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Shingo Katori (香� 慎� Katori Shingo born 31 January 1977) is a member of SMAP, a very popular idol group from the agency Johnny & Associates. Shingo Katori has acted in several dramas such as Three Peace, and has appeared as a voice actor in such anime series as Akazukin ChaCha, where he played the werewolf boy Riiya.
Katori was cast as the main character of 2004's Taiga drama, a historical drama aired on NHK. He plays Kond� Isami, the leader of the Shinsengumi.
Katori is also known for cross-dressing as the character æ…Žå�¾ãƒžãƒž(Shingo Mama) on the variety show Sata Suma; he even released a top-selling CD single æ…Žå�¾ãƒžãƒžã�®ã�Šã�£ã�¯ãƒãƒƒã‚¯(Shingo Mama No Oha Rock) done in-character. Shingo Mama's trademark phrase is ã�Šã�£ã�¯(ohha), short for ã�Šã�¯ã‚ˆã�†(ohayÅ�), meaning "good morning". From 2000-2001 "Shingo Mama" promoted the use of ohha as part of a Ministry of Education campaign to encourage family communication. [1]
After his boom as Shingo Mama, he went on to host his own English oriented show "SMAP-Station" that featured mostly journalists discussing world news, as well as translation and vocabulary quizzes, where Shingo faced off against other celebrities in a battle of English comprehension. He also released a series of books under the title "English PeraPera" (PeraPera is the Japanese onomatopoeia of language being spoken fluently). He is also quite critical of President George W. Bush and dedicated a whole show to mocking the President's various Bushisms and blunders just prior to the 2004 Elections. His interest in English somewhat mirrors Tsuyoshi Kusanagi's interest in Korean language and culture.
He is also famous for having a big mouth, literally, as he can place his whole fist into his mouth. This was useful when he played the part of the Isami Kondo in the NHK production of Shinsengumi.
Recently, he has gained internet popularity as the main character in a Power Rangers parody.
During 2005, Japan Airlines introduced a Boeing 777 jet with Katori's picture on it.
In 2005/2006 he starred in in the Japanese remake of Journey to the West, Saiyuuki as Son Goku. He appeared as a bellboy in the popular 2006 comedy film The Uchoten Hotel.
Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/katori_shingo/biography.php
