Kano sisters

{{Short description|Japanese celebrities}} {{Infobox person | name = Kano sisters | image = Ready Player One Japan Premiere Red Carpet Kano Kyoko & Kano Mika (41604485841).jpg | caption = Kyoko (left) and Mika (right) in April 2018 | birth_date = Kyoko Koyama Osaka, Japan<hr />Mika Tamai Saijō, Ehime, Japan | birth_place = | website = [http://ameblo.jp/kanosisters/ ameblo (in Japanese)] }}

{{nihongo|'''Kyoko Kano'''|叶恭子|Kanō Kyōko|}} and {{nihongo|'''Mika Kano'''|叶美香|Kanō Mika|}}, known collectively as the {{nihongo|'''Kano sisters'''|叶姉妹|Kanō shimai|}}, are Japanese media personalities.

==Early life and background== The Kano sisters say they are half-sisters with different mothers. There is also a third "sister" who initially made appearances with the two. She eventually withdrew from the scene, according to industry sources, and now only intermittently appears with them.<ref name=Asahi_Oct>{{cite news|last=Itakura|first=Kimie|title=Rumors, Ridicule Fuel Success of Kano Sisters|newspaper=Asahi News Service|date=6 October 2000}}</ref> The lack of resemblance between them as well as their refusal to answer any questions about their age (even their reported ages are speculation) or past fuels speculation the three are not sisters at all, but a group of tarento with a carefully crafted gimmick.<ref name="Asahi">{{cite news|title=Magic of the Mystery Sisters|last=Shinohara|first=Tsunenori|date=15 November 2000|newspaper=Asahi News Service}}</ref>

==Career== {{Cleanup|date=October 2023|reason=This article, primarily within the "career" section, is full of insufficient subject coverage, sparse source embedding, unencyclopedic tonal inconsistencies, and a general sense of originality with regards to the copy-editing. Significant rewrites, additions to the citations/"career" section, and distinguishing from tabloid reports are likely necessities for this article.}} {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 150 | image1 = Ready Player One Japan Premiere Red Carpet Kano Kyoko (41604475831).jpg | image2 = Ready Player One Japan Premiere Red Carpet Kano Mika (41604474771).jpg | caption2 = Kyoko (top) and Mika (bottom) at the Japanese premiere of ''Ready Player One'' in April 2018 }} Long before the Hiltons or the Kardashians got famous for being famous, Japan had been fascinated by the Kano sisters.

In 1997, the oldest sister Kyoko debuted in ''25ans'', an upscale women's fashion magazine, together with her real (younger) sister H.K. as one of its ''"supaa dokusha"'' (super readers). This success led to various TV offers. H.K. did not seek a life in the spotlight, which led to great resentment and disappointment by Kyoko and ended in a family feud in 2007. She eventually moved abroad and made a career – away from the Japanese spotlight – in beauty, high jewelry and exclusive F&B concepts.<ref name=Asahi_Oct/>

Enjoying the newly found fame, Kyoko carefully crafted a story of "half-sister" Mika. Since then, Kyoko and Mika are known as the "Kano shimai" (Kano sisters). Mika, a beauty queen at age 19, had been seeking fame for a long time. With the money coming from Kyoko's family, both "sisters" began appearing regularly on Japanese TV. Their main claim to fame is their outrageous sense of style, involving highly revealing clothes, flashy jewelry, and jet-set travel.<ref name=Asahi_Oct/>

Apart from frequent television appearances, they market a series of exercise videos, erotic calendars, collectible fashion cards<ref name=Yomiuri>{{cite news|title=Televiews; An Xmas ode on the joys of television|newspaper=The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo)|pages=10|date=19 December 2002}}</ref> and coffee-table pictorials, featuring the two mostly naked.<ref name=Time>{{cite news|last=Takeuchi Cullen|first=Lisa|title=From Tokyo, with Love|newspaper=Time Magazine|date=8 October 2001|url = http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,178478,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205150130/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,178478,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 5, 2007|accessdate=2008-01-17}}</ref> Japanese toy maker Takara Co. began to sell 30-centimeter-high dolls modeled after the Kano sisters, called Kano Sisters' Gorgeous Dolls, in March 2002. The dolls were priced at 19,800 yen a pair.<ref name=Jiji>{{cite news| title = Takara to Sell Kano Sisters Dolls in March| newspaper = Jiji Press Ticker Service| date = 28 January 2002}}</ref>

The sisters are frequently invited to movie premieres, film festivals, and award ceremonies.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Self-described "lifestyle consultants", Japanese women pay to attend Kano seminars to hear their advice on topics such as relationships and makeup.<ref name=Independent>{{cite news| last = Drinkwater| first = Jane | title = Big in Japan (in Several Ways): Life Stories| newspaper = Independent on Sunday (London)| pages = 3| date = 24 February 2002}}</ref>

