Anna Tsuchiya

Anna Tsuchiya (土屋 アンナ, Tsuchiya Anna is a Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and semi-retired model. Tsuchiya was born to a Japanese mother and an American father of Polish-Irish descent from Buffalo, New York. She was bilingual at an early age but lost her fluency in English after her parents divorced when she was 7. She has an older sister, Angela, who is also a former model.

Modeling career

Tsuchiya's modeling career began at the age of fourteen after it was suggested by her older sister Angela, who was an unsuccessful fashion model. She then entered the former agency of her sister and was scouted by an agent who specialized in commercial modeling, specifically magazine-modeling. Her first modeling jobs consisted of modeling for an open collection in Kobe and being hired as a model for the Seventeen magazine in 1998. Demand for her grew, and by 2002, she was doing television ads for Uniqlo and Edwin.

During her time as a model, she tried hard to lose weight. At 1.67m (5 ft 6 in) and 44 kg (97 lbs), she was considered to be overweight and short for a model in Japan. At this time, she experienced mental and physical agony. When she was fifteen years old, she awoke starving one morning to find that her legs did not work, a result of severe malnutrition; she was forced to drag herself by hand to the refrigerator. According to Tsuchiya, many models would mock her for being overweight but she has also commented that the time made her stronger, stating that "the (things I have experienced) are already all in the past, it is cool to say they are all my experiences though.

Tsuchiya spent her mid-teens modeling, and made friends with some of the other models, notably Yoshika, and soon she began to stay at their apartments. It has been reported that she allegedly began smoking and drinking around this time.

Tsuchiya has also confessed that she often picked on "fatter" models herself, especially foreigners who came to work for some sub-stream fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue, SPUR and Pre Numéro especially when she was drunk. These models, unable to understand Japanese, were oblivious to Tsuchiya's abuse and smiled back no matter what she said. Tsuchiya would also often speak to them in English using offensive words related to obesity, just as many models in their teens do, and would often further assault them when they reacted negatively to her verbal abuse.

Tsuchiya eventually retired from modeling at 18. She has said that she realized she could never compete with "gifted ones" like Emi Suzuki anymore. She remains in demand for fashion / lifestyle magazines like Kera, Soup, and Zipper. Tsuchiya is considered one of the most successful mixed-race Japanese models in the 2000s along with Jessica Michibata.

On June 2, 2007, Tsuchiya attended the official retirement ceremony for the sumo wrestler Kyokushuzan held in Ryogoku Kokugikan and presented a bouquet to him. Immediately after this, Tsuchiya appeared in his memorial photobook released on June 4, 2007.

Though she was born and raised in Tokyo, she sometimes uses Kyushu or Okinawa slang and speaks in southern dialects especially when she is drunk and on radio. She has explained that the majority of models she encountered were from the southern islands or the north, so she managed to learn slang from them. This subsequently helped when she played Ichigo, a Bōsōzoku delinquent, in Kamikaze Girls.

According to a contemporary, those who teased Tsuchiya had recognized her as "tough" while other "overweight models”, like Keiko Kitagawa and Kaela Kimura, were always called by extremely vulgar nicknames. Just a very few, but some, of them praised Tsuchiya afterwards, saying things like "well done".

Music career

At 18, Tsuchiya terminated her contract with Seventeen, and supposedly decided to leave show-business altogether. However, after an offer by former Oblivion Dust member K.A.Z, she revived her music career (Tsuchiya had been involved in the music industry since age 16). In mid 2002, Tsuchiya joined with K.A.Z to form punk-rock duo Spin Aqua.
Tsuchiya has said her influences have changed over the years, from Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Cindy Lauper, Bette Midler and Mariah Carey, to Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses. She was also in a choir at school.

Soon after she debuted as a singer, and was sometimes dubbed "The Second Nanase" because of her resemblance to Nanase Aikawa, a popular '90s female singer. Spin Aqua released three singles, one album, and a video collection, but did not succeed commercially. In 2004, Tsuchiya became pregnant, and the group disbanded.

