, born on June 19, 1969, in

Yanagawa, Fukuoka is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of April 30, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 71,848, with 24,507 households and a population density of 934.55 persons per km². The total area is 76.88 km². On March 21, ...

, is a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

woman who is a Japanese

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as "tal ...

and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. After studying dance in New York City, she returned to Japan and was a member of the musical group

Dos DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

with Taeco Nishikawa and

Asami Yoshino is a feminine Japanese given name which can also be used as a surname. Possible writings Asami can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: ;as a given name *麻美, "hemp, beauty" *朝美, "morning, beauty" *朝海, "morning, ...

Life and career

As a celebrity, Kaba-chan was open with her sexuality. While she was already known for her

flamboyant Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

character in Dos, she

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as a gay man publicly on television on a 2002 episode of the

Japanese variety show A Japanese variety show is an entertainment television program made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts. Japanese variety shows are predominantly made to be weird and extremely fast ...

Dancing Sanma Palace Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

''. In October 2014, when appearing on the talk show ''Uchi Kuru!?'' with drag queen Mitz Mangrove and transvestite LGBT activist

Matsuko Deluxe is a Japanese columnist, essayist, and TV personality. Matsuko is a female persona and stage name assumed by a cross-dressing gay man. She has been described as plus-sized and gravely-voiced with a sharp tongue. Before Matsuko Deluxe The perso ...

, Kaba-chan revealed that she had undergone

orchiectomy Orchiectomy (also named orchidectomy, and sometimes shortened as orchi or orchie) is a surgical procedure in which one or both testicles are removed. The surgery is performed as treatment for testicular cancer, as part of surgery for transgend ...

that past June, in addition to having had plastic surgery and begun

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are oncologic horm ...

, and intended to have her gender officially changed in the ''

koseki A or family register is a Japanese family registry. Japanese law requires all Japanese households (basically defined as married couples and their unmarried children) to make notifications of their vital records (such as births, adoptions, death ...

''. In July 2015, she revealed while on the television show ''Non-Stop!'' that she was preparing to travel abroad to undergo counseling in preparation for

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

, as the Japanese law requires she medically transition before being allowed to have her gender legally changed, saying she may have been born a man but would like to die as a woman. In August, she appeared on a special women's only talk show promoting the release of the film '' Piece of Cake'' and announced that she would be going out of Japan to wait for her surgery. She expressed a desire to have her gender change officially recognized in front of a crowd at the National Olympic Stadium and that fellow LGBT celebrities Mitz Mangrove, Matsuko Deluxe, and Ikko were all supportive of her decision and wished her good health. In September 2016, she announced that she had officially changed her legal name to . Kaba-chan was also a (male performing) contestant on two editions of Japan's ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' entitled , winning its "1 day special" episode with dancing partner Hidemi Yamamoto performing a

pasodoble Pasodoble (Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military march gave rise r ...

and also winning its second "1 day special" with partner RYOKO performing a

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

Choreography

SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-pi ...

**''

SMAP×SMAP ''SMAP×SMAP'', often referred to simply as ''Sma-Sma'', was a Japanese television variety show hosted by boy band SMAP. Debuting on April 15, 1996, it was produced by Kansai TV and Fuji TV and aired on Fuji TV every Monday from 10:00 p.m. t ...

'' **"Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" **SMAP concerts *

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

**"

Body Feels Exit "Body Feels Exit" (stylized as Body Feels EXIT) is Namie Amuro's debut solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released nine days after her only album with former label, Toshiba-EMI, "Body Feels Exit" debuted in the top three on the Oricon chart and ...

" **"

Chase the Chance "Chase the Chance" is Namie Amuro's second solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released in December 1995, it debuted at number one on the Oricon charts becoming her first of five million selling singles. As of August 2012, the single has sold 1.3& ...

" **"

Don't Wanna Cry "I Don't Wanna Cry" is a song by Mariah Carey. I Don't Wanna Cry or Don't Wanna Cry may also refer to: * ''I Don't Want to Cry!'', Chuck Jackson's 1961 debut studio album or its title track * "I Don't Wanna Cry" (Larry Gatlin song), 1977 * "Don't ...

" **"

You're My Sunshine "You're My Sunshine" is Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active b ...

" **"

Sweet 19 Blues ''Sweet 19 Blues'' (stylized ''SWEET 19 BLUES'') is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. The album was released in four different slipcases, with the first three cases limited to 1,000,000 copies each—were put on sa ...

" **"

A Walk in the Park "A Walk in the Park" is a song by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro from her third studio album ''Concentration 20'' (1997). The song was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. It was written, composed and produced by Tets ...

" **"

How to Be a Girl "How to Be a Girl" is a single written and produced by Tetsuya Komuro and performed by Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songw ...

" **" Toi et Moi" **''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' ** Namie Amuro "Play" Tour 2007–2008 *

Tomomi Kahara born on August 17, 1974 in Tokyo), is a Japanese pop singer. She is famous for working with Tetsuya Komuro who gave her much success in the 1990s, which led to her deep dip in popularity after 1999, the year in which she released her first no ...

