is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

singer, actress and a former member of the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, and ...

. In addition to her work with Nogizaka46, Ikuta has appeared in multiple television and stage productions, including a Japanese production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

''. She is affiliated with

Ohta Production , sometimes shortened to Ohta Pro, is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Yotsuya, Shinjuku, Tokyo. It was founded in 1963 and focuses on talent management for actors, athletes, comedians and '. The agency have produced numerous televisio ...

from 2007 to 2009 and once again since 2022.

Career

Ikuta was born on January 22, 1997, in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She began taking piano lessons at the age of four under the influence of her older sister, who had taken them before her. Her family moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

when she was five. She made her entertainment debut as a child actress in 2007, starring in the musical ''Coco Smile: Asu e no Rock 'n' Roll.'' She was affiliated with Ohta Production during that time. In 2011, she auditioned for Nogizaka46 and was selected as one of the thirty-six first generation members. Her audition song was

Aiko is a female Japanese given name. is a Japanese surname, also romanized as Aikoh or Aiko. Aiko or Ayko is also a traditional male given name in Scandinavia and especially northern Germany. In Germany it is considered one of the old "ge ...

's "Star". She was chosen as one of the members performing on the group's debut single "

Guruguru Curtain is the debut single by Japanese girl group Nogizaka46, released on February 22, 2012. It reached number two in the Oricon Weekly Chart and sold 136,309 copies in the first week. It reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. Release T ...

", released on February 22, 2012. In September 2012, she was selected for the leading role of Alice in Nogizaka46's stage musical ''Sixteen Principal''. On April 20, 2014, she announced that she would take a break from Nogizaka46 to prepare for further schooling. She resumed her activities in August as the choreographic center for Nogizaka46's tenth single "

Nandome no Aozora ka? is the 10th single by Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. It was released on October 8, 2014. It debuted in number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart and, as of October 20, 2014 (issue date), has sold 478,888 copies. It also reached number ...

" In 2015, Ikuta appeared in the

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

drama ''Zannen na Otto'' as a high school girl who dreams of becoming a pianist. She published her first solo photobook, ''Tenchō'', on January 21, 2016. It sold 38,355 copies in its first week, and ranked first on the Oricon weekly photobook sales chart. It also ranked first on the Oricon book ranking photobook category in the first half of the year 2016. In July 2016, it was announced that Ikuta had been chosen for the role of

Cosette Cosette () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo and in the many adaptations of the story for stage, film, and television. Her birth name, Euphrasie, is only mentioned briefly. As the orphaned child of an u ...

in a 30th anniversary production of '' Les Miserables'' in Japan, a role she reprised in 2019. In 2021, It was announced that Ikuta would play

Éponine Éponine Thénardier (; ), also referred to as the "Jondrette girl", is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. The character is introduced as a spoiled and pampered child, but appears later in the novel as a r ...

in '' Les Miserables'' in 2021. In January 2021, she and fellow Nogizaka46 member

Sayuri Matsumura is a Japanese TV personality, model and actress who is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. Career In 2011, Matsumura auditioned for Nogizaka46 and was chosen as one of the first generation members. Her audition song was ...

performed a cover of the song "1・2・3" by

Mafumafu is a Japanese singer. In addition to his solo work, he is a vocalist, lyricist and composer in the music duo After the Rain formed with fellow ''utaite'' singer Soraru. Mafumafu is also popularly known as . His broad vocal range, spanning well ...

and

Soraru is a Japanese male ' singer and songwriter. He is a member of the music unit After the Rain. The origin of his name is from the word ''Sora'' because he likes to look at the sky and the intonation is the same as panda. Biography Soraru was b ...

; the song was used as an opening theme to the anime series '' Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series''. On October 25, Ikuta announced she will graduate from Nogizaka46 on December 31, 2021 on her official blog. Her graduation concert took place at the

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

on December 14 and 15. She sang and performed on the stage of the 72nd NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, and it was her last activity as a member of Nogizaka46. On January 5, 2022, five days after her graduation from Nogizaka46, Ikuta announced her return to her talent agency during her days as a child actress, Ohta Production. On January 8, her official Twitter account was opened. On February 1, her official website was opened (with a fan event on 19 to commemorate the occasion), while her Nogizaka46 blog posts were deleted. Ikuta's first post-Nogizaka46 acting role was as Mio Mukai in the

series ''Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇''. Her second fan event, "Erika Ikuta 2022 summer fun", was held on August 3, 2022 at

Zepp DiverCity The Zepp music halls are a group of Japanese music venues covering every area of the country. They play host to many international tours and are a popular stop among Japanese musicians. Each venue takes the Zepp name, along with the city in which ...

and August 6 at

Zepp Namba The Zepp music halls are a group of Japanese music venues covering every area of the country. They play host to many international tours and are a popular stop among Japanese musicians. Each venue takes the Zepp name, along with the city in which ...

. On November 1, 2022, her first calendar was released. It was available to the members of her official website until December 31. Her third fan event, "Erika Ikuta 2022 winter fun", was held on December 3, 2022 at Zepp Osaka Bayside and on December 11 at KT Zepp Yokohama.

Discography

Singles with Nogizaka46

Albums with Nogizaka46

Other featured songs

Filmography

Television

Films

Japanese dub

Theater

Concerts

* 2017: ''MTV Unplugged: Erika Ikuta''

Bibliography

Photobooks

* ''Kikan Nogizaka vol.4 Saitō'' (26 December 2014, Tokyo News Service) * ''Tenchō=Modulation Erika Ikuta 1st Photo Book'' (21 January 2016,

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

) *''Erika Ikuta Nogizaka46 Graduation Memorial Book: Kanon'' (14 December 2021,

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikuta, Erika Nogizaka46 members 1997 births Living people Japanese idols 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese pianists Japanese women pop singers Japanese pianists Singers from Tokyo