Kazunari Ninomiya (二宮 和也, Ninomiya Kazunari, born June 17, 1983), often called Nino (ニノ), is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor, presenter and radio host. He is a member of the Japanese idol group Arashi, group that is under agent contract with Starto Entertainment.
Early life
Ninomiya was born in Katsushika, Tokyo as the youngest child of his family,[1] his sister is two years older than he is. His father and mother were both working as chefs when they met.[2] When Ninomiya was born, his grandfather immediately came home and named him the heir to the family's windshield wiper factory, since he was his grandfather's only grandson.[3]
Ninomiya graduated from high school in March 2002 at the age of 18.[4]
Career
Ninomiya's career began in the entertainment industry when Ninomiya's cousin sent in an application to Johnny & Associates without his knowledge, and his mother's prodding.[5] After attending and passing the auditions, he joined the talent agency in 1996 aged 13.[1][6][7]
Prior to his debut with Arashi, Ninomiya started an acting career when he was cast as Chris for the stage play Stand by Me, which was based on the film of the same name.[8] He has starred in numerous television drama, movie and stage production since then, and has been regarded as the actor of Arashi, described as an actor who can act with his mouth and eyes.[9] Ninomiya has won a number of awards and nominations for his roles.[10]
Ninomiya announced he would become independent from the agency on 24 October 2023. Regarding his participation as member of Arashi, he said they would work together when they resume activities.[11][12]
On November 7, 2023, he announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he had established a company. He had announced before that he was making a website along with his sister. In the post in which he announced the company, he also said that "the website is also progressing". Husband of former long-distance runner Akemi Masuda, Yuuji Kiwaki, also participates in operating the newly established company Office Nino, inc.[13][14] On December 16, 2023, he shared on X (formerly Twitter) his official website.[15][16] He posted as a description on his profile that he had completed it.[17][18][19]
On June 7, 2024, Ninomiya announced the release of "DigiNino", a smartphone app, and the opening of his official fan club, "Office Nino Holdings", both on June 17.[20]
Nino hosts a variety show for TV Tokyo for the first time (and his first appearance in 26 years), "Geki kawa petto dai shūgō! Wan Nyan Ninoland", which is to air on August 31, 2024. He and his co-host, Shimofuri Myojo's Seiya [ja] Ishikawa appear as a CG dog and cat, respectively, in what is said to be "the ultimate pet program that delivers from the perspective of animals"; the concept of the show is a secret gathering in which animals have the main roles.[21]
Music career
For music-related releases and activities as a member of Arashi, see Arashi.
In 2004, Ninomiya penned and composed "Konseki" (痕跡)[22] for his solo performance during Arashi's Iza, Now!! tour. Although Arashi's fifth studio album One was the first of their albums to feature solo songs of each member, Ninomiya did not provide lyrics or music for official release until the Time album almost two years later.
In 2007, the group's eighteenth single "Love So Sweet" was released with the limited edition containing the bonus song "Fight Song" (ファイトソング, "Faito Songu"), which was written by Arashi and composed by Ninomiya in 2006 for their variety show G no Arashi.[23] On July 11, 2007, the Time album was released with the limited edition containing solo song of each member. Ninomiya wrote the lyrics to his solo song, "Niji" (虹, "Rainbow"),[24] and played the piano portion of the song throughout Arashi's summer tour.[25] He later reprised the performance throughout Arashi's second Asia Tour in 2008.[26]
In 2008, Ninomiya composed, co-arranged and penned the lyrics for his solo "Gimmick Game".[27] In 2010, Ninomiya also composed, co-arranged and penned the lyrics for his solo "1992*4##111".[28] According to Ninomiya himself, the title is read as "arigatō" (ありがとう, thank you).[29]
During Arashi's hiatus, Ninomiya released, in 2022, a solo album with his choice of cover songs, on June 17, in CD (+DVD/BR) for the members of Arashi's Fan Club, and June 20, in digital download and streaming. With this, he became the second member, after Satoshi Ohno, to release a solo work. The album, Marumaru to Ninomiya to (〇〇と二宮と), debuted at the top spot on the Oricon download ranking within a week of its release.[30]
Acting career
Stage
Ninomiya began his acting career in a 1997 stage play based on the American coming of age film Stand by Me with future bandmates Masaki Aiba and Jun Matsumoto.[9][31] He did not return to do any major stage productions for nearly seven years after Stand by Me, instead focusing on dramas. However, in 2004, Ninomiya appeared in his first lead role in the stage play Shibuya Kara Tooku Hanarete (シブヤから遠く離れて) directed by Yukio Ninagawa. From April 3, 2005 to May 4, 2005, he took up Rebel Without a Cause, playing the James Dean character Jim Stark.
