is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

girl groups

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a ...

and

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, a ...

. As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of

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 ...

's singles. As an actress, she has played roles in numerous films and television series, including '' Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One'' and the 99th

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

asadora , colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. The first such series aired in 1961 with the black-and-white , starring Take ...

Manpuku , sometimes romanized as ''Mampuku'', is a Japanese television drama series and the 99th Asadora series, following ''Hanbun, Aoi''. It premiered on 1 October 2018, and concluded on 30 March 2019. The series is based on the lives of Momofuku Andō ...

''.

Early life

Matsui was born in

Toyohashi is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-lar ...

, Aichi Prefecture on July 27, 1991. She participated in the first SKE48 audition, held in July 2008, and was selected to join the group.

Career

SKE48 and Nogizaka46

Team S made its debut on October 5, 2008. She was also chosen to be in the main lineup for

's single " 10nen Zakura". Her first photobook, titled ''Kingyo'', was published on March 1, 2012. In April 2013, SKE48 reorganized the teams, and Matsui was appointed the captain of Team E. In AKB48's 2013 General Election, she placed seventh overall with 73,173 votes. In the AKB48 Group Daisokaku Matsuri, held February 24, 2014, she became a member of Nogizaka46 while remaining in SKE48's Team E. She made her debut as a member of Nogizaka46 during the group's handshake event for their single "Kizuitara Katamoi" at the

Makuhari Messe is a Japanese convention center outside Tokyo, located in the Mihama-ku ward of Chiba City, in the northwest corner of Chiba Prefecture. Designed by Fumihiko Maki, it is accessible by Tokyo's commuter rail system. ''Makuhari'' is the name of ...

convention center in Chiba on April 13, 2014. For her first performance with Nogizaka46, Rena Matsui performed "Kizuitara Kataomoi" with the other members of the group. She published her second photobook, titled ''Hemeretto'', on April 1, 2014. In AKB48's 2014 General Election, she placed fifth overall with 69,790 votes. On March 26, 2015, during a concert at

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

, it was announced that her concurrent position in Nogizaka46 would be cancelled. On June 11, 2015, she announced that she would graduate from SKE48 at the end of August. Her graduation concert, titled "Matsui Rena SKE48 Graduation Concert in Toyota Stadium: 2588 Days" was held on August 30, 2015, at Toyota Stadium. Her last performance with

occurred the following day.

Acting

Since graduating from SKE48, Matsui has worked as an actress in several TV series and films, including '' Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One'' and the ninety-ninth

''. Matsui opened her YouTube channel in 2021.

Writing

Matsui made her debut as a fiction writer in 2018, publishing the short story "Nugutte mo, nugutte mo" in the literary journal ''Subaru''. The story was included in her first short story collection, titled '' Camouflage'', which was published by

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

in 2019. Her second book of fiction, titled ''Ruirui'' and consisting of five connected stories, was published by Shueisha in 2021. That same year a collection of previously published and new essays about her experiences with food, titled ''Secret Food'', was published by Magazine House.

Bibliography

Photobooks

Discography

Singles with SKE48

Singles with AKB48

Singles with Nogizaka46

Solo singles

Stage units

;Team S 1st Stage *クラスメイト (Classmate) *星の温度 (Hoshi no ondo) ;Team S 2nd Stage *雨のピアニスト (Ame no Pianist (1st Unit)) *チョコの行方 (Choco no Yukue (2nd Unit)) ;Team S 3rd Stage *枯葉のステーション (Kareha no Station (Solo)) *Omoide Ijou (2nd Unit) ;Team E 3rd Stage *ヒグラシノコ (Higurashi no Koi) ;Team E 4th Stage *この胸のバーコード (Kono Mune no Barcode)

Filmography

Films

Television

Radio

Theater

References

External links

* at grick * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsui, Rena Living people 1991 births Japanese women pop singers 21st-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese women writers Japanese idols Japanese voice actresses SKE48 members Nogizaka46 members Japanese trumpeters Women trumpeters Musicians from Aichi Prefecture People from Toyohashi