama Art University and drew covers for the magazine Garo in the 1970s and 1980s. He collaborated with copywriter Shigesato Itoi in short comics such as Penguin Shuffle and Jonetsu Penguin no Gohan. He also collaborated with the American magazines Wet and Raw. Yumura's comics were influenced by Japanese and American pop culture; his artwork is characterized by crudely done drawings made in a conscious, deliberate manner. This style became known as heta-uma (bad but good).
Kyōhei Tsutsumi (筒美 京平, Tsutsumi Kyouhei) (born Eikichi Watanabe, 28 May 1940 - 7 October 2020), was a Japanese…
Kyōhei Tsutsumi (筒美 京平, Tsutsumi Kyouhei) (born Eikichi Watanabe, 28 May 1940 - 7 October 2020), was a Japanese composer, record producer and arranger. Tsutsumi began his career as a songwriter about 1966, and he came to prominence as a composer of Ayumi Ishida's chart-topping hit "Blue Light Yokohama" in the late 1960s. He has released nearly 3,000 compositions to date, over 500 of which have entered the Japanese Oricon singles chart. Tsutsumi is the most commercially successful composer of the Japanese popular music of last five decades, selling over 76 million units on the country's singles chart from 1968 onwards. Two of his compositions won the grand prix of Japan Record Award— "Mata Au Hi Made" performed by Kiyohiko Ozaki in 1971 and "Miserarete" by Judy Ongg in 1979. Tsutsumi himself has also won the awards for best songwriting category five times. Recognized for his long-term contribution to establish Japanese popular music, Tsutsumi received the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon by the Government of Japan in November 2003. Tsutsumi died of aspiration pneumonia on October 7, 2020, after home recuperation, at age 80.
Peggy Hayama (Japanese: ペギー葉山) born Shigeko Kotakari (Japanese: 小鷹狩 繁子; 9 December 1933 – 12 April 2017) was a Japanese…
Peggy Hayama (Japanese: ペギー葉山) born Shigeko Kotakari (Japanese: 小鷹狩 繁子; 9 December 1933 – 12 April 2017) was a Japanese singer. Born Shigeko Kotakari in Yotsuya, Hayama attended Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School, where she was discovered while singing jazz. She debuted at the age of 18 in 1952, and two years later entered the Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time. Hayama was known for singing the Japanese-language version of "Do-Re-Mi", a show tune from The Sound of Music later placed on the Nihon no Uta Hyakusen in 2007. She also lent her voice to Japanese dubs of Disney films and released a Japanese cover of "The Wedding" under its original title "La Novia". Hayama's famous Japanese songs included "Having Left Tosa", "School Days", and "Shimabara Lullaby". Her last performance was held in March 2017, at a memorial concert for Fubuki Koshiji. Hayama was honored by the Ministry of Education in 1993 for her contributions to fine arts in Japan. Two years later, she received the Medal with Purple Ribbon. In 2004, Hayama was awarded an Order of the Rising Sun, fourth class. She became the first chairwoman of the Japanese Singers Association in 2007, and served until 2010. Hayama was married to Jun Negami from 1965 until his death in 2005. She died at the age of 83 in 2017, after being hospitalized in Tokyo due to pneumonia.
Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳 慧, Ichiyanagi Toshi; 4 February 1933 – 7 October 2022) was a Japanese avant-garde composer and…
Toshi Ichiyanagi (一柳 慧, Ichiyanagi Toshi; 4 February 1933 – 7 October 2022) was a Japanese avant-garde composer and pianist. One of the leading composers in Japan during the postwar era, Ichiyanagi worked in a range of genres, composing Western-style operas, orchestral and chamber works, as well as compositions using traditional Japanese instruments. Ichiyanagi is known for incorporating avant-garde techniques into his works, such as chance music, extended technique, and nontraditional scoring. Ichiyanagi was married to artist Yoko Ono from 1956 to 1962.
Ikuma Dan (團 伊玖磨, Dan Ikuma; 7 April 1924 – 17 May 2001) was a Japanese composer. Dan was born in Tokyo, the descendant…
Ikuma Dan (團 伊玖磨, Dan Ikuma; 7 April 1924 – 17 May 2001) was a Japanese composer. Dan was born in Tokyo, the descendant of a prominent family, his grandfather Baron Dan Takuma having been President of Mitsui before being assassinated in 1932. He graduated from Aoyama Gakuin and Tokyo Music School in 1946. He studied with teachers including Kosaku Yamada, Kunihiko Hashimoto, Kan'ichi Shimofusa, Saburō Moroi, and Midori Hosokawa. During his career he completed six symphonies, all recorded and released on the Decca label in Japan, and wrote seven operas as well as a number of filmscores, and many songs. He wrote celebratory music for the Japanese imperial family, actively promoted cultural exchange with China (from 1979 until his death in Suzhou, China, in 2001), and received the commission to write an opera (Takeru) for the 1997 opening of the New National Theatre, Tokyo, Japan's main opera house. Dan is known in Japan for his 1951 opera Yūzuru (Twilight Crane), which is regularly revived there.
Tenkōkō Sonoda (園田 天光光, Sonoda Tenkōkō; 23 January 1919 – 29 January 2015) was a Japanese politician who was a member…
Tenkōkō Sonoda (園田 天光光, Sonoda Tenkōkō; 23 January 1919 – 29 January 2015) was a Japanese politician who was a member of the Japanese Diet from 1946–1952. In 1950, she became the first woman in Japanese political history to have a baby while in office.
Saburō Sakai (坂井 三郎, Sakai Saburō; 25 August 1916 – 22 September 2000) was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace…
Saburō Sakai (坂井 三郎, Sakai Saburō; 25 August 1916 – 22 September 2000) was a Japanese naval aviator and flying ace ("Gekitsui-O", 撃墜王) of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Sakai had 28 aerial victories, including shared ones, according to official Japanese records, though he and his ghostwriter Martin Caidin claimed much higher numbers.
Chen Chih-hsiung (Chinese: 陳智雄; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Tì-hiông; 18 February 1916 – 28 May 1963) was a Taiwanese independence…
Chen Chih-hsiung (Chinese: 陳智雄; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Tì-hiông; 18 February 1916 – 28 May 1963) was a Taiwanese independence activist.
Toshihiko Izutsu (井筒 俊彦, Izutsu Toshihiko; 4 May 1914 – 7 January 1993) was a Japanese scholar who specialized in…
Toshihiko Izutsu (井筒 俊彦, Izutsu Toshihiko; 4 May 1914 – 7 January 1993) was a Japanese scholar who specialized in Islamic studies and comparative religion. He took an interest in linguistics at a young age, and came to know more than thirty languages, including Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, Sanskrit, Pali, Hindustani, Russian, Greek, and Chinese. He is widely known for his translation of the Qurʾān into Japanese.
Genzō Murakami (村上 元三, Murakami Genzō; March 14, 1910 – April 3, 2006) was a Japanese novelist who was born in Korea…
Genzō Murakami (村上 元三, Murakami Genzō; March 14, 1910 – April 3, 2006) was a Japanese novelist who was born in Korea during its occupation by the Empire of Japan. He is known for his historical novels as well as his influence on Japanese literature following the Second World War.
Kazu Wakita (Japanese: 脇田和; 7 June 1908 – 27 November 2005) was a Japanese painter. His work was part of the painting…
Kazu Wakita (Japanese: 脇田和; 7 June 1908 – 27 November 2005) was a Japanese painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Seiji Togo (東郷 青児, Tōgō Seiji; 1897–1978) was a Japanese painter and artist known for his depiction of the female form.…
Seiji Togo (東郷 青児, Tōgō Seiji; 1897–1978) was a Japanese painter and artist known for his depiction of the female form. Born in Kagoshima Prefecture Japan, he graduated from middle school at Aoyama Gakuin University and displayed his first one-man show at Hibiya Art Museum at the age of 18. He later participated in the Futurist movement while studying in France. In 1928, he returned to Japan and was awarded the 1st Showa Western Art Promotion Award. In discussions of early Surrealism in Japan, a Sompo Museum of Art collection entry for Tōgō's 1929 painting Surrealistic Stroll (exhibited at the 16th Nika Exhibition as Déclaration (超現実派風の散歩)) notes that it was discussed as a "new tendency" alongside works by Harue Koga and Kongō Abe and that Atorie published a Surrealism special issue in January 1930. Stojkovic describes that January 1930 issue as Japan's first magazine issue dedicated to Surrealist visual art. In 1957, Togo received the Japan Art Academy Award, and in 1961 became a member of the Japan Art Academy. In 1969, was declared an Officier d'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and in 1976 was decorated with the Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class, with Rays. Togo died in 1978 in Kumamoto at the age of 80. Later that year, he was posthumously named a Person of Cultural Merit of the fourth court rank by the Japanese government. His works can be seen at the Seiji Togo Memorial SOMPO Japan Museum of art in Tokyo, where more than 200 of his most prominent works are kept.