(born July 28, 1976 in
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. Kana ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
) is a Japanese actress, author and former
AV idol
An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performances ...
. She was one of the top actresses in the AV field during the late 1990s
and in her dominant period from 1996 to 1999 was called "The AV Queen".
Life and career
Early life and AV career
Yuri Komuro, who was born in Japan's
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. Kana ...
on July 28, 1976, commented in a news article, "I've always had a strong sexual awareness, even as a kid."
While still in
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
she asked a neighborhood boy to play with her breasts. Komuro recalls once, still at an early age, inviting a university student to give her a
blow job
Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act involving a person stimulating the human penis, penis of another person by using the human mouth, mouth, throat, or both. Oral stim ...
before she knew what the term meant. She comments that the resultant experience with
cunnilingus
Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed by a person on the vulva or vagina of another person. The clitoris is the most sexually sensitive part of the human female genitalia, and its stimulation may result in a woman becoming sexually aroused ...
would today be considered a sex crime.
Komuro began studying for a career as a travel agent before she began work in the adult entertainment field.
Her decision to work in the AV industry was based on a desire to do something more unusual. "I thought if I did this," she comments, "I could change my life, Otherwise, I figured my future would be pretty predictable."
Komuro made her AV debut at age nineteen with
h.m.p. on their Tiffany label in January 1996. Komuro continued working for h.m.p. for her first two years in the AV industry.
In January 1998 Komuro appeared in the
Alice Japan
was established on April 5, 1986, as the adult video (AV) label for Japan Home Video (JHV).
Company information
The early AVs produced by JHV went under the Penguin (ぺんぎん) label, the first title being the 30-minute-long softcore ''Asobi ...
video ''Sexy Butt'' directed by
Tohjiro
Tohjiro or TOHJIRO is an adult video (AV) director and the founder of the AV studio Dogma.
Life and career
Tohjiro, whose real name is , was born in 1956 in the Roppongi district of Tokyo. He started out as an independent film director. He wro ...
and starred in a number of other Alice Japan series over the next two years. In May 1998, Komuro was featured in the pseudo-documentary style adult video ''Legend Of An AV Idol'' directed by
Kei Morikawa
is a Japanese mainstream film and adult video (AV) director. Over a career of more than 20 years in adult entertainment, he directed in excess of 200 adult videos.
Life and career Adult video (AV) director
Morikawa started directing adult videos ...
for
Atlas21
, formerly known as VIP, is a Japanese adult video company with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Company information
VIP
The AV company was founded in June 1981 and issued its first video, titled , in December of that same year making it one of t ...
.
Komuro took advantage of her popularity as an AV idol to engage in a business venture, endorsing a perfume which, it was claimed, was based on the smell of a pair of panties she had worn for several days without changing. The perfume was called "Asoko," literally meaning, "That place," a Japanese euphemism for the genitals.
As a reigning AV star in the 1990s, Komuro could depend on a guarantee of one million yen (about US$10,000) or more per video.
[ In spite of her high earnings, however, after retiring from the AV field, Komuro realized that she had not been very wise with her money. "I blew my money in all kinds of spectacular ways, What was left, I used to buy a car and personal computer. If I had saved the income from just three films, things wouldn't be so tight now. Life is hard for AV actresses once they retire."]
Post-AV career
After announcing her AV retirement plans in 1999 with ''Last Scene'', Komuro commented, "When I look back at my acting days, it was lots of fun. Just by following somebody's instructions to disrobe I could make millions, or even tens of millions of yen. I think back on the opportunity with a sense of gratitude."
Komuro's AV industry past was reflected in her role in director Masato Ishioka
is a Japanese director, screenwriter and business executive who had an early career as an adult video (AV) director.
Life and career
Masato Ishioka was born in 1960 in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He attended Meiji University, graduating in 1983 ...
's debut feature film, , where she played the role of Miki, a former ''tantai'' (star-quality) AV actress whose adult video career is kept a secret from her husband. Kei Morikawa
is a Japanese mainstream film and adult video (AV) director. Over a career of more than 20 years in adult entertainment, he directed in excess of 200 adult videos.
Life and career Adult video (AV) director
Morikawa started directing adult videos ...
, Komuro's AV director from her Atlas21
, formerly known as VIP, is a Japanese adult video company with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
Company information
VIP
The AV company was founded in June 1981 and issued its first video, titled , in December of that same year making it one of t ...
days, has a role as an AV director. The film was presented at several international film festivals, including the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
and the Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
. It was nominated for Best Asian Feature Film at the Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform for ...
, and won Ishioka the Directors' Week Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto
Fantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to Fantasy film, fantasy/Science fiction film, science fiction/Horror film, horror-oriented commercial fe ...
competition. It was released theatrically in Japan on October 27, 2001.
In April 2002, Komuro co-starred with Kyoko Aizome
is a very common feminine Japanese given name. Not to be confused with Kiyoko.
Possible writings
The final syllable "ko" is typically written with the kanji character for child, 子. It is a common suffix to female names in Japan.
The first sy ...
in the Shintōhō Eiga
is a Japanese pink film production company and film distributor located in Tokyo, Japan which has been among the most influential studios in the pink film genre since its beginnings.
Foundation
The first Shintōhō, or "New Toho", also known a ...
pink film ''Molester In a Hospital'' which was also directed by Aizome. The film, mixing mystery and eroticism, involves a hospital where several patients and staff have been raped on the night shift. The hospital's head (Kyoko Aizome) wants to avoid damaging the hospital's reputation and brings in an undercover investigator (Yuri Komuro) under the guise of a patient counselor. The movie was also released as a video on the Alice Japan
was established on April 5, 1986, as the adult video (AV) label for Japan Home Video (JHV).
Company information
The early AVs produced by JHV went under the Penguin (ぺんぎん) label, the first title being the 30-minute-long softcore ''Asobi ...
Babylon label (KR-9172) in October 2002.
Though she concedes, "Most of what I do has some sort of connection with eroticism," writing had always been one of Komuro's interests. During her AV career she had written a series of essays expressing her thoughts on topics such as friends, family, work, love, the AV industry, and sex. In December 1998 a collection of these essays were published under the title . When fellow AV idol Runa Hoshizaki gave Komuro an introduction, she began pursuing writing as a career. Komuro wrote sex-advice articles, conducted interviews with sex industry workers, and wrote pieces which were serialized in journals.
In 2006, it was reported that Komuro had moved on to a second career in journalism, covering the field of erotic entertainment. In spite of her lifelong involvement with erotic entertainment, looking back on her AV career, Komuro says, "I never had an orgasm during a film shooting. Except when somebody worked on me with a vibrator." In 2006, seven years after retirement from the AV industry, Komuro stated, "I'm finally at the stage where I can really enjoy sex."
References
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Komuro, Yuri
1976 births
Japanese female adult models
Japanese pornographic film actresses
Pink film actors
Living people
Actresses from Kanagawa Prefecture
Models from Kanagawa Prefecture