Shihori is an artist who has truly turned what others saw as her flaws into gifts. Having been born with deafness in her left ear, Asperger's syndrome and a form of dwarfism, many might have said the odds were stacked against her. But Shihori says this particular combination of differences helped her in creating her extraordinary music. It created what Shihori calls her "half-silent world" and both gave her a unique level of concentration and perfect pitch in her right, or "musical" ear.

"I lived in my own imagination world," says Shihori, "I didn't hear anything, I just created. I had no friends, but I didn't even notice. People thought I was ignoring them many times but I just didn't hear them, especially from my left side, and my right ear was for my imagination...everything sounds like music to me."

Despite being largely quiet and being in her own creative world, Shihori discovered her musical gift early on.

"When I was seven, I found people stopped like stones and stared at me when I sang. That was the first time I really recognized other people around me and it was quite shocking to me. That interaction still happens between myself and my audience every time I sing."

It seems almost inevitable that Shihori would become a singer and songwriter with that feeling of connection with her audience combined with her extraordinary voice. Despite Shihori being comfortable with her conditions, she still faced struggles being accepted. Her parents elected to have her subjected to invasive treatments for her dwarfism and her ear's appearance.

"I had to have plastic surgeries to make my left ear look 'normal' when I was nine and ten, although it didn't turn out to be a success...but that was a big surgery (to go through) as well," she said of her ear condition.

"For the dwarf syndrome, I took growth hormone shots every day for seven years when I was a child and that treatment did work. I knew my parents really worried about me and they did everything out of love, so I have appreciated it but (with so much emphasis on my perceived flaws) I found much later that I was also hurt deep inside. It turned into an eternal sorrow. I thought, 'Why do I have to change my shape to be the same as everyone else? What's wrong with looking different from others? I am not miserable!! I like how I was born!'"

Despite creating her own confidence in this way, Shihori also had trouble in school and the strict Japanese society around her. Even with the best of intentions, medical treatments in early childhood can lead to trauma and the child feeling like they're "broken" far into adulthood. Shihori's strong nature helped her rise above it, but there were more challenges than just her parents and the medical procedures.

"I wasn't allowed to just be myself," she remembers. "Japanese culture forces you to be the same as everyone else, so I was bullied...because I was very different from other kids. Through those experiences, 'love who you are' became the core message of my music...and now I think America needs this message too. What does it matter if your skin color is white or black? What matters more is what your SOUL looks like."

Once again, Shihori rose above the criticism and followed her dream to become a professional musician.

"It was very difficult to become successful as a singer in Japan not just because of my physical differences but also because of my character. In Japan, people like more 'cute' and 'meek' type of personality and appearance in female music artists. Producers told me to act 'not as strong' or 'look cuter."

That restrictive culture with producers and management companies even led to domestic abuse and kidnapping for Shihori, but that strong nature they were trying to push down allowed her to persevere. In 2016, 11 years after the initial traumatic experience, Shihori bravely opened up about her experience being kidnapped.

"I still had PTSD but I came out about this finally. I’ve wished to help young people who are in similar situations and actually I’ve helped younger artists to escape from bad company or taught them psychological or legal strategies."

Shihori went on to find success in Japan, contributing to a wide range of projects and collaborating with some of the country's best talents.

Shihori made her major debut as a singer songwriter with the 1st single, "TSUBASA" which was used as the ending theme song for the TV anime, "Kishin Taiwan Gigantic Formula" in 2007.(Under the name of "Sena") Her 3rd major single "Never End Wonderland" got 5th place in the daily rankings of the Japanese Oricon Hit Chart.

Since then, she composes and sings for movies, video games, TV commercials and anime shows which include "FAIRY TAIL","The Irregular at Magic High School", "Macross Frontier", "My Little Pony", "Ultraman R/B " and so on.

Dozens of her songs have made it into the hit chart, and for 11 of them, Shihori has received Gold Disc Certification, having sold more than 1 million CDs total.
Shihori has written songs for some of Japan's most famous contemporary artists such as Nana Mizuki and Momoiro Clover Z and has collaborated with worldwide famous music creators such as Kohei Tanaka (composer of world-famous anime series "ONE PIECE") and Yoko Kanno (music producer, composer of "Ghost in the Shell") as a lyricist.

People often describe her performance and voice as a "physically heart-shaking song".
Shihori is a frequent performer at venues all over Japan and North America includes Otakon in Baltimore 2010, Santa Fe JIN Festival 2012, Tekko con in Pittsburgh 2019, San Japan in San Antonio 2019 and so on.

She moved to NY in January 2018, started her performing and recording career in the U.S. She has held Solo Concerts in Manhattan 4 times, and released her first EP in the U.S. titled "Angel in the Garden" September 2018, released her 1st single "Let Me Go" August 2019 and 2nd single "Jungle - Cyber Mix" September 2019. SHIHORI released her first self-cover album in February 2020, including anime songs and hit songs.
"I was so surprised when I came to NY for the first time. Independent and strong women are respected and there are lots of different preferences in music and style. I thought, 'oh my God! This place really accepts uniqueness and freedom! I didn't know there is a place like this totally different world that allows you to be yourself. Everybody looks so different. So many races, colors, cultures, fashion, ideas...I am so happy to be surrounded by colorful people!"

All of Shihori's experiences have not only driven her to become a musician but they've also colored her work. All of her recent singles have lyrics which contain her unique perspective on the world and her experience. Her upcoming singles cover a range of subjects from embracing our differences to seeing others in a better light to support for domestic violence and COVID mask charities, but the heart of them always comes back to the "love who you are" philosophy Shihori developed early in life and that has fueled her amazing journey.

"You are the person who you'll be with the rest of your life; that's your most important relationship, so you are the one you should care for the most, your true life partner."

Shihori's new single "Perfect Imperfection" is due for release August 7th, 2020 on all digital platforms.