Tahara Toshihiko is a Japanese actor, soloist, and former idol. He was a member of the talent group The Sundays in 1980 and part of the unofficial unit Tanokin Trio.
History[]
Tahara's old logo, used from 1980 to around 1982.
Tahara was born in Yokosuka and moved to Kofu with his mother and three older sisters after his father's death from diabetes complications when he was only six years old. Living in poverty, he applied to Johnny & Associates talent agency in high school, seeking to support his family as an idol. When he received no reply, he traveled solo to Tokyo and visited the office in person. There he spoke directly with CEO Johnny Kitagawa, securing a spot in the agency as a trainee. Following bit acting and traditional Johnny's trainee roles, he moved to Tokyo after graduating high school in 1979. That same year while preparing for his solo debut, he made his debut as an actor on the second season of Sannen B-gumi Kinpachi-Sensei. His character became one of the season's stand-outs, and the public eagerly anticipated his debut as a full-fledged idol. He joined The Sundays as part of its 1980 lineup the following year, which showed off his impressive dancing skills and charisma, and was also often paired with the most popular member of the group at the time, Matsuda Seiko. He finally made his solo debut as an idol singer in June 1980, and declined to rejoin The Sundays for following generations. Eventually he would become one of the best selling male idols of the era with over 12 million singles and 3 million albums sold while also seeing considerable success as an actor and talento.
In 1987, Tahara slowly began shedding his idol image to pursue a full-time acting career. Although he still released music during this time, he paused all televised live performances and concerts.
Tahara established his own talent agency, DOUBLE T PROJECT, in 1991, and eventually left Johnny's on March 1, 1994. For unknown reasons, after leaving his former agency he was unable to perform or even appear with current or former Johnny's affiliates in any productions, which affected his ability to find acting roles. After his agency went bankrupt in 1996 and was forced to close, he refocused on singing and performing live, gradually rebuilding his fanbase, which he still maintains today.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
Best Hits Albums[]
Singles[]
- [1980.06.21] Aishuu Date (哀愁でいと)
- [1980.09.21] Hattoshite! Good (ハッとして! Good)
- [1981.01.12] Koi = Do! (恋＝Do!)
- [1981.04.01] Boogie Fugi I LOVE YOU (ブギ浮ぎI LOVE YOU)
- [1981.07.01] Kimi ni Kettei! (キミに決定!)
- [1981.09.02] Kanashimi 2 「TOO」 Yangu (悲しみ2「TOO」ヤング)
- [1981.10.16] Good Luck LOVE (グッドラックLOVE)
- [1982.01.27] Kimi ni bara bara… To iu kanji (君に薔薇薔薇…という感じ)
- [1982.05.08] Harajuku Kiss (原宿キッス)
- [1982.08.06] NINJIN Musume (NINJIN娘)
- [1982.10.15] Yuuwaku Suresure (誘惑スレスレ)
- [1982.12.18] Love Shupuuru (ラブ・シュプール)
- [1983.02.17] Pierrot (ピエロ)
- [1983.05.18] Shower Kibun (シャワーな気分)
- [1983.08.12] Saraba..Natsu (さらば‥夏)
- [1983.11.18] IN・LO・VE・Ai・N・G (エル・オー・ヴイ・愛・N・G)
- [1984.02.03] Charleston niwa mada hayai (チャールストンにはまだ早い)
- [1984.04.12] Kaze no uenara SO HAPPY (風の上ならSO HAPPY)
- [1984.05.23] Kishi Michi (騎士道)
- [1984.08.08] Kao ni Kaita Renai Shousetsu (顔に書いた恋愛小説)
- [1984.11.14] Last Scene wa ude no naka de (ラストシーンは腕の中で)
- [1985.02.01] Ginga no Shinwa (銀河の神話)
- [1985.05.16] Ochinaide Madonna (堕ちないでマドンナ)
- [1985.07.21] Natsu Zakari Honojigumi (夏ざかりほの字組)
- [1985.08.14] Kareinaru kake (華麗なる賭け)
- [1985.11.28] It's BAD
- [1986.03.05] Hard ni Yasashiku (Hardにやさしく)
- [1986.06.19] Belle Epoque ni Yoroshiku (ベルエポックによろしく)
- [1986.09.21] Ah (あッ)
- [1987.01.21] KID
- [1987.06.21] “Sayonara” kara Hajimeyou (“さようなら”からはじめよう)
- [1987.09.11] Dou suru? (どうする?)