In 2005, Tsuchiya announced plans to begin a solo career. On August 24 on the same year, she released her first mini-album, Taste My Beat under Avex's sub-label, Mad Pray Records.
Her first single was Change Your Life, which was followed by the a second single entitled Slap that Naughty Body / My Fate. After the release of these two singles, Tsuchiya released her first remix album, Taste My Xxxremixxxxxxx!!!!!!!! Beat Life!. Her third single, Rose was used as the opening theme for NANA, alongside Olivia Lufkin's "Starless Night" used as the ending theme. This boosted Tsuchiya's music career, as Rose managed to reach a position of #6 on the Oricon charts and would become her first Top Ten Hit.

In July 2006, Tsuchiya made her first overseas appearance at the Japan Expo in Paris. During this time, to boost her popularity, Tsuchiya also debuted her album "Strip Me?". Several songs from this album would go on to be used in commercials in Japan.

In early 2007, after a short hiatus, Tsuchiya would return to the music scene with a new single called "Kuroi Namida". This song would also be featured in the NANA anime. This was followed by the third NANA anime opening single, "Lucy" in early February. This would also directly precede a second full length NANA album, self-titled Anna Tsuchiya Inspi' NANA (Black Stones) which contained singles from the show and new songs. A quasi-soundtrack album called NANA Best was then released, which included popular and unreleased songs by both Olivia Lufkin and Tsuchiya from the TV series. In March 2007, both Lufkin's and Tsuchiya's songs from these albums were played at Shibuya AX in March 2007. On June 30 of the same year, Tsuchiya performed at Anime Expo in the U.S., followed performances on July 27 at Pentaport Rock Festival in South Korea, and on July 29 at Formoz Festival in Taiwan. Called Tsichiya's "World Fez Tour", the series of performances concluded with a summer tour in Japan, which included a performance for a second time at Summer Sonic Festival. Shortly after the tour concluded, Tsuchiya released her single Bubble Trip / Sweet Sweet Song on August 1.

The single Cocoon was released on January 30 of 2008, followed in June by the single Crazy World which was a collaboration with the Japanese artist AI. Tsuchiya released a third single in September 2008, called Virgin Cat, which was used to promote the show The L Word in Japan.

In October, she released her third full length album, the sexually explicit NUDY SHOW!, which contained all of the singles of her music career.

In 2009 Tsuchiya performed a set with a full orchestra at the New Classic Gig in Tokyo, revealing herself a fan of Chopin and his Revolutionary Etude in particular. The orchestra included 70 members and the show was broadcast in 38 countries.

In May 2010, Tsuchiya's a remix of her NUDY SHOW! album was released titled "Nudy xxxremixxxxxxx!!!!!!!! Show!".

Tsuchiya's song 'Guilty' was featured in the ending credits of the film Resident Evil: Degeneration.

Acting career

Tsuchiya made her acting debut in 2004 in Novala Takemoto's adapted runaway hit Kamikaze Girls as the girl biker punk yanki "Ichigo Shirayuri". This role brought her both immediate attention and critical success, with Tsuchiya winning several awards in Japan".

Tsuchiya's success in acting continued with various movie performances and appearances in dramas such as The Taste of Tea, Dororo and as the voice of Lindsay Lohan's character "Maggie Peyton" in the Japanese dub of Herbie: Fully Loaded. In February 2007's Sakuran she played the rebellious but beautiful courtesan Kiyoha in a live action adaptation of the manga.

Her latest performance in a film is starring in the live action adaptation of the manga The Legend of Kamui.

In addtion to acting, she has also been known for her skill of impersonations, of many martial artists and wrestlers, most notably Wanderlei Silva, Melvin Manhoef and Jun Kasai.

Personal life

In 2004, Tsuchiya announced her engagement to model and actor Joshua Niimura, the younger brother of the model Friedia Niimura (Rin Kozue). Joshua worked in the same modelling office as her. On November 19, 2004, Anna's first child, Sky (澄海, sukai), was born. Sky is featured in a photobook with his mother, titled, Happy Days - Anna, Mama ni Naru!. In July 2006, it was announced that Tsuchiya and Niimura were getting a divorce. In May 2008, Niimura died of heart failure, aged just 25.

In September 2009 her blog mentioned that she was pregnant and had married her stylist, Yamato who is three years her elder. Yamato had worked as Tsuchiya's stylist for many years and their relationship had apparently started in 2007.[ On March 26, 2010 Tsuchiya gave birth to her second son, Simba.

Controversy

Tsuchiya's fame has not been without controversy. In an interview on NHK in 2007 she stated that her deep sultry voice was the result of "boozing and smoking from an early age," and she is also known for speaking in "improper ways" (i.e., using impolite language). Despite this, her agency insists that Tsuchiya did not drink while under age. Her fans remain indifferent.

Tsuchiya said in an interview in 2008 that "it is cool being wild and broken-down, but drinking at nighttime is enough for me. I believe when you make rock music, it might not be cool if you behave not so cleverly. Actually, I've been rather earnest. When I drink a bit, I can get crazy, but not too much. The happiest thing for me is my family."

She has frequently made "aggressive" talks ignoring political correctness especially on the J-Wave radio shows and midnight television programs, resulting in losing numerous endorsement contracts. Notable incidents on radio include her remarks on the Ijuin show about the band TVXQ, she described the band as "ano Chugoku ka dokka no bussa na kama yoningumi" (roughly meaning "that four ugly faggots from China or somewhere") when the band actually consisted of five members and are from South Korea. Her remarks about the movie High School Musical was also noted, as she introduced it and its actors in an extremely rude way, especially about the fancy haired main actor. On television, the most notable one is NTV show Gourmet Chicken Race : Gochi! where she made rude comments about guest celebrities - with the only exception of Nozomi Sasaki, a model known as Emi Suzuki's protégé.

Tsuchiya often describes herself as a very nasty person. On the other hand, she has been referred to as a very good-hearted and open-minded person even in treating bigger women.

Eriko Sato, a glamour model who once had a bloody brawl with Tsuchiya involving folding chairs which caused Tsuchiya to fracture her orbital bone in early 2000s, has also stated that Tsuchiya seems no longer violent and looked like a different person.

Discography

Year	Studio Albums	Chart peak positions
		Japan
2006	strip me? Released: August 2, 2006 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 50,000	11
2008	NUDY SHOW! Released: October 29, 2008 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 47,000	10
2010	RULE Released: September 22, 2010 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 11,000	18
Extended Plays
2005	Taste My Beat Released: August 24, 2005 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 21,000	27
Compilation Albums
2007	Nana Best Released: March 21, 2007 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 17,000	20
Remix Albums
2006	Taste My Xxxremixxxxxxx!!!!!!!! Beat Life! Released: March 23, 2006 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 5,000	117
2009	NUDY xxxremixxxxxxx!!!!!!!! SHOW! Released: March 11, 2009 Label: Mad Prey Records, (Avex Trax) Formats: CD, digital download Sales: 1,000	114

Singles

#	Title	Release date	Peak rank	Copies sold
1	"Change your life"	2006-01-25	#35	9,000
2	"SLAP THAT NAUGHTY BODY / MY FATE"	2006-03-23	#68	4,000
3	"rose"	2006-06-28	#6	54,000
4	"Kuroi Namida" (黒い涙, Black Tear)	2007-01-10	#7	20,000
5	"LUCY"	2007-02-14	#18	13,000
6	"Bubble Trip/Sweet Sweet Song"	2007-08-01	#21	14,000
7	"Cocoon"	2008-01-30	#19	7,000
8	"Crazy World"	2008-06-11	#19	13,000
9	"Virgin Cat"	2008-09-10	#39	3,000
10	"Brave Vibration"	2009-07-01	#13	10,000
11	"Atashi"	2010-07-21	#68	2,000
12	"Shout in the rain"	2010-08-18	#68	1,000

DVDs

#	Title	Release date	DVD type
1	Anna³	2004-06-16	Documentary
2	Anna Tsuchiya 1st Live Tour Blood of Roses	2007-01-10	Concert

 Vinyls

#	Title	Release date
1	Taste My Xxxremixxxxxxx!!!!!!!! Beat Life!	2006-03-23
2	Ah Ah (Shinichi Osawa Remix 12' Inch Version)	2006-09-02

 Collaborations

Artist	Album	Song	Peak rank	Release date
Brian Jones†	Tribute to Brian Jones	"My dear"	#4	2006-08-09
Fake?	Marilyn is a Bubble	"Butterfly (Don't Let My Sun Go Down)"	#4	2006-11-22
Hotei Tomoyasu	Soul Sessions	"Hotei vs. Tsuchiya Anna - Queen of the Rock"	#1	2006-12-06
AI	DON’T STOP A.I.	"BUTTERFLY （feat. ANNA TSUCHIYA, ANTY the 紅之壱, PUSHIM）"	#5	2007-12-05
Various Artists	Resident Evil; Degeneration OST	"Guilty"		2008-12-17
Ravex	Believe in LOVE feat BoA	"MEGA ravex feat. ANNA TSUCHIYA, BoA, DJ OZMA, LISA, MAKI GOTO, MONKEY MAJIK, TOHOSHINKI, TRF & YUKO ANDO" & "Bangalicious"		2009-02-18
Hoobastank	The Greatest Hits: Don't Touch My Moustache (Deluxe edition)	The Letter		2009-08-05
Namie Amuro	Checkmate!	Wonder Woman (duet with Namie Amuro and AI)

Filmography

 Films

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2003	Kantoku Kennen (監督感染, Director Infection)		Kennen segment
2004	Kamikaze Girls (下妻物語, Shimotsuma Monogatari?)	Ichigo Shirayuri (白百合イチゴ)	Leading role Won - Japan Academy Prize for Rookie of the Year Won - Blue Ribbon Awards Best New Actress Won - Hochi Film Award Best New Artist Won - Kinema Junpo Awards Best New Actress Won - Mainichi Film Award Sponichi Grand Prize New Talent Award Won - Yokohama Film Festival Best New Talent
2004	The Taste of Tea (茶の味, Cha no Aji?)	Aoi Suzuishi (鈴石アオイ)	Won - Blue Ribbon Awards Best New Actress Won - Hochi Film Award Best New Artist Won - Kinema Junpo Awards Best New Actress Won - Mainichi Film Award Sponichi Grand Prize New Talent Award Won - Yokohama Film Festival Best New Talent
2005	Herbie: Fully Loaded	Maggie Peyton (voice)	Japanese dubbed release
2005	Bashment	Juri Ōmori (大森樹里?)
2005	Arbeit Eye: Hyaku Man-nin no Hyōteki (アルバイト探偵(アイ) ～100万人の標的～, Part-time Eye: 1,000,000 People Target)	Monique
2006	Memories of Matsuko (嫌われ松子の一生, Kiraware Matsuko no Isshō?)	female prisoner	cameo
2007	Dororo (どろろ)	Sabame's wife
2007	Sakuran (さくらん, Confusion)	Kiyoha (きよ葉) / Higure (日暮)	Leading role
2008	Paco and the Magical Book (パコと魔法の絵本, Pako to Mahō no Ehon)	Tamako (タマ子)
2008	Soreike! Anpanman: Fairy Rinrin's Secret (それいけ! アンパンマン 妖精リンリンのひみつ, Soreike Anpanman! Yōsei Rinrin no Himitsu)	Rinrin (リンリン) (voice)
2009	Heaven's Door	Host club customer
2009	Kamui Gaiden(カムイ外伝)	Ayu (アユ)

Photobooks

#	Title	Release date
1	White Ice Sherbet	2003-01-20
2	Anna Banana	2004-07-12
3	Fleur	2005-01-19
4	Happy Days - Anna, Mama ni Naru! (アンナ、ママになる!, Anna Became a Mother!)	2005-12-20
5	Tsuchiya Anna Photo Album	2007-03-02
6	An-san Hostess Shuugyouchuu (あんさんホスティス修業中)†	2007-08-03
7	Anna Tsuchiya 5years	2009-10-30

† this is a compilation of her column at Flyman Postman Press

Awards

2004 – Kinema Junpo Awards (Best New Actress)

2004 – Mainichi Film Awards (Best New Actress)

2004 – Houchi Film Award (Best new Actress)

2005 – 28th Japan Academy Prize (Best New Actress, Best Supporting Actress (nominee))

2005 – 26th Yokohama Film Festival (Best New Actress)