Katsuhide Uekusa

Katsuhide Uekusa (, born July 24, 1966) is a Japanese actor and singer. Until 2020, He belonged to the Johnny & Associates and was a member of the boy band Shonentai. Born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. His best-known television series include Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari, a popular domestic drama that ran for more than 20 years.

History Childhood Uekusa was born in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture in 1966. His father owned a lumber business and his father often took care of the people around him, so he grew up in a lively environment with many people coming and going. Uekusa later said that because he grew up in this environment, he liked to take care of his junior even after he joined Johnny's. As a child, he played actively and got injured all the time, so his parents often scolded him to calm down. He once dreamed of becoming an aircraft pilot as his future dream, but gave it up after his mother told him that a pilot must have strong teeth and be intelligent. Despite these conflicts, Uekusa ended up joining Johnny & Associates in February 1980.

1980– Early career When Uekusa first met Noriyuki Higashiyama, he thought he was a cool boy, fair-skinned and slender. Kazukiyo Nishikiori was said as a genius, and when Uekusa first met, Nishikiori suddenly did a backflip in front of many people. Under Nishikiori's influence, all the trainees in Johnny's at that time practiced backflips with injuries. That same year he began appearing in the third season of the popular detective television series Sasurai Keiji Ryojō-hen (Wandering Detective Traveler's Section). He was influenced by actor Yoichi Miura, with whom he co-starred senior actor in this television series. Miura advised Uekusa about acting.

2021– Independence On September 20, 2020, Uekusa announced that he and Nishikiori would be leaving the Johnny's by the end of the year. Higashiyama would remain with Johnny's, but "out of respect for the achievements of the group and the wishes of the members, it was decided to keep the name Shonentai alive," according to the unusual announcement. Uekusa said that they did not specifically discuss the decision to quit with Nishikiori, and that the main reason he left was that he no longer had anyone to advise him on anything to do with his work after the death of Johnny Kitagawa, whom Uekusa considers to be his father in show business, who died in 2019.

In January 2021, Katsuhide Uekusa's official website, official Twitter account, and official Instagram account were launched. He also revealed that he had established his personal office, 2step, and said that he would like to work hard from now on as if it were the second chapter of his life. He also started his personal music career, October in 2023, the mini-album Polaris was released from rock field. In September 2021, he and Uekusa launched the YouTube channel "Nicky and Kacchanel", and the following year, they held a dinner theater. In 2023, Uekusa performed his own solo concert, Katsuhide Uekusa 2023 Moving On -Second Season-, which also featured his juniors, former Hikaru Genji members Hiroyuki Sato and Junichi Yamamoto, giving a breathtaking performance by senior and junior members.

When asked about reviving the Shonentai during an appearance on the variety show Poka Poka in October 2024, Uekusa replied, "I am thinking about it. Because I miss doing concerts and dinner shows by myself," and even so, "There will be about one person who is going through a tough time right now (Higashiyama). I just have to support him now," he said. He then clarified, "Shonentai was never disbanded in the first place."

Role in Shonentai Uekusa played the funny guy, the goofy character in Shonentai. Higashiyama, on the other hand, played the role of a serious and taciturn prince. Nishikioli initially played a serious role because he was the senior of the two, but gradually began to play a unique character who cracked jokes. Uekusa and Higashiyama are same age and seemed to have an easy-going relationship where they could fight about anything. One day, Uekusa got angry and fought with Higashiyama when he found out that Higashiyama had bought and worn a Disney watch that Uekusa had been wanting for a long time. Higashiyama later confided, "When I made a mistake in a dance, I once glared at Uekusa and made it look as if he made the mistake. Uekusa got upset when I glareed at him, and he thought he made a mistake." Nishikiori was older than Uekusa and Higashiyama and had excellent dancing skills, so they rarely argued with him. As Uekusa himself has jokingly said, he was not the best dancer in the Shonentai, but he was confident that his acting and singing were as good as those of the other two.

