is a Japanese dancer and producer. He is the leader of

Exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

and the creative leader of LDH World. Igarashi grew up in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanag ...

. His wife is actress Aya Ueto. Igarashi retired from performing with Exile in 2013, and has concentrated on the producer industry since then.

Early life

Hiroyuki Igarashi was born on June 1, 1969 in Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture and grew up in

, Kanagawa Prefecture. He graduated from Yokohama City Hama Junior High School and Yokohama City Kanazawa High School. During his time in high school, he met Matsuura Masato, who was the manager of the rental record store “Tomo & Ai” in Kamiooka back then. After graduating from high school, Hiroyuki refined his dancing skills while working at Disco Maharaja and Circus in

Roppongi is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan, famous for the affluent Roppongi Hills development area and popular night club scene. A few foreign embassies are located near Roppongi, and the night life is popular with locals and foreigners alike. It ...

. In 1989, at the age of 20, the circus store manager asked Hiroyuki to advertise the store which led him to participate as the runner-up in the dance contest of the TV program “DADA”. The scout who was watching the contest suggested that Hiroyuki should become part of a dance team from the program, which led to the group LMD being formed.

Career

In 1990, Hiro debuted as a member of the group LMD, modified as

ZOO A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

. In 1991, the dance team Japanese Soul Brothers was formed, which included Igarashi as a member. They participated in

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

's tour in Japan. In 1995, ZOO broke up. Following the disbandment, Hiro participated in DREAMS COME TRUE's tour as a back dancer. In 1996, the group LUV DELUXE was formed but dissolved the following year. In 1999, Hiro founded the group

J Soul Brothers , formerly simply J Soul Brothers and stylized as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile ex-leader and producer Hiroyuki Igarashi in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiroy ...

. On August 24, 2001, J Soul Brothers changed their name to

EXILE Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. On October 17, 2002, the group established Exile Entertainment Co., Ltd.. On September 18, 2003, LDH Co., Ltd. was established. On April 3, 2013, Hiro announced that he would retire from being a performer within the year and concentrate on the producer business. The “64th NHK Kohako Uta Gassen” on December 31 was his last activity as a performer. In 2014, PKCZ was formed. In March 2015, he became a member of the

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Culture and Education Commission. Later that year he was awarded the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Award by the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs for his contribution to Japan's artistic culture. On January 1, 2017, it was announced that Hiro would become the CCO of LDH WORLD. At the same time, he retired from his president position within LDH and became a chairman of the company. On November 8, 2019, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) announced the appointment of Exile Hiro as the director of the Tokyo 2020 cultural segment of the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony. The ceremony, during which the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

will be passed from the

Hellenic Olympic Committee The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) ( el, Ελληνική Ολυμπιακή Επιτροπή) is the governing Olympic body of Greece. It is the second oldest National Olympic Committee in the world (after the French Olympic Committee), it ...

to Tokyo 2020 representatives, will be held at the

Panathenaic Stadium The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

on 19 March 2020. After a cultural performance by Greek dancers and entertainers, the host country of Japan will stage its own cultural performance, under Hiro's direction. Hiro himself expressed his goal to center the performance on children, who embody Japan's hope for the future, and to make it the highest priority "that the children will experience something they can take with them for the rest of their lives and to have it be an experience that will inspire them to build a bright future together". The concept for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will be: “Hope Lights Our Way”.

Participating groups

Personal life

Family

On September 14, 2012, it was personally announced by Hiro and Aya Ueto that they registered their marriage after two years of dating. They had met through a mutual acquaintance, who was the dance instructor for the idol group Z-1 of which Aya was a former member. On April 12, 2015, Aya Ueto revealed that she was pregnant with the couple's first child. Their first daughter was born on August 19, 2015. On June 12, 2019, it was announced via official news outlets that the couple were expecting their second child. On July 27, 2019, the birth of their second child, a boy, was announced.

Other

On April 17, 2014, Hiro attended the “Spring Garden Party” hosted by the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

and

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

of Japan. On October 6 of the same year, he was invited to attend the wedding reception for Noriko Senge and Kunimaro Senge due to his friendship with the Senge family.

Productions

Artists

Exile The Second Exile The Second (stylized as EXILE THE SECOND, formerly known as THE SECOND from EXILE), or simply The Second, is a Japanese music group comprising Exile members Kenchi, Keiji, Tetsuya, Nesmith, Shokichi and Akira. Formed in 2012, the grou ...

* Nidaime J Soul Brothers *

Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe , formerly simply J Soul Brothers and stylized as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile ex-leader and producer Hiroyuki Igarashi in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiro ...

Generations from Exile Tribe Generations from Exile Tribe (Japanese: ジェネレーションズ・フロム・エグザイル・トライブ, stylized as GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE and formerly known as Generations) is a seven-member Japanese dance and vocal group formed ...

* The Rampage from Exile Tribe *

Fantastics from Exile tribe Fantastics from Exile Tribe (Japanese: ファンタスティックス・フロム・エグザイル・トライブ, stylized as FANTASTICS from EXILE TRIBE and formerly known as Fantastics) is a nine-member Japanese male dance and vocal group forme ...

Ballistik Boyz from Exile Tribe Ballistik Boyz from Exile Tribe (Japanese: バリスティックボーイズ・フロム・エグザイル・トライブ, stylized as BALLISTIK BOYZ from EXILE TRIBE and formerly known as Ballistik Boyz) is a seven-member Japanese male dance, vo ...

E-girls E-girls (sometimes stylized as E-Girls or e-girls; stands for Exile Girls) was a Japanese collective girl group created and managed by LDH while signed to music label Rhythm Zone from Avex. As of 2017, the band consisted of 11 members; 8 of wh ...

Happiness Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. ...

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

SudannaYuzuYully SudannaYuzuYully ( Japanese: スダンナユズユリー, also known as SYY or Sudannayuzuyully) is a Japanese dance-pop and hip-hop trio formed and managed by LDH since 2017. They are a sub-unit of supergroup E-girls and signed to the record la ...

* ShuuKaRen *Samurize from Exile Tribe *PKCZ

Programmes

Manga

Anime

Magazines

Films

Others

Works

Books

Videography

Compositions

Filmography

TV series

Radio

Awards

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Igarashi, Hiroyuki 1969 births Living people People from Hiroshima Prefecture People from Yokohama Japanese male dancers Japanese record producers Japanese businesspeople LDH (company) artists