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 ...

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 ...

who is a former member of

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a s ...

's Team KII.

Career

Video Display Exhibit by Kaori Matsumura

Mastumura applied for

's 2nd generation auditions in March 2009 but failed to make the cut. She passed

's 3rd generation auditions on 13 November 2009. During March 2012, Matsumura was included in the

Google+ Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

selection project where she would be involved for the first time with an

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

single ("

Manatsu no Sounds Good! In the Japanese official title, there is a space between "good" and "!". (真夏のSounds good !) is the 26th single by the Japanese girl idol group AKB48, released in Japan on May 23, 2012. In its first week, the CD single sold 1,616,795 copies ...

") for the B-side song "Gugutasu no Sora". The

selection project was a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

project involving 48 Group members selected by

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, maki ...

who had used

to best portray their personality. Prior to this project Matsumura had gained some notoriety using

by most notably regularly uploading a self-created video series titled . The magazine

Weekly Playboy , also known as or ''WPB'', is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966. Although the magazine publishes a variety of news and special interest articles, columns, celebrity interviews, and manga, it is considered an Pornographi ...

first published a weekly serial about

's members and activities for its 23 April release written by Matsumura. On 6 June 2012 the fourth AKB48 general election event was held at the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

indoor arena and was used to determine members who would partake in AKB48's 27th single (

Gingham Check is the 27th major single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. The members were chosen from their placements in the AKB48's 2012 general election. The single was released in Japan on August 29, 2012. It includes the graduation song for long-tim ...

) via fan voting. Matsumura was able to obtain 9030 votes placing her 34th and able to participate in a B-side song for the group of members ranked 33rd to 48th collectively called "Next girls". The Next girls were also included in a

campaign which involved a

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for the JOYSOUND karaoke brand name. Matsumura included as one of her submissions the only video display for an art exhibition held between 15 June to the 8th of July 2012 showcasing works from various 48 Group members. The video was a self made documentary involving the SKE48 trainees as they rehearsed for a new stage production. In April 2013, she earned the title of Lifetime Honorary SKE48 Kenkyuusei since she decided to stay as a trainee member for the rest of her career in SKE48. In the 2013 general elections, she placed 24th. In October 2013, Matsumura released her first indie solo single, , which was produced by

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka city of Fukuoka Prefecture, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

member

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet (band), Not Yet and i ...

. The single's first press was only released in 1,000 copies, and Matsumura sold all 1,000 singles personally to fans. On 24 February 2014, Matsumura received the title of at an event rearranging different members from

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is base ...

, and

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 ...

into different teams at a concert held at the

Zepp 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 ...

DiverCity venue. In the 2014 general elections, she increased her rank and placed 17th. On 26 October 2014, she attended the in

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

where she was appointed the hometown ambassador in a ceremony. Matsumura's second SKE48 Senbatsu was for the single

Coquettish Jūtai Chū is the 17th single by Japanese idol girl group SKE48. It was released on March 31, 2015. This single and NMB48's Don't Look Back! were released on the same day, and SKE48 placed 1st in Oricon's Daily Charts on its first day with 573,074 copies so ...

. Her previous senbatsu single was "

Kiss Datte Hidarikiki is the 10th single by SKE48. It was released on September 19, 2012. It debuted in number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart with 511,472 copies sold. Background Kaori Matsumura and Nanako Suga were selected to sing the title track for th ...

". On 18 September 2018, Matsumura announced that she would be leaving the group. On 5 February 2019, her graduation concert was held at Omiya Sonic City. She officially graduated from the group on 2 May 2019. She currently continues to work in the entertainment industry as a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

Personal life

On 28 June 2020, Matsumura announced her marriage to a non-celebrity, though the wedding ceremony was not held until September 2022, due to delays brought upon by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Discography

Solo singles

SKE48 singles

AKB48 singles

Appearances

Stage units

;''SKE48 Kenkyuusei Stage '' # # # # ;''SKE48 Kenkyuusei Stage '' # ;''SKE48 Kenkyuusei Stage '' # # # #

TV variety

* (2011–2013) * (2011-2012) * (2013) * (2013-2014) * (2013) * (2013) * ''AKB48SHOW!'' (2013– ) * (2014) * (2014-2015)

TV dramas

* (2015), Zakobosu

Musicals

* ''AKB49 Stage Play'' (2014)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumura, Kaori 1990 births Living people Japanese idols Japanese women pop singers Musicians from Saitama Prefecture SKE48 members Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions