Miho Nakayama (中山美穂)

Overview

Miho Nakayama (1 March 1970 – 6 December 2024) was a Japanese singer and actress, nicknamed Miporin (ミポリン). Her younger sister is the actress Shinobu Nakayama. She was one of the most popular idols of the 1980s "Golden Age" of idols and, in the 1990s, balanced music and acting, becoming a leading TV drama star known especially for her lead roles in Fuji TV's Monday 9 p.m. slot. As a lyricist she sometimes used the pseudonyms Mizuho Kitayama and Issaque.

Career

Debut and 1985

Scouted in Harajuku in 1982 at age 12, Nakayama began as a model and commercial performer. On 8 January 1985 she made her acting debut in the TBS drama Maido Osawagase Shimasu, which brought instant stardom. She debuted as a singer on 21 June 1985 with "C", which sold 170,000 copies. In December she made her film debut in Be-Bop High School; its theme song "BE-BOP-HIGHSCHOOL" reached No. 4 on the weekly Oricon chart. She finished the year by winning the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist as the youngest recipient ever.

1986–1988

In 1986, "Iro White Blend", a Shiseido campaign song, sold over 200,000 copies. She held her first concert tour, VIRGIN FLIGHT, in April, released the single "Close Up" in May, and scored her biggest seller to that point with "Waku Waku Sasete" (237,000 copies). In 1987 the drama Mama wa Idol! reached a peak rating of 28.6%, and in October "Catch Me", produced by Toshiki Kadomatsu, gave her her first weekly No. 1 on the Oricon chart. The November best-of album COLLECTION also reached No. 1 and sold over 500,000 copies.

The February 1988 album Catch the Nite became her first studio album to top the weekly chart, and the single "You're My Only Shinin' Star" also hit No. 1. Her spring tour MIHO Catch '88 comprised 63 shows nationwide, the most of her career. The July drama theme "Mermaid" (人魚姫) reached No. 1 and became her biggest single of the 1980s. She first appeared on NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1988 and appeared seven consecutive years through 1994. The July 1988 album Mind Game includes "Long Distance to the Heaven", a requiem for her friend Yasuko Endō.

1989 and the 1990s

In January 1989 she starred in the Monday 9 p.m. drama Kimi no Hitomi ni Koishiteru!, and went on to lead seven productions in that slot, the most of any woman. "Rosé Color" reached No. 1 in February, her first starring film Docchi ni Suru no. opened in August, and the album Hide 'n' Seek topped the album chart in September.

While many 1980s idols left singing in the 1990s, she kept recording and performing, combining a yearly drama, film, album and tour. In 1990 she starred in the dramas Sotsugyō and Suteki na Kataomoi, whose theme "Aishiteru tte Iwanai!" sold 361,000 copies. She began writing lyrics and recording ballads, producing several platinum singles and her biggest sales: "Tōi Machi no Doko ka de..." (1991), "Sekaijū no Dare Yori Kitto" (1992) with Wands, and "Tada Nakitaku Naru no" (1994). In 1995, director Shunji Iwai cast her in the dual roles of Hiroko Watanabe and Itsuki Fujii in Love Letter, a major box-office success, and she was also praised for Tokyo Weather (1997).

2000s onward

She appeared in Love Story (2001) and Platonic (2014) on television and in films including Say Goodbye Itsuka (2010), Chō no Nemuri (2018), Last Letter (2020) and The Cure Which Leads to Death (2022). Her later releases include the album Neuf Neuf (2019) and the compilation All Time Best (December 2020). "Miho Nakayama - Night Tempo presents Shōwa Groove" followed in June 2021, and in September 2023 she featured on "Ninna Nanna". On 8 November 2021 she starred opposite King & Prince's Yuta Jinguji in the stage play Aoi no Ue/Yoroboshi at The Globe Tokyo.

Musical style

Her work spans kayōkyoku, city pop and J-pop. After starting as an idol singer, she shifted toward a dance-oriented sound and achieved five consecutive No. 1 singles. Collaborations with CINDY, who composed "Mermaid", established a polished AOR direction, and Tetsuya Komuro also supplied songs. In the 1990s she wrote her own lyrics and favored ballads, showing a more mature artistry.

Personal life and death

In 2002 she married musician and novelist Hitonari Tsuji; they moved to Paris, where their son was born, and divorced in 2014. She was represented by Big Apple. Nakayama died at her home in Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo, on 6 December 2024 at age 54. A public memorial was held at the Tokyo International Forum on 22 April 2025, and a tribute concert took place at NHK Hall on 18 June.