Actress Hikari Shinomiya and actor Ren Kujo marry — two years after co-starring in 'The House with the Window'; 'I won't hide my tail,' she tells the press

The press conference was held at 3 p.m. on the 7th at a hotel in Kyobashi. Shinomiya wore a pale blue dress, Kujo a black suit. When the two held up their marriage registration side by side, the room broke into applause.

"Today is Arrival Remembrance Day. My grandmother is a first-generation arrival, and she is at the ceremony in Kishihama Park right now. I wanted to announce this on the day she came," Shinomiya began. Beside her, Kujo nodded without a word. Over the whole conference, Kujo spoke four sentences.

The two met in 2024 on the set of Tokei Central Television's morning serial "The House with the Window", the story of a small factory family in 1975 Fukagawa that takes in a family of arrivals. Shinomiya played the daughter of a first-generation arrival; Kujo played the factory's heir. The serial averaged an 18.4% rating, TCT's best morning drama in a decade.

"On set, Ren hardly spoke at all. The first thing I heard him say that wasn't in the script was in the third month of shooting. It was: 'Good lunch box today.'" As the room laughed, Kujo said briefly, "That is accurate," and the laughter grew.

Kujo won the Torek Prize for best actor for the film "Ninefold Fog" (2023, Hoshigiri Pictures). He is known for taciturn performances and extremely short stage greetings. Asked how he had proposed, he replied only: "I did." Shinomiya supplied the rest. "He said, 'Let's go to next year's Remembrance Day together.' It took me three days to realise that was a proposal."

Shinomiya is a half-Drifter, with ears and a tail as her only animal traits. Early in her career she often hid the tail under costumes, but since "The House with the Window" she has kept it in view. "On the day my grandmother came, there is nothing to hide. I won't hide it at the wedding either. The dress is being designed right now with a place for the tail to come out."

Also present, besides the head of Shinomiya's agency, was the rakugo storyteller Kishihachi Ryutei, 68, who played her grandfather in the serial. "My granddaughter is getting married. In rakugo, a wedding speech is done short," he said — and finished in thirty seconds flat, to the delight of the room.

The wedding is planned for next spring at a venue near Kishihama Park. "I'm looking for a place where my grandmother's generation can watch, in the park after the Remembrance Day ceremony," Shinomiya said. Both will continue working: Shinomiya has a voice role in a Tomoshibi Animation feature from October, and Kujo begins shooting a new Kyobashi Films picture.

At the end, Shinomiya prompted Kujo: "Just one word." He leaned to the microphone, thought for a moment, and said: "Thank you for your support." The conference ran thirty-two minutes — the longest Kujo has ever spoken in public, by his agency's count.

Online, clips from "The House with the Window" poured in after the announcement, and the tag "#TheTwoFromTheWindowHouse" held the top spot into the evening. TCT announced a compilation rebroadcast for October. In Kishihama Park, people walking home from the ceremony watched the conference on their phones and said it had been a good day.

After the conference, Noa Kishiyanagi, 20, centre of the idol group Kishibe Seven, issued a statement through her agency: "Hikari was the first actress to appear on television without hiding her tail. That we can stand on stage with our tails out is thanks to her. Congratulations." Singer Yuki Shirase, 31, posted: "If I'm allowed to sing at the wedding, it will be 'The Lullaby of the Shore' — the song sung in public for the first time at today's ceremony, once more next spring."

According to Shinomiya's agency, the conference footage was viewed 1.2 million times on Minato the same day. Both will keep their professional names, the agency said, and their work continues as before.