Yōko Shōgenji

Shōgenji hails from Ashiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, and has an older sister. All her family members play musical instruments. She practiced karate regularly until middle school and holds a brown belt.^[2] Her surname has been noted for its rarity,^[3][4] with only around 50 individuals in Japan sharing it.^[5]

Shōgenji joined Hinatazaka46 in late 2022 as a fourth generation member and was the second youngest among the twelve new members at age 15. She was inspired to take the audition for the group after her cousin Mao Ioki joined Nogizaka46 earlier that year.^[6] Her introduction documentary video was published on October 14, 2022, on the group's official YouTube channel.^[7][8] She plays the Western flute and guitar and has performed on both instruments in Hinatazaka46 concerts.^[9][10]

From 2023 to 2024, Shōgenji was a co-host for the "Informatics I" subject (a compulsory Japanese high school subject since 2022^[11]) of NHK Educational TV's NHK High School Courses (NHK高校講座, NHK Kōkō Kōza) educational show.^[12][13] As an anime enthusiast, she co-hosts Hinatazaka Anime Club, a variety show about learning anime production broadcast irregularly on Kansai TV since 2023,^[14] and became an ambassador for the 2026 anime adaptation of Snowball Earth.^[15]

Shōgenji became a song center (lead performer) for the first time for the fourth generation's song "Coelacanth", released on the 2023 single "One Choice".^[12][16] She made her live music program debut on TV Asahi's Christmas special edition of Music Station, Super Live 2023, as the substitute center for the group's live performance of "One Choice".^[17][18][19]

Shōgenji, along with Nao Kosaka and Miku Kanemura, was a subject for the Triangle Magazine 02 photo collection, or "visual magazine", published by Kodansha on January 23, 2024. Among the three models, she represented the theme of "youth". It placed first on both the Oricon Weekly Book and Photobook charts of its release week with 61 thousand copies sold.^[20]

Shōgenji was the center of Hinatazaka46's 11th single, "Kimi wa Honeydew", released on May 8, 2024, and is the first fourth generation member to be a title song center.^[16][21] She was again announced as center for the 12th single, "Zettaiteki Dairokkan", along with fellow fourth generation member Kaho Fujishima, making both of them the first double centers of a Hinatazaka46 title song.^[22]

Shōgenji and Fujishima, fourth generation members of the same age, have been described as two of the group's emerging "leading figures" and are frequently paired together as the duo "Shogekaho".^[23][24][25] They co-starred in the 2024 web commercial series Ice de Breakers for Morinaga & Company's Ice Box brand,^[26] and in 2025 in a television commercial series for Sony Assurance (ソニー損保, Sony Sonpo), where they portrayed three sisters with series regular Nao Kosaka.^[27]

Shōgenji made her film debut as the lead of 2024's All of Tokyo! (ゼンブ・オブ・トーキョー, Zenbu obu Tōkyō), with an ensemble cast of Hinatazaka46 fourth generation members and directed by Kazuyoshi Kumakiri.^[28][29] She also starred in the music video of its theme song, "Kyūkōken to Rhythm" by Conton Candy.^[30] In an interview, Kumakiri remarked that Shōgenji had been selected for the lead role as she could express various "colors".^[31]

Shōgenji joined the long-running All Night Nippon radio franchise as the regular Thursday host for All Night Nippon X (Cross) in April 2026, taking over from former fellow Hinatazaka46 member Konoka Matsuda.^[32][33] She had previously served as a special host for an August 2025 broadcast of All Night Nippon 0 (Zero).^[34] Writing for Bubka, entertainment writer Shin remarked on her adaptability and contrasted Matsuda's well-structured broadcasts to her "forceful" and "passionate" style,^[35] and later compared her to an unpredictable "fantasista" football player.^[36]

Shōgenji has been announced as the title song center for the third time for Hinatazaka46's 18th single, "Ichaicha Mushi", to be released on September 30.^[37]

The following are Shōgenji's notable participation in Hinatazaka46's discography.^[38]

• "Blueberry & Raspberry" (2022, released with "Tsuki to Hoshi ga Odoru Midnight"), debut song^[39]
• "Coelacanth" (2023, released on "One Choice"), first time as center^[16]
• "Kimi wa Honeydew" (2024), first title song center^[16]
• "Zettaiteki Dairokkan" (2024), first ever Hinatazaka46 title song double centers (with Kaho Fujishima)^[22]
• "What You Like!" (2025, released with "Love Yourself!"), with Kaho Fujishima and Rina Watanabe as the Suekko Musubi (末っ子むすび; lit. 'Youngest Children Union')^[40]
• "Ichaicha Mushi" (2026), title song center^[41]

• Hinatazaka46 Yōko Shōgenji's All Night Nippon 0 (August 17, 2025, Nippon Broadcasting System), special host^[34][47]
• Hinatazaka46 Yōko Shōgenji's All Night Nippon X (April 2026–present, Nippon Broadcasting System), weekly host^[32]