On 3 April 2006, the Kano sisters published a collection of nude artistic photographs in a book entitled ''Sweet Goddess''. Posing in a revealing style known in Japanese as ''"hea nuudo"'' (or "hair nude"), a term for nude photographs in which a woman's pubic hair is visible, the photographs were taken by Kyoko Kano with modeling by Mika Kano. ''Sweet Goddess'' was reported to be among the first books to break this unwritten post-war publication rule.<ref name=hair_nude>{{cite news|last=Connell|first=Ryann|title=Sexy Kano sisters flash the flesh but men denied a peek|newspaper=Mainichi Daily News|date=5 April 2006|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/waiwai/archive/news/2006/04/20060405p2g00m0dm016000c.html|accessdate=2008-01-17}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> ''Sweet Goddess'' was listed as a bestseller for several months.<ref name=bestseller>{{cite news|title=Besutosera (Bestsellers)|newspaper=Asahi Shimbun|date=27 May 2006|language=ja}}</ref> The Kano sisters released a similar pictorial collection entitled ''Sweet Goddess 2'' on 1 November 2006.

In 2009, the Kano sisters had a 10-episode CGI anime series called ''Abunai Sisters: Koko & Mika'' produced by Production I.G, which aired on the Japanese channel AT-X, but it was cancelled after two episodes had aired. The rest of the series was released on DVD. The series was in English with Japanese subtitles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-08-11/kano-duo-to-star-in-i.g-abunai-sisters-anime-dvd|title=Kano Duo to Star in I.G's Abunai Sisters Anime DVD|date=2 November 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/01/16/production-igs-new-cg-anime-abunai-sisters/ |title=Production I.G.'s New CG Anime ABUNAI SISTERS|access-date=2016-12-11|archive-date=2016-09-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910033916/http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2009/01/16/production-igs-new-cg-anime-abunai-sisters/|url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Kyoko Kano as author=== On 1 January 2000, Kano released an autobiography, ''Millennium Muse'' with an introduction by non-fiction writer Yuko Kobayashi. The book included full color photographs of her posing with younger sister and discusses Kano's background and philosophy on life, love, men, money and sex. Some in the media panned the writing as amateurish. The book became an ''Asahi Shimbun'' bestseller.<ref name=Asahi_bestseller>{{cite news|title = Besutosera (Bestsellers)|newspaper=Asahi Shimbun|date=18 December 2006|language=ja}}</ref> Six years later, Kano followed it up with ''Toriorizumu'', a non-fiction work that elaborates on these themes. Writing in the ''Shukan Post'', she describes all 30 chapters and 237 pages as a "personal record experiencing a 'type of love without taboos.'"<ref name=Shukan_Post>{{cite journal|last = Kano|first = Kyoko|title = Watashi-no Toriorizumu Sekkusu (My threesome)|journal=Shukan Post|volume=38|date=13 January 2006|language=ja|issue = 1842}}</ref>

==Lawsuits== ===Defamation=== In April 2000, author Shigeru Sato published an unauthorized biography of Kyoko Kano in which he depicted her lifestyle from the viewpoint of a pet cat. Kano sued the author for defamation. In September 2001, the Tokyo District Court ordered the author to pay Kano damages, for infringing on Kano's privacy and dishonoring her reputation. In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Yoshihiro Katayama said that Sato used "blunt and excessive" expression in portraying Kano."<ref>{{cite news|title=Celebrity Kyoko Kano wins suit over privacy violation|last=Japan Economic Newswire|date=19 September 2001|publisher=Kyodo News Service}}</ref>

In August 2005, Kyoko and Mika Kano sued Japanese actress Miri Okada for defamation based on Okada's televised June 2005 claim that the two sisters unsuccessfully tried to seduce Okada's husband, Norio Yaginuma.<ref>''Shukan Shincho'', October 27, 2005, as reported in {{cite news|first=Ryann|last=Connell|title=Saucy sisters steaming over seduction story|url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/archive/news/2005/20051021p2g00m0dm013000c.html|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=October 21, 2005|accessdate=2007-04-29}}{{dead link|date=September 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The sisters were awarded compensation by the Tokyo District Court in July 2006. Judge Shigehiro Ishikawa ruled, "[Okada's] claims were groundless and she neglected in her duty to ask that they not be broadcast."<ref name=Lawsuit>{{cite news|title = Kano Sisters win court case over 'husband seduction' claim|newspaper=Mainichi Daily News|date=July 29, 2006}}</ref>

