Raised under a disciplined household in Kyoto, Sugimoto entered entertainment as a teenage model before launching a J-pop career encouraged by her agency. Between 1988 and 1991 she issued nine singles and six albums, scoring chart-toppers such as “Boys” and “Gorgeous,” and later returned with the 1995 record Femme Fatale. She also penned erotic novels, gaining notoriety after a highly publicized d…
