My Take
Okay, Sheena Ringo is one of those artists I will defend to anyone who'll sit still long enough. I still remember how singing "Honnou" and "Kabukicho no Joou" at barely twenty took a kind of nerve most people never grow into. She rolled her r's, dressed like a deranged librarian, and just refused to be cute about any of it. What gets me is she's not some one-trick eccentric. She writes, composes, plays, produces, runs Tokyo Jihen, and then casually directs the closing ceremony handover at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The woman controls every pixel of her world, and her perfectionism is honestly a little intimidating. Sweet, dangerous, brainy, theatrical, all at once. There's nobody else quite like her, and I doubt there ever will be.
Overview
Sheena Ringo (born Yumiko Shiina on November 25, 1978, in Urawa, Saitama) is a Japanese singer-songwriter who made her major-label debut in 1998 with the single "Kōfuku-ron." Her first two studio albums, Muzai Moratorium (1999) and Shōso Strip (2000), both received the Japan Gold Disc Award for Rock Album of the Year and established her as one of Japan's leading rock artists. In 2003 she founded the band Tokyo Jihen, which remained active until 2012 before reconvening in 2020, and in 2016 she served as artistic and music director for the Rio Olympics closing ceremony flag handover segment.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Sheena Ringo
- Name (Japanese)
- 椎名裕美子
- Reading
- しいなゆみこ
- Born
- November 25, 1978 (age 47)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Horse
- Origin
- Urawa, Saitama, Japan
- Blood type
- O
- Height
- 167 cm
- Agency
- Kronekodow
- Active years
- 1998–present
- Occupation
- Singer-songwriter / Rock musician / Band vocalist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Shizuoka Prefecture Shimizu City Udo Daini Elementary School → transferred to a public elementary school in Fukuoka City
- Junior high
- Fukuoka City Municipal Momochi Junior High School
- High school
- Fukuoka Prefectural Chikuzen High School (withdrew 1996)
- University
- Did not attend university
- Debut
- Major-label debut in 1998 with the single "Kōfuku-ron"
Awards & achievements
- 2000 Japan Gold Disc Award – Rock Album of the Year (Muzai Moratorium)
- 2001 42nd Japan Record Award – Best Album (Shōso Strip)
- 2001 Japan Gold Disc Award – Rock Album of the Year (Shōso Strip)
- 2009 FY2008 Agency for Cultural Affairs Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts – New Artist (Popular Entertainment)
Timeline
- 1978Born in Urawa, Saitama; spent early childhood in Shimizu, Shizuoka, then relocated to Fukuoka City in sixth grade
- 1996Withdrew from Fukuoka Prefectural Chikuzen High School to focus on music
- 1998Made major-label debut with the single "Kōfuku-ron"
- 1999Released debut album Muzai Moratorium; singles "Kabukicho no Joō" and "Koko de Kiss Shite." became hits
- 2000Released second album Shōso Strip, which sold over 2.3 million copies on the Oricon chart
- 2003Released third album Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana and formed the band Tokyo Jihen
- 2004Tokyo Jihen released debut single "Gunjō Biyori" and first album Kyōiku
- 2012Tokyo Jihen concluded activities following a concert at Nippon Budokan on February 29
- 2016Served as artistic director and music director for the Rio Olympics and Paralympics closing ceremony flag handover segment
- 2020Tokyo Jihen resumed activities under the concept of "rebirth" with the original dissolution-era lineup
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Married Junji Yayoshi in 2000; divorced in 2002. Currently in a common-law partnership.
- Children
- 3 (publicly acknowledged)
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Junpei Shiina (younger brother, singer)
4. Personality
Hobbies
- Private
Specialties
- Lyric writing
- Composing
- Instrumental performance
- Music production
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Album | Muzai Moratorium | Artist | 1999 |
| Album | Shōso Strip | Artist | 2000 |
| Album | Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana | Artist | 2003 |
| Album | Heisei Fūzoku (co-written with Saito Neko) | Artist | 2007 |
| Album | Sandokushi | Artist | 2019 |
| Song | Kabukicho no Joō | Songwriter and vocalist | 1998 |
| Song | Koko de Kiss Shite. | Songwriter and vocalist | 1998 |
| Song | Honō | Songwriter and vocalist | 1999 |
| Song | Marunouchi Sadistic | Songwriter and vocalist | 1999 |
| Band Album | Kyōiku (Tokyo Jihen) | Vocalist and producer | 2004 |
6. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.kronekodow.com/
- Xhttps://twitter.com/Nekoyanagi_Line
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A4%8E%E5%90%8D%E6%9E%97%E6%AA%8E
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.