is a Japanese singer, actress and model. She is a former sixth-generation member and former leader of the
J-pop
J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...
group
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 ...
. Following the departure of fifth-generation member
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 ...
on October 12, 2013, Michishige has the longest tenure of any member in the group's history.
Michishige was born in
Ube,
Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...
, Japan. She joined
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 ...
in 2003 along with
Eri Kamei
is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on December ...
,
Miki Fujimoto
(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former pop singer. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto d ...
, and
Reina Tanaka
is a Japanese singer and actress. She is the leader of the Japanese rock band Lovendor. From 2002 to 2013, she was one of the main vocalists of the girl group Morning Musume and participated in other music acts under the Hello! Project name.
...
, who all debuted with Morning Musume on the group's nineteenth single, "
Shabondama
(lit. "Soap Bubbles") is a Japanese nursery rhyme written by Ujō Noguchi in 1922. It is widely taught in Japanese nursery schools and kindergartens as a simple melody; it is also sometimes used in elementary school moral education courses, whe ...
". In 2005, she was assigned as mentor to seventh-generation member
Koharu Kusumi
is a Japanese actress, model, television personality, singer, and voice actress. In 2005, she became the only seventh generation member of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume, a part of Hello! Project.
While Kusumi was in Morning Musume, she p ...
, until Kusumi left the group in December 2009. Michishige was also a member of the
Hello! Project unit
Ecomoni
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 ...
, along with former Morning Musume member
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 ...
.
She portrays a visual-focused, self-confident image of herself in more TV shows, often calling herself the cutest member in Morning Musume and saying that her cuteness overwhelms her poor singing skills. In one of the skits known as Hello! Morning Theatre on their variety show,
Hello! Morning
was a weekly Japanese TV show featuring members of Morning Musume, and sometimes other Hello! Project members on TV Tokyo. It was also known by the shorter name of . On April 1, 2007, the show ended after seven years of broadcast. A new show fe ...
, she frequently played a character known as "Ichiban Kawaii" (Cutest).
Biography
Early life and family
Michishige is from Ube, Yamaguchi. She is the youngest child in the family, she has an elder brother and an elder sister.
Morning Musume Career (2003 - 2014)
In 2002, at the age of 13, Michishige participated in the ''Love Audition 2002'' held by Up-Front Agency in search of new members for the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume. Tens of thousand of contestants auditioned, but only four where chosen in the final stage. Michishige, along with
Eri Kamei
is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on December ...
,
Miki Fujimoto
(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former pop singer. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto d ...
, and
Reina Tanaka
is a Japanese singer and actress. She is the leader of the Japanese rock band Lovendor. From 2002 to 2013, she was one of the main vocalists of the girl group Morning Musume and participated in other music acts under the Hello! Project name.
...
were admitted to Morning Musume as sixth-generation members on January 19, 2003.
A few weeks later, she was placed in Morning Musume's subgroup
Morning Musume Otomegumi, when the group was temporarily divided so it could perform in smaller towns, thereby reaching out to a greater number of fans who could not otherwise watch them perform live. During the spring, she, along with the other sixth-generation members, made her first concert appearance on the ''Morning Musume Concert Tour 2003 Spring "Non Stop!"'' during second-generation member
Kei Yasuda
is a Japanese singer, musician and actress under the Hello! Project. She was a member and co-leader of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume. Yasuda, along with Mari Yaguchi and Sayaka Ichii, were the second generation of singers to be recru ...
's leaving ceremony.
On July 16, 2003, the sixth-generation members (with the exception of
Miki Fujimoto
(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former pop singer. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto d ...
) released their first
photobook
A photo book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. A photo book is related to and also often used as a coffee table book.
Early
Early photo books are characterized by their use of ...
and corresponding
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
, both shot in Hawaii, as part of the series. Their musical debut came shortly thereafter, on July 30, with Morning Musume's 19th single, "
Shabondama
(lit. "Soap Bubbles") is a Japanese nursery rhyme written by Ujō Noguchi in 1922. It is widely taught in Japanese nursery schools and kindergartens as a simple melody; it is also sometimes used in elementary school moral education courses, whe ...
". Towards the end of 2003, Michishige began appearing in the show , as a regular with ex-Morning Musume member
Yuko Nakazawa
is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is also a member of Japanese pop group Dream Morning Musume.
Biography
Yuko Nakazawa was born in Kyo ...
.
2004 saw her first appearance on an album, ''
Best! Morning Musume 2
is the second "best of" compilation from the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume and it was released March 31, 2004, selling a total of 180,897 copies. It contains ten of the A-sides released since the release of Best! Morning Musume 1 in 2 ...
'', and in a movie—. During the summer, Michishige appeared in her first solo photobook and was placed in a temporary unit called
Ecomoni
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 ...
with fourth-generation Morning Musume member
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 ...
. Originally, the goal of the group was to promote environmental awareness only for the duration of the festival, but their popularity led to the members being cast as voice actors for the fourth
Hamtaro
''Hamtaro'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese manga and storybook series created and illustrated by Ritsuko Kawai about a hamster. The manga was serialized in Shogakukan's "Second Grade" magazine in April 1997; more ''Hamtaro'' stori ...
movie—along with
Hello! Project soloist
Aya Matsuura
is a Japanese actress and pop singer, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
Career
2000–2009: Hello! Project
Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part o ...
, with whom they also released the main theme for the film, titled —and appeared in subsequent festivals.
In 2005, Michshige and Rika Ishikawa released a duo photobook titled . Michishige also appeared as a regular news anchor on Hello! Morning for most of the second half of 2005. That same year, she was assigned to be a mentor to seventh-generation member
Koharu Kusumi
is a Japanese actress, model, television personality, singer, and voice actress. In 2005, she became the only seventh generation member of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume, a part of Hello! Project.
While Kusumi was in Morning Musume, she p ...
, with whom she formed a duo called Rainbow Pink in the beginning of 2006. Introducing themselves as "Shige-pink" and "Koha-pink", the group was featured on
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 ...
's seventh album, ''
Rainbow 7
is the seventh album by the J-pop idol group Morning Musume. It is the first album to feature 7th generation member Koharu Kusumi and first album after graduation of Kaori Iida and Rika Ishikawa and departure of Mari Yaguchi. It was released on F ...
'', with the song , and subsequently on the ''
7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!'' and ''
Sexy 8 Beat
''Sexy 8 Beat'' (stylized as ) is the eighth studio album by the J-pop girl group Morning Musume.
Overview
It is the first album to feature 8th generation member Aika Mitsui and the last full-length studio release to feature 4th generation member ...
'' albums, with and , respectively.
Following in fellow
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 ...
member
Miki Fujimoto
(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former pop singer. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto d ...
's footsteps, Michishige began hosting a radio show titled in October 2006. Running approximately 30 minutes per episode, Michishige's show consisted of her answering fan mail and participating in several games, among which saying a given phrase/expression in reverse, and giving general advice to her listeners.
Michishige's second solo photobook, titled , was published on January 15, 2007. Shot in
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
, the book featured school uniform, swimsuit, simple one-piece, and wet yukata/bathrobe shots, in an attempt to convey a more mature image of the seventeen-year-old idol.
Michishige also starred in , an original internet drama created for the purpose of advertising the
Family Restaurant
Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while catego ...
chain , as , a novice waitress training under the supervision of her seniors (played by Morning Musume's
Ai Takahashi
(born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the Hello! Project and is best known as the leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project until 2011. She is also a former member of its popular subgroup Mini Mon ...
) and (Reiko Tokita).
On June 9, 2007, Michishige began co-hosting the ''Young Town'' radio show as a result of Miki Fujimoto's ''Friday'' magazine scandal and subsequent resignation from Morning Musume. Shortly thereafter she released her third solo photobook and DVD, ''17: Love Hello'', both shot on the island of
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
. Her fourth solo photobook, ''Sōsō'', was published in December 2007.
![Mitsui, Michishige, Kamei - Platinum 9 Tour Spring 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Mitsui%2C_Michishige%2C_Kamei_-_Platinum_9_Tour_Spring_2009.jpg)
On January 3, 2009, for the first time since she joined Morning Musume, Michishige appeared as an independent talent on a TV show, namely the quiz show. A cast of 30 performers (including former v-u-den member
Yui Okada
(born December 28, 1987, in Yao, Osaka, Japan) is a gravure model, model and race queen, former member of Japanese idol pop group v-u-den that was associated with Hello! Project. She remained within the group until its disbandment in 2008, aft ...
and former second-generation Morning Musume member
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 ...
) gathered to answer a series of questions taken from elementary school textbooks. From a total of 60 questions she managed to score 22 (37%) and placed 29th. Later that year, Michishige was assigned to be a part of the new shuffle group
zoku v-u-den, a revival of v-u-den, along with
Risako Sugaya
is a former Japanese singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became one of the lead vocalists of the girl group Berryz Kobo from 2004 to 2015.
Career 2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids, 4 ...
(of
Berryz Kobo
was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members consisted of Hello! Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Y ...
) and
Junjun (also of Morning Musume).
When
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 ...
left on May 18, 2012, Sayumi Michishige was declared the new Morning Musume leader.
On April 29, 2014, during the Morning Musume '14 Concert Tour Haru: Evolution concert in Yamaguchi, Michishige announced her graduation from Morning Musume and Hello! Project. She is set to leave during Morning Musume's Fall 2014 concert tour. With her exit announced for Morning Musume's Fall 2014 concert tour, the group consisted only of the three most recent generations since the introduction of the fourth-generation members in 2000. On November 26, 2014, she graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project, and in her place,
Mizuki Fukumura
is a Japanese singer, dancer, and actress. She is a ninth-generation member, current leader of the pop group Morning Musume as well as the current and seventh leader of Hello Project. Prior to becoming part of Morning Musume, Fukumura was known ...
was named group leader.
Post Morning Musume/Comeback Announcement (2014 - 2016)
After graduating, Michishige announced that she will take time to rest her mind and body and citied a possible comeback in the future.
On October 2 of 2016, Michishige posted an entry in her blog after 2 years of absence. After that post she has been regularly updating her blog.
On November 26, she posted on her blog entry, "Michishige Sayumi Saisei" (道重さゆみ再生; Michishige Sayumi Rebirth) in hiragana, and in it she announced that should would be resuming activities starting Spring of 2017.
Solo Artist Activities (2017 - )
Currently Michishige is working under Up Front Promotion. Her performance, ~SAYUMINGLANDOLL~ ran in March and July at the Cotton Club.
Works
Photobooks
Books
Singles
Other Songs
Best albums
Original Soundtracks Albums
Video albums
Videogames
Movies
Stage
Series
Television
Radio
References
External links
Official blog
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michishige, Sayumi
1989 births
Japanese female idols
21st-century Japanese women singers
21st-century Japanese singers
Japanese child singers
Japanese women pop singers
Japanese radio personalities
Living people
Morning Musume members
V-u-den members
Voice actresses from Yamaguchi Prefecture
Musicians from Yamaguchi Prefecture