, born on June 19, 1969, in Yanagawa, Fukuoka, is a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

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 America were described as "tal ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

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

Asami Yoshino is a feminine Japanese given name which can also be used as a surname. Possible writings 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, ...

Life and career

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

flamboyant Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

character in Dos, she came out as a gay man publicly on television on a 2002 episode of the Japanese variety show '' 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. She has been described as plus-sized and gravely-voiced with a sharp tongue. Before Matsuko Deluxe The perso ...

, Kaba-chan revealed that she had undergone

orchiectomy Orchiectomy (also named orchidectomy, and sometimes shortened as orchi or orchie) is a surgical procedure in which one or both testicles are removed. The surgery is performed as treatment for testicular cancer, as part of surgery for transgend ...

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 oncologic horm ...

, and intended to have her gender officially changed in the '' koseki''. 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, 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 (male performing) contestant on two editions of Japan's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' entitled , winning its "1 day special" episode with dancing partner Hidemi Yamamoto performing a pasodoble and also winning its second "1 day special" with partner RYOKO performing a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), 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: A ...

Choreography

* SMAP **'' SMAP×SMAP'' **"Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" **SMAP concerts * Namie Amuro **" Body Feels Exit" **"

Chase the Chance "Chase the Chance" is Namie Amuro's second solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released in December 1995, it debuted at number one on the Oricon charts becoming her first of five million selling singles. As of August 2012, the single has sold 1.3& ...

" **" Don't Wanna Cry" **" You're My Sunshine" **" Sweet 19 Blues" **" A Walk in the Park" **"

How to Be a Girl "How to Be a Girl" is a single written and produced by Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic ...

" **" Toi et Moi" **'' Play'' ** Namie Amuro "Play" Tour 2007–2008 * Tomomi Kahara **"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 **"Last Kiss" *

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

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

Arisa Mizuki is a Japanese actress, singer, and model. Mizuki is represented by the talent agency Vision Factory. Born in Nerima, Tokyo to Japanese-American parents, Mizuki began modelling for magazines and appearing in commercials at the age of four. On M ...

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

Rag Fair RAG FAIR (ラグフェアー ''Ragu Feā'') are a Japanese male a cappella band. Its members are ''Reo Tsuchiya'', ''Yosuke Hikichi'', ''Kenichi Arai'', ''Yoshiyuki Kato'', ''Takamasa Kano'', and ''Masayoshi Okumura''. They met each other at Sait ...

**"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. Possible writings Chiaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千秋, "thousand, autumn" *千明, "thousand, light" *千晶, " ...

with Kaba-chan **"Tsuraine Akachan!" * Keiko Matsuzaka * Pink Lady **Memorial concert * Peter *Pabo **"Koi no Hexagon" * Yazima Beauty Salon **"Hamaguri Bomber"

Discography

* performed by Rica Matsumoto/

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

**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 *'' Yazima Beauty Salon 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!'' (regular from October 2002 to March 2005) *''

Pokémon Chronicles ''Pokémon Chronicles'', partly known in Japan as , is a spin-off series of the original ''Pokémon'' anime, revolving around characters other than Ash Ketchum. It first aired in Japan on October 15, 2002 on TV Tokyo and concluded on Septembe ...

'' *''

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' ...

'' (2012) - Yu Kamimura

References

External links

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