, known professionally by her birth name (born June 17, 1987) is a Japanese

media personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

, singer, and blogger. In 2000, she began her career as a singer for Japanese girl band

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 ...

. Tsuji later found success with related groups

Mini Moni The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

and W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P. All Stars, as well as being a member of the Morning Musume splinter group

Morning Musume Otomegumi was one of the subgroups that the Japanese pop group Morning Musume was divided into in 2003. Its counterpart was Morning Musume Sakuragumi. The group's name is made up of and , meaning "Young Girls' Group". Like Sakuragumi, purpose of Morning ...

Early life

Tsuji was born in Tokyo, Japan. She is the second and youngest child of two daughters.

Career

2000–2004: Morning Musume and Mini Moni

In 2000, when Tsuji was twelve years old, she auditioned for the pop group

. Group producer

Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He is the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Coconut ...

originally planned on selecting only three members;

Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio v-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, as ...

Hitomi Yoshizawa is a Japanese former singer and actress. In 2000, Yoshizawa debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume and became their leader in 2005 until leaving the group in 2007. Following her departure, Yoshizawa continued to ...

, and

Ai Kago is a Japanese actress and former singer. In 2000, Kago debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume. During her time in the group, she was also part of Mini-Moni and other Hello! Project sub-groups. In 2004, Kago depa ...

were chosen. He made the decision to add Tsuji as a fourth member, creating Morning Musume's fourth generation. "

Happy Summer Wedding is the ninth single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume, released on May 17, 2000. It sold a total of 990,950 copies, becoming a number-one hit in Japan. History This also marks the last single of Sayaka Ichii and the debut of the "Fourth Gen ...

" was released on May 17, 2000, marking Tsuji's debut just one month before turning age thirteen. In January 2001, she formed

with

Mari Yaguchi is a Japanese singer, actress, and television personality. She joined the girl group Morning Musume in 1998 as a second generation member and was the leader of subgroups within Hello! Project, such as Mini-Moni, Morning Musume Sakuragumi, and ZY ...

and

. As the youngest two members of the group, she and Kago assumed the roles of the hyperactive troublemakers of Morning Musume. The two were featured in a May 2002 duo compilation photobook, ''Tsuji Kago''. Fans took to them quickly, dubbing them "The Twins", based on their similar looks and personalities. They both retained these personalities for their initial years with Morning Musume, but by 2003, younger members had joined the group; Kago and Tsuji resorted to maintaining their strong friendship. They were also known as "Two Top" on the television comedy show ''

Mecha-Mecha Iketeru! was a popular Japanese variety show, shown on Fuji TV. The first episode aired on 16 October 1996 and the last episode aired on 31 March 2018. The hosts of the show were the owarai duo Ninety-Nine ( Takashi Okamura and Hiroyuki Yabe). The show ...

'': during a special "final exam" episode featuring Morning Musume, the two were both the least knowledgeable when given surprise pop quizzes on several grade school problems, Tsuji being the least knowledgeable and Kago being second, resulting in Tsuji being crowned Bakajo, which means "idiot girl". From January 2003 to June 2003, she was a temporary world record holder in the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for spinning the largest

Hula Hoop A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel, with careful execution. They have been used by children and adults since at least 500 BC. The modern hula hoop ...

(12.5 m). She regained the title in January 2004 and simultaneously held it with Kago until September 2005, when

Ashrita Furman Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a ''Guinness World Records'' record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds 530 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for th ...

Brooklyn, New York City Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

surpassed their record. Tsuji was also goalkeeper for

Gatas Brilhantes H.P. was a futsal team representing Hello! Project. The team was founded on September 9, 2003 and was later disbanded on March 7, 2015. History On April 23, 2007, nine new members from Mix Gatas were added to the team mainly from Berryz Kobo an ...

, the Hello! Project

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team. In November 2003, the 16-year-old Tsuji released her first solo photobook, ''Nono''. In May 2004, Tsunku announced the

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

of both Tsuji and Kago from Morning Musume and created the group W, featuring the pair. On August 1, 2004, they officially graduated from Morning Musume. She appeared in several episodes of Mini Moni's 2005 television series, ''Brementown Musicians''. For a Christmas special, Tsuji contributed to Hello! Project Shirogumi, eventually embarking on the December 2005 ''~A HAPPY NEW POWER!~ Concert Tour''.

2005–2007: W

In February 2006, photographs of Kago smoking were published to ''Friday Magazine''. Additional controversy surfaced because she was two years below the Japanese

legal smoking age The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or use tobacco products. Most countries have laws that forbid sale of tobacco products to persons younger than certain ages, usually the age of majority. This article does not discus ...

; Hello! Project soon issued a press statement, stating that the singer had been "suspended indefinitely". The ban lasted an entire year. During this time, she was not allowed to speak to Kago and continued to make appearances on television.

Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but has s ...

