She is known for her song "Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)", the theme song for the 1996 Shunji Iwai film Swallowtail Butterfly in which she starred, her 1997 hit single "Yasashii Kimochi", and her collaboration with Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki, "Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange".

[6] She originally received her nickname Chara in junior high school, after a teacher called her this.

[10] Chara sent a demo tape to Sony Music in 1990,[6] which caught the attention of Masahiro Ohara[citation needed] and landed her a deal with Epic Records Japan[12] She recorded her debut album in early 1991 in Tokyo and London,[6] and debuted in September with a performance at the Shibuya Club Quattro and the release of her debut single Heaven.

In October, Chara became a personality on the ANN music show Video Jam,[6] and later in November released her debut album Sweet.

[17] Her 1994 album, Happy Toy, riding on the success of her first top 50 single "Atashi Nande Dakishimetain darou?"

Chara recorded the soundtrack for the movie, collaborating with Mr. Children music producer Takeshi Kobayashi to create a Beatles-esque sound.

[24] Chara teamed up with Judy and Mary vocalist Yuki to release a special single called "Ai no Hi Mittsu Orange".

Madrigal featured two tracks co-written with American guitarist James Iha.

[27] In late 2001, Chara released music as the drummer of the twin-drum all-girl rock band, Mean Machine, alongside Yuki, Swallowtail actress Ayumi Ito, 1980s musician Mayumi Chiwaki and former funk/rock band Jagatara dancer Yukarie.

[1] In 2001, the band debuted with the song "Sūhā" (スーハー), which was written by Chara during her second pregnancy, inspired by the breathing sounds of the Lamaze technique.

Chara self-released her music after this point, recording songs from her own home and self-producing her work.

[30] These recordings resulted in a limited 2,000 copy album, Something Blue, and a digital single Hikari no Niwa (光の庭, Garden of Light) (used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie March of the Penguins).

[30] Chara re-debuted as a major label artist in 2006, with the release of the single "Sekai".

[32] It was written in collaboration with Seiji Kameda, producer for artists such as Do As Infinity and bassist for the band Tokyo Jihen.

"Trophy", a single from Chara's second Universal album Honey, did well digitally,[citation needed] despite the physical release only reaching No.

She joined Ki/oon's 20th anniversary concert tour, "Ki/oon 20 Years and Days", in April 2012 at Liquidroom Ebisu, Tokyo.

On July 25, 2009, Chara announced her amicable divorce from Asano, after 14 years of marriage.

[38] Chara has two tattoos: a blue bird on her back, and a sumire flower (菫, Fuji Dawn Viola) on her neck.