**"keep yourself alive" **"I Believe" **"Arigato ne!" *dos **"Baby baby baby" **"More Kiss" **"Close Your Eyes" *

Toshinori Yonekura born October 21, 1972, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer originally from Toyonaka, Osaka. Known as "Yone" to fans, Toshinori made his major label debut with the single "Mikan no Android" in 1992 on Geneon Entertainment. Aside f ...

Tanpopo was a sub-group of the Japanese idol girl group Morning Musume and associated with Hello! Project. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in November 1998 as Morning Musume's first sub-group. While the main group Morning Musume features predominan ...

**"Last Kiss" * MAX **"Love impact" **"Ginga no Chikai" *

Arisa Mizuki is a Japanese actress, singer, and model. Mizuki is represented by the talent agency Vision Factory. Born in Nerima, Tokyo to Japanese-American parents, Mizuki began modelling for magazines and appearing in commercials at the age of four. On M ...

* Sanpei **"Sanpei Days" **"Sanpei no 39 Days" **"Sanpei no Everyday" *

Rag Fair RAG FAIR (ラグフェアー ''Ragu Feā'') are a Japanese male a cappella band. Its members are ''Reo Tsuchiya'', ''Yosuke Hikichi'', ''Kenichi Arai'', ''Yoshiyuki Kato'', ''Takamasa Kano'', and ''Masayoshi Okumura''. They met each other at Sa ...

**"Rabu Rabu na Couple, Furi Furi de Chū" *

Chiaki is a unisex Japanese given name used mostly by females and is occasionally used as a surname. Possible writings Chiaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *千秋, "thousand, autumn" *千明, "thousand, light" *千晶, " ...

with Kaba-chan **"Tsuraine Akachan!" *

Keiko Matsuzaka (born July 20, 1952) is a Japanese actress. Early life Born in Ōta, Tokyo, her father was a naturalized South Korean while her mother was Japanese. Career In the 1960s, Matsuzaka became a child actress. Matsuzaka grew into adulthood in film ...

* Pink Lady **Memorial concert *

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

*Pabo **"Koi no Hexagon" *

Yazima Beauty Salon is a Japanese vocal group consisting of DJ Ozma and the owarai group Tunnels in character and in drag depicting a group of women they found scouting for talent in Las Vegas, Nevada. The group is on the Avex label. Members ;: The 36-year-old mat ...

**"Hamaguri Bomber"

Discography

* performed by

Rica Matsumoto is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer who was born in Yokohama, Japan. Her name is also sometimes romanized as Rica Matsumoto. She was one of the founders of the anison band JAM Project. After early stage work, she began both voice ac ...

Toshiko Ezaki is a Japanese musician, composer, singer, songwriter, and producer from Kyoto, Japan. While she recently released her 5th CD (album), CD, ''Arbol Grande'', she is better known for having written and sung songs for ''Pokémon: Advanced Generatio ...

**Track 3: performed by * performed by

with Kaba-chan * performed by C.K.M. (Chiaki, Kaba-chan, & Monroe)

Filmography

Film

*'' Arashi no Yoru Ni'' - Grandmother goat *'' Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys'' - Voice cameo *''

The Movie: Reaching a Nevada Dream'' - Mysterious cleaning lady *'' Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum'' - Yu Kamimura *''

Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land is the 2013 film adaptation of the 2012 & 2013 Kamen Rider Series television series ''Kamen Rider Wizard''. It was released on August 3, 2013, as a double-bill with '' Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger: Gaburincho of Music''. The film features Takanori Jin ...

'' - Yu Kamimura *'' Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard: The Fateful Sengoku Movie Battle'' - Yu Kamimura

Television

*''

Waratte Iitomo! was a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show was hosted by Tamori (Kazuyoshi Morita) and ran from 1982 to 2014. The show was produced in the Studio Alta building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The show featured a series of regular mem ...

'' (regular from October 2002 to March 2005) *''

Pokémon Chronicles ''Pokémon Chronicles'', partly known in Japan as , is a spin-off series of the original ''Pokémon'' anime, revolving around characters other than Ash Ketchum. It first aired in Japan on October 15, 2002 on TV Tokyo and concluded on Septemb ...

'' *'' Super Morning'' commentator *'' Jungle Tantei'' (2009) - Hippo (Voice) *''

Kamen Rider Wizard is a Japanese tokusatsu drama in Toei Company's '' Kamen Rider'' franchise, being the fourteenth series in the Heisei period run and the twenty-third overall. It began airing on TV Asahi on September 2, 2012, joining ''Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters' ...

'' (2012) - Yu Kamimura

References

External links

Official blog
{{Authority control 1969 births Japanese choreographers Living people Japanese LGBT musicians Japanese LGBT people People from Yanagawa, Fukuoka Actors from Fukuoka Prefecture Transgender women 21st-century Japanese actresses