is a Japanese actress and former singer. She is a former member of

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 ...

, debuting in 2011 as part of the first generation and graduating in 2016.

Early life and education

Fukagawa was born on March 29, 1991, in

Iwata, Shizuoka former Mitsuke School in Iwata is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,897 in 68,215 households and a population density was 1,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Iwata is ...

. While in elementary school, she was a fan of

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an ...

. Although she wanted to become a member of

Mini-Moni was a sub-unit of the Japanese idol girl groups Morning Musume and Coconuts Musume. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2000 and associated with Hello! Project. The group was founded by Morning Musume members Mari Yaguchi, Nozomi Tsuji, and ...

, she aspired to become an illustrator or Japanese confectioner. In junior high school, she became interested in the entertainment industry, and saw ''

Water Boys 2 is a Japanese drama series aired in Japan on Fuji Television in 2004. The series is very closely related in style to the first season of '' Water Boys'', except set in a girls school. Story Three years ago, the former all-girl Himeno High Scho ...

'' being filmed at her alma mater. She then enrolled in an arts high school and majored in design, studying oil and Japanese painting. In her first year of high school, she enrolled in the dance school Heroes Academy. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in a fashion

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Career

2010–2016: Early career and Nogizaka46

In August 2010, Fukagawa won the Grand Prix at the modeling audition of kawaii EXPO 2010, sponsored by Lowrys Farm, and became an exclusive model for them. After discussing with her parents, her mother told her to try for a year and come back if it doesn't work but be financially independent. She moved to Tokyo after living in

for two years, and worked part-time while auditioning as an actress and model. In August 2011, she passed

's first generation audition, having sung

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 "KissHug". As Nogizaka46's lessons were only on the weekends and part-time jobs were prohibited, Fukagawa struggled financially. In November, she started her official Nogizaka46 blog. On February 22, 2012, Fukagawa made her musical debut on Nogizaka46'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 ...

", featuring on Type C for the songs "Hidarimune no Yuuki" and "Ushinaitaku Nai Kara". She was selected as a starting member for the first time on the group's third single, "

Hashire! Bicycle is the third single by Japanese girl group Nogizaka46, released on August 22, 2012. It debuted in number one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart. It also reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. The coupling song "Hito wa Naze Hashiru ...

". In June 2014, she participated in the Nogizaka46 stage production ''16 Principals''. She began her first regular solo activity in October as a narrator for '' Milan TV Milano Milan''. Fukagawa participated in Nogizaka46's debut performance at the

66th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 66th edition of NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2015, live from NHK Hall from 19:15 (JST) to 23:45 (JST), with a 5-minute break for latest news. This is the 27th Heisei Era edition. Broadcasting time was announced on Sep ...

, performing "

Kimi no Na wa Kibō is the fifth single by Japanese girl group Nogizaka46. It was number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart. It reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. On December 31, 2015, Nogizaka46 appeared on the 66th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen fo ...

". On January 5, 2016, fellow Nogizaka46 member

Kazumi Takayama is a Japanese tarento, actress, and writer. She is a former member of the Japanese idol group Nogizaka46, co-author of the self-help book ''Investment Methods that Keep My Money Growing Even Though I'm An Idol'', and author of the novel ''Trapez ...

's short story "Carry-over", which Fukagawa illustrated, was published on the website of the magazine ''Da Vinci''. Two days later, Fukagawa announced that she would be graduating from the group with their 14th single, "

Harujion ga Sakukoro is the 14th single by Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. It was released on March 23, 2016. It was number-one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, with 749,706 copies sold. It was also number-one on the '' Billboard'' Japan Hot 100. Rele ...

". She had the center position for the first time with the single, and released her only solo song, "Tsuyogaru Tsubomi", with the single. On June 4, Fukagawa had her last handshake event with the group, receiving her diploma from

Reika Sakurai is a Japanese idol singer, actress and a former member of the Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. She was also the captain of the group before her departure. Career In 2011, Sakurai auditioned for Nogizaka46 and was chosen as one of the first ...

. Five days later, she released her first solo photobook, . The photobook recorded estimated weekly sales of nearly 29,000, and ranked second in the book category and first in the photobook category on the Oricon weekly rankings on June 20. Fukagawa graduated from the group on June 16 with a concert held at

Ecopa Arena Ecopa Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Fukuroi, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 10,000 and was opened in 2001. Other facilities * Ecopa Stadium Access Train * JR: Tokaido Main Line, Aino Station (Shizuoka)\Aino Station Car * T ...

in Shizuoka. On July 1, her Nogizaka46 official blog was closed. The bonus backstage video from her graduation was released on July 27 as part of Nogizaka46's 15th single, "

Hadashi de Summer is the 15th single by Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. The center position of the title track is held by Asuka Saito. It was released on July 27, 2016. The song became number-one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, with 728,189 copies sol ...

2016–present: Acting career

In September 2016, she moved to the agency Ten Carat, and began working as an actress. On November 21, she appeared on her first gravure cover as an actress for ''Big Comic Spirits''. In 2017, she took her first lead role in ''Skip''. In 2018, she made her film debut in ''Bread, Bus, and the Second Hatsukoi''. This role won her the Best Emerging Actress award at the 10th TAMA Film Awards. Later that year, she appeared in ''

Manpuku , sometimes romanized as ''Mampuku'', is a Japanese television drama series and the 99th Asadora series, following ''Hanbun, Aoi''. It premiered on 1 October 2018, and concluded on 30 March 2019. The series is based on the lives of Momofuku Andō ...

'', her first ''

asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...

'' appearance. In 2019, she starred in ''Nippon Boro Yado Journey''. In 2021, she starred in the movie '' Omoide Shashin''. Later that year, she appeared in her first '' taiga drama'' ''

Reach Beyond the Blue Sky is a Japanese historical drama television series starring Ryo Yoshizawa as Shibusawa Eiichi, a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism". The series is the 60th NHK taiga drama, premiered on February 14, 2 ...

'' as

Princess Kazu (''Kazunomiya'') was the wife of 14th ''shōgun'' Tokugawa Iemochi. She was renamed Lady Seikan'in-no-miya after she took the tonsure as a widow. She was the great-great-great aunt of Emperor Akihito, who reigned from 1989 to 2019. Biography ...

. Starting in April 2022, she appeared in ''Tokusō 9'' as Yuma Takao. On July 11, 2023, she was appointed as the "Shizuoka Iwata PR Ambassador" for her hometown of

Personal life

Fukagawa has an older brother.

Discography

Singles with Nogizaka46

Filmography

Film

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fukagawa, Mai 1991 births Living people Actors from Shizuoka Prefecture 21st-century Japanese actresses