Kayo Satoh, aka "Kayo Police", is one of Japan's most talented Street Fighter players. She's also a popular fashion model. But she wasn't always a she.

Satoh was born a male, something she finally revealed last fall on Japanese TV program Majotachi no 22ji ("Witches' 10pm"). For years, Satoh appeared in women's fashion magazines with none of her fellow models or magazine editors knowing that she had been born a man.

The young model came out to her magazine editors and finally made her sex known. She called this a "new start".

On the program, Satoh revealed that she was prompted to go public after rumors began circulating online that she was a man. "Truthfully," Satoh said, "I am a man."

On the cover, Satoh says she's happy she was born.

This June, Satoh is releasing her first photobook, titled Re-born. (Full disclosure: it is being published by Kodansha, who publishes my books.) In Re-born, Satoh talks about ditching school as a kid, her attempted suicide, living her life in secret. The book promises to be frank, open and honest. Likewise, the photos are supposed to be Satoh's most revealing ever (samples in link below).

According to Satoh, she began injecting herself with hormones from 15 years-old, something she continues, and besides her injections, she hasn't undergone any surgery. Her blog lists her sex as "female", but in Re-born, she prefers "human".

When not appearing in fashion magazines or on television, she's still playing Street Fighter, kicking the crap out of Japan's best SF players.

男かよ女かよ…女で生きる佐藤かよ [nikkansports.com via news109]