From July 18, 2009 to August 11, 2009, Ninomiya appeared in his first stage play in four years.[32] He starred as the psychopathic murderer Bruno in Mishiranu Jōkyaku (見知らぬ乗客, Strangers on a Train), which was based on the novel of the same name.
Drama
In 1998, he made his television debut as a fifteen-year-old runaway in the TBStelevision movieAmagi Goe (天城越え, Crossing Mt. Amagi).[9] Just a few months before his debut with Arashi, he was given his first lead role in the drama Abunai Hōkago (あぶない放課後, Dangerous After School) with Subaru Shibutani acting as his stepbrother. His schedule became packed, causing him to lose 7 kg in a month as a result.[33] From October 11, 1999 to October 29, 1999, because Arashi were the main supporters for the 8th World Cup of Volleyball Championships, all five members co-starred together for the first time in the volleyball-centered short drama V no Arashi (Vの嵐).
From 2003 to 2005, Ninomiya continued to appear in a wide range of dramas. He played a student who found himself to be one of the last four virgins left at school in the comedy series Stand Up!!, a boyfriend of a girl who mysteriously shrunk into a size of merely sixteen centimeters tall in the romance series Minami-kun no Koibito (南くんの恋人, Minami's Girlfriend) and a young man who accidentally killed his mother and developed an estranged relationship with his father as a result in the human drama series Yasashii Jikan (優しい時間, Affectionate Time)
In 2006, Ninomiya starred in the drama special Sukoshi wa, Ongaeshi ga Dekitakana (少しは、恩返しができたかな, Have I Returned a Bit of My Gratitude?), which was based on the true story of young man diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. He went on to appear in two different films for the rest of 2006 before taking up Haikei, Chichiue-sama (拝啓、父上様, Dear Father) on January 11, 2007.
During the summer of 2007, he and fellow Arashi bandmate Sho Sakurai co-starred together in the manga-based comedy drama Yamada Tarō Monogatari. Ninomiya played the title character Tarō Yamada (山田 太郎, Yamada Tarō), an extremely poor student attending a school for the rich. Soon after—whilst juggling rehearsals for Arashi's upcoming concerts—he acted as the lead in the drama special Marathon (マラソン, Marason), which was based on the true story of an autistic young man training to become a marathon runner.[34]
After a year without any acting roles, other than a small guest appearance in bandmate Satoshi Ohno's first lead drama Maō, Ninomiya finally took up the main role in the drama Ryūsei no Kizuna "流星の絆 with Ryo Nishikido and Erika Toda acting as his younger siblings. The three played the children of parents who were murdered long ago by a nameless man. Readers, reporters and critics of the 59th Television Drama Academy Awards panel recognized his role as the oldest vengeful sibling and awarded him Best Actor.[35] His Ryūsei no Kizuna role also earned him an Outstanding Actor nomination in the drama category in the 49th Monte-Carlo Television Festival.[36]
In spring 2009, Ninomiya starred as the lead in the third and final of the TBSkandō (感動, "moving") drama special trilogy Door to Door, with the first and second being Sukoshi wa, Ongaeshi ga Dekitakana and Marathon respectively. The drama special was based on the true story of Bill Porter, an American door-to-door salesman who achieved the highest sales for his company despite suffering from cerebral palsy.[37] His roles in Door to Door and Ryūsei no Kizuna won him the Individual Award in the television category of the 46th Galaxy Awards, a first for a Johnny's talent and the first by an actor in his twenties.[38] Ninomiya began filming for the drama special Tengoku de Kimi ni Aetara (天国で君に逢えたら, If I Can Meet You in Heaven) in April 2009.[39] However, the special, which saw Ninomiya's first time playing a psychiatrist, did not air on television until September 24, 2009.