Personal life Uekusa married actress and model Chieko Higuchi who was a junior when he was in high school in July 1994 and had a son and a daughter, but they divorced in December 2010. Their son is actor Yuta Higuchi. He later remarried in October 2013, and it was reported that a girl was born shortly thereafter. Uekusa's son Yuta entered Johnny's when he was 12 years old as a lesson student under the name Yuta Uekusa in 2007, he appeared as the role of Uekusa's son in 2007 Playzone '07 Change 2 Chance. This was the first time a father and son performed together since the founding of the Johnny's, and it became a big topic of conversation. Yuta later left Johnny's in 2010, changed his family name to Higuchi in 2012, and has continued his entertainment career with a different agency.

Filmography TV series (selected) Heart-pounding After School (1983)-Katsuhisa Heart-pounding After School 2 (1983) Bad Girls' High School Story (1990) – Takashi Nishino Wandering Detective Journey Series (1990–1995) – Ryota Sakurada Wandering Detective Journey III (1990–1991) Wandering Detective Journey IV (1991–1992) Wandering Detective Journey V (1992–1993) Wandering Detective Journey VI (1993–1994) Wandering Detective Journey VII (1994–1995) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Series (1993–2012) – Eisaku Homma Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari, Season 2 (1993–1994) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari 3 (1996–1997) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 4 (1998–1999) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 5 (2000–2001) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 6 (2002–2003) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 7 (2004–2005) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 8 (2006–2007) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 9 (2008–2009) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Season 10 (2010–2011) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari Tadaima 2-Hour Special (2012) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari 2-week consecutive special (2013) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari: The First-Ever 3-Hour Special (2017) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari: The Second 3-Hour Special (2018) Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari: The Third 3-Hour Special (2019) Professor Munakata Series (2000–2007) – Ryoichi Tamura Professor Munakata's Strange Tales (2000) Professor Munakata's Strange Tales 2 (2003) Professor Munakata's Strange Tales 3 (2007) Atami Murder Case (2001) – Kumada Tomekichi Detective Yasuura is back! And... Goodbye Detective Tazaki! (2005) Detective Yasuura is back! Farewell to Detective Natsume!! (2006) Yasuo Uchida Travel Suspense – Inspector Okabe Series (2006–2009) – Ueda (Detective) Kurashiki Murder Case (2006) Tama Lakeside Murder Case (2007) Thirteen Gravestones (2008) Coelacanth Murder Case (2009) Port Town Humanity Nurse (2006–2008) – Junpei Touma Shinano Sleeping Song Murder Case (2006) Izu Onsen Resort Murder Case (2007) Fuji Five Lakes ~ Steam Jizo Murder Incident (2008) Prosecutor Yuko Kasumi "A Corpse Walking in the Forest" (2011) – Akira Nagasawa Midnight Bakery Episode 7 (2013) – Motofumi Mimasaka Detective's Cross (2014) – Kenichi Nomura Monday Golden Mother's Medical Diary "I won't forget! A promise from 20 years ago Kobe *Awajishima Edition" (2015) – Kyosuke Ohashi Shokatsu no Onna 10 (2015)-Shinichi Takayanagi Mito Komon Special (2015) – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi Unsolved Woman: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Document Investigator Episode 5 (2018) – Shoichi Matsukawa

Films Year Title Role Notes Ref.1982 Heart-pounding After School Student Starring Ippei Hikaru 1983 The Man Who Calls the Storm Eiji Kokubun Starring Masahiko Kondo Love Forever Starring Toshihiko Tahara That guy and Lullaby Shonentai Leading role1987 19 NineteenShonentaiLeading role 1988 Venus WarsHiro (voice actor)

Theatre Play

Discography Single No.Release dateTitle highest-ranking First release album Note 1 December 21, 2021 Show & Time – Polaris Dinner show and fan club limited release

Mini album

Concert Katsuhide Uekusa's first solo Christmas dinner show (1997, Tokyo / Osaka) Katsuhide Uekusa Christmas Dinner Show (1998, Tokyo / Osaka) Johnnys' Countdown 2014–2015 (December 31, 2014 – January 1, 2015, Tokyo Dome) Kazukiyo Nishikiori & Katsuhide Uekusa presents their Show & Time "Song for You" (2022, Tokyo/ Osaka) Katsuhide Uekusa 2023 Moving On Second Season (2023, Tokyo / Nagoya / Osaka)