===Teruo incident=== Teruo K., father of Kyoko Kano, allegedly accosted the Kano sisters with an umbrella in a Tokyo underground parking lot complex on 25 December 2007, after the sisters had allegedly refused to pay him back an undisclosed amount of money. The money was lent by Teruo to Kyoko more than 15 years ago. He was arrested for intimidation, accused of violating the law concerning punishment for physical violence.<ref name=Mainichi>{{cite news|title=Father of celebrity Kyoko Kano arrested for intimidating her |newspaper=Mainichi Daily News|date=December 28, 2007|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071228p2a00m0na001000c.html|accessdate=2008-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231072519/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071228p2a00m0na001000c.html|archive-date=2007-12-31|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Following the incident, on 11 January 2008, Kyoko Kano filed a defamation lawsuit in compensatory damages against weekly news magazine ''Shukan Shincho'' in the Tokyo District Court. According to the petition, the magazine's 17 January issue would run an article accusing the Kano sisters of duplicity. The magazine article alleged that "While Kyoko [Kano] had borrowed money from her father, she failed to repay the debt." The plaintiff insisted that it was the father who persistently asked for money, commenting that "such erroneous reporting could damage her reputation."<ref name=Shukan_Shincho>{{nihongo2|Original Japanese: 訴状によると、週刊新潮１月１７日号は「『実父逮捕』でバレちゃった『叶姉妹』のヒミツ」と題する記事を掲載。恭子が父親から金を借りていながら返済していないなどと報じた。原告側は「あくまで親が一方的に金を無心したにすぎない」と主張し、恭子本人も「誤った報道で名誉を傷つけられることは遺憾」とコメントした。}}{{cite news|script-title=ja:叶恭子が新潮社を訴える...１１００万円の損害賠償を求める|trans-title=Kyoko Kano sues ''Shukan Shincho'', asking for 11 million yen in damages|newspaper=Sankei Sports|date=12 January 2008|language=ja}}</ref> The editorial staff at ''Shukan Shincho'' would not comment on the lawsuit.<ref name=Hochi_Shimbun>{{nihongo2|週刊新潮編集部は「コメントはしない」としている。}}{{cite news|script-title=ja:叶恭子が父親との金銭トラブル記事で新潮社を提訴 |trans-title=Kyoko Kano sues ''Shukan Shincho'' over article alleging money troubles with father|newspaper=Hochi Shimbun|date=12 January 2008|language=ja}}</ref>

==Bibliography== '''Written by Kyoko Kano'''

*{{cite book|title=Millennium Muse|place=Tokyo|publisher=Gentosha|year=2000|isbn=4-87728-347-1|language=ja}} *{{cite book|title=Toriorizumu|place=Tokyo|publisher=Shogakkan|year=2006|isbn=4-09-396471-8|language=ja}} *{{cite book|title=Super Beauty: Love & Sex|place=Tokyo|publisher=Shogakkan|year=2007|isbn=978-4-09-379748-1|language=ja}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite news |first=Thomas|last=Dillon|title=What a pair they are: When East Marries West|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20020818td.html|work=The Japan Times Online|date=18 August 2002|accessdate=2007-01-17}} * {{cite news|title=Nature-loving Kyoko chooses flap happy butterfly over bald beaver|url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/archive/news/2004/20040709p2g00m0dm999000c.html|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=9 July 2004|accessdate=2007-04-29}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{cite news|title=Mika swings to 'Wobbly Tits, Tiny Waist and Bouncy Hips, Let's Share Them All Around'|url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/archive/news/2004/20041119p2g00m0dm999000c.html|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=19 November 2004|accessdate=2007-04-29}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{cite news|first=Chris|last=Betros|title=Japan's wacky world of celebrities|url=http://www.japantoday.com/news/jp/e/tools/print.asp?content=feature&id=881|work=Japan Today|date=3 April 2005|accessdate=2007-01-18}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{cite news|first=Ryann|last=Connell|title=Saucy sisters steaming over seduction story|url=http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/archive/news/2005/20051021p2g00m0dm013000c.html|work=Mainichi Shimbun|date=21 October 2005|accessdate=2007-01-16}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} * {{cite news|first=Chris |last=Betros |title=Sister act |url=http://www.metropolis.co.jp/tokyofeaturestories/394/tokyofeaturestoriesinc.htm |work=Metropolis Magazine |date=21 October 2005 |accessdate=2007-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115140429/http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyofeaturestories/394/tokyofeaturestoriesinc.htm |archive-date=2007-01-15 |url-status=dead }}

==External links== {{Wikiquote|Kano Sisters}} * [http://www.ponycanyon.co.jp/asianbeauties/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122104356/http://www.ponycanyon.co.jp/asianbeauties/ |date=2008-01-22 }} {{in lang|ja}} * {{IMDb name|2071643|name=Mika Kano}} * {{YouTube|rugt1ccqoZc|Kano Sisters}} *[http://www.japan-zone.com/modern/kano_shimai.shtml Kanō sisters] at Japan Zone.

{{s-start}} {{succession box| before=Keiko Ibi| title=Miss Nippon (Mika Tamai)| years=1988| after=Norie Sawamoto| }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kano}}  Category:Living people Category:People from Osaka Category:People from Ehime Prefecture Category:Sister duos Category:Japanese women television personalities Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Age controversies