, born on June 19, 1969, in

Yanagawa, Fukuoka file:Yanagawa City Hall 2021.JPG, 270px, Yanagawa City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 62,268 in 26426 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km2. ...

, is a

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

woman who is a Japanese

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in the United States were descri ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. After studying dance in New York City, she returned to Japan and was a member of the musical group

Dos DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

with Taeco Nishikawa and

Asami Yoshino is a feminine Japanese given name which can also be used as a surname. Written forms Asami can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: ;as a given name *麻美, "hemp, beauty" *朝美, "morning, beauty" *朝海, "morning, se ...

Life and career

As a celebrity, Kaba-chan was open with her sexuality. While she was already known for her

flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

character in Dos, she

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as a gay man publicly on television on a 2002 episode of the

Japanese variety show A Japanese variety show is an entertainment television program made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts. Japanese variety shows are characterized by an eccentric, fast-paced style ...

'' Dancing Sanma Palace''. In October 2014, when appearing on the talk show ''Uchi Kuru!?'' with drag queen Mitz Mangrove and transvestite LGBT activist

Matsuko Deluxe is a Japanese columnist, essayist, and TV personality. Matsuko is a female persona and stage name assumed by a cross-dressing gay man. He has been described as plus-sized and gravely-voiced with a sharp tongue. Before Matsuko Deluxe The pers ...

, Kaba-chan revealed that she had undergone

orchiectomy Orchiectomy (also named orchidectomy) is a surgery, surgical procedure in which one or both testicles are removed. The surgery can be performed for various reasons: *treatment for testicular cancer *as part of gender-affirming surgery for trans ...

that past June, in addition to having had plastic surgery and begun

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are hormonal therap ...

, and intended to have her gender officially changed in the ''

koseki A or family register is a Japanese family register, family registry. Japanese law requires all Japanese households to make notifications of their vital records (such as births, adoptions, deaths, marriages and divorces) to their local Municipa ...

''. In July 2015, she revealed while on the television show ''Non-Stop!'' that she was preparing to travel abroad to undergo counseling in preparation for

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender identity. The phrase is most often associat ...

, as the Japanese law requires she medically transition before being allowed to have her gender legally changed, saying she may have been born a man but would like to die as a woman. In August, she appeared on a special women's only talk show promoting the release of the film '' Piece of Cake'' and announced that she would be going out of Japan to wait for her surgery. She expressed a desire to have her gender change officially recognized in front of a crowd at the National Olympic Stadium and that fellow LGBT celebrities Mitz Mangrove, Matsuko Deluxe, and Ikko were all supportive of her decision and wished her good health. In September 2016, she announced that she had officially changed her legal name to . Kaba-chan was also a contestant on two editions of Japan's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' entitled , winning its "1 day special" episode with dancing partner Hidemi Yamamoto performing a

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

and also winning its second "1 day special" with partner RYOKO performing a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

Choreography

SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-p ...

**''

SMAP×SMAP ''SMAP×SMAP'', often referred to simply as ''Sma-Sma'', was a Japanese television variety show hosted by boy band SMAP. Debuting on April 15, 1996, it was produced by Kansai TV and Fuji TV and aired on Fuji TV every Monday from 10:00 p.m. ...

'' **"Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" **SMAP concerts *

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ; born September 20, 1977) is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a Japanese idol, teen idol, and transitioned into a leading Pop music, pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentatio ...

**"

Body Feels Exit "Body Feels Exit" (stylized as Body Feels EXIT) is Namie Amuro's debut solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released nine days after her only album with former label, Toshiba-EMI, "Body Feels Exit" debuted in the top three on the Oricon chart and ...

" **"

Chase the Chance "Chase the Chance" is the fourth single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro from her second studio album, ''Sweet 19 Blues'' (1996). It was released as the album's second single on December 4, 1995, through Avex Trax. It debuted at number one on the '' ...

" **"

Don't Wanna Cry "I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song by Mariah Carey. I Don't Wanna Cry or Don't Wanna Cry may also refer to: * ''I Don't Want to Cry!'', Chuck Jackson's 1961 album or its title track * I Don't Wanna Cry (Larry Gatlin song), "I Don't Wanna Cry" (Larry Ga ...

" **"

You're My Sunshine "You're My Sunshine" is the sixth single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on June 5, 1996, by Avex Trax and was produced by Tetsuya Komuro. The song was the image song for the Bristol-Myers Squibb (now Fine Today) "Sea Breeze '96" ...

" **"

Sweet 19 Blues ''Sweet 19 Blues'' (stylized in all caps) is the second studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released through Avex Trax on July 22, 1996. It is Amuro's first release with the label since leaving Toshiba-EMI, as well as her first al ...

" **"

A Walk in the Park "A Walk in the Park" is the eighth single by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro from her third studio album '' Concentration 20'' (1997). The song was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996, by Avex Trax. It was written, compo ...

