10-year-old wins Toho Cinderella Audition competition
A new star was born at the 7th Toho Cinderella Audition this week, when 10-year-old Moka Kamishiraishi set a new record as the competition’s youngest grand prize winner ever. Kamishiraishi, a 5th-grader from Kagoshima, was selected from a field of 44,120 entrants, the largest in the competition’s history.
Judges also gave four special prizes this year, including one to Kamishiraishi’s older sister Mone, 12. The other awards went to Narumi Hayashi, 14, Junna Matsushima, 13, and Hirona Yamazaki, 16. Ryo Ogawa, 10, and Minami Hamabe, 10, became the first recipients of the “New Generation Award,” which was established this year.
The Toho Cinderella Audition competition is held irregularly, when the last winner is deemed to have become a success. Past Toho Cinderella Auditions were held in 1984, 1987, 1991, 1996, 2000 and 2006. The competition launched the careers of several stars, including attendees Yasuko Sawaguchi, Maki Mizuno and Masami Nagasawa.
source:JAPANTODAY