Morning Musume Sakuragumi
- Asami Konno
- Mari Yaguchi
- Ai Kago
- Natsumi Abe
- Hitomi Yoshizawa
- Ai Takahashi
- Risa Niigaki
- Eri Kamei
Morning Musume Sakuragumi (モーニング娘。 さくら組, also romanized as Morning Musume Sakura Gumi), meaning "Sakura Group", was one of the subgroups derived from the Japanese pop group Morning Musume in 2003. Its less successful equivalent was Morning Musume Otomegumi. 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 made the decision to split the girls into two groups, "Sakura" and "Otome".[1][user-generated source] 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, associated with spring, and Tsunku's wish for the girls to "bloom like beautiful flowers."[2] The two groups would perform almost identical set-lists, and perform in the same towns simultaneously, at different venues. Natsumi Abe, a first-generation Morning Musume member, was assigned to be the leader. The group released their first single, "Hare Ame Nochi Suki", on September 18, 2003. The single sold well, reaching a peak of #2 on the weekly Oricon charts.[3] 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 was elected as the next leader, and the group continued to tour. Their second and final single, "Sakura Mankai", 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,[4] 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 left Morning Musume and Up-Front Works respectively due to scandals, and both Asami Konno and Hitomi Yoshizawa 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, Risa Niigaki, Eri Kamei, Aika Mitsui, and Linlin performed "Sakura Mankai".
Members
- 1st generation: Natsumi Abe (Former leader)
- 2nd generation: Mari Yaguchi (Leader)
- 4th generation: Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ai Kago
- 5th generation: Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno, Risa Niigaki
- 6th generation: Eri Kamei
Discography
Singles
# | Title | Release date |
---|---|---|
1 | "Hare Ame Nochi Suki" | 2003-09-18 |
2 | "Sakura Mankai" | 2004-02-25 |
DVDs
# | Title | Release date |
---|---|---|
1 | "Single V: Hare Ame Nochi Suki" (シングルV・晴れ 雨 のち スキ ♥) | 2003-10-16 |
2 | "Single V: Sakura Mankai / Yūjō (Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!)" (シングルV・さくら満開/友情~心のブスにはならねぇ!~) | 2004-03-24 |
3 | "Morning Musume Sakuragumi Hatsukōen: Sakura Saku" (モーニング娘。おとめ組~さくら咲く~) | 2004-06-06 |
Notes and references
- ^ モーニング娘。さくら組とは - はてなキーワード (in Japanese). Hatena. Retrieved 2010-11-10.[user-generated source]
- ^ モーニング娘。さくら組 (in Japanese). Tsunku. Archived from the original on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
- ^ "晴れ 雨 のち スキ/モーニング娘。さくら組のプロファイルならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
- ^ "さくら満開/モーニング娘。さくら組のプロファイルならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
External links
- Discography at the Up-Front Works official discography listing
- v
- t
- e
- Erina Ikuta
- Sakura Oda
- Miki Nonaka
- Maria Makino
- Akane Haga
- Reina Yokoyama
- Rio Kitagawa
- Homare Okamura
- Mei Yamazaki
- Rio Sakurai
- Haruka Inoue
- Ako Yumigeta
- Asuka Fukuda
- Aya Ishiguro
- Sayaka Ichii
- Yuko Nakazawa
- Maki Goto
- Kei Yasuda
- Natsumi Abe
- Nozomi Tsuji
- Ai Kago
- Kaori Iida
- Mari Yaguchi
- Rika Ishikawa
- Asami Konno
- Makoto Ogawa
- Hitomi Yoshizawa
- Miki Fujimoto
- Koharu Kusumi
- Eri Kamei
- Jun Jun
- Lin Lin
- Ai Takahashi
- Risa Niigaki
- Aika Mitsui
- Reina Tanaka
- Sayumi Michishige
- Riho Sayashi
- Kanon Suzuki
- Haruka Kudō
- Haruna Ogata
- Haruna Iikubo
- Masaki Satō
- Chisaki Morito
- Kaede Kaga
- Mizuki Fukumura
- Ayumi Ishida
- First Time
- Second Morning
- 3rd: Love Paradise
- 4th Ikimasshoi!
- No. 5
- Ai no Dai 6 Kan
- Rainbow 7
- 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!
- Sexy 8 Beat
- Platinum 9 Disc
- 10 My Me
- Fantasy! Jūichi
- 12, Smart
- 13 Colorful Character
- 14 Shō: The Message
- 15 Thank You, Too
- Hatachi no Morning Musume
- 16th: That's J-pop
- Best! Morning Musume 1
- Best! Morning Musume 2
- Early Single Box
- Morning Musume All Singles Complete: 10th Anniversary
- Morning Musume Zen Single Coupling Collection
- The Best! ~Updated Morning Musume~
- Morning Musume '14 Coupling Collection 2
- Best! Morning Musume 20th Anniversary
- Tanpopo
- Petit Moni
- Mini-Moni
- Morning Musume Sakuragumi
- Morning Musume Otomegumi
- Morning Musume Tanjō 10nen Kinentai