is a Japanese actress, model,

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, and singer. In 2005, she became the only seventh generation member of the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...

, a part of

Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but ...

. While Kusumi was in Morning Musume, she provided the voice for Kirari Tsukishima, the main character of the anime series ''

Kirarin Revolution is a Japanese manga series by An Nakahara. The series ran in the shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Ciao (magazine), Ciao'' from March 2004 to June 2009, with side stories running in ''Pucchigumi'' in 2006. The manga has sold a cum ...

'', and portrayed her in real life on ''

Oha Suta ''Oha Suta'' () is a Japanese children's breakfast television show. Produced by Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro) for TV Tokyo, the show airs on TX Network (TXN). It premiered in 1997 as a relaunch of (. ''Sutajio'' is a loanword from E ...

''. In addition, she was featured in several musical releases affiliated with the series, including both solo releases under the name and group releases for the units Kira Pika and Milky Way. After leaving Morning Musume in 2009, Kusumi pursued modeling, discussing her career changes in her 2011 autobiography, ''17-sai no Tenshoku''. After making her runway debut in 2011, she modeled exclusively for magazines ''

CanCam is a Japanese monthly fashion magazine published by Shogakukan. Its name supposedly derives from "I Can Campus", because girls who read it are expected to become "campus leaders". The magazine was created for fashion-conscious consumers, and offe ...

'' and ''Steady'', while also making regular appearances on variety shows. At the same time, Kusumi continued to perform at music events and took part in Dream Morning Musume. Kusumi also ventured into acting, appearing in shows such as ''Woman Prisoner 7'' and '' Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon''.

Early life

Koharu Kusumi was born in Ojimaya, Washima Village in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

, and grew up in a rural neighborhood. Her family consisted of her parents, an older sister, and an older brother. Around the middle of elementary school, Kusumi became interested in modeling from reading magazines like ''

''. Prior to joining

, Kusumi was the captain of her school's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team.

Career

2005-2009: Morning Musume, ''Kirarin Revolution''

In 2005, after seeing an audition call for new members for the

group

in a magazine, Kusumi considered applying after noticing she was eligible based on the minimum age requirements to participate. With her sister's help, Kusumi auditioned in secret with the song "As a Person" by

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 ...

. She sang " Furusato" during the final audition and was selected for the group as the only seventh generation member, a feat which earned her the nickname "Miracle" from producer

Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Co ...

. Kusumi debuted on the single " Iroppoi Jirettai" and was one of the founding members of

kickball Kickball (also known as soccer baseball in most of Canada and football rounders in the United Kingdom) is a team sport and league game, similar to baseball. Like baseball, it is a safe haven game in which one team tries to score by having it ...

team, Metro Rabbits H.P., in 2006. In April 2006, Kusumi was cast as the

voice actress Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

for Kirari Tsukishima, the main character in the anime ''

'' and also released music under the character's name. Kusumi also made crossover television and concert appearances as Kirari on ''

Haromoni@ was the sequel to the long-running Japanese variety show ''Hello! Morning'', which first aired on April 8, 2007, on TV Tokyo and later throughout the country. The show was recorded in HD and starred Morning Musume members. Each member represent ...

'' and ''

'', leading her to become closely associated with the character. The success of ''

'' and Kusumi's real-world appearances as Kirari made her one of the earliest examples of the "idol voice actor" crossover that became popular beginning in the late 2000s. Throughout the show's run, Kusumi also released music as groups Kira Pika and

MilkyWay The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

with other cast members. Kusumi was named #17 in Daitan Map's "Top 50 Voice Actors of Popular Characters" in 2007. In early 2007, Kusumi became part of

Morning Musume Tanjō 10nen Kinentai was a Japanese girl group and sub-group of Morning Musume. The group was made up of five past and then-present members of Morning Musume and created to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Members * 1st generation: Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe * 3rd ...

, a subgroup created to celebrate Morning Musume's 10th anniversary, with their first single, " Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia", releasing on January 24, 2007. In 2009, she released a song with the subgroup ZYX-α. A manga adaptation by Rio Fujimi recounting Kusumi's rise to stardom was serialized in ''

Ciao ( , ) is an informal salutation in the Italian language that is used for both " hello" and "goodbye". Originally from the Venetian language, it has entered the vocabulary of English and of many other languages around the world. Its dual mea ...

'', titled ''Miracle Revolution: Koharu Kusumi's Story''. Preferring the freedom she had working on her solo projects, Kusumi decided to pursue a solo career after ''Kirarin Revolution'' ended, mainly in modeling as well as other paths in entertainment, including comedy. On September 19, 2009,

announced that Kusumi would leave Morning Musume and Hello! Project on December 6, at the final performance of Morning Musume's 2009 fall tour, ''Nine Smile''. Roughly 4,000 fans attended the graduation concert.

2010-2015: Solo television hosting and model runway debut

After graduating from Morning Musume, Kusumi continued to appear on ''

'', as well as ''Oha Coro''. In January 2010, she joined other former Morning Musume members in the group Dream Morning Musume, which later debuted in April 2011. In July 2010, she performed with Li Chun,

Qian Lin Qian Lin (born March 11, 1991), better known in Japan as , is a Chinese singer. She is a former Morning Musume member and leader of the Hello! Project sub-group Shin Minimoni. She was announced to be joining as the eighth generation of Morning ...

