Sayaka Araki

Sayaka Araki (荒木 さやか, Araki Sayaka, born December 22, 1984)[1] is a Japanese fashion model, disc jockey, and businesswoman.[2] She is best known for her stint as a model for the Koakuma Ageha cabaret-gyaru fashion magazine.[3] She was a major contributor to Koakuma Ageha for 4 years and 10 months, since the magazine's very early days. She left Koakuma Ageha in 2011, and has since become a main model for its sister magazine Ane Ageha.[4]

Sayaka Araki
荒木さやか
Born (1984-12-22) December 22, 1984
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
Other namesRiona Aihara
DJ Alucky
Occupations
Years activeFashion model since age 21
Hostess (age 19 – 23)
Disc jockey since 2009
Businesswoman since 2009
Known forAppearing in Koakuma Ageha
Appearing in Ane Ageha

Career

Araki was born in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.[5] She lived in Kyoto until she moved to Tokyo to learn makeup art and nail art. She graduated from technical schools specialized in these arts, but entered nightwork at the age of 19 when she began working at a hostess bar.[6]

Koakuma Ageha

She began fashion modeling at the age of 21[7] after being approached to model by Koakuma Ageha's editorial board in 2005 when she was a hostess at a Kabukicho hostess bar.[8] Araki moved to Roppongi in 2006 and began working at Roppongi hostess bar R, under her new genji name "Riona Aihara".[9] She had since worked for R by 2008 when she retired from the nightwork. Her "graduation from the night" was featured in Koakuma Ageha for the November 2008 issue.[10]

Outside Koakuma Ageha

Araki started a professional career as a disc jockey under the stage name "DJ Alucky" (DJ A☆LUCKY), releasing a CD in 2009 when she also launched her own fashion brand "GRS".[8] She began performing at various night clubs all over Japan, and even made a collaboration with Tetsuya Komuro, at Avex's 2009 house music event House Nation Fiesta where the attendees included May J., Tomoyuki Tanaka, Yasutaka Nakata, Ami Suzuki, Shanadoo, Maynard Plant, among others.[11]

She then established her own commercial building, "Girl's Factory Dot", in 2009 in Shibuya.[12] "Girl's Factory Dot" launched as a 3-story building, where all the floors were dedicated to her own fashion brand GRS.[13] She also released her first book, a photo-essay book Alucky Style (A☆LUCKY STYLE), in 2009.[14]

Araki left Koakuma Ageha with her last appearance in the March 2011 issue, moving to its sister magazine Ane Ageha.[15]

Nightwork
Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Araki engaged in nightwork for about 4 years from the age of 19 through to 23.[16]

Her first workplace was a hostess bar in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, Tokyo, where she got the genji name of "Riko" (リコ). At that time, the city was at the twilight of an era of "loan shark bubble". She rose to one of the highest-ranked hostesses within 2 or 3 months, and finally to the second-ranked one, at the bar where most customers were "overly-rich guys" involving in the illegal business.[16] She began appearing in the Koakuma Ageha magazine at this time.[8]

Araki left the bar and after spending about six months outside the nightwork, she returned to Shinkuku at the age of 20 to work at another Kabukicho hostess bar, where she got the genji name of "Riona Aihara" (愛原リオナ). She rose to the top hostess at the bar and worked for the bar until she moved to Roppongi to work at R, a newly opened Roppongi hostess bar where she was hired as the "face". She had since worked at the Roppongi bar for two years.[16]

Araki retired from the nightwork at the age of 23.[16] Koakuma Ageha featured her retirement from the nightwork with its special editorial titled "Goodbye R Sayaka, Saying Goodbye to the Night!! Let's fight with the Daylight!!!" (さよならRさやか、夜上がります!!昼職人生、いざ勝負!!!).[10]

Ew! Ew! Ew!, but hey, still drink.

オエッ、オエッ、オエッ、でも飲むんだよ。
— Sayaka Araki reminiscing about her days as a hostess,
quoted by Koakuma Ageha as quipping.[16]

Notable appearances

Magazines

Music videos
  • "Eternal", by Jemstone, released in April 2009, with Shizuka Mutoh[19]
  • "Tasuki", by Wakadanna, released in October 2011, with Mai Hirose, Yayoi Nemoto, Azusa Koizumi, Natsumi Saito, Yui Minemura, and Satomi Yakuwa[20]

