Tomohisa Yamashita

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Yamashita Tomohisa 山下 智久
Background information
Birth name	Tomohisa Yamashita (山下 智久, Yamashita Tomohisa?)
Born	April 9, 1985
Origin	Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Genre(s)	J-pop
Years active	1996–2006 (groups) 2005–present (solo)
Associated acts	NewS Shuuji to Akira Kitty GYM

Tomohisa Yamashita (山下 智久, Yamashita Tomohisa^?, born April 9, 1985) is a member of the J-pop group NewS from Johnny's Entertainment, Inc.

Contents 1 Profile 2 Personal history 3 Filmography 4 Discography 4.1 Singles 5 Variety Shows 6 External links

[edit] Profile

• Real Name: Aoki Tomohisa — changed when father left family ("Manatsu" is made up by Chinese fans)
• Nickname: YamaPi, YamaP, Pi, Tomo-chan
• Birthplace: Chiba Prefecture, Japan
• Height: 176cm (5'8")
• Weight: 54–60kg (118–132lbs)
• Blood Type: A
• Family: Mother and Younger Sister
• Favorite Phrase: Maji de? (Really?)
• Favorite band: GLAY

[edit] Personal history

He entered JE and became a member of Johnny’s Juniors when he was 11 years old.

He is affectionately called Yamapi (short for Yamashita and pink) by his friends, which is a nickname given to him by Takizawa Hideaki (Tackey & Tsubasa). His closest friends call him Pi, which was first used by Akanishi Jin (KAT-TUN).

Since joining JE, he has been a member of Jr. groups B.I.G., Four Tops, and most recently NewS. Yamashita began to appear in television dramas soon after he joined JE. In 2000, at age 15, his performance in Ikebukuro West Gate Park earned him an award for "Best Supporting Actor". That same year, he was voted first place in the Annual Junior Awards for "Best Boyfriend", "Most Beautiful", etc. for the first time.

When Takizawa made his debut with Tsubasa Imai as Tackey & Tsubasa in 2002, he left as the leader of Johnny's Juniors. Around the same time, Yamashita and fellow Juniors Ikuta Toma , Hasegawa Jun , and Kazama Shunsuke formed Four Tops. Four Tops then began to host the Junior television program, The Shonen Club (Boy's Club).

In September 2003, nine people from Johnny’s Juniors were chosen to form the group NewS with Yamashita as the leader. NewS's formation came as a shock to not only the fans of Four Tops but its own members as well. Yamashita later revealed that at the time, aside from Nishikido Ryo , he had barely talked to any of the other group members.

NewS made its formal debut on May 12, 2004. Since its debut, NewS has had four consecutive #1 singles on the Oricon Ranking Chart.

In October 2005, Yamashita and Kamenashi Kazuya from KAT-TUN formed the temporary unit, Shuuji x Akira, to promote their television show Nobuta wo Produce. (Shuuji and Akira are the characters they portray in the drama.) They also released a single, Seishun Amigo, under the name Shuuji x Akira, which sold over 1 million copies in 4 weeks. Seishun Amigo is the No.1 best selling single on the Oricon Yearly Single Rankings for 2005.

In spring 2006, Yamashita recorded "Kurosagi: The Black Swindler" クロサギ drama based on the manga of the same name. Kurosagi is basically about the art of swindling. For this purpose, Yamashita recorded his single "Daite Señorita" which was #1 in the Oricon ranking. Kurosagi is now on the top of the Japanese Dramas Ranking as well.

In the latter half of 2006, Yamashita joined a Thai duo called Golf and Mike, who are brothers, to form a temporary unit called Kitty GYM to cheer on the Japan Women's Volleyball team and they released a single called "Fever and Future" under the name "GYM" which stands for Golf, Yamashita and Mike, respectively.

As of June 2006, he became part of an unofficial group within Johnny's Entertainment called "No Border", which includes members: Matsumoto Jun of Arashi, Murakami Shingo of Kanjani8, Satou Atsuhiro, Ikuta Toma of Johnny's Junior's, Domoto Koichi of Kinki Kids, Yamaguchi Tatsuya of TOKIO and Takizawa Hideaki of Tackey & Tsubasa. It was group formed when the 8 members from different JE groups met up for dinner and decided to name themselves "No Border". They are known to interact freely, bypassing the sempai-kouhai relationships formed by JE. There is a 7 part round-robin on their jwebs about the formation of the group. Each member has a specific colour - White, Black, Red, Pink, Purple, Gold, Blue, Grey. However, who holds which colour is still unknown.

Yamashita, along with Kat-tun's Tanaka Koki and Kis-my-ft2's Fujigaya Taisuke, is currently filming his newest drama, Byakkotai, which will air in January 2007.

[edit] Filmography

• 1998.03 Shinrei Safaa no Shi (Child)
• 1998.12 Shounentachi (Kakuda Shinya)
• 1999.02 Nekketsu Renaidou (Bloodtype O Boy, Episode 7)
• 1999.05 P.P.O.I (Amano Taira)
• 1999.07 Kowai Nichiyoubi (Episode 5)
• 1999.09 Kowai Nichiyoubi 2 (Episode 13)
• 1999.12 Kiken na Kankei (Miyabe Satoshi, Episode 10, Final Episode)
• 2000.04 Ikebukuro West Gate Park (Mizuno Shun)
• 2000.12 Shijou Saiaku no Deeto (Okamura Yuuki, Episode 1)
• 2000.12 All Star Chuushingura Matsuri (Asano Takumi)
• 2001.01 Kabachitare! (Tamura Yuta)
• 2001.04 Shounen wa Tori ni Natta (Nagashima Ken)
• 2002.01 Long Love Letter (Otomo Tadashi)
• 2002.07 Lunch no Joou (Nabeshima Koushirou)
• 2003.04 Crazy Virgin Road (Hajime)
• 2003.07 Stand UP!! (Iwasaki Kengo)
• 2003.10 Budou no Ki (Shindou Yousuke)
• 2004.01 Sore wa, Totsuzen, Arashi no you ni... (Fukasawa Takuma)
• 2005.07 Dragon Zakura (Yajima Yuusuke)
• 2005.10 Nobuta wo Produce (Kusano Akira)
• 2006.04 Kurosagi (Kurosaki)

[edit] Discography

For NewS-related releases, see NewS' Discography

[edit] Singles

• 2005.11.02 Seishun Amigo (Shuuji to Akira)
• 2006.05.31 Daite Senorita
• 2006.08.30 Fever & Future (Kitty GYM)

[edit] Variety Shows

• 1998.9 Love Juniors, 8 Jida J
• 1998.11 Boys Be...Jr (Episode 8)
• 1999.4 Seven Samurai, J Family Betrayal
• 1999.12 Yattaru J
• 2000.4 Children Rose Empire 2000, The Shonen Club (still running), Music-Enta, Gakibara
• 2001.4 Uso!Japan
• 2003.10 NEWS Best 10

[edit] External links

Official sites

• Johnny's Net
• Johnny's Entertainment