is a former Japanese actress, singer, model, and television personality. She is a former member of the
idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...
Keyakizaka46 (now
Sakurazaka46
, formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. Following the resignation of group's center Yurina Hirate and ...
).
Career
Early career
In 2011, Imaizumi was a member of the underground idol group Smile Gakuen (
スマイル学園) under the name , also known as . She left the group in March 2012.
2015–2018: Keyakizaka46
On August 21, 2015, Imaizumi along with 22 other members were announced for the newly created idol group, Toriizaka46 (later
Keyakizaka46
, formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. Following the resignation of group's center Yurina Hirate and ...
). Imaizumi made her musical debut with Keyakizaka46's first single, "
Silent Majority
The silent majority is an unspecified large group of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly. The term was popularized by U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised address on November 3, 1969, in which he said, "A ...
".
She formed a duo named with
Yui Kobayashi
is a Japanese model and member of idol group Sakurazaka46. She is represented by Sony Music Records and is an exclusive model with fashion magazine ''with''.
Career Keyakizaka46
On August 21, 2015, Kobayashi along with 22 other members were a ...
due to the fact that they share the same name and play the guitar. After debuting in ''Silent Majority'', the duo continued performing after positive fan feedback.
Additionally, Imaizumi made two song appearances as part of Sakamichi AKB (坂道AKB), a group made of various
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 ...
and
Sakamichi members. Aside from music, Imaizumi also started her modeling career, becoming a regular model for the fashion magazine ''Ar'' and published a solo
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 ...
titled .
In April 2017, Imaizumi took an temporary leave from the group due to poor health and returned in August the same year. She took another break in December.
After the release of "
Ambivalent", Imaizumi officially departed from the group on November 5, 2018 during a farewell ceremony in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
, expressing her desire to pursue other forms of entertainment. She became the third member to leave the group, and the first member to leave since their musical debut.
2019–2022: Solo career
In January, Imaizumi changed her management company from
Sony Music Japan
, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...
to
Avex Group
is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...
. Her first independent acting role was in the
stage play
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright.
Pla ...
.
Since then, Imaizumi has been involved in many different projects. She was featured in a
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...
produced by
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
titled , was a regular on the
MBS Radio show , starred in the 2020 movie '','' and performed in a stage adaptation of ''
Azumi
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Koyama. Its story concerns the title character, a young woman brought up as part of a team of assassins, charged with killing the warlords that threaten the uneasy peace in Feudal Jap ...
''.
On July 4, 2021, Imaizumi ended her contract with Avex and became an independent talent. She launched her official blog on September 30.
In November 2021, Imaizumi portrayed the title character in the stage adaptation of the manga ''
Lady Snowblood''
and performed the theme song, which was released digitally.
She continued the role in the sequel in February 2022.
In September 2022, it was announced that Imaizumi had been suffering with hearing loss. She still appeared in the stage play ''Saigo no Isha wa Sakura wo Miagete Kimi wo Omou'' that month as scheduled, although in a different role.
On October 26, Imaizumi announced her retirement from the entertainment industry, citing concerns about the media's intrusion to the private lives of her family and child. She also revealed that she has been diagnosed with mild
squamous intraepithelial lesion
A squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) is an abnormal growth of epithelial cells on the surface of the cervix, commonly called squamous cells. This condition can lead to cervical cancer, but can be diagnosed using a Pap smear or a colposcopy. It c ...
s.
Personal life
Imaizumi has four older brothers and is the youngest child in her family.
In January 2021, Imaizumi announced her pregnancy and upcoming marriage to then-
YouTuber
A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006.
Influence
Influent ...
and rapper
Mahoto Watanabe
is a former Japanese YouTuber and rapper. He was part of the hip hop group Kaiware Hummer, releasing music under the stage name Bema.
In January 2021, Watanabe allegedly solicited nude photos from an underage fan, which subsequently caused his ...
. She gave birth to a girl on June 25, 2021. However, due to Watanabe's arrest, Imaizumi announced that she would not be registering her marriage to him and would raise her child with the help of her family.
Discography
Keyakizaka46
Sakamichi AKB
Solo career
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
References
External links
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imaizumi, Yui
1998 births
Living people
Japanese idols
Keyakizaka46 members
Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture