English translation

Sugimoto Aya, real name: Matsuyama Motoe, born: July 19, 1968, was a popular 1980s gravure idol who was also active as singer from late 1980s to early 1990s.

Born and grew up in Kyoto, her relatively happy childhood suddenly changed when her father acted as a guarantor for an aquaintance who borrowed money to a shady lending company and the person ran away. Her family was forced to pay the debt with exorbitant interest rates that kept snowballing. Constantly harassed by loansharks, their family restaurant closed, their house seized, and their family fell apart with the parents divorced. Pushed to the brink, the then 15 years old Matuyama Motoe attempted to unalive herself but was found and saved in time. Due to turmoil at home, she had a strong desire to become independent and live on her own. At the age of 16, she got scouted, started her modeling work and dropped out of high school. She worked hard as model and campaign girl, by the time she was 17, she already earned enough to rent her own place and become independent. Interested by her mature appearance, she was approached and scouted by a bigger agency Stardust Promotion and made her national debut. Her attractive figure gained her popularity as a gravure idol. 

In her early career as model, circa 1985

At the age of 19, she was selected as assistant-host in the popular Fuji TV program "All Night Fuji". Her confident demeanor and sexiness earned her a large following, especially among women. She also expanded her horizons into music and made her singing debut on April 21, 1988. She was nicknamed the "Queen of School Festivals" for her many performances at school festivals. Around this time, she also began composing her own songs.

About this song

Released on April 21, 1988 as her debut song, this song failed to reach Oricon chart top 100 so there's no information about the sales. 

This song is the cover of an English song "Boys (Summertime Love)" by Sabrina (*Sabrina Debora Salerno, born in Italy, March 15, 1968) released in 1987

Her live performances:

English version:

In her singing career, she has released a total of 9 singles and 8 original albums (and 2 duet singles and 2 best albums). There's no information about her total sales (all singles + all albums) but her total single sales alone are about 35,000 copies. She has a better career as an actress, she has appeared in a total of 35 movies (1987-2023)  and 51 dramas (1991-2021). And of course she was very popular as a gravure idol. 

Sugimoto Aya in movie and dramas:

"Shonan Bakusozoku" (1987)

^ her acting debut, playing support role.

^ (0:29) the female lead was played by Sugiura Miyuki

"Kimochiii Koishitai!" (1990)

^ starring: (0:16) Yasuda Narumi (female lead), (0:23) Tanaka Minako, (0:27) Morio Yumi. Sugimoto Aya was playing the support role although not shown in the video. And the song used as the OST was of course..... "P.S I Love You" by Pink Sapphire !!

"Ochanoma" (1993)

^ (12:05) starring Watanabe Marina as the female lead and Sugimoto Aya played as her colleague. The male lead was played by Otokogumi member. 

Sugimoto Aya in commercials:

As gravure idol:

Miscellaneous videos:

^ she was also a talented dancer 

...and decades have passed...

In modern commercial, 2012:

Sugimoto Aya in "Tetsuko no Heya" with Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, unspecified year

in 2021:

This was Sugimoto Aya in 2022

^ Aya is an avid cat lover, she has rescued countless stray cats (and some dogs) since she was 20, and active in animal welfare. She even once modeled for PETA ad without pay and was praised for her passion for animal protection. The cosmetic company she found also doesn't do any kind of animal testing.

in 2023

And....this was Sugimoto Aya in July 2024

December 2024

Sugimoto Aya is trully a multitalented woman, she is also good at dancing and cooking. She is also a writer who has written 12 books of various topics from erotic novels to non-fiction books about sex, life advice, recipe and pets.