's official website announced on January 30, 2007 that Tsuji would be voice-acting as a guest for '' Keroro Gunso the Super Movie 2: The Deep Sea Princess''. She was scheduled to be double cast alongside Rika Ishikawa in , which opened on May 4, 2007 at the Nissei Theatre in Tokyo, where she was to perform until the 22nd, but due to

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

, she was eventually replaced by

. In March 2007, after Ai Kago's contract cancellation with Hello! Project, W disbanded. Several weeks later, news about Tsuji's new unit, Gyaruru, was released. It was intended to be made up of Tsuji alongside

Ami Tokito is a Japanese female pop singer and gravure idol. She made her debut in 2005 Miss ''Young Jump'', winning Tsunku's honorable award. She started acting as a child actress using her former stage names, Sachie Komatsu and Hikaru Asakura. She feat ...

and

Gal Sone is a female Japanese competitive eater and singer. Her popularity has helped produce a resurgence in Japanese competitive eating, or ''ōgui'', after the outcry following the death of a Japanese schoolboy imitating an eating stunt in 2002 result ...

. Tsuji voiced Athena in the animation series ''Robby & Kerobby'', and released a single "

Koko ni Iruzee! is the sixteenth single of J-pop idol group Morning Musume and was released October 30, 2002 under Zetima Records with the catalog number EPCE-5182. Track listing # – 4:28 #* Lyrics and composition by Tsunku; Arrangement by . # – 4:40 ...

" in May 2007 as the character, a cover version of the Morning Musume song by the same name.

2007–2010: Solo and blogging career, marriage and family

On June 19, 2008, Tsuji made an appearance at the ''Yuko Nakazawa Birthday Live 2008'' event, handing a

birthday cake A birthday cake is a cake eaten as part of a birthday celebration. Birthday cakes are often layer cakes with frosting served with small lit candles on top representing the celebrant's age. Variations include cupcakes, cake pops, pastries, and ...

to Nakazawa. On January 30, 2009, Tsuji started an online blog on Ameba, the title of which is commonly rendered as either . It was well received and quickly became one of the most popular blogs on the website. A May 2009 survey concluded that she was voted "Best Mom" by Japanese middle and high school girls. Tsuji performed at ''Hello Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyō Kinen Special~'' on February 1, 2009, her first concert performance in nearly two years.

2011–present: Book and second child

On June 17, 2011, her 24th birthday, Tsuji released a book of essays under Kodansha Limited, ''Non-chanpuru -mother-''. The book focuses on her experiences and advice concerning motherhood. Tsuji has stated that she would like to have more children. On December 25, 2011, it was claimed that Tsuji was living separately from Suguira due to personal financial problems, although rumors of a divorce were denied. Tsuji's agency countered that the living arrangements were in preparation for her full-time return to the entertainment industry and had nothing to do with the state of her marriage.

Personal life

In May 2007, she announced her engagement to Taiyo Sugiura, who she had met eleven months before. She also confirmed her pregnancy. A press conference was held in which both entertainers expressed their apologies to the public, amid praise and criticism coming from other renowned artists.

, who worked alongside Tsuji while they were both in Morning Musume, replaced her and was forced to learn all the required lines for ''When Will You Return?'' in a relatively short period of time.

Akiko Wada is an ethnically Korean Japanese singer, tarento and businesswoman from Tennōji-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture. She has various nicknames, one being "Akko". Due to her above-average height (174 cm or 5'8.5"), she is also nicknamed "jotei" (� ...

stated: "She says she's going out with the guy, going to get married, then reveals she's pregnant. It's all too neat. The kid has no sense of responsibility." Tsuji commented: "I will return to the public eye when things calm down after childbirth."

Asami Abe is a former Japanese singer and actress, also known as the younger sister of Japanese singer and actress Natsumi Abe. She started her career doing commercials for Nintendo Puzzle Collection, and she has also appeared in a few TV dramas. Biog ...

was forced to fill her position in Gyaruru, and

Risa Niigaki is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a fifth-generation member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with 3 others- Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after movin ...

eventually played her role as Athena in ''Robby & Kerobby''. Tsuji married Sugiura on June 21, 2007. She changed her name to , but continued to use her birthname professionally. The couple have four children."杉浦太陽・辻希美夫妻に長男誕生　「運命的なものを感じます」" ("Taiyo Sugiura, Nozomi Tsuji's husband, says he feels grateful for birth of second child")
''Oricon''. December 26, 2010. Retrieved May 16, 2011.

Discography

Single

Album

Digital Releases

Acting career

Film

* '' Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken!'' (2002) * (2007) * '' Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters the Movie: Protect the Tokyo Enetower!'' (2012)

Television

* (2000–2007) * * ''Angel Hearts'' (2002) * (2004) * (2009–) * ''

Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is Japanese tokusatsu drama and the 36th entry in Toei Company's Super Sentai metaseries, following ''Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger''. Its theme is based on spy movies and cyber technology and premiered on February 26, 2012 on TV Asahi, joining ''Kame ...

'' (2012 – ep 44) * ''

Inazuma Eleven is an association football-themed media franchise created by Level-5 (company), Level-5. The franchise began with the release of ''Inazuma Eleven (video game), Inazuma Eleven'' in 2008, with the game series selling over 8 million copies worldwide b ...

Publications

Photobooks

Others

References

External links

Official Hello! Project profile
*
Saruru official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsuji, Nozomi 11Water members 1987 births 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese child singers Japanese voice actresses Japanese television personalities Living people Japanese idols Morning Musume members Minimoni members W (group) members Singers from Tokyo