Kawai Sonoko

Kawai Sonoko河(かわ)合(い)その子(こ)
Profile
Kanji	河(かわ)合(い)その子(こ)
Real Name	Goto Sonoko (後藤その子)
Born	June 20, 1965 (age 60)
Birth Place	Chita, Aichi, Japan
Blood Type	B
Zodiac Sign	Gemini
Height	162 cm (5 ft 3.7 in)?
Professional Information
Genre	Kayokyoku, J-Pop
Occupation	Idol, Actress
Years Active	2010 1985-1990
Label	CBS/SONY Apollon (1988)
Former Group	Onyanko Club
Join Date	April 5, 1985
Graduated	March 31, 1986

Goto Sonoko (後藤その子), née Kawai Sonoko (河合その子), is a Japanese former singer-songwriter, idol, actress, producer, composer and a former member of Onyanko Club.

History

Kawai entered show business after placing second in CBS/SONY's Teens Pop Contest in 1983, losing to Sawada Tamae. Despite the setback, she secured a talent contract, though her debut was delayed as her production staff prepared her image. She went on hiatus for about two years.

In early 1985, she was selected by CBS/SONY to audition for Onyanko Club. Despite concerns about her older age than the target demographic, she passed and officially joined on April 5, 1985, alongside Utsumi Kazuko and Tomikawa Harumi. She quickly gained popularity for her youthful and unique appearance and eventually became the first member to debut as a soloist.

In early 1986, she announced her departure from Onyanko Club to focus on her solo career. Since her exit coincided with fellow member Nakajima Miharu’s, she was grouped as a Onyanko Club "Graduate" despite having finished high school years earlier. She graduated from the group on March 31, 1986.

After Onyanko Club, she became more involved in her music, which resulted in several drastic image changes. In 1988 she announced that she was retiring her status as an idol and began refusing televised appearances, dedicating herself to becoming a full time singer-songwriter. By 1990, she was self-producing most of her work but announced a hiatus soon after releasing her final album Replica.

In 1994, it was announced that she had married musician Goto Tsugutoshi, her former music producer and frequent collaborator, and would not be returning to entertainment. However, she briefly returned in 2010 for a cosmetics commercial campaign and participated in a press conference.

Profile

• Member Number: 12

Discography

Albums

1. [1985.12.05] Sonoko (その子)
2. [1986.05.21] Siesta
3. [1986.10.01] Mode de Sonoko
4. [1987.07.22] Rouge et Bleu
5. [1988.05.21] Colors
6. [1989.03.21] Dancin' In The Light
7. [1990.04.21] Replica

Best Albums

1. [1988.01.01] Dedication
2. [1988.01.01] KAWAI SONOKO BEST ALBUM
3. [1988.07.21] Ame no Ki (雨の木; Rain Tree)
4. [1990.12.21] sonnet
5. [1997.07.21] Kawai Sonoko best collection (河合その子 ベスト・コレクション)
6. [2002.11.20] GOLDEN☆BEST KAWAI SONOKO (GOLDEN☆BEST 河合その子)

Collaboration Albums

1. [1986.12.05] Merry X'mas for You (w/ Kokusho Sayuri, Jounouchi Sanae, Watanabe Minayo, and Watanabe Marina)

Collaboration Best Albums

1. [1987.12.09] Otoshidama (お年玉; New Year's Gift) (w/ Kokusho Sayuri, Jounouchi Sanae, Watanabe Minayo, and Watanabe Marina)
2. [2010.04.28] GOLDEN☆BEST Kawai Sonoko / Kokusho Sayuri / Jounouchi Sanae / Watanabe Minayo / Watanabe Marina (GOLDEN☆BEST 河合その子・国生さゆり・城之内早苗・渡辺美奈代・渡辺満里奈) (w/ Kokusho Sayuri, Jounouchi Sanae, Watanabe Minayo, and Watanabe Marina)
3. [2012.01.10] Sony Music no Onyanko 5 Ri Musume Best of Best (ソニーミュージックのおニャン子5人娘 ベスト・オブ・ベスト) (w/ Kokusho Sayuri, Jounouchi Sanae, Watanabe Minayo, and Watanabe Marina)