Others

Discography
  • DJ Alucky House Mix Vol.1 (DJ A☆LUCKY HOUSE MIX Vol.1), released in March 2009. It featured songs by Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Amy Winehouse, among others, mixed by Araki, as well as her original tracks.[26] Araki's original track "Take a Step" debuted at the top of the weekly RecoChoku chaku-uta chart.[27]
  • Kiss You Kiss Me : Hearty Mix (KISS YOU KISS ME 〜Hearty Mix〜), released in February 2010. It is a non-stop mix album.[28]

References
  1. "Sayaka Araki", Oricon Celebrity Dictionary (in Japanese)
  2. "Profile of Sayaka Araki", Oricon Celebrity Dictionary (in Japanese)
  3. "Popular model encounters a robbery beyond the ocean", 20 January 2012, Model Press (in Japanese)
  4. "'Koakuma Ageha' model announces her graduation, appearing semi-nude", 1 February 2011, Model Press (in Japanese)
  5. "Singing Queen : DJ Alucky (Sayaka Araki)", 31 March 2009, Josei Jishin (in Japanese)
  6. "Businesswoman Interview : Model / Address brand producer / GRS president, Miss Sayaka Araki", 3 September 2008, Whenever Online (in Japanese)
  7. "Sayaka Araki : The Female President with Two Faces", 10 September 2008, Whenever Shanghai, Searchina (in Japanese)
  8. "History of Sayaka Araki", Oricon Celebrity Dictionary (in Japanese)
  9. "'Koakuma Ageha' charismatic model Sayaka Araki debuts as a DJ", 19 March 2009, Livedoor News (in Japanese)
  10. "Analyzing 'Koakuma Ageha' and 'Mori Girl' as Lifestyles", 20 February 2010, by Hideaki Matsunaga (in Japanese)
  11. "DJ Alucky meets Tetsuya Komuro", 3 November 2009, Model Press (in Japanese)
  12. "'Pants are Rilakkuma, personal life is plain', real face of Age-girl revealed, the opening-event for 'Dot' by Sayaka Araki", 1 November 2009, Barks (in Japanese)
  13. "24-year-old female president Sayaka Araki's real face is revealed by fellow model, 'hangover'..." Archived 2013-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, 1 November 2009, NTV News 24 (in Japanese)
  14. "DJ Alucky releases her second album", 6 January 2010, Model Press (in Japanese)
  15. "'Koakuma Ageha' model announces her graduation, appearing semi-nude", 1 February 2011, Livedoor News, Model Press (in Japanese)
  16. Koakuma Ageha October 2010 Issue : "Finance Bubble, Romantic Business, Black Sun, and Judah... Legends of butterflies who ran through that era come back now!! Legends of the Night Hall of Fame in Kabukicho and Roppongi!!!! : Legend of Sayaka Araki" (p.98), 10 October 2010, Inforest (in Japanese)
  17. "Original charismatic gyaru model returns after 8 years absence, in the older-sis magazine of 'Koakuma Ageha'", 10 November 2010, Model Press (in Japanese)
  18. "Former Ageha model Princess Keiko returns & announces her pregnancy! and shows off her maternity-nude", 11 November 2010, Model Press (in Japanese)
  19. "Ageha models Shizuka Mutoh & Sayaka Araki appear in the music video of Jemstone's new song", 8 April 2009, Barks (in Japanese)
  20. "7 popular models reveal their past romantic anecdotes", 15 September 2011, Model Press (in Japanese)
  21. "'Yakuza 3' by Sega, with that 'legendary booking bonus'", 28 November 2008, Mynavi News (in Japanese)
  22. "Shibuya Girls Collection '09 S/S | Models | Sayaka Araki", 2009, Shibuya Girls Collection (in Japanese)
  23. "Gackt dresses as a woman for fun, 'I'm broken too!", 14 March 2009, Oricon Style (in Japanese)
  24. "Numerous popular models appear in the largest music event of the West Japan", 8 December 2009, Model Press (in Japanese)
  25. "With 20 top gyaru models from over 10 magazines! Mobilephone website that makes a new trend, 'Model Closet', opens!" Archived 2012-12-19 at archive.today, 9 February 2010, Mynavi News (in Japanese)
  26. "Sayaka Araki of 'Koakuma Ageha' releases a fashionable CD first-ever in Japan, as DJ Alucky", 20 March 2009, Barks (in Japanese)
  27. "DJ Alucky a.k.a. Age-girl Sayaka Araki's song gets Chaku-uta #1", 26 March 2009, Barks (in Japanese)
  28. "Sayaka Araki has her first try at singing, with a naki-kyun love song", 28 January 2010, Model Press (in Japanese)
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