Rui Sakuragi was one of the biggest adult video stars in Japan in the first half of the 1990s. She made her debut in 1989 and then left the industry in 1996 at the peak of her popularity.
In her subsequent career, she was a stripper until the year 2000, and did some acting on TV during those years.
But in the past quarter-century, fans didn't know what she was up to and rumors swirled that she had passed away.
That silence ended recently.
So what is the now 56-year-old Rui Sakuragi doing today? She's working as a hostess at a club in Ginza run by another top ex-porn star, Hitomi ...
One of the most highly anticipated upcoming porn debuts this month is that of someone identified only as Sayaka, whose first adult video (JUR029) comes out from porn label Madonna on March 11.
She is meant to be a former entertainer (meaning either an actor or TV celebrity) but we presume can't be famous or it would defeat the marketing value of the porn debut (since fans won't hear about it if her full name is not disclosed).
The producers have chosen to keep her name disguised -- and her face. While there's nothing unusual about adopting a new name when switching to porn (sometimes this ...
Beloved for her slinky body, boyish looks, and short hair, the Japanese porn star Riasu Mizutani has announced her pregnancy on social media.
We had noted Mizutani's recent social media absence and lack of releases, after making a bit of a splash with her debut in 2023. She broke her silence on March 1 with the announcement, accompanied by a picture of her cradling her pregnant belly.
Mizutani has carved out a very unusual presence in the adult video industry, mainly because she is a highly educated young woman who also works an English-Japanese translator.
Since emerging on the scene, ...
The internet has had an immeasurable impact on sex, from providing access to invaluable advice and information, to enabling people to watch hardcore porn at just the click of a button or swipe and tape of a phone screen.
Some argue that having such easy access to porn all the time is unhealthy, especially at a very young and impressionable age. Some blame the ubiquity of porn for the rise of certain violent sexual preferences, like choking.
In Japan, porn has long been ubiquitous since the emergence of the adult video industry in the 1980s, though porn magazines and books were already big ...
An Anzu is advertised as a former gravure idol who has made the switch to adult video.
These cases are actually quite common and sometimes it's just marketing guff, or -- as recently with Kanna Seno -- the initial gravure "career" was already planned as a publicity boost for the AV career.
An Anzu does seem to have worked in gravure, but either under another name or without much success. We could find some info on her first image DVD, released last July, but not much else.
Boasting I-cup breasts, it's not difficult to see why 20-year-old An Anzu would appeal to porn producers.
Her ...
Earlier this week, we wrote about the brilliant Japanese porn parody of the Korean Netflix series Squid Game. Of course it's called Squirt Game.
Now comes a source of inspiration closer to home.
Ever year, the Japanese and international media is full of news about a record-breaking tuna auction bid. Often these bids are publicity stunts, done by people like the head of conveyor-belt sushi chain Sushiro.
This week, a 276 kg bluefin tuna fetched ¥207 million, which is a cool $1.31 million, at the first auction of 2025 at Toyosu wholesale fish market (the successor to Tsukiji market). This ...
Squid Game has inspired a brilliant Japanese porn parody, Squirt Game.
From the player and guard costumes to the publicity materials, there's no mistaking the source material for this release from adult video production company Das, here reinvented as Dasflix.
The female "contestants" in Squirt Game (code DASS00534) are played by Waka Misono, Mizuki Yayoi, Machi Ikuno, and Mitsuki Igarashi. Needless to say, the challenges the contestants face are far more intimate than in the original Netflix series.
Squid Game (known in Japan as Ika Game, using the Japanese word for "squid") is ...
The newbie gravure idol Kanna Seto (瀬戸環奈) has only just launched her career with a shoot for Weekly Post in October, but her first photo book is already announced.
The J-cup stunner is also jumping up a few rungs on the career ladder by opting to go nude for her debut photo book, emerald, which comes out from Shogakukan on January 28.
With a sweet, girl-next-door face and slim waist, coupled with those huge bakunyu breasts, Kanna Seto is bound to win hearts, especially since the shoot doesn't shy away from showing us her tits and ass in all their glory.
You ...
The porn star Ayumi Kuroki (黒木歩) made her debut in 2010. She hasn't had many credits in the past few years but has not officially retired. Her most recent release is a lesbian-themed production that comes out later this month.
The performer is now 43 and very much in the MILF/jukujo category. She also directs and sings in a band, and holds private events for fans.
She gave an interview to Spa! last month in which she described what it is like to raise a child while pursuing her line, similar to a interview that married porn star and mom Marina Shiraishi also gave the publication in ...
Which Japanese adult video stars look like other Japanese celebrities?
Some Japanese porn performers have a striking resemblance to well-known models, idols, actresses, and other celebrities. This is sometimes just coincidence but the likeness is also often ruthlessly exploited in the marketing for certain releases, even to the extent of the choice of performer name.
We listed a few examples below.
Mitsuki Takahata and Minamo.
Minami Minegishi and Asuka Momose.
Kanna Hashimoto and Kanon Kanade (and something tells us that the marketing department was fully aware of the ...
