Born as Yumiko Shéna on November 25th 1978, she was raised in Fukuoka, although originally born in Saitama Prefecture. Her father was an avid music lover, and her mother had majored in dance at college and practiced ballet, so naturally, the young soon-to-be singer became interested in the arts.
Unfortunately, Yumiko was born with a serious illness called Hereditary Esophageal Blockage Syndrome, which is where the esophagus narrows as it reaches the stomach. As a result, food cannot reach the stomach, and so Yumiko had to endure many difficult surgeries that began shortly after her birth. She still bears the scars from these operations, the largest of which are on her shoulders and look as if she's had wings torn off...
Although she played the piano and did ballet as a child, she refused to touch a piano for many years after her teacher told her that she would never become a successful pianist because she wasn't 'symmetrical' (due to the surgeries).
As she got older, she was bitten by the performing bug and even joined her school drama group. At the age of 15 she started to write her own songs, the first of which was Aozora that was later featured on the single Honnou, and took part in several bands in school.
In 1995, her band Marvelous Marbles won second prize in the Yamaha Teen Music Festival. She was aged just 17 at the time. Originally she was a drummer, but at some point later she became the vocalist of the band. The next year she competed in Music Quest Japan 1996 as a soloist, singing Koko de Kisu Shite, a song she later released as a single. Shéna came away with first place!
It was around this time that she took on her new name, Ringö instead of Yumiko. There are several theories on why she picked 'Ringö', which means apple in Japanese, but she has said that it comes from when she was a child, and was very shy. Because she as shy, she blushed all the time, ie. like a red apple, and so other children called her Ringö.
After her victory at Music Quest Japan, Shéna went to London for six months to study theatre and English. When she returned to Japan, she signed a contract with Toshiba-EMI and it wasn’t long after that until she released her first single Koufukuron. It hit the shelves on May 27th, 1998, and four months later, on September 9th, she released the maxi single Kabukicho No Jyoou.
January 1999, and Shéna released another maxi-single, titled Koko de Kiss Shite, the song that she had won Music Quest Japan with. About a month later, Shéna released her debut album Muzai Moratorium. October saw the release of maxi-single Honnou, which contained the first song she had ever written, and on exactly the same date she re-released her first single Koufukuron, this time with an extra track. In November of the same year, her first video Seiteki Healing -Vol.1- came out. It contained five PVs, including her most memorable PV for Honnou, which features the iconic image of the 20-year old playing a nurse.
2000 was a hectic year for the young singer. She started off with the release of two maxi-singles, Gibusu and Tsumi To Batsu on January 26th then just two months later came her second album, Shouso Strip. On this album, Shéna has moved on from her more straight-forward rock style, and had now created music that was influenced from many genres, and included many different instruments. Much to her surprise, and the surprise of others, Shouso Strip sold better than Muzai Moratorium, and suddenly she became a household name. She went on a nationwide tour, had many, many interviews and television appearances, eventually exhausting herself completely.
Later in August she released another PV video called Seiteki Healing -Vol.2- and on the same day Seiteki Healing -Vol.1- was re-released on DVD. Her first two concert videos came out on December 7th and were Gekokujyo Xstasy and Hatsuiku status. Both could be purchased as a VHS or DVD.
Things began to calm down for Shéna, and she disappeared from the public eye. It was soon announced that the 24-year old was going to marry guitarist Yayoshi Junji who had played guitar for her first tour. Together they had a son, but just 14 months later they were divorced. On her return from maternity leave, Shéna made herself noticed with another single, Mayonaka wa Junketsu in which she explored a more ska-jazz style.
On May 27th 2002, to celebrate the anniversary of her debut single Koufukuron, she released the two disc cover album Utaite Myoli (also written as Utaite Myouri) which is a collection of her favorite songs. Even though technically it is her third album, Shéna herself does not count it to be her third, and she feels that she let her fans down by releasing a purely cover album. Despite these worries, it reached #1 on the Oricon charts and charted for 9 weeks! Interestingly enough, several tracks on this album are duets, and the song Tamanegi no Happy Song is a duet with her brother Junpei Shéna, who released his album discover on the same day containing a duet with Shéna Ringö called WHERE IS THE LOVE. During this period she made very few public appearances.
Stem ~Daimyou Asobi Hen~ was released on January 22nd, 2003. It reached 1st on the Oricon charts, charting for 12 weeks. It was also the theme song for 40-minute movie Hyakuiro Megane, which featured Shéna in a small role. Due to this, the CD had some extras to do with the movie, including some behind the scenes footage.
2003 also seemed to be a time for change. Shéna traded in her rock image for a kimono, and seemed to be more normal in interviews.
Her third album Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana (also written Kalk Samen Kuri no Hana), released on February 23rd, was considered to be the most perfect album that Shéna has ever made. As a piece of art that cannot be described with mere words, it shocked listeners and critics, making this one of her biggest albums yet. It reached 1st on the Oricon charts, charting for 20 weeks, but not only that, because it also reached 28th on the world charts, charting for two weeks. Just like the maxi-singles that came before it, Karuki Zamen Kuri no Hana was symmetrically perfect. Lasting exactly 44:44, each song blended into the next one before exploding into the finale of Souretsu. As her last album ever released during her solo career, it was certainly memorable.
As well as this, a number of DVDs were also released, including concert DVD Baishou Ecstasy and PV DVD Seiteki Healing -Vol.3-.
In spite of everything, Shéna Ringö wasn’t satisfied with her success. She was tired of being seen as a lunatic and just wanted to focus on her music instead of her appearance.
On November 25th, her birthday, Shéna released her very last CD as a solo artist. The single Ringö no Uta (meaning Ringö's song, or apple's song) contained three tracks. The second track, La Salle da Bain is actually an English and orchestrated version of the song Yokushitsu which is from Shouso Strip. The third and final track on this CD is a very complex song in that it’s made up of all of Shéna's releases. It's possible to track her career though Ringö Catalogue ~Hokuro Jidai Saihen Tobari~. Not only was Shéna no longer going to be a solo artist, but she also had her trademark mole surgically removed.
Her final tour was Sugoroku Xstaxy which was released on DVD under the name of Electric Mole. During this tour she introduced four musicians: guitarist Hirama "Mickey" Mikio, drummer Hata Toshiki, bassist Kameda Seiji, and pianist Hiizumi 'HzM' Masayuki. Together they would form the band Tokyo Jihen.
Shéna concentrated on Tokyo Jihen solely until mid 2006, when she became the musical director for the film, Sakuran. While a soundtrack did not fully appear, she was inspired to write an album working with violinist Saito Neko and the jazz band Soil & Pimp Sessions. It was with the latter that she released Koisuru Otome (Death Jazz version) in November 2006, an iTunes single that shot straight to the top of the download charts. Then in early 2007, she partnered once more with her brother, Shiina Junpei and Saito Neko to produce the single Kono yo no kagiri and the album, Heisei Fuuzoku.
This did not herald a full return to solo activities though. Shéna Ringö continued to concentrate on Tokyo Jihen with that band releasing an album in late 2007.
2008 however saw her 10th Anniversary as an artist. The event was celebrated with the Ringo Expo'08 event; 3 special lives held at Saitama Super Arena at the end of November 2008. To coincide with this, and her 30th birthday, a compilation boxset, MoRA was released on 25th November.
Now moving forward into the next ten years, it is likely Shéna Ringö will continue to surprise and delight fans with her innovative and emotive music.
