A former Japanese porn star has revealed how she used to cry on set once the cameras stopped rolling.

Emiri Okazaki, from Tokyo, began working in adult films aged 21 after realising she was unlikely to ever achieve her dream of becoming a famous model and television actress.

Speaking in an interview with YouTube star Kei on his Asian Boss channel, Emiri revealed how she was paid up to $6,000 (£4,400) per shoot and would film as many as 28 movies a month.

However the lucrative career also proved disastrous for her personal relationships. Her mother cut her off for six months after she found out she was working in porn and her boyfriend’s mother was so ashamed she tried to tear the couple apart.

Emiri, now 27, also spoke of the emotional toll of the work, admitting she ‘cried’ when the cameras stopped rolling because she felt so overwhelmed.

Speaking about the end of her first shoot, she said: ‘It’s hard to explain but it’s like multiple emotions hit me at once and I cried. There are actually a lot of girls who cried while filming.

In my case I imagined it wasn’t the real me but an actress playing her part in a film. So I didn’t cry while filming but once everything was done and I came back home I just suddenly started crying. I had such mixed emotions. I wasn’t even sure why I was crying.’

Emiri, who quit the industry and now has her own beauty business, revealed she worked alongside actresses from a variety of backgrounds, including those from wealthy families who had graduated from ‘well-known universities’.

‘They say a small part of why they do it is to earn pocket money but the main reason why they do it is because they’re curious,’ she explained.

Emiri’s own career began with modelling as a teenager before she transitioned into acting. However it became increasingly difficult to find roles.

‘I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere [at the age of 21],’ she said. ‘I felt like I was failing. I felt like the older I got the more my career would go downhill.’

She shot her first adult film in 2011.

A typical shoot would either be spread over two 12-hour days, or would be shot in a single 21-hour session, Emiri explained. On the day of a shoot she would be picked up by her agent and taken for a meeting with the director to reconfirm ‘what the girl can or cannot do’.

While the type of contract and number of shoots varied, a popular porn actress can expect to be booked for as many as 28 shoots per month. This combined with ‘handshaking events’ means women can sometimes find themselves without any days off.

Emiri described how she initially felt ‘guilty’ about her decision to enter porn.

‘I felt somewhat guilty, even though I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong,’ she said. ‘But I felt bad for my parents, even though I knew it was wholly my decision. I still felt like apologising.’

Her mother was so ashamed of her daughter’s decision she blocked her calls and refused to see her for six months.

Emiri continued: ‘These family issues really took a toll on me mentally. I was more stressed and worried about my mum than my work.

‘Eventually my mom called. She said “I will never understand your career or ever support you. But you are my daughter and that will never change. So from now on… I don’t want to hear about your work”. From then on we started bonding and hanging out again.’

The job also caused problems with her then-boyfriend, who threatened to ‘kill her’ when she told him.

‘No joke he threatened to first kill me and then kill himself afterwards,’ she said. ‘There were times when he had a knife pointed directly at me.’

Meanwhile her current partner’s mother urged him to break up with her when she found out about her career.

There are two main types of contracts for female porn stars, Emiri explained. The first option is an annual contract of one film a month, earning the actress between $10,000 (£7,400) and $100,000 (£78,000) per title. The second is a ‘pay-per-shoot’ contract in which the actress is paid depending on the work required on a given film.

‘This would be $2,000 (£1,500) to $6,000 (£4,400) per shoot,’ Emiri continued. ‘It’s almost like it becomes a day job. They might ask you just to show your breasts. That might cost $150 (£110) or $200 (£150).’

However while she initially enjoyed success in the industry, she noticed her popularity start to wane.