Interview with porn stars Riho Shishido, Rena Momozono, and Uta Miyoshi

Gendai Business recently published a two-part in-depth interview with three Japanese adult video stars: Riho Shishido, Rena Momozono, and Uta Miyoshi.

We have translated and edited some highlights from the interview.

The article focuses on these three porn stars as examples of young women who went to prestigious universities (of which there are quite a few) but chose to embark upon a different career path to their paths. Instead of a bank or trading company, they elected to enter the competitive and grueling AV industry.

Shishido (24) and Momozono (29) are already veterans, but Miyoshi (23) is a newcomer (we featured her debut recently).

Q. You all graduated from prestigious private universities. With other options available, please tell us why you chose the path of a sexy actress.

Riho Shishido: I first saw an adult video when I was in my second year of junior high school, and it was purely an intuition, but I felt like I want to try that, that it seemed kind of cool. However, I was also half worried that it might not be a good thing in social sense. I liked studying, so I went to a public high school, studied hard, and went on to university.

But during my time at college, the pandemic hit, and when I was stuck at home fixating on what I really wanted to do with my life, I remembered I always had aspirations to do AV.

At the time, I was also considering going to graduate school and becoming a university professor, but I thought that I could go back and study at any age. Youth is important for AV performers, so it was now or never.

Momozono Rena: I’m similar. I became an adult video actress on a whim, and didn’t have any particularly strong feelings toward it, so I retired after appearing in three releases. I got a regular job and worked in accounting for a fairly large real estate company in the Kansai region for two years. Believe it or not, I even have a real estate license.

But I realized that was a job anyone could do. I felt like I was stifling my own tlents. Around that time, I happened to search my own name online and a lot of posts about me popped up. “We want the legendary busty beauty to make a comeback!” Things like that. That’s when I first realized I was so well known in AV. I wanted to test myself and see how far I could go in that world, so I called my agency again and came back.

Uta Miyoshi: I joined a real estate company right after graduation. I even won a rookie award as a salesperson, and it was somewhat enjoyable as jobs go, but it was the same thing day in, day out, and I wondered if this was really what I wanted to do. The truth was, I didn’t want an ordinary life.

I longed for the glamorous lifestyle of an influencer, but then I found out one influencer I followed was actually an AV actress. I had always watched AVs, even when I was alone. Thanks to this experience, my aversion to the AV industry was lower and I ended up applying to an agency.

Q. What did you study at university?

Shishido: I majored in arts, with a focus on film and moving image. When I decided to become an AV actress, I wrote pages and pages outlining my reasons for wanting to work there and took it to the agency. I thought I could convey my feelings better by putting them into writing, but looking back now, it was kind of crazy to bring that to the interview.

Uta: I’m not very ambitious. I chose an English course simply because English was my strongest subject. I didn’t particularly have any desire to work globally in the future. I went to Canada for six months on a short-term training program, but the only thing I learned about during my four years of university was sex!

Momozono: I majored in international business. I wrote my graduation thesis on the financial crash of 2008, but I could get credits without even attending classes, so I just went out drinking and had sex. I hardly studied at all. I was more studious in junior and high school, but I came into my own all in university. I was in a basketball club, which was essentially just a sex club. I played basketball once a week at night, and then we’d drink and have sex until morning. That went on for four years. I also worked part-time selling tequila at clubs and events.

Uta: I did a lot of extracurricular activities until high school. Besides badminton and track and field, I played soccer at college. I’ve also been studying calligraphy since I was young and even have a certificate. In college, I didn’t join any clubs, though, and quit all my extracurricular activities. The only physical activity I really did was sex.

Shishido: I wish I could have had a college life like that. My part-time jobs were in restaurants and tutoring, so it was pretty low-key. Because of the pandemic, I didn’t join any clubs, and I’ve never been on a group date.

Q. What kinds of reactions did you get from those around you when you decided to do porn?

Momozono: When I made my AV debut, I thought I wouldn’t get caught. Then it ended up ranking quite high on FANZA’s charts, and within a month, everyone at my university knew about it. The club had a lot of free-spirited girls who would joke about masturbating to me. Having me there only increased the credibility of our sex club. The rumor about my AV debut spread to surrounding universities. Students from other colleges would come specifically to see me, and every time I was late for a lecture, the whole classroom would get restless. Even when I was walking around campus, people would point at me and say, “That’s her,” and they’d spread my LINE contact information without my permission, and I’d get tons of flirting messages like, “Let’s go out for dinner.” Some even asked me out directly.

Shishido: I thought my parents would definitely be against it, so I waited to tell them after my debut. As expected, they were upset. The said, “It’s what you want to do, and even if we object, you won’t quit anyway.” They accepted it on the condition that I still graduate from university. As for my friends, I only told my really close friends. I kept quiet about it to the members of my seminar, but on graduation day, one of them told me they knew. They’ve continued to be friends with me since graduation, so I feel really fortunate to have such supportive people around me.

Uta: I haven’t told anyone yet. Ideally, I’d prefer not to tell them myself, but rather become famous as an AV actress and have it come out eventually. However, considering my parents’ feelings, I’m still undecided, wondering if it would be better if I confessed.

Q. Did anything differ from your expectations about working in porn?

Shishido: My knowledge of AV stopped at the second year of junior high school, so when I actually debuted, I was shocked to find out that I had to behave like an idol. The AV actresses I knew were more underground figures, the kind you could only find online and pay to see. But once I debuted, I realized that being an AV actress had become quite mainstream.

Momozono: Yes, it’s like being an idol and leads to other gigs outside AV, like appearing on TV, doing rakugo, taiko drumming, and acting in movies. Also, AV is incredibly popular in Taiwan. When there are events in Taiwan, local fans come to the airport to greet me like I’m a celebrity.

Uta: Definitely. I found out that an influencer I follow on social media was an AV actress, and that helped me overcome my resistance to the AV industry.

Shishido: Some AV actresses are active like idols. It really feels like times are changing.

Q. In the last few years, we’ve seen more sexy actresses in various media.

Shishido: For example, Mana Sakura has written books, but when I was in middle school, she was only active in AV. I worried that in order to survive in the AV industry, I would have to try various things like her. I realized I could write, so starting writing about my experience of becoming an AV actress. The article I wrote about debuting went viral on social media.

Uta: I need to challenge myself to do things outside of AV. I want to do any kind of work I can.

Q. Who are your favorite JAV stars?

Shishido: I’ve been watching Airi Suzumura’s videos since I was in junior high. Also, Tsubomi retired the year I made my AV debut, so I wish I could have worked with her.

Uta: For me, it’s definitely Ran Kamiki, who inspired me to enter the AV industry.

Momozono: Right now, I’m watching a lot of Akane Mitani. I’m watching her work to study AV, learning about acting techniques and dirty talk. I’ve watched Mitani’s AVs many times and take notes.

Q. What do you enjoy and find most appealing about working as a porn star?

Shishido: I really love being on set. Working with directors, producers, actors, and makeup artists I don’t know, and then meeting them again on set a few months or years later is what I enjoy most right now.

Momozono: I also like the shoots, which I do once a month. It’s fun to try out different kinds of work. I was interviewed for a book about highly educated AV performers some time ago. I was then invited onto someone’s YouTube channel.

Uta: I get really nervous during close-ups, but I look forward to the next AV shoot every time.

Q. If you hadn’t launched a porn career, what kind of work do you think you would have done?

Shishido: I think I would have gone to graduate school, studied abroad, studied film and moving image, and eventually aimed to become a university professor.

Mika: I think I would have switched jobs and tried out various industries, searching for what I really wanted to do.

Momozono: I worked for a fairly large real estate company, so I would have continued working there in accounting, and I would have liked to have lived a life where I married my boyfriend at the time and had two children. But that’s just a wish. Ultimately, I think things tend to work out the same. For starters, I like sex and have no resistance to it, and being an AV actress pays well and is more glamorous. So, even if I could start over, I probably would have chosen this path..

Q. Is there a possibility of returning to your original path in the future?

Momozono: Yes. Once I’ve done this job as far as I can, I’ll get married. I don’t have a partner yet, though.

Shishido: If I want to study film, I’d probably go to graduate school, though when I retire from being an AV actress, I might be interested in something else. Either way, I think this will be the last time I appear in public as a performer. I don’t plan to work in the apparel industry, open a beauty clinic, or do anything to influence others. I think I’ll completely withdraw from the public-facing world. My family runs a restaurant, so I might go work there. By then, my thoughts will probably have changed in various ways.