Singles

1. [1985.09.01] Namida no Marika LOVE (涙の茉莉花LOVE; Tearful Jasmine LOVE)
2. [1985.11.21] Ochiba no Crescendo (落葉のクレッシェンド; Crescendo of Fallen Leaves)
3. [1986.03.21] Aoi Station (青いスタスィオン; Blue Station)
4. [1986.07.02] Saikai no Labyrinth (再会のラビリンス; Labyrinth of Reunion)
5. [1986.10.22] Kanashii Yoru wo Tomete (悲しい夜を止めて; Stop the Sad Night)
6. [1987.02.26] Aishuu no Carnival (哀愁のカルナバル; Sorrowful Carnaval)
7. [1987.06.17] JESSY
8. [1987.10.21] Yume Kara Sameta Tenshi (夢から醒めた天使; An Angel Awaken From a Dream)
9. [1988.04.21] Ame no Memorandum (雨のメモランダム; Rain Memorandum)

Video Releases

1. [1986.03.21] Sonoko Genki Desu. (その子 元気です。; Sonoko is Well)
2. [1987.03.05] Aphrodite no Yume (アフロディーテの夢; Aphrodite's Dream)
3. [1987.11.21] Sonoko no Natsu (その子の夏; Sonoko's Summer)
4. [1988.03.05] JESSY
5. [1989.07.21] Sweet Contrast

Collaboration Video Releases

1. [2011.07.20] Idol ♥ Miracle Vision Kokusho Sayuri / Jounouchi Sanae / Kawai Sonoko (アイドル♥ミラクルビジョン 国生さゆり・城之内早苗・河合その子) (w/ Kokusho Sayuri and Jounouchi Sanae)

Box Sets

1. [2007.02.21] KAWAI SONOKO COMPLETE DVD-BOX (河合その子 コンプリートDVD-BOX)
2. [2009.09.30] KAWAI SONOKO PREMIUM (河合その子プレミアム)

Gallery

• 2010
• July 1986

1/11

Trivia

• She is the mother of one child.
• She was the oldest member of Onyanko Club.
• She attended Nihon Fukushi University High School. After graduating in 1983, she went on to attend a vocational school studying computer science.
• Her presentation as an idol suggested that she is a "Hafu" (mixed race person) but this is not actually true. She is 100% ethnically Japanese.
• She was roommates with Jounouchi Sanae in 1985 when they shared a room in the Sony Music employee dormitory. Before becoming roommates, Jounouchi and Kawai climbed to the top of the Tokyo Tower together after the initial screening of candidates for Onyanko Club. Both girls believed they had no chance getting in, but they were not only both selected as audition candidates, they also became members of Onyanko Club (Jounouchi became member number 17.) Jounouchi ended up becoming Kawai's closest friend in Onyanko Club.
  • During this time she was also floormates with current member Kokusho Sayuri and future members Watanabe Minayo and Kudo Shizuka.
• It has been reported that Kawai was a very complex person. Multiple former Onyanko Club members and staff stated that Kawai liked to keep her distance from others, not letting them know too many details about her personal life. She also was reported to be a rude and arrogant person by many people in the entertainment industry and was also known to be somewhat unreliable. Kokusho Sayuri had a poor impression of her when they first met, and even went so far as to call her a "spoiled brat." Kawai went off script so often on Yushoku Nyan Nyan that it was often written into the side notes for her to "speak properly." Kawai herself stated that she was aware that she could be rude at times, sometimes it the rudeness was intended as a funny joke and sometimes it wasn't. Despite this reputation, she seemed to act differently around former Onyanko Club members and even became a role model figure among them, as she was known to give advice and encouragement when members were feeling down.
• Contrary to popular belief, she was the actual first Onyanko Club member to appear in the Sukeban Deka drama series, not Yoshizawa Akie. She appeared in season one as a minor villain named Miyahara Taeko.
• She was a big fan of Matsuda Seiko, and decided to join the entertainment world for a chance to meet her.