Hmm, that makes it very likely that she is a relative to Gackt, an older sister maybe?

I think it's not likely at all that her father was an American or other Caucasian man. Because if so, avex would have mentioned the fact in her biography in her official site. It's regarded cool in Japan that an artist has a Caucasian father or mother (for example, Tsuchiya Anna), and avex should have surely used the fact to promote her. Another reason is that if so, she should have mentioned that in the program of "All Night Nippon" or in the interview of "ROCHIN' ON JAPAN", where she was telling her past so surprisingly honestly. But in fact, she said no such things at all then.
But I don't deny the possibility that her grand parent or grand grand parent was a foreigner.

^I very much value your insert masa, thanks for giving your view. What you say has great weight on this matter, in my opinion.

awesome idea...possible!!!!

[ SARCASM]

I love it when people give new and interesting thoughts to a conversation, and take in to account everything else that has been said, and state 100% rock-solid evidence that their opinion is actually fact and use lots of short sentences ending in periods.

Italics!

[ /SARCASM]

As far as Ayu's potentially-mixed heritage being on her official website... I wouldn't doubt it if they left things out. Not only was Avex nowhere near the huge company it is today pre-Ayu, but Ayu was a HUGE risk. She initially didn't want anything to do with them, and she couldn't really sing or dance, and she wasn't a writer yet... Max Matsuura just saw something in her, and that was it. They couldn't afford to put out potentially-controversial information from the start. And once someone gets successful, you can't go back on what has been officially stated about them for fear of press lashback and fan disloyalty.

Well, the info about her staring in her past movies has been removed from the profile after an affair with the director of those movies (that he would pursue girls to sleep with him for a role).
Plus, if it's regarded cool in Japan, according masa, why would they consider it risky? Wasn't it near the time when Namie was superpopular (she's XX% Italian, I've heard)? Unless it became cool quite recently...
Interesting, I've never heard of it. Could I maybe know especially interesting information she shared? Or do we know it all already?..

The translation can be found at masa's page, http://homepage2.nifty.com/morimasa/e-ayu.html The Rockin' in Japan interview is "Article 2".

There's more translations and articles presented there, concerning Ayu, I recommend you to take your time and read them. masa's work is incredible.

That's incredibly valuable info. I finally know how exactly did she meet Matsuura. It's too bad however they went trough the part from vocal lessons in Tokyo and then NYC to any contract signing very briefly. They didn't even mention about NYC...

　(S) (Laugh) How about starting to talk now?
　　(A) Ah, I wasn't interested in music at all. I didn't want to be a singer, either.
　　(S) Well, as you were doing the show business activities, though in a local city, I think you must have understood which position you were in and what possibilities you might have.
　　(A) I see.
　　(S) Didn't you think about your future doing such activities or about such possibilities, watching an idol singer singing on TV, for example?
　　(A) Not at all. I began to have interest in music only two or three years ago.

I wonder if any other successful singers have started out like such a person.. :O~

^One of the things that make her special, hehe.

I often thought about it. It was scary, becouse it was another proof for my theory that if there's something you want bad for a long time and it's become your lifetime aim, you'll just never get it. Instead, someone who doesn't care at all will be the lucky one.
But I guess in the end, she isn't so much by accident. She has her personality, writing skills and self-production, so it's not like her fate was completly shaped by someone else...

I think that's one of the reasons why a topic like this comes up. I'm sure people have done investigations on this. There must be reporters and tabloids in Japan and other parts of Asia that have tried to find out - I mean she is the biggest star in Japan. I'm also sure that people who have written unofficially biographies of her, like that "Secrets of Hamasaki" book have tried to find out. Yet no one has been able to come up with an answer. So then it leads to the question, why is it so difficult to find? If the person was a Japanese citizen, you wouldn't think it would be all that difficult.

lol, me too.

Personally, I always speculated about it privately once I read those interviews on masa's site combined with the time/region that she lived in and her appearance as well as my knowledge of how guys in the military work. :) However I never brought it up simply because it is speculation and nothing very firm to back it up.

How does what you wrote automatically equate to 100% Japanese?
Thanks for giving your opinion Masa. However, I must disagree with you about Avex putting it on her official site. In my experience mixed Japanese often try to HIDE their mixed ancestory for fear of discrimination. (such as Namie hiding that she is 1/4 Italian) Nowadays the problem isn't nearly as bad but back then, especially in less cosmopolitan areas people would definitely hide it. I've heard several stories from people that even to this day get discriminated against for not being full Japanese. Also, by saying American, it doesn't necasarily mean causcasion - the military is extremely diverse in its races. And also as said before, Ayu herself may not even know anyways.

I really enjoy your opinion and I really hope that you keep stating and bringing up things like this.

>In my experience mixed Japanese often try to HIDE their mixed ancestory for fear of discrimination.
It may be so in the case of common people. But in the case of an artist, I think it's regarded as some kind of additional value to him/her in Japan that he/she has Caucasian father or mother. At least, I think there is no reason to hide the fact.

I had thought that "Boston bag" was correct English words. But it seems to be a mistake. I change the words to "travelling bag" in my translation.

I dont think so~
She doesnt look like American at all~
What's more,Why didn't ayu tell us if she is?
She needn't to keep it secret..

I think that is only a very recent trend though - that it is OK for celebrities to be mixed.

Also, Ayu was a "common person." She wasn't born a celebrity. :) So if true, it would have been hidden from the very begining, not just when she entered into Avex. All I know, is from my own experience living on military bases in Southern Japan and that is that a handful of my classmates were mixed(Some of the few whose military fathers actually stuck around and started families in Japan.) To most people their appearance looked completely Japanese, yet they had to go to school on the military bases because they were ridiculed too much at their regular Japanese school - and this was in the 1990s, much less the 1970s.

"Boston bag" is a term that I see in designer travelling bags but most people don't use it and instead say duffel bag or the like. I'm sure the edit to your article will save people from being confused though!

^ my theory is that he could be japanese and just went to boston and bought a bag and then simply bring it to japan, but your theories are a lot better than mine ^.^;;

Yeah, it's weird though, because I looked up "Boston Bag" and they look more like Women's designer purses - not a duffel bag that a man would use.