" **" How to Be a Girl" **" Toi et Moi" **''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' ** Namie Amuro "Play" Tour 2007–2008 *

Tomomi Kahara (formerly Tomomi Kahala) born on August 17, 1974 in Tokyo), is a Japanese pop singer. She is famous for working with Tetsuya Komuro who gave her much success in the 1990s, which led to her deep dip in popularity after 1999, the year in which ...

**"keep yourself alive" **"I Believe" **"Arigato ne!" *dos **"Baby baby baby" **"More Kiss" **"Close Your Eyes" *

Toshinori Yonekura born October 21, 1972, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer originally from Toyonaka, Osaka. Known as "Yone" to fans, Toshinori made his major label debut with the single "Mikan no Android" in 1992 on Geneon Entertainment. Aside f ...

Tanpopo was a sub-group of the Japanese idol girl group Morning Musume and associated with Hello! Project. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in November 1998 as Morning Musume's first sub-group. While the main group Morning Musume features predomin ...

**"Last Kiss" *

MAX Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

**"Love impact" **"Ginga no Chikai" *

Arisa Mizuki is a Japanese actress and singer. She began her career as a child model and gained attention for starring in commercials for Fujicolor, among other brands, in the early 1990s. She released her debut single " Densetsu no Shōjo" in 1991, for w ...

* Sanpei **"Sanpei Days" **"Sanpei no 39 Days" **"Sanpei no Everyday" *

Rag Fair RAG FAIR (ラグフェアー ''Ragu Feā'') is a Japanese male a cappella group. Its current members include Reo Tsuchiya, Yosuke Hikichi, Kenichi Arai, and Yoshiyuki Kato. Former members include Takamasa Kano and Masayoshi Okumura. History ...

**"Rabu Rabu na Couple, Furi Furi de Chū" *

Chiaki is a unisex Japanese given name used mostly by females and is occasionally used as a surname. Written forms Chiaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千秋, "thousand, autumn" *千明, "thousand, light" *千晶, "th ...

with Kaba-chan **"Tsuraine Akachan!" *

Keiko Matsuzaka (born July 20, 1952) is a Japanese actress. Early life Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Career In the 1960s, Matsuzaka became a child actress. Matsuzaka grew into adulthood in fil ...

* Pink Lady **Memorial concert *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

*Pabo **"Koi no Hexagon" *

Yazima Beauty Salon is a Japanese vocal group consisting of DJ Ozma and the owarai group Tunnels in character and in drag depicting a group of women they found scouting for talent in Las Vegas, Nevada. The group is on the Avex Trax label. Members ;: The 36-year-ol ...

**"Hamaguri Bomber"

Discography

* performed by

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rika Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice ...

Toshiko Ezaki is a Japanese musician, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer from Kyoto, Japan. While she recently released her 5th CD, ''Arbol Grande'', she is better known for having written and sung songs for '' Pokémon: Advanced Generation''. Ezak ...

**Track 3: performed by * performed by

with Kaba-chan * performed by C.K.M. (Chiaki, Kaba-chan, & Monroe)

Filmography

Film

*'' Arashi no Yoru Ni'' - Grandmother goat *'' Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'' - Voice cameo *''

The Movie: Reaching a Nevada Dream'' - Mysterious cleaning lady *'' Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum'' - Yu Kamimura *''

Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land is the 2013 film adaptation of the 2012 & 2013 Kamen Rider Series television series ''Kamen Rider Wizard''. It was released on August 3, 2013, as a double-bill with '' Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger: Gaburincho of Music''. The film features Takanori Jin ...

'' - Yu Kamimura *'' Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle'' - Yu Kamimura

Television

*''

Waratte Iitomo! was a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show was hosted by Tamori (Kazuyoshi Morita) and ran from 1982 to 2014. The show was produced in the Studio Alta building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The show featured a series of regular m ...

'' (regular from October 2002 to March 2005) *''

Pokémon Chronicles ''Pokémon Chronicles'' is a spin-off series of the ''Pokémon'' anime, revolving around characters other than Ash Ketchum. It first aired in Japan on December 3, 2002, on TV Tokyo and concluded on September 28, 2004. The series made its U.S. ...

'' *''

Super Morning {{nihongo, ''Super Morning'', スーパーモーニング is a weekday morning news program airing on TV Asahi, a television station in Japan. It was first broadcast on 5 April 1993, and currently airs from 08:00 to 09:55 Mondays to Fridays. Pres ...

'' commentator *'' Jungle Tantei'' (2009) - Hippo (Voice) *''

Kamen Rider Wizard is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's ''Kamen Rider'' franchise, being the fourteenth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-third overall. It began airing on TV Asahi on September 2, 2012, joining ''Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters'' a ...

'' (2012) - Yu Kamimura

References

External links

Official blog
{{Authority control 1969 births Japanese choreographers Japanese women choreographers Living people Japanese LGBTQ musicians Japanese transgender women People from Yanagawa, Fukuoka Actresses from Fukuoka Prefecture 21st-century Japanese actresses