was a Japanese model and actress who, set to debut as an idol singer, committed suicide at age 17. She is not to be confused with narrator Yasuko Endō (遠藤泰子) or later actress Yasuko Endō (遠藤靖子).

Biography

Endō was born in Kōtō-ku,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, and was a student at Aoyama Public High School night classes. In her fifth year of elementary school, she joined the

Himawari Theatre Group The is a Japanese theatrical company connected to the Sunaoka Office talent agency. The company was founded by Tōzaburō Sunaoka in July 1952. It is located in Ebisunishi. Attached people Acting alumni Voice-acting alumni Associated comp ...

but left due to poor grades. In her second year of junior high school she was scouted by Box Corporation. At that same office was pre-debut

Miho Nakayama is a Japanese singer and actress. She is affiliated with Big Apple Co., Ltd. Nakayama is nicknamed , and sometimes uses the pseudonyms or when she writes the lyrics. Biography History Nakayama was born in Saku, Nagano, Japan. Following her ...

and they became friends. Endō began professional activities in 1983. She modeled in magazines including ''

Hana to Yume , also known as , is a semi-monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Hakusensha on the 5th and 20th of every month. The magazine is B5-size, and always comes with or free supplements, such as drama CDs, pencil boards (shitajiki), manga ...

, Olive, GORO, Deluxe Jump, Lemon Pie Momoco, Beppin, Suppin, Heibon Punch, Penthouse Japan, THE Shashin, Deluxe Magazine'',''mc Sister'', and ''The Sugar'' and appeared in commercials for

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

Sapporo Ichiban is a brand of instant noodles (primarily ramen) manufactured by Sanyo Foods of Maebashi, Gunma, Japan. Sapporo Ichiban noodles are also manufactured in Garden Grove, California for the United States and North American market. Introduced in 19 ...

, and Nagatanien. Afterwards, she switched to Hirata Office, and in 1985 made her acting debut in the TV drama ''Okusama wa Fuyou Shoujo!? Osanadzuma''. In that same year's broadcast of the first '' Sukeban Deka'' starring Yuki Saito as Saki Asamiya, Endō gained attention for her role as Ayumi Mizuchi.

Suicide

Although she had been scheduled to debut as an idol singer on May 21, 1986 with Riv.Star Records song "In the Distance" (composed by

Tetsuo Sakurai is a Japanese bassist. To date, he has released a total of 37 albums as a member of Casiopea and Jimsaku and solo artist, and has also made 3 bass instructional videos. History Tetsuo Sakurai started playing bass when he was 13 years old. In ...

with arrangement by Yūji Toriyama and lyrics by Masako Arikawa), earlier that same year on March 30, she jumped from the roof of a seven floor building in Asakusabashi, Taito-ku and killed herself. On that day at 5:40 PM, Endō went with Hirata Office manager to the cafe her mother ran, where the three had a meeting to prepare for her singing debut. The discussion ended at 7:10, after talking to her mother about 20 minutes she left the shop with the words "I'm sorry Mama"(ママごめんね). After that, she proceeded to enter the building next to the cafe, left an earring on the rooftop, and jumped.『女性セブン』 1986年4月24日号、56頁 At 8:34, she was found collapsed in the road by passersby and taken to a hospital in Sumida-ku, where death was confirmed at 9:30 PM, aged 17. Although it has been said that her office was opposed to the continuation of her relationship with her lover, her mother and associates of Hirata Office deny this. According to her mother, she had been acting strangely for about a month before her death, and until that time had been reading things like

Shūsaku Endō was a Japanese author who wrote from the rare perspective of a Japanese Catholic. Internationally, he is known for his 1966 historical fiction novel ''Silence'', which was adapted into a 2016 film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. ...

's essay ''Ai to Jinsei wo Meguru Dansō'', suddenly she started reading hard-boiled novels such as '' The Beast to Die'', ''Senshi no Banka'', and ''Kako (Remember)'', Endō herself also began frequently saying the word "death", and the pressure of very busy work with no break may have led to exhaustion. Also, Endō was said to have been preoccupied with the lyrics of the B-side track to her scheduled debut single, "Telephone". Producer Yukio Hashi commented: "I pepped her up saying 'Surpass Miho Nakayama', she cheerfully and brightly replied 'Yes'. She was the kind of girl who said things directly and even though she said so clearly 'I'll definitely do it for sure'...I still don't believe it even now." Shortly after Endō's death, idol

Yukiko Okada was a Japanese singer and actress, active in the mid-1980s. After winning a nationwide television show at age 15 in 1983, she debuted as an Japanese idol, idol in 1984. Her death by suicide two years later led to a number of copycat suicides, a ...

also jumped from the roof of the Sun Music building. Endō is considered to have been the inspiration for Okada's suicide, and the term Okada and Yukko syndrome entered the vernacular.

Tributes

In 1988, two years after her death,

, who was a close friend from her modeling days, performed a song called "Long Distance Tengoku e" during a concert tour. As an homage to the title of Endō's cancelled debut single "In the Distance", it was held as a requiem for her. Nakayama wrote the lyrics and composed the song herself. The song title changed to "Long Distance to the Heaven", and it was included on her album ''

Mind Game Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the ag ...

'', released in July of that year. Nakayama touched about this song in essay collection P.S. I LOVE YOU released 1991. Also in the 2009 collection "Nazenara Yasashii Machi ga Atta Kara", Endō is written about with name excluded.

Roles

TV

* '85nen Gata Kazoku Awase（1985, TBS）as Sachiko Kubota * Sukeban Deka as Ayumi Mizuchi * Getsuyou Drama Land Osanadzuma Okusama wa Furyou Shoujo!? Osanadzuma（1985, CX）

Movie

* Mashō no Natsu Yotsuya Kaidan（1981）

Commercials

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Hitachi Dryer * Sanyō Shokuhin

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

PC *

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and ...

Hair Cologne *

Kao Corporation is a chemical and cosmetics company headquartered in Nihonbashi-Kayabacho, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan. History Kao was established in 1887 by Tomiro Nagase as a manufacturer of domestic toiletry soap. Until 1954, they were known as , and finally ...

Essential Shampoo *

* Nagatanien sakezushi – with

Saburō Kitajima is a Japanese enka singer, lyricist, actor and composer. Background He was born Minoru Ōno (大野穣), in Shiriuchi, Hokkaidō, to a fisherman. He was very poor due to the effects of World War II, and was forced to work while he studied. ...

* Toshimaen summer pool poster

External links

*
Yasuko Endō
at Oricon
Yasuko Endō
at Mairi.me

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endo, Yasuko Japanese idols 1968 births 1986 deaths People of Shōwa-period Japan 20th-century Japanese actresses 1986 suicides Suicides by jumping in Japan