Ringo Sheena facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ringo Sheena
椎名 林檎
Sheena at the 2016 Space Shower Music Video Awards
Born	Yumiko Shiina (1978-11-25) November 25, 1978 (age 46) Urawa-ku, Saitama, Japan
Occupation	Singer songwriter musician
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Junji Yayoshi ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2002)​ Yuichi Kodama
Children	2
Musical career
Genres	J-pop
Labels	Eastworld Virgin EMI

Ringo Sheena, whose real name is Yumiko Shiina, is a talented Japanese singer, songwriter, and musician. She was born on November 25, 1978. She is also the leader and main singer of a band called Tokyo Jihen.

She calls herself a "Shinjuku-kei Jisaku-Jien-ya (新宿系自作自演屋, Shinjuku-style writer-performer)." This means she writes and performs her own music in a unique way. In 2003, HMV ranked her as one of Japan's top 100 musicians.

Ringo Sheena's Music Journey

Starting Her Solo Career

Ringo Sheena released her first official song, "Kōfukuron," in May 1998. She was 19 years old at the time. After that, she released "Kabukichō no Joō" and "Koko de Kiss Shite." The song "Koko de Kiss Shite" became her first big hit.

Her first album, Muzai Moratorium, came out in February 1999. This album was very popular. Another song, "Gips," was supposed to be her next single. However, Ringo Sheena became ill and could not record it. So, "Honnō" was released instead. Sheena chose a hospital as the setting for the music video of "Honnō."

Her fifth and sixth songs, "Gips" and "Tsumi to Batsu," were released at the same time. This was done to avoid clashing with her second album, Shōso Strip, which came out in March 2000.

Ringo Sheena had thought about stopping her solo career after three albums. When her second album was released, she was one of the most popular female artists in Japan. However, she did not like being seen as just a pop icon. She wanted her music to explore different styles. She planned for her third album to be her last solo one.

In March 2001, she released the song "Mayonaka wa Junketsu." The music video for this song was made in a cool, old-school anime style. It showed Ringo as a spy from the 1960s. In 2002, she released an album of cover songs called Utaite Myōri: Sono Ichi. Since it was a cover album, she decided to work on a new original album.

Her third original album, Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana, was released in 2003.

To mark the end of her solo career for a while, she released her final solo song, "Ringo no Uta" ("Ringo's Song"). This song was even used on a national children's TV show called Minna no Uta. The music video for "Ringo no Uta" included parts from all her previous music videos.

In 2004, Ringo Sheena became the music director for a play called KKP No. 004 Lens. This play was based on her short film Tanpen Kinema Hyaku-Iro Megane.

Forming the Band Tokyo Jihen

On May 31, 2004, Ringo Sheena started a band called Tokyo Jihen (東京事変, Tōkyō Jihen). The name means "Tokyo Incidents."

The first members of Tokyo Jihen were Ringo Sheena (singing, guitar, melodica), Mikio Hirama (guitar, backing vocals), Seiji Kameda (bass guitar), H Zett M (keyboard/piano), and Toshiki Hata (drums). The band first performed during Sheena's Sugoroku Ecstasy tour.

In July 2005, Mikio Hirama and H Zett M left the band. Tokyo Jihen then welcomed two new members in September 2005. They were Ryosuke Nagaoka, also known as Ukigumo, on guitar and backing vocals. The other new member was Ichiyo Izawa on keyboards. The band released their second album with the new lineup in January 2006. They also played two concerts in February 2006.

Returning to Solo Work

In late 2006, Ringo Sheena announced she would work as a solo artist again. She became the music director for the 2007 film Sakuran. The album Heisei Fūzoku (2007) is the soundtrack for this movie.

In June 2007, Ringo Sheena was asked to write music for a kabuki play called Sannin Kichisa. She composed the ending song, "Tamatebako."

In September 2008, Sheena wrote two songs for the Japanese boy band Tokio. In February 2009, she also wrote music for the Japanese rock duo Puffy AmiYumi.

In March 2009, Ringo Sheena received the Newcomer Fine Arts Award. This award was from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In May of the same year, she released a solo song called "Ariamaru Tomi." This song was used as the theme for the TV drama Smile. In June, Sheena released her solo album Sanmon Gossip after a long break. On December 2, 2009, Sheena released the song "Nōdōteki Sanpunkan" with Tokyo Jihen.

Her Singing and Songwriting Style

Ringo Sheena has a unique singing and songwriting style. She has said she admired the voice of Eddi Reader. She also admired Janis Ian's singing and wrote "Seventeen" as a tribute to Ian's song "At Seventeen."

She enjoys many different types of music. When she first started her career, she had long lists of her favorite musicians. These lists included classical music, Japanese and American pop music from the 1950s and 1960s, and modern rock.

Awards and Recognition

Ringo Sheena has won many awards for her music.

Her Family Life

Ringo Sheena was born with a condition where her esophagus was narrow. She had several operations to fix this. These surgeries left scars on her shoulder blades.

Her older brother, Junpei Shiina, is also a musician. He sings R&B music. Ringo and Junpei have worked together on music many times. They have sung duets and covered songs together.

In November 2000, Ringo Sheena married guitarist Junji Yayoshi. He was part of her band at the time. She gave birth to a son in July 2001. They later divorced in January 2002.

In September 2013, a magazine reported that she was in a relationship with music director Yuichi Kodama. It also said she had secretly given birth to her second child. Ringo Sheena confirmed these rumors during her concerts in November 2013. She announced that she had given birth to a daughter in the spring of 2013. She chose not to announce it earlier because it was close to the release of her song "Irohanihoheto/Kodoku no Akatsuki." She did not want to link her daughter's birth with promoting her music.

Albums by Ringo Sheena

• Muzai Moratorium (1999)
• Shōso Strip (2000)
• Utaite Myōri (2002)
• Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana (2003)
• Heisei Fūzoku (2007)
• Sanmon Gossip (2009)
• Gyakuyunyū: Kōwankyoku (2014)
• Hi Izuru Tokoro (2014)
• Gyakuyunyū: Kōkūkyoku (2017)
• Sandokushi (2019)
• Carnival (2024)

Concerts and Tours

Ringo Sheena has had many concerts and tours throughout her career.

Tours

• Senkō Ecstasy (1999)
• Manabiya Ecstasy (1999)
• Gekokujō Xstasy (2000)
• Gokiritsu Japon (2000)
• Sugoroku Ecstasy (2003)
• Dai Ikkai Ringo-han Taikai: Adults Only (2005)
• (Nama) Ringo-haku '08: Jūshūnen Kinen-sai (2008)
• Tōtaikai: Heisei Nijūgo-nen Kaneyama-chō Taikai (2013)
• Hantaikai: Heisei Nijūgo-nen Hamarikyū Taikai (2013)
• Chotto Shita Recohatsu 2014 (2014)
• Ringo Haku '14: Toshionna no Gyakushū (2014)
• Shiina Ringo to Kyatsura ga Yuku Hyakkiyakō 2015 (2015)
• Shiina Ringo to Kyatsura no Iru Shinkūchitai (2018)
• (Nama) Ringo Haku' 18: Fuwaku no Yoyū (2018)

Special Concerts

• Zazen Ecstasy (2000)
• Baishō Ecstasy (2003)

See also

In Spanish: Ringo Shiina para niños

• Tokyo Jihen
• Space Shower Music Awards