, and

Miyabi Natsuyaki is a Japanese singer. Her career began in 2002 when she passed the audition for Hello! Project Kids, an all-female child pop group under Hello! Project. She continued to sing in that group and became a part of four smaller groups composed of ...

at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 under the group name Ex-ceed. From December 22–27, 2010, Kusumi appeared in the stage play ''Abe Naikaku'' alongside

Natsumi Abe is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and a member of Dream Morning Musume. Biography She was born in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan. Career On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watash ...

and

Kei Yasuda is a Japanese singer, musician and actress under the Hello! Project. She was a member and co-leader of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume. Yasuda, along with Mari Yaguchi and Sayaka Ichii, were the second generation of singers to be recru ...

. Kusumi released an autobiography titled ''17-sai no Tenshoku'' on February 12, 2011, which documented her childhood, Morning Musume, and interest in healthy lifestyles, all of which discussed her interest in pursuing a new career. She also appeared in a series of advertisements directed towards a healthy lifestyle. In September 2011, Kusumi made her runway debut at the

Kobe Collection The is a fashion event that has been held in Kobe, Japan and other cities during spring and autumn every year since 2002; over 30 brands have participated. It is characteristically a public relations event for consumers, and a chance for young d ...

2011 Autumn/Winter Show. Beginning in the same month, she modeled exclusively for the fashion magazine ''

'', starting from the November 2011 issue until the September 2015 issue. In 2012, Kusumi made runway appearances at the ''

'' × ''

AneCan was a Japanese fashion magazine published by Shogakukan. The name derives from meaning "older sister" and ''Can'' from its sister magazine ''CanCam''. The magazine targeted women in their mid-late twenties, previous readers of ''CanCam''. Histo ...

'' Collaboration Fashion Show: Can Colle!, Stock Style 2012 Spring/Summer, and

Girls Award , sometimes abbreviated as GA, is a semi-annual fashion and music event held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium 1st Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the biggest fashion events in Japan, with approximately 20,000 people attending each time. It is ...

2012 Autumn/Winter shows. In 2013, she made runway appearances at the Girls Award 2013 Spring/Summer,

Tokyo Girls Collection The , sometimes abbreviated as TGC, is a semiannual fashion festival launched in 2005. It is mainly held near Tokyo area and some local cities such as Kitakyushu, Nagoya and Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa. The fashion event showcases the seasons fas ...

2013 Spring Live, ReaMa Pastel Party 2013 in Tokyo Show, and Girls Award 2013 Autumn/Winter shows. In 2014, Kusumi left ''

'' and later hosted ''Blurred Sound Pops'' until 2015. She also starred in two live-action dramas, ''Inauguration! Girl's Cabinet'', and ''Again!!''. In May 2015, Kusumi became a host of "Boat Race Live." on BS Fuji. In November 2015. Kusumi started working as a model for the fashion magazine "steady."

2016-present: Venture into acting

On January 9, 2016, Kusumi started hosting a weekly radio show called "This Happy Time (or KoHappy Time)." On April 1, 2016, Kusumi started hosting a second radio program called "Kusumi Koharu's Mediaship 927" on BSN also in Niigata, Japan.http://www.ohbsn.com/radio/programs/koharu/ Retrieved 2016-04-23 On November 29, 2016, Kusumi announced that her contract with her talent agency, JP Room, would end on November 30. In early 2017 it was announced that Kusumi would be represented by

Oscar Promotion is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It was founded in 1970 and manages talents in a variety of fields including modelling and acting. The company has a large roster of talents, making it one of the largest talent a ...

, and would have a role as geisha in a drama called "Woman Prisoner 7." In October 2017, Kusumi appeared in the fifth season of the popular medical drama, Doctor-X as Nurse Haruna Nagamori. On November 23, 2018, Kusumi appeared in a supporting role in the feature film, "Lady in White." In 2019, Kusumi released a wall calendar and appeared in the film "Shell and Joint." In 2024, she plays the main role in the drama ''Uri wo waru'', adapted from the manga '' Ripe for the Picking''.

Discography

As Kirari Tsukishima

;Studio albums * '' Mitsuboshi'' (2006) * '' Kirarin Land'' (2007) * '' Kirari to Fuyu'' (2008) ;Compilation albums * '' Best Kirari'' (2009) ;Singles * " Koi Kana" (2006) * "

Balalaika The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...

" (2006) * "

Happy Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

" (2007) * " Chance!" (2007) * " Papancake" (2008) * " Happy Happy Sunday!" (2009)

Publications

Photobooks

Autobiographies

Filmography

Television

Radio

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kusumi, Koharu 1992 births Living people Voice actresses from Niigata Prefecture Japanese child actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese child singers Japanese female idols Japanese female models Japanese female dancers Japanese dancers Morning Musume members Dream Morning Musume members Hello! Project solo singers Singers from Niigata Prefecture Anime musicians 21st-century Japanese actresses