Issei Ishida

Issei Ishida (いしだ 壱成), real name Issei Hoshikawa (星川 一星), is a Japanese actor and musician.

Ishida was born in Tokyo.

His father is actor Junichi Ishida, and his mother is Mari Hoshikawa (author-translator), an anti-nuclear activist in charge of site management on "Datsu Genpatsu no Hi" at Greens Japan.

His uncle, Jun Hoshikawa, was the executive director of Greenpeace Japan, and his half-sister is the model Sumire.

His paternal grandfather was a former NHK announcer Takeshi Ishida, and his great-grandfather was Taketaro Ishida, a reporter for the former Chūgai Shōgyō Shinpō (now The Nikkei).

His aunt is a musician, Momoko Ishida.

His father, Junichi, married Mari Hoshikawa when they were students.

Issei was born when his parents were twenty years old.

His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother, with his paternal grandfather Takeshi becoming a substitute for his father.

Ishida grew up moving from one place to another such as Yakushima, Yatsugatake, and Oregon in the United States.

In 1991, a scandal broke about his father, Junichi Ishida, who was making appearances in "trendy dramas" at the time, and became popular as a "trendy actor."

In the women's weekly magazine Josei Seven, the article "Junichi Ishida's secret child" was published as a tabloid rumor on the existence of Issei.

Junichi acknowledged the rumor, stating that "The term 'hidden' is misleading. [Mari] just chose not to say anything."

Issei was noticed by a television program producer who happened to be present when he was at one of his aunt's concerts, and subsequently appeared in Fuji TV–The Television tenth anniversary drama special Kanashī hodo Otenki.

He received attention for his androgynous appearance, gaining the nickname "Femio" (フェミ男).

He later appeared in the same station's "Boku-tachi no Drama" series, Hōkago.

After that, he also appeared in hit works such as Hitotsu Yane no Shita and Seija no Kōshin.

His music career started with his debut album "Warning" from Warner Music Japan in 1994.

The album won a Gold Disk.

He later released two other albums.

Before his acting career, he focused on music, using this experience to form "The Big Band!!"

(along with DJ Dragon, Shinji Takeda, and others) and work as a keyboardist and vocalist.

They debuted "Hot Road 1996" from Warner Music Japan in 1996, and performed live at the Akasaka Blitz.

On 20 August 2001, he was arrested for violation of the Cannabis Control Law because he was caught in possession of cannabis and LSD.

He was sentenced to suspended execution.

He later returned to acting in 2003 after a two-year punishment period.

After that, he resumed activities centered on music, films, theatre, etc.

On 26 January 2009, it was discovered that he was cheating on Chiharu Kawai with another woman.

According to mass media coverage, the woman was pregnant with a child of Ishida.

After the scandal was brought to light, she lost contact with him and subsequently got an abortion.

She attempted suicide three times.

His affiliated office also acknowledged that "dating is not a game", and announced that Ishida would be indefinitely suspended from acting.

He traveled to China in 2010, performing as an extra in various films and TV dramas, later appearing as Yan Hui in the Chinese historical drama Confucius.

In his blog just before the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he discussed being beaten by a member of the Riot Police Unit at 11 years old for participating in a nuclear power phase-out movement with his mother, and revealed that he was called "Raji," which is his Catholic baptismal name.

In 2012, he made various appearances on different television programs; such as Hitoshi Matsumoto no Suberanai Hanashi (23rd edition), Masahiro Nakai no Kinyōbi no Suma-tachi e, Jinsei ga Kawaru 1-funkan no Fukaī Hanashi, Down Town DX: 20-Shūnen Special, and Cream Quiz Miracle 9.

In 2013, he appeared in Soul Dreams at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, and in October, he was the protagonist of People Theater's 58th Performance of Ezo-chi Bekken at the same theatre.

In April 2018, he announced that he was getting married for the third time.

His new wife, actress Takako Iimura, was 24 years younger.

Iimura also announced her pregnancy.

Initially, they planned to submit their marriage forms on the 9th, but Iimura postponed it because she developed acute back pain, and their submission was made later, on the 18th.