In January 2010, Ninomiya co-starred with the other members of Arashi in their first drama in nearly ten years in the human suspense drama special Saigo no Yakusoku "最後の約束".[40][41] Ninomiya portrayed Shūji Yamagiwa (山際 修司, Yamagiwa Shūji), a 27-year-old temporary security center employee who is caught up in a building hijack. On September 20, 2010, he made a guest appearance on the last episode of bandmate Matsumoto and Yūko Takeuchi's getsuku drama Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku (夏の恋は虹色に輝く, Summer Love Shines in Rainbow Colors).[42]
Ninomiya starred in the drama Freeter, Ie o Kau (フリーター、家を買う。, Part-time Worker, Buys a House), his first serial drama since Ryūsei no Kizuna (2008). With Karina as his co-star, Ninomiya portrayed a freeter named Seiji Take (武 誠治, Take Seiji).[43][44] The drama maintained steady viewership ratings throughout its airing, having an average rating of 17.14% overall.[45][46][47]
Film
In 2002, he made his motion picture debut in Arashi's first movie together, Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy (ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだけどHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard But Happy).[9] Ninomiya next took to the screen as Shuichi, a high school student trying to get rid of his abusive stepfather, in the 2003 film The Blue Light with Aya Matsuura as his co-star. In 2004, Arashi came together again to reprise their respective roles for the sequel of Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, Pikanchi Life Is Hard Dakara Happy (ピカ☆☆ンチ Life is HardだからHappy, Pikanchi Life is Hard Therefore Happy).
2006 proved to be a productive year for Ninomiya as he became the first artist from Johnny's & Associates to debut in Hollywood. He played a reluctant soldier called Saigo in Clint Eastwood'sAcademy Award-winner Letters from Iwo Jima with Academy Award-nominated actor Ken Watanabe. His performance was praised by many film critics, some of which include RogerEbert.com editor Jim Emerson ("thoroughly winning"),[48] Claudia Puig of USA Today ("also superb"),[49]James Berardinelli ("another performer worth singling out")[50] and Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter ("just terrific").[51] On January 7, 2007, New York Times film critic A. O. Scott listed Ninomiya as an ideal Oscar candidate for Best Supporting Actor.[52] On October 24, 2006, a couple months after returning from filming Letters from Iwo Jima in the United States, he debuted as a voice actor, lending his voice to main character Black in the Michael Arias animated film Tekkon Kinkreet.[53]
In 2007, all the members of Arashi co-starred in their third movie together, Kiiroi Namida (黄色い涙, Yellow Tears), with Ninomiya playing the main role of an aspiring manga artist.
On October 1, 2010, the live-action adaptation of Fumi Yoshinaga's award-winning Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga, which starred Ninomiya and Kou Shibasaki, was released into theaters in Japan.[54][55] Ninomiya played Yunoshin Mizuno (水野祐之進, Mizuno Yunoshin), a young man living in a matriarchal society due to a disease that killed most of the male population.[56]
Part one of the live-action adaptation of the manga Gantz, which starred Ninomiya and Kenichi Matsuyama, was released on January 20, 2011 in the United States and on January 29, 2011 in Japan.[57][58] Ninomiya starred as Kei Kurono, a young man who is hit by a subway train and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" with other deceased people.[59][60] Part two of Gantz, titled Gantz: Perfect Answer, hit theaters in Japan on April 23, 2011.[61]
In 2013, Ninomiya played the lead role in the film adaptation of Keigo Higashino's novel Platina Data, [Platinum Data (プラチナデータ)]. Ninomiya's 2008 drama series Ryūsei no Kizuna [Meteor Bonds (流星の絆)] was also based on a novel by Higashino.
The movie Tang, based on the novel "A robot in the garden" by Deborah Install, in which he plays a failed man abandoned by his wife, who finds an amnesiac stray robot in their garden, was released in theaters around Japan on August 11, 2022.[64] A few days later, it was revealed that Ninomiya played also the role of Tang the robot, after he suggested to the producer, who had been testing with both children and adults for creating its movements without results, that he should also play him as a mirror of his own acting. Tang was made by CG animators using motion capture.[65][66]
Ninomiyanchi (Special New Year's program substituting Aratsubo, hosted by Arashi every January 3, since 2017) (Fuji TV, January 3, 2021-2024; (primetime) June 27, 2024)[76][77][78]
Dareka to Nakai (Fuji TV, 4 February, 2024-March 2024) (co-host)[79]
Friday Edge Quiz ōi kata ga kachi! (NTV, April - May 2024)[80][81][82]
Kawashima Ninomiya no Tamigoe (Fuji TV, May 2024)[83][84][85]
Geki ka wa petto dai shūgō! Wan Nyan Ninoland (TV Tokyo, August 2024) (co-host Shimofuri Myojo's Seiya Ishikawa, narrated by Jin Katagiri and Moka Kamishiraishi)[21][87]
Nittere-kei quiz festival 2024 (aki) (NTV, October 2024)[88]
Telethon
Ninomiya appears as main personality in NTV's 24-Hr TV (24時間テレビ) for 6th time, 5 with Arashi (2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2019)[89] and 1 as member of YouTube channel Jyaninochaneru (2022)[90]
Ninomiya has his own radio show, Bay Storm, since October 4, 2002.[93] The show is currently airing every Sunday on Japan's BayFM, in which he often plays his own renditions of Arashi's songs as well as songs by other artists.
Magazine
He used to write in MORE magazine a column with the title IT, from January 2009 until it ended in January 2019. On July 7, 2024, he announced to his fan club that he would release the compilation of the 123 issues in the form of a book, called "Ninomiya Kazunari no It [itto]", on November 15. It will contain all photos and written parts included in the More series, with a gift of a special photo bookmark.[94]
A new Johnny's YouTube channel called ジャにのちゃんねる (Jyaninochaneru), led by Ninomiya himself, was opened in 2021.[95][96] The channel is also run by KAT-TUN's Yuichi Nakamaru, Hey! Say! JUMP's Ryosuke Yamada, and Sexy Zone's Fuma Kikuchi.[97]
As a consequence of the Johnny Kitagawa sexual abuse problem, the name "Johnny" is to be eliminated from all name-related groups, office sections and the office itself. In the video posted on 4 October 2023, named #277【ご報告!!】現状がわかんなすぎて皆で話し合った日, Ninomiya and the rest of the members commented on the change of name for the channel, as well as a pause period to assess all the changes concerning the contracts with the agency's artists. "There are many uncertainties, so we will take a break for a certain period of time", he commented. The channel was to resume with the posts around the beginning of November,[98] but they released a new video saying the channel would take some more time off, until things were settled. After gathering votes for the fan recommended names, the channel's name was changed to "Yoninochannel", as revealed in video #281 【大決定!!】こんな名前が決まるぜ!!!!の日, released December 10, 2023.[99]
He became a VTuber for the latest edition of the Puzzle & Dragons commercials, released in November 2023. According to him, filming this commercial was no different than filming a (CG) movie. It was a challenge for him to get the match play, because of the motion capture suit, but he enjoyed it as a new experience.[100][101]
Social Networks
True to his joker nature, Ninomiya opened a Twitter account (@nino_honmono) on March 8 2023, posting only written posts, but in the description, the Johnny's Web profile link he put was that of fellow Johnny and long time friend, Shunsuke Kazama, causing amusement on his followers. He later shared photos of himself alone and with other Johnny's during the 46th Japan Academy Awards Ceremony.[102] Ninomiya caused a stir on 27 February 2024, after posting in X (formerly Twitter) that his head ached. About an hour later, he updated his profile, changing the default photo he had since opening the account, almost 1 year before, to a photo of himself with silver-colored hair.[103] Ninomiya is known to mostly change his hairstyle when he gets acting work.[104][105]
On November 12, 2019, Ninomiya announced his marriage through a handwritten letter he released in their fan club website.[113] He announced the birth of his daughter through his agency on March 5, 2021.[114] The birth of his second daughter was announced on November 19, 2022.[115][116][117]
Ninomiya took X as a place to rant about his family's personal space being violated, after a weekly magazine published in November 2024 photos of him and his family in a shrine for the Japanese celebration Shichi-Go-San. The photographs taken only show a mosaic of Ninomiya's wife and children. In response to this, he said, "I've had a life where I told myself, 'I don't want my private life to be photographed, but I can't help it'. In recent years, even when looking at photos taken without permission from an etiquette and moral point of view, I've thought "it's not right to take photos of ordinary people and post them on the Internet where an unspecified number of people can see them" (although this is my opinion). I think that the publisher and the photographer probably blurred them with the intention of 'consideration', but, please do not photograph my family members, who are ordinary people, regardless of the occasion or reason." The post was made on the eve of Arashi's 25th Anniversary, and it was noted by him, as he said that he would stop posting on X for an undisclosed period, given his
unwillingness to offend his (and Arashi's) fans because of his "negative feelings".[118][119]
8-song cover album, released in CD (+ DVD/BR) for members of Arashi's Fan Club on June 17, and in digital download and streaming on June 20 for the general audience.
二宮和也のIt [一途] (Ninomiya Kazunari no It [Itto]) (ISBN 408789018X) (November 15, 2024)[94][186] First edition includes a signed photograph bookmark as gift.[187]
^Ninomiya, Kazunari (2008-11-01). Channel Rock (Interview). Interviewed by Hitomi Okamura. {{cite interview}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
^Ninomiya, Kazunari (2007-03-08). "Tunnels no Minasan no Okage Deshita (とんねるずのみなさんのおかげでした, lit. Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone)" (Interview). Interviewed by Tunnels.
^"そして僕らは嵐になった Arashi Story 1980–2009". Pia: 10–22. August 27, 2009.
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