is a Japanese singer, actor and dancer formerly in the Japanese agency

Johnny & Associates is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rente ...

. He joined Johnny & Associates in 1995 and officially debuted in 2002 in the duo

Tackey & Tsubasa were a Japanese idol duo consisting of Hideaki Takizawa and Tsubasa Imai from the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates. Takizawa, nicknamed "Tackey" (sometimes spelled as its literal romanization, ), is best known for his drama works, and T ...

with

Hideaki Takizawa , also known professionally as , is a Japanese record producer and former singer and actor. In 2002, he debuted with Tsubasa Imai in the group Tackey & Tsubasa under the record label Avex Trax. In 2018, Takizawa retired from entertainment and ...

. They are signed to the record label Avex Trax. Imai released his first solo single, "Backborn", on February 24, 2010.

Profile

Tsubasa Imai was born in Fujisawa,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, on October 17, 1981. Among his colleagues, he is known as a very talented dancer. His close friends among those in Johnny Entertainment agency are

Tsuyoshi Domoto is a Japanese idol, singer, songwriter, actor, and television personality. Along with Koichi Domoto (with whom he has no blood-relation), he is a member of KinKi Kids, which is a Japanese duo under the management of Johnny & Associates and the r ...

Toma Ikuta is a Japanese actor. Ikuta is known for his roles in '' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'', ''Honey & Clover'', '' Sensei!'', '' Maō'' and '' Ouroboros''. He also stars in feature films, notably ''Hanamizuki'', '' Ningen Shikkaku'' and ''Brain Man'' ...

and

Sho Sakurai (born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, news anchor, host and former radio host. He is a member of the boy band Arashi. Sakurai began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent ...

. His nicknames are Tsuba and Imai-kun. He is an avid fan of the Japanese baseball team, the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

, having supporting them since the time they were known as Taiyou Whales. Tsubasa is known as one of the "Four Dancing Kings" in the Johnny & Associate agency along with

Koichi Domoto is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, singer-songwriter, composer, lyricist, television personality, voice actor. Along with Tsuyoshi Domoto (with whom he has no blood-relation), he is a member of the duo KinKi Kids, who holds the Guinness World Rec ...

KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

. He has also appeared in many dramas and was the second lead in the annual musical production ''

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

''. He returned to play the second lead role in the 2005 production of Endless Shock.

Career

Audition

Tsubasa's older sister who was a fan of TOKIO sent in his application. During the audition,

Johnny Kitagawa John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name ; October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as , was an American-born Japanese businessman and talent manager. He was the founder and president of Johnny & Associates, a production agency for nu ...

noticed his dancing and remarked, "YOU dance well." Tsubasa was originally supposed to debut solo, but decided along with Takizawa they would debut as a unit,

Flamenco

In 2007 Tsubasa took a trip to Spain where he instantly fell in love with flamenco. He studied under the professional flamenco artist Hiroki Sato.

Ménière's Disease

While rehearsing for Playzone in 2014, Tsubasa began to experience vertigo and found difficulty standing. He was admitted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with

Ménière's Disease Ménière's disease (MD) is a disease of the inner ear that is characterized by potentially severe and incapacitating episodes of vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. Typically, only one ear is affected initial ...

Filmography

Television

* ''Mokuyou no kaidan'' (1995) * ''Brothers (ブラザーズ)'' (1998) * '' Summer Snow'' (2000) * ''Never Land'' (2001) * ''Saigo no Bengonin'' (The Last Lawyer) (2003) * ''Haru to Natsu'' (2005) * '' Yoshitsune'' (2005),

Nasu no Yoichi (c. 1169 – c. 1232) was a ''samurai'' who fought alongside the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War. He is particularly famous for his actions at the Battle of Yashima in 1185. According to the ''Heike Monogatari'', the enemy Taira placed a fan at ...

* ''

Kirin ga Kuru Awaiting Kirin is a 2020 Japanese historical drama television series starring Hiroki Hasegawa as Akechi Mitsuhide, a samurai and general during the Sengoku period. The series is the 59th NHK taiga drama, premiering on January 19, 2020. It is t ...

'' (2020), Mōri Shinsuke * ''Ojisan wa Kawaii Mono ga Osuki'' (2020)

Film

* ''Life in Overtime'' (2018) * '' What She Likes...'' (2021) * ''Tell Me'' (2022), Hiroshi

Anime

* ''Layton Detective Agency ~Katrielle's Mystery Solving Files~'' as Simon Wright (2018)

Discography

See: Tackey & Tsubasa Discography

Singles

Radio

* ''To base (翼のto base)'' is Tsubasa's weekly radio show which is broadcast on the Japanese radio station JORQ AM 1134 kHz.

TV

* TV de Spain-Go

Commercials

* Tongari Corn Commercial spokesperson ( 2001–2006 ) * Nissin (2011)

Concerts

* "TSUBACON" 2004 (August 6–18, 2004) * "23 to 24" First Solo Tour 2005 (September 17 - November 6; December 28–29, 2005) * "STYLE" 2006 Tour (August 12 - October 1, 2006) * "Dance and Rock Tour '09 (2009) * LHTOUR 2011 Dance & Rock Third Floor ~DiVelN to SExaLiVe (2011)

Stage

An annual musical production, ''

'' is performed in the

Imperial Garden Theater The , often referred to simply as the Teigeki (帝劇), and previously the Imperial Garden Theater, is a Japanese theater located in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan operated by Toho. History Opened in 1911 as the first Western-style theater in ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. The lead role is played by

and Tsubasa acts in the second leading role. * Shock 2000 - ''Millenium Shock'' (November 2–26) * Shock 2001-2002 - ''Shock'' (December 1–25; January 3–27) * Shock 2002 - ''Shock'' (June 4–28) * Shock 2004 - ''Shocking Shock'' (February 6–29） * Shock 2005 - ''Endless Shock'' (January 8 - February 28） * Shock 2006 - ''Endless Shock'' (February 6 - March 29） * "World Wing 翼 Premium (2007) * "World Wing 翼 Premium (2008) * PLAYZONE 2010 - ''ROAD TO PLAYZONE'' * PLAYZONE 2011 - SONG & DANC'N * PLAYZONE 2012 - SONG & DANC'N PART II * PLAYZONE 2013 - SONG & DANC'N PART III * PLAYZONE 1986….2014 ★Arigatou! ~AOYAMA THEATRE★ (July 6 - September) * PLAYZONE 2015 - ★Sayonara! ~AOYAMA THEATRE★ PLAYZONE 30YEARS * Burn the Floor 2012 - Around the World Tour (December 5–9 TOKYU Theatre Orb; December 12–16 Orix Theatre Osaka) * Burn the Floor 2014 - Dance with You (May 2–7 TOKYU Theatre Orb; May 9–13 Festival Hall; May 16–18 Nagoya Congress Center) * GOEMON (2014) * GOEMON (2016) * Marius (2017) *

Musical GOYA Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the na ...

(2021)

title role The title character in a Narrative, narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The ...

Videos/DVDs

* ''"TSUBACON" 2004'' * ''"23 to 24" First Solo Tour 2005'' * ''Dance and Rock Tour '09'' * ''LHTOUR 2011 Dance & Rock Third Floor ~DiVelN to SExaLiVe''

References

External links

Tackey & Tsubasa official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imai, Tsubasa 1981 births 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers Avex Group artists Japanese film actors Japanese male actors Japanese male dancers Japanese male pop singers Japanese television actors Johnny & Associates Living people Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture People from Fujisawa, Kanagawa People with Ménière's Disease