, meaning "

Sakura The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

Group", was one of the subgroups derived from the Japanese

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

group

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 ...

in 2003. Its less successful equivalent was

Morning Musume Otomegumi was one of the subgroups that the Japanese pop group Morning Musume was divided into in 2003. Its counterpart was Morning Musume Sakuragumi. The purpose of Morning Musume Otomegumi was to perform in small towns with low-capacity venues. The group ...

. Like its counterpart, the sole purpose of Sakuragumi was to accommodate towns with smaller concert venues. The group was meant to embody the traditional Japanese woman. Sakuragumi (as well as Otomegumi) became inactive in March 2004, after releasing two singles.

History

By 2003, Morning Musume's ranks had swelled to a total of fifteen members. In January, 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 ...

made the decision to split the girls into two groups, "Sakura" and "Otome". Each group had its own theme - the Sakuragumi girls were much more traditional in song and clothing than Otomegumi, performing ballads, with a calmer and more subdued image. The group's name derives both from the Japanese

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

, associated with spring, and Tsunku's wish for the girls to "bloom like beautiful flowers." The two groups would perform almost identical set-lists, and perform in the same towns simultaneously, at different venues.

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 ...

, a first-generation Morning Musume member, was assigned to be the leader. The group released their first single, "

Hare Ame Nochi Suki is the first single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume subgroup Morning Musume Sakuragumi, released on September 18, 2003. In addition to the title song and its karaoke version, the single also contains Sakuragumi's version of "Dekkai Uchū ni ...

", on September 18, 2003. The single sold well, reaching a peak of #2 on the weekly

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

charts. Their first tour, "Morning Musume Sakuragumi Hatsukōen: Sakura Saku", began on November 24. It was later announced that Abe would be graduating from both Morning Musume and Sakuragumi in 2004. Sakuragumi performed "Hare Ame Nochi Suki" with Abe for the final time at her graduation concert in January. After Abe's graduation

Mari Yaguchi is a Japanese singer, actress, and television personality. She joined the girl group Morning Musume in 1998 as a second generation member and was the leader of subgroups within Hello! Project, such as Mini-Moni, Morning Musume Sakuragumi, and ZY ...

was elected as the next leader, and the group continued to tour. Their second and final single, "

Sakura Mankai is the second single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume sub-group Morning Musume Sakuragumi. In addition to the title song and its karaoke version, the single also contains Morning Musume Sakuragumi versions of the earlier Morning Musume song ...

", was released on February 25, 2004 and featured the new line-up of seven girls. This single, like the first, sold well and charted at #2, outselling Otomegumi's single. In June their first concert DVD was released. Following the cessation of their tour, the group made no more releases and became dormant, after the two subgroups merged back into one. In the years that followed both Yaguchi and

Ai Kago is a Japanese actress and singer. In 2000, Kago debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume. During her time in the group, she was also part of Mini-Moni and other Hello! Project sub-groups. In 2004, Kago depart ...

left Morning Musume and

Up-Front Works is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies. Its subsidiaries include the talent agency Up-Front Promotion and Up-Front Works, a music production and sales company that manages such record labels as Zetima, Piccolo Town, ...

respectively due to scandals, and both

Asami Konno , known by her birth name is a Japanese television presenter and former singer and actress. She debuted in August 2001 with the girl group Morning Musume and participated in musical projects within Hello! Project. After leaving the group on M ...

and

Hitomi Yoshizawa is a Japanese former singer and actress. In 2000, Yoshizawa debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume and became their leader in 2005 until leaving the group in 2007. Following her departure, Yoshizawa continued to ...

graduated in 2007. In February 2009, at the Elder Club's graduation concert, Sakuragumi (without Kago, who had been fired from the agency altogether in 2007) performed together for the first time in almost five years, singing "Hare Ame Nochi Suki". At Morning Musume's 2009 autumn tour, a Sakuragumi unit composed of

Ai Takahashi (born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Hello! Project and is best known as the leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project until 2011. She is also a former member of its popular subgroup Mini Mon ...

Risa Niigaki is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a fifth-generation member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with 3 others- Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after mo ...

Eri Kamei is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on Decemb ...

Aika Mitsui is a Japanese singer. She is a member of Hello! Project and a former member of the J-pop group Morning Musume, joining as a member of the eighth generation from the audition in Japan during December 2006. Mitsui's audition process was documente ...

, and

Linlin 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 ...

performed "Sakura Mankai".

Members

*1st generation:

(Former leader) *2nd generation:

(Leader) *4th generation:

*5th generation:

*6th generation:

Discography

Singles

DVDs

Notes and references

External links

Discography
at the Up-Front Works official discography listing {{Authority control Morning Musume Japanese idol groups Japanese girl groups Japanese pop music groups Musical groups from Tokyo