Yoshinori Masakado

Masakado was born in Osaka in 1996 and aspired to enter the show business after watching the 2006 TV series and 2008 film Kurosagi and admiring the lead actor, Tomohisa Yamashita.^[3] His mother and sister sent his resume to Johnny & Associates when he was in his third year of junior high school.^[4] An open audition for Kansai Johnny's Jr. (trainees) was held at the Osaka-jō Hall performance of Yamashita's concert Asia Tour 2011 Super Good Super Bad, and Masakado was able to go on stage with Yamashita at this audition.^[4] He passed the audition and joined to the Johnny & Associates on April 3, 2011.^[4] His peers include Ren Nagase of King & Prince and Daigo Nishihata of Naniwa Danshi.^[5]

On February 18, 2019, he was selected as a member of the Ae! Group.^[6] In September of the same year, he began his acting career with a role in BS Nippon Corporation's TV series Love Sickness and the Bastard Gang.^[7] In 2020, he appeared in NHK's asadora Scarlet as the boyfriend of the protagonist's sister.^[8] In 2021, he played his first leading role on stage in Sen, Shoku, a play written by Shigeaki Kato of NEWS.^[9]

Masakado is also known for his guitar technique and is the guitarist of Ae! Group. He also held his first solo concert Yoshinori Masakado Solo Live Show with Kansai Johnny's Jr. at Osaka Shōchikuza during his pre-debut trainee period, which lasted about one month and 43 performances.^[10] It was unusual for a trainee to perform so many solo live shows before his debut.^[10]

On May 15, 2024, Ae! Group made their CD debut on Universal Music Japan.^[11][12]

Masakado is known for his close friendship with Ren Nagase and Daigo Nishihata, with whom he joined Johnny & Associates through the same audition.^[13] The three were once part of the trainee group "Ae Shonen (Aぇ少年)" and have maintained a strong personal bond even after moving on from their trainee days. They affectionately refer to their friendship as the "Dōki Manji-kai (同期卍会)" (roughly "同期 [同期 = peers] Manji Group), highlighting their close-knit relationship.^[13]

When Nagase starred in the film Yowamushi Pedal: Up the Road, he received a long, heartfelt email from Masakado sharing his impressions, which Nagase later mentioned as a particularly touching memory.^[13] In April 2024, during his radio program, Nagase excitedly announced to his fans, "My peer and best friend, a member of Ae! group, will be making their CD debut. Thank you!" expressing his joy as if it were his own achievement.^[14]

Further reflecting their close bond, in October of the same year, Nagase, Masakado, and Nishihata collaborated on Nagase's solo song "Shimi," included in King & Prince's sixth original album Re:ERA. For this track, Masakado contributed guitar and chorus, while Nishihata was involved in writing the lyrics and performing chorus vocals.^[15]