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Sakamichi Series

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Sakamichi Series
OriginJapan
GenreJ-pop
Years active2011–present
LabelSony
Members

Sakamichi Series (Japanese: 坂道シリーズ; "Sloping Roads Series") refers to a Japanese idol group franchise that began with Nogizaka46, an "official" rival group of AKB48. It currently consists of four groups: Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, Hinatazaka46, and Yoshimotozaka46. Despite the name, the groups are not required to have exactly 46 members. Except for Yoshimotozaka46, all the groups were named after real streets in Minato, Tokyo and have all-female memberships.

History

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The first group, Nogizaka46, was formed on August 22, 2011 with 36 members and released their debut single "Guruguru Curtain" on February 22, 2012.

The second group, and Nogizaka46's first sister group, Keyakizaka46, was created on August 21, 2015 with 22 members. It was initially named Toriizaka46 before it was changed for unspecified reasons.[1][2] They released their first single "Silent Majority" on April 6, 2016. A subgroup named Hiragana Keyakizaka46 was created shortly after with 12 members.

On February 21, 2018, Yoshimotozaka46 was announced as the third group in the franchise[3] and 46 members passed the final audition on August 20.[4] Unlike the other groups, it has both male and female members of various ages and most members are comedians affiliated with the Osaka-based talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, which also manages the idol group NMB48 and the Produce 101 Japan group JO1. They released their first single, "Nakasete Kure yo", on December 26, 2018.

On February 11, 2019, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 became independent and changed its name to Hinatazaka46, thus becoming the fourth group in the franchise.[5] They released their debut single, "Kyun", on March 27, 2019. On July 16, 2020, it was announced that Keyakizaka46 would also be rebranded into Sakurazaka46,[6][7][8][9] which came into effect on October 14.

In the summer of 2018, a joint Sakamichi Audition was held for the all-female groups and 36 of those who auditioned were accepted. Of the 36, 21 were immediately accepted into either Nogizaka46 (11), Keyakizaka46 (9), and Hiragana Keyakizaka46 (1), while the remaining fifteen were grouped as the trainee group Sakamichi Kenshūsei (坂道研修生) in 2019.[10] One trainee dropped out and the fourteen remaining ones were assigned to the three groups on February 16, 2020, with five going to Nogizaka46, six going to Sakurazaka46, and three going to Hinatazaka46.

In 2021, members of Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 co-starred in a television series for the first time in the mystery drama Borderless, based on the novel of the same title by Tetsuya Honda,[11] followed by its 2023 sequel, Actress.[12]

In 2026, a new group named Aobazaka46 was announced. It would be active for one year, after which its members would be transferred to Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 as the newest generations. This has been compared to the 2018 joint audition, with the one-year activity period as the time when each member's development could indicate which group would be most suitable for her.[13]

Current groups

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Group name Group color Years active Teams
(if split)		 Location
Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46)Purple2011–present1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, 4th Gen, 5th Gen, 6th GenTokyo, Japan
Sakurazaka46 (櫻坂46)White-Pink2015–2020 (as Keyakizaka46)
2020–present (as Sakurazaka46)		1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, 4th GenTokyo, Japan
Yoshimotozaka46 (吉本坂46)Orange2018–present (currently on indefinite hiatus)1st Gen, 2nd GenOsaka, Japan
Hinatazaka46 (日向坂46)Blue2015–2019 (as Hiragana Keyakizaka46)
2019–present (as Hinatazaka46)		1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, 4th Gen, 5th GenTokyo, Japan

Management

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Several corporate entities manage the Sakamichi Series groups.

Nogizaka46, LLC

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Nogizaka46, LLC (乃木坂46合同会社) is the agency that manages Nogizaka46. It was established in 2012 as a joint venture between Sony Music Labels and North River, Inc, with each party holding 50% ownership.[14] North River was registered as a company primarily providing transportation services for the entertainment industry and was co-owned by Yasushi Akimoto, Kyoraku Sangyo, AKS (now Vernalossom), and Shinsuke Akimoto, with Kenji Kitagawa as representative director.[a] In 2020, North River was wholly acquired by and became a subsidiary of entertainment company KeyHolder, Inc., making Nogizaka46, LLC an equity-method affiliate of KeyHolder.[15] Yasushi Akimoto subsequently became a special advisor and second-largest shareholder of KeyHolder,[16] holding 7.59% of its shares,[17] while Kitagawa became an executive vice president at the company and director of several of its subsidiaries, including North River.[18]

Nogizaka46, LLC also manages several former Nogizaka46 members.[19]

