Sayuri Kokusho

Sayuri Kokushō (国生さゆり or 國生さゆり, Kokusho Sayuri) born December 22, 1966 in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan is a Japanese actress, singer, and tarento. She was an original member of Onyanko Club. She works for the talent management firm Sony Music Artists. Her debut single, "Valentine Kiss", is the most popular Valentine's Day song in Japan. Kokushō was named after Sayuri Yoshinaga, of whom her father was a fan. After spending time living in Sasebo, Nagasaki when she was young, she attended Nishihara Elementary School and First Kanoya Junior High School, both Kanoya Municipal schools. She then attended Shimizugaoka High School in Kure, Hiroshima due to her father's transferring from JMSDF Kanoya Air Base to JMSDF Kure Naval Base while in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.While in high school, she represented the Chūgoku region in the 3rd Miss Seventeen Contest in 1984. While she didn't win the contest, she was scouted by a representative from CBS Sony (two others scouted at the same contest were Misato Watanabe and Shizuka Kudō. Kokushō later appeared on a radio show with Misato Watanabe in 1986.) She moved to Tokyo after becoming a beauty model for Shiseido and the CBS Sony representative suggested she enter the "High School Girl Special" contest on Fuji TV's All Night Fuji, where she made her television debut.After winning the in-show beauty contest, she made her debut on Yūyake Nyan Nyan("Sunset Meow Meow") (夕やけニャンニャン) as a founding member of Onyanko Club. Because she was attending a high school in Hiroshima Prefecture at the time, she was described as being from Hiroshima. She was the captain of the track and field club during high school.