arashi members / arashi band

 

Arashi

The name Arashi means"Storm"
in English. The group is one ofthe longest lasting boy bands at the top of
the Japanese pop world. They were first formed in 1999 and the debut
single "Arashi" was the theme for the 1999 World Cup of Volleyball.
 The group has topped the Japanese album chart seven times and the singles chart an impressive
24 times. Group members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, 

Kazunari Ninomiya and Jun Matsumoto.
 

Nicknames: Oh-chan; Ohji-chan, Sammy, Umai-sonyun, Riida (as Leader in English), Captain

Height: 166 cm (5'5")

Birthday: 26th Nov 1980

Birth place: Mitake, Tokyo

Horoscope: Sagittarius

Ohno  is the oldest member of Arashi, the reluctant "leader" of the group after winning against Sho in a round of rock-paper-scissors with 

the other members on a Japanese variety show. The exact same pattern of him unwillingly 'winning' against Sho has been seen repeating many times ever since.

 He is the oldest person in the group and Ohno sings the lead vocals. Although he has stated that he wanted to avoid becoming the leader the most, 

Arashi members have once stated in an interview that Ohno is a new-age idol, who leads his group by not leading at all.

 Aside from leading the vocal work, he is known to be the best dancer and has the greatest control when it comes to singing in Arashi.

Back when Arashi first debuted and before he was elected leader, Ohno was told by Johnny's to be the "Dance Leader". 

He choreographs several of their dance moves, which the other members sometimes find quite hard to follow. 

Other artistes from the same company openly expressed their admiration for Ohno's dancing; among them are Imai Tsubasa of the duo Tackey &

 Tsubasa, Kokubun Taichi of TOKIO, Yuuri Chinen of the newly-debuted group Hey! Say! JUMP, and other juniors.

He is also one half of the Arashi skit duo Ohmiya SK, partnering Kazunari Ninomiya. Out of all the members, 

he has appeared in the fewest dramas, preferring to do stage plays or focus on his art.

 He performed his first solo concert on January 29, 2006. He became the first artist in Johnny's who held an art exhibit, which was entitled, "Freestyle".

Sakurai Sho  












Nicknames: Sho-chan, sakurap
Birthday: 25th Jan 1982
Horoscope: Aquarius
Interests: music, movies, photography
Special talents: football, piano (a little)
Color: Yellow, Black
Food: Seafood pizza
Type of girl he likes: One that doesn't make him feel irritated when together
Type of girl he dislikes: One that is too quiet
Sho sings most of the rap parts (known to fans as "Sakurap"), he writes his own lyrics and has a very good English vocabulary
. Sakurai was the first in the group to perform in a solo concert, The Show, on January 14, 2006. 
He is currently a Monday co-host of NTV's News Zero, on which he became the first idol to host an election special.He was also the main sportcaster for
 the 2007 Volleyball World Cup. After which, he was given the task to be NTV's main caster for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing 
 
Sakurai is arguably the best-educated member of the group, In 2004, he graduated from Keio University with a degree in Economics,
 a prestigious Japanese university. With that, he has become the inspiration for younger Johnny's idols such as NEWS members Tomohisa Yamashita, Keiichiro Koyama,
 Shigeaki Kato, and Yuya Tegoshi to pursue a higher education after high school. Sakurai is also a known promoter of education for today's youth in Japan;
 he was a spokesperson for Jounan Yobiko, an enrichment cram school, back in early 2005.
 
During the early years after Arashi's debut, Sho was appointed by the Johnny's to be the "Study Leader". 
Although he lost in a round of rock-paper-scissors, hence excusing him from being the group's leader, the other four of Arashi have made many remarks that Sakurai is the one who possesses leadership qualities. 
 
Aiba Masaki
























Nickname: Aiba, Super
Idol, Aiba-chan,  Aibaka.
Height: 176cm
Birthday: 24th Dec 1982
Birth place: Native of
Chiba
Horoscope: Capricorn
Family: Mom (Michiyo),
Dad (Katsuhisa), younger brother (Yusuke)
Favorite Subject:
Physical Education (during winter season)
Color: black and white
Precious Treasures:
everyone around him, his pets and his stuffed animal
Best Friends: ARASHI,
Yokoyama Yu (Kanjani 8)
Aiba is the tallest
member of the group, with a distinctive breathy voice. Aiba once suffered from
pneumothorax, the collapse of one lung due to immense pressure change in the
chest cavity caused by trauma or a spontaneous rupture in the lung. Symptoms
include shortness of breath and severe chest pain when breathing. Aiba-chan's
lung collapsed during a saxophone practice session. He was hospitalized for 4
days and went through an operation, and now has a scar on his right chest from
the operation.
Aiba interacts with
various wild animals (he claims that he can communicate with them) as a co-host
of the TV show, Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen. He also excels in sports,
especially basketball. He has been known to have considerably short attention
span and often jumps between topics during talks and interviews, thus earning
himself his reputation as the endearing, flaky member of Arashi. Sometimes Aiba
makes some mistakes with Japanese, particularly in reading kanji. He can be
seen making various reading mistakes in talk shows and live performances.
During the earlier years following Arashi's debut, Aiba was appointed the
"Image Leader" of Arashi.
Ninomiya
Kazunari 

 
Nickname: Nino
Height: 168cm
Birthday: 17th June 1983
Birth place: Edogawa, Tokyo
Horoscope: Gemini
Instrument: guitar, piano, bass, drums, harmonica

When Ninomiya joined Johnny & Associates, he was a member of temporary Johnny's Jr. units such as M.A.I.N. (which consisted of fellow Arashi members Jun and Aiba, as well as current Johnny's Jr. Toma Ikuta) and B.A.D. before the formation of Arashi.
Nino is the first member of the group to crossover to American films as he starred in Clint Eastwood''s critically acclaimed Japanese language film, Letters from Iwo Jima. Along with bandmate Jun Matsumoto, he is one of Japan's leading young actors and have been said to be able to "act with his eyes". Ninomiya stated that he is left-handed but has been forced to write with his right hand by his parents when he was a child. He plays the guitar, piano, composes songs and write lyrics.
However, he is usually seen with a game console in hand instead and had publicly admitted that he was an otaku when he was an elementary school student. During Arashi's early years, Johnny's appointed Ninomiya as the "Performance Leader".
Ninomiya has his own radio show called Bay Storm since October 4, 2002. 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.
 

Matsumoto Jun
 
Nickname: Matsu-jun, Jun-sama, Jun-chan, King (by all of Arashi), Fishface
Height: 173cm
Birthday: 30th August 1983
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Horoscope: Virgo
Siblings: One older sister
Interests: Music, DVDs, photography, reading
Favorite Colors: White, black and blue

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Matsumoto is the youngest child of his parents. He has an older sister whose support of KinKi Kids influenced his decision to join Johnny's Entertainment in 1996. Thinking it might bode good luck, he sent his application to the agency on his elementary school graduation day and received a phone call weeks later from the president himself, Johnny Kitagawa, inviting him to attend a rehearsal. Due to this, Matsumoto is frequently referred to as an elite within the agency because he did not have to audition. Matsumoto began his career in the entertainment industry as a back-up dancer for other groups like many other Juniors in the agency before he was drafted into a five-member group named Arashi in 1999 at the age of 16. He graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen, a renowned high school known for its many performing arts alumnae, at the age of 18 with other contemporaries Kyoko Fukada and Ai Kato whom he counts as his high school senpai.
Matsumoto is the youngest member of Arashi. Matsumoto is known for his starring roles in dramas such as Bambino, Hana Yori Dango, Hana Yori Dango 2, Kimi wa Petto, and Gokusen. He is the first Japanese male to grace the cover of Marie Claire Japan. Ohno has labeled him the "Concert Master" because of his take-charge attitude and attention to detail during their live performances. Matsumoto won the GQ Man Of The Year Award under the Singer/Actor category.
Matsumoto was once designated the "Comedy Leader" of Arashi but has more or less lost that image as he grew up. Now known more for his frank nature and sharp tongue, he has been called "DoS" ("extreme sadist") by his bandmates and openly admits to being rather neurotic and methodical.Despite this, all of Arashi have stated that he cares most for the members and the group itself. He is close to his bandmates and has stated that they have never properly fought since they were brought together by the agency, mostly in part to the peaceful nature of the group's leader Ohno and band member Aiba -- a claim supported by Sho. He is also known for his serious work ethic -- often juggling several projects (music, television, film and radio) at the same time.
Matsumoto is a huge fan of American superstar Janet Jackson, often referring to his opportunity to meet his idol during several of his media interviews. He is also a fan of American actors Johnny Depp, Kevin Spacey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and enjoys kabuki.He is near-sighted and usually wears contacts on stage and screen but reverts to glasses when he's not working. He has expressed a deep admiration for his label's president, Johnny Kitagawa, describing him as the biggest influence in his life.