- [1988.01.21] Yume Deaimashou (夢であいましょう)
- [1988.04.21] Dakishimete TOMIGHT (抱きしめてTONIGHT)
- [1988.08.17] Kakko tsukanai ne (かっこつかないね)
- [1989.01.11] Itoshi Sugite (愛しすぎて)
- [1989.04.19] Gomen yo Namida (ごめんよ涙)
- [1989.09.26] Hitori botchi ni Shinaikara (ひとりぼっちにしないから)
- [1990.03.21] Jungle (ジャングル)
- [1990.11.28] NUDE
- [1991.05.02] Natsu Imasara Hitomebore (夏いまさら一目惚れ)
- [1992.04.17] Omoide ni Makenai (思い出に負けない)
- [1992.08.05] Ame ga Saken deru (雨が叫んでる)
- [1993.07.07] Dancing Beast (ダンシング・ビースト)
- [1993.11.03] KISS de onna wa bara ni naru (KISSで女は薔薇になる)
- [1994.11.02] Yuki no nai Christmas (雪のないクリスマス)
- [1995.08.19] Tamashii wo ai ga Shihai Suru (魂を愛が支配する)
- [1996.02.21] Mayonaka no Encore (真夜中のワンコール )
- [1996.06.21] DA・DI・DA
- [1997.01.18] A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
- [1997.11.21] EASY...LOVE ME...
- [1998.06.24] Kimi nio chite yuku (キミニオチテユク)
- [1999.07.23] Namida ni Sayonara Shinai ka (涙にさよならしないか)
- [2001.08.01] Dakishimete Idesuka (抱きしめていいですか)
- [2002.07.31] DO-YO
- [2004.07.07] DANGAN LOVE -DANGAN AI- (DANGAN LOVE-弾丸愛-)
- [2004.10.21] Koisuredo Xanana (恋すれどシャナナ)
- [2005.08.03] Negai wo Hoshi no Yoru e‥‥ (願いを星の夜へ‥‥)
- [2006.07.05] Jirashite Kajitsu (ジラシテ果実)
- [2008.06.25] Always You
- [2009.06.17] Cordially
- [2010.05.07] Cinderella (シンデレラ)
- [2010.11.17] Rainy X'mas Day
- [2011.04.20] Sayonara loneliness (さよならloneliness)
- [2011.08.03] BLUE
- [2011.11.16] Himawari (ヒマワリ)
- [2012.06.20] Mr. BIG
- [2014.06.25] LOVE & DREAM
- [2015.06.17] BACK TO THE 90’s
- [2015.11.11] TRUE LOVE 〜Yakusoku no Uta〜 (TRUE LOVE 〜約束の歌〜)
- [2016.06.22] Tokimeki ni uso wo tsuku (ときめきに嘘をつく)
- [2017.06.21] FEMINIST (フェミニスト)
- [2024.06.19] Ai Dake ga Areba Ii (愛だけがあればいい)
Filmography[]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- He married former Race Queen and gravure model Mukaida Ayako (向井田彩子) in 1993. They have two daughters, one of which is actress and former singer Tahara Kanako (formerly Ayano Mika.) According to some news reports, he has been formally separated from his wife since 2016, but he nor his wife have confirmed this themselves.
- He also has one grandchild, born in 2025.
- He was once part of the unofficial group Tanokin Trio alongside Kondo Masahiko and Nomura Yoshio. He has rarely been seen with or even mentioned by the other two former members since his departure from Johnny & Associates in 1994.
- He called his female fans "Juliets."
- Before his marriage, he allegedly dated several celebrities such as Matsuda Seiko and Kudo Shizuka. However, the only confirmed girlfriend he had was Nakayama Miho, who was living with him in the early 1990s. There have also been several dating rumors after his marriage, but none have been confirmed.
- One Johnny's former talent reported that Tahara was highly favored by Johnny & Associates staff, often prioritized even over idols with similar popularity like Kondo Masahiko. However, around the time he refocused his career on acting (c. 1987), he was hit with several scandals (e.g., leaked nude photos[1], reports of possible girlfriends, including the then underage Nakayama Miho), damaging his once spotless image. After leaving Johnny's in 1994, unlike other popular departing talents (e.g., Go Hiromi), Tahara was allegedly blacklisted from associating with the agency's staff and talents. In addition, he also appeared to be blacklisted by television and movie companies, leading to loss of roles and relevancy, and eventually the bankruptcy of his agency in 1996. The reason for this harsh treatment is unknown as of 2025. Interestingly, Tahara has never officially addressed his bankruptcy or the post-2019 Kitagawa sexual abuse scandals, even actively refusing questions.[2] He made one known comment on Kitagawa in a 2023 interview, stating he had only good memories of his time at Johnny & Associates and respected Kitagawa, but seemed to avoid discussing the scandals even when directly asked about them. Fans suspect he is under a Non-disclosure Agreement regarding Kitagawa and the agency.
- He is one of the only people to refuse to appear on Kohaku Uta Gassen. He was invited to appear in the 39th show in 1988, but declined with no provided reason or excuse, something extremely rare at the time.