Horipro

Horipro (株式会社ホリプロ, Kabushiki-gaisha Horipuro) is a large Japanese talent agency.

Horipro Inc.
Native name
株式会社ホリプロ
Company typeKabushiki gaisha
(Joint-stock company)
IndustryService industry (entertainment)
GenreTarento, actors, actresses, musical artists, comedians, entertainment management, commercial and television production
FoundedMay 1960
FounderTakeo Hori
HeadquartersIchome, 2–5, Shimomeguro, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan; ZIP 153-8660
Area served
Japan
Key people
Yoshitaka Hori (Chairman, CEO)
SubsidiariesHori Agency
Horiprocom
Horipro Enterprise
Horipro International
Taiyo Ongaku
Websitewww.horipro.co.jp
Yoshitaka Hori, the chairman & CEO of Horipro, on April 7, 2013

History

It was founded in 1960 as Hori Productions (ホリプロダクション Hori Purodakushon) and changed to its present name in 1990. Horipro has two locations in the United States: Nashville and Los Angeles.[1]

In the 1970s, one of Hori Productions' most famous stars was singer Momoe Yamaguchi.

In 1989, Horipro purchased the publishing assets of famed rock band Kiss. Next, the company moved on to invest in more catalogs. A year later, HoriPro Entertainment Group opened their first U.S. location in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] Over the years, Horipro's songwriters would go on to write many hits for some of Country music's most recognized voices.

In the late 1990s, Horipro planned to create a "virtual idol", an electronic rendition using motion capture methods of Kyoko Date.[2][3] The virtual idol based on Date charted in Tokyo in 1996, and provided inspiration for the character of Idoru in William Gibson's eponymous novel.[4]

In 2006, Horipro's first Los Angeles location opened. The company's catalog has expanded to include over 13,000 songs in each major genre. HEG's Los Angeles location is in partnership with Horipro Music Academy, a music enrichment school for children. Additionally, HEG Los Angeles began MusicTaste, a boutique artist development label that is placed within the publishing company. MusicTaste's artists include Matt Palmer, Dori Caymmi, and more.

Horipro contracted with MediaHorse, an American music licensing and marketing firm, in 2015 for synchronization licensing in the United States.[1] Horipro sold HoriPro Entertainment Group to Mojo Music & Media in 2019.[5]

Notable talents

Female talents

Male talents

Solo
  • Hori
  • Hikaru Ijūin
  • Masanori Ishii
  • Kick☆
  • Ijiri Okada

Duo
  • Bananaman (Osamu Shitara and Yuki Himura)
  • Summers (Masakazu Mimura and Kazuki Ōtake)
  • Speed Wagon (Jun Itoda and Kazuhiro Ozawa

Musical artists
  • Aidan James
  • Ami Wajima
  • Atlantic Starr
  • Ayumi Shigemori
  • BEST FRIENDS!
  • Fake? (through Music Taste)
  • Fujioka Fujimaki
  • Liyuu
  • May'n
  • Nano
  • Shino
  • Takumi Mitani

Athletes

Others
  • Kon Arimura (Film critic)
  • Tatsuya Egawa (Manga artist)
  • Péter Frankl (Mathematician, street performer)
  • Fumi Hirano (Voice actress, essayist)
  • Shimako Iwai (Writer, adult video director)
  • Shoji Kokami (Playwright)
  • Shinichiro Kurimoto (Economist)
  • Ayako Nishikawa (Doctor)
  • Takayuki Ohira (Engineer)
  • Girolamo Panzetta (Essayist)
  • Kosuke Takahashi (Journalist)
  • Takashi Yuasa (Lawyer)
  • Akiko Iwata (Journalist)
  • Fusaho Izumi (Lawyer)

Former Horipro artists
  • Ryuji Sainei (left 31 December 2014)
  • Kiwa Ishii (Announcer, left 31 July 2017)
  • Misaki Momose (left 31 May 2018)
  • Takurō Ōno (left 31 July 2019)
  • Mariko Seyama (Announcer, left 31 January 2020)
  • Suzuka Morita (former Idoling!!!, left 30 June 2020)
  • Sei Ashina (died 14 September 2020)
  • Daisuke Kikuta (left 30 September 2020)
  • Sawa Suzuki (left 30 September 2021)
  • Ryota Ozawa (left 30 November 2021)
  • Yuka Ogino (former NGT48, left 31 May 2022)
  • Miki Sato (retired 30 September 2022)
  • Machico (left 30 November 2022)
  • Ruriko Kojima (left 28 February 2023)
  • Karen Iwata (former AKB48, left 30 June 2023)
  • Shigeru Izumiya (left 31 August 2023)
  • Yuki Furukawa (left 6 April 2024)

References
  1. Gallo, Phil (February 5, 2015). "MediaHorse to Represent Sync Rights for HoriPro". Billboard. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  2. McClure, Steve (1998). Nipponpop. Singapore: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing. p. 21. ISBN 0-8048-2107-0. OCLC 247384040 – via Internet Archive.
  3. Wilcox, Sue Ki (1998). "19. Beyond Snowcrash: The Future of Avatars". Guide to 3D Avatars. United States: Wiley Computer Publishing (John Wiley & Sons). pp. 453–455. ISBN 0-471-24216-0. OCLC 851137094 – via Internet Archive.
  4. Kemp, Sandra (2004). "data face". future face: image, identity, innovation. contributions from Vicki Bruce and Alf Linney. Great Britain: The Trustee of the Wellcome Trust. pp. 135. ISBN 1-86197-768-9.
  5. "Mojo Music & Media Launches; Acquires Horipro Entertainment Group – Mojo Music & Media". Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  6. "板野友美のプロフィール" [Tomomi Itano's profile] (in Japanese). Oricon.
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