Current individual talents

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Seed & Flower

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Seed and Flower, LLC (Seed and Flower合同会社) is the company that manages Sakurazaka46 and Hinatazaka46. It was established in February 2016 as Dog House, LLC by Sony Music Labels and Y&N Brothers, co-owned by Yasushi Akimoto.[20] It was renamed Seed & Flower in August 2016, and subsequently became the management company of Keyakizaka46 and Hiragana Keyakizaka46. Following both groups' rebranding, it continued to manage their successor groups, Sakurazaka46 and Hinatazaka46.[21][22] The company also managed the now-disbanded rock band Thinking Dogs, for whom Yasushi Akimoto wrote several songs.[23][24]

Seed and Flower also manages several former Keyakizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 members.[19]

Current individual talents

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Former individual talents

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Yoshimoto Kogyo

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Yoshimoto Kogyo is the company that manages Yoshimotozaka46. The group was formed from talents already affiliated with Yoshimoto Kogyo, including comedians, actors, and other entertainers. Sony Music acts as the label and Yasushi Akimoto as producer.[4]

Parodies

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  • WACK debuted a one-off shuffle unit named Dōgenzaka43 (道玄坂43) consisting of every idol under the company at the time, they released the single, "Kyōniku Jakushoku ~Tsuyoi Yatsura wo Kucchimae~" (強肉弱食時代 〜強い奴らを食っちまえ〜), on June 16, 2021.[27]

Notes

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  1. ↑ "North River" is the direct translation of Kitagawa (北川).

References

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  1. ↑ "Toriizaka46's 1st generation members chosen, but changes its name to Keyakizaka46". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ 乃木坂46、新グループ「欅坂（けやきざか）46」1期生メンバー決定 「鳥居坂46」からチーム名変更 (in Japanese). modelpress. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  3. ↑ "「吉本坂４６」目指すはバラエティー感不要のアイドル 秋元氏「最強のグループを」 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. 1 2 "吉本坂46、メンバー46名決定 初代Wセンターは？＜一覧＞ - モデルプレス". モデルプレス - ライフスタイル・ファッションエンタメニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "けやき坂46が「日向坂46」に改名！ファンも驚き「まさか改名するとは」「おめでとう!!」". RBB TODAY.
  6. ↑ "欅坂46 結成記念日8・21にラストシングル 10月にラストライブ" (in Japanese). Oricon. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ↑ "欅坂46が10月ライブで5年の歴史に幕、改名し再始動「これからも私たちに期待していて」" (in Japanese). Natalie. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ "欅坂46、改名後の新グループ名は「櫻坂46」" (in Japanese). Oricon. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ↑ "新グループ名発表!". Keyakizaka46 Official Website (in Japanese). September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  10. ↑ "坂道合同オーディション合格者の配属先決定、12月には武道館でお見立て会". ナタリー. ナターシャ. November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  11. ↑ "乃木坂46、櫻坂46、日向坂46がグループの垣根を超えてドラマ初共演！ 本格ミステリードラマ「ボーダレス」ひかりＴＶとdTVチャンネルで３月より独占配信". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  12. ↑ "🍭 乃木坂46、櫻坂46、日向坂46、グループの垣根を越えて出演する本格サスペンス『アクトレス』Leminoで独占配信！ - Pop'n'Roll(ポップンロール)". popnroll.tv. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  13. ↑ "青葉坂46の狙いとは？ "坂道研修生"との決定的な違い、活動後に各グループへ配属される新制度の意図". Real Sound｜リアルサウンド (in Japanese). August 29, 2026. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  14. ↑ "KeyHolder (4712)" (PDF). Walden Research Japan. February 27, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Basic Agreement for the Acquisition of All Shares of North River Co" (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). JASDAQ. May 14, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Our Business" (PDF). KeyHolder, Inc. April 1, 2026.
  17. ↑ "株式の状況｜株式関連情報｜IR情報｜株式会社KeyHolder". 株式会社KeyHolder (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  18. ↑ "役員一覧｜企業情報｜株式会社KeyHolder". 株式会社KeyHolder (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "乃木坂46合同会社・Seed & Flower合同会社 タレント一覧". 乃木坂46合同会社・Seed & Flower合同会社　タレント一覧. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Company Registration Document" (Document). Ministry of Justice (Japan). July 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ "（法人名）の情報｜国税庁法人番号公表サイト". www.houjin-bangou.nta.go.jp. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ "j-platpat". www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  23. ↑ "【旧サイト】Thinking Dogs アコースティック コラボNight vol.2". LivePocket-Ticket- (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Thinking Dogs「世界は終わらない」インタビュー - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  25. ↑ "長濱ねる、「フラーム」移籍を発表 前事務所の退所も報告「１０年間は何ものにも代え難い大切な日々」と感謝…戸田恵梨香や有村架純ら所属". スポーツ報知 (in Japanese). August 5, 2025. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  26. ↑ "渡邉理佐 OFFICIAL WEBSITE". 渡邉理佐 OFFICIAL WEBSITE (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2026.
  27. ↑ "BiSH参加の新ユニット「道玄坂43」デビューラストシングル無料発売 MVも解禁". Oricon News. June 16, 2021.
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