Megumi Ohori (大堀 恵, Ōhori Megumi, born August 25, 1983) is a Japanese singer and tarento. She was born from Ōamishirasato-chō (now Ōamishirasato), Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture. She is represented with Horipro. She is a former member of the female idol groups AKB48 and SDN48. She is also a former model. Her real name is Megumi Kanazawa (金沢 恵, Kanazawa Megumi),[1] and her former stage name is Megumi Matsushima (松嶋 めぐみ, Matsushima Megumi).
Ohori was born August 25, 1983, in Ōamishirasato-chō (now, Ōamishirasato), Sanbu District, Chiba Prefecture,[2] and grew up in Shinagawa, Tokyo. She is the eldest daughter of four brothers.[3] Although she grew up in Shinagawa, she was from Chiba Prefectural Earthquake High School. She graduated from a junior college and have a teaching license of home economics.[4] She played basketball in her school days. In club activities, she served as a secondary captain. She entered the entertainment industry as a reader model of the magazine for teenagers My Birthday (Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, 2006), when she was a senior in high school (around 2000), and was acting as a gravure idol. There was also a period during which she was active with the stage name "Megumi Matsushima".[5]
When began AKB48 activities in 2005, as well as Mariko Shinoda, she worked as a staff member of a cafe in the AKB48 Theater. In addition to being posted on the last page of AKB48 First Photo Collection Mitchaku! "AKB48" – Shashin-shū Vol.1 the Debut (Kodansha), also in AKB0-ji 59-fun! (Nippon TV), VTR which reflected the appearance of Ohori of Cafe Staff period had been swept away. On 26 February 2006, she passed the Second Phase AKB48 Addition Member Audition. Later on 1 April, she made her performance debut at the AKB48 Theater on Team K's first-day performance. She had activities with Yuko Oshima and Ayaka Umeda as members of the former Team K. In her activities as a member of AKB48, there were few opportunities to be selected as selected members, and there were few opportunities such as media appeals representing members (for example, when a new song is played in PR, the selected members represent the media and appear, so opportunities do not come around). Entering in 2008, while being called『Babā』by Masaki Sata, member of Bad Boys, at AKB0-ji 59-fun!, she started to show off at a different character and performance with other members.
On 13 June 2008, she was elected for the first time as a selected member for the limited digital ninth single "Baby! Baby! Baby!" In solo deployment with gravure as her centre (particularly in the magazine King (Kodansha) for her『Mōsatsu』appearances several times, and her first photo book collaboration with the same project), she expanded the range of activities at once and appealed her presence. On 15 October 2008, she debuted solo with "Amai Kokansetsu" in the name of "Meshibe Ohori" (大堀めしべ, Ōhori Meshibe) as a project within AKB0-ji 59-fun! The sales target of her CD is set to 10,000 pieces, and if she did not achieve 10,000 pieces in one month, it was announced by Yasushi Akimoto within the same programme that he would force Ohori to graduate from AKB48. In the release event of the same song, the implementation of the Hug-kai that whispers to the fans who do not shake hands whispering has become a hot topic.
At the final event held on 15 November 2008 Meshibe Ohori Saigo no Seisen! –Hug wa Meshibe o Sukuu!–, other AKB48 members, mainly members of former team K, also support Ohori. The sales result at the end of the event was 10,125, and the members' residuals were decided.[6][7] In the SKB48 13th Single Senbatsu Sō Senkyo "Kamisama ni Chikatte Gachidesu" that was carried out from June to July 2009, she was in 24th place and played in the Under Girls. From 1 August 2009, along with Yukari Sato, Kayo Noro, and Kazumi Urano, she began activities as SDN48. It was announced that full transition to SDN48 will be started from 2010 on the night performance of "Yomiuri Shimbun 135th Anniversary Concert AKB 104 Selected Members Cabinet Festival" held at Nippon Budokan on 23 August 2009. She graduated from AKB48 with the performance Team K 5th Stage "Gyaku Agari" on 21 February 2010 with a senshūraku.
She presented her transfer to the affiliation office Horipro in night performance of AKB48 Manseki Matsuri Kibō Sanpi Ryōron held at Yokohama Arena on 25 March 2010.[8] On 27 March 2010, she announced that she participated in the Horipro celebrity women's futsal team Xanadu loves NHC at an SDN48 performance,[9][10] and at the Angel League No. 4 was held at Shinjuku Ward Shinjuku Sports Center Gymnasium on 3 April 2010, she participated in the game for the first time in the tournament.[11]
On 9 September 2010, a result announcement was made on TV Asahi's programme Suppon no Onna-tachi which was planning to select twelve members participating in the major debut song of SDN48 (released from Universal Music on 24 November 2010). Ohori became the overall first place and won the centre position. She graduated from SDN48 in SDN48 Concer "Next Concert" in NHK Hall held at NHK Hall on 31 March 2012.[12]
Appearing in the seventh anniversary special memorial performance of AKB48 Theater held on 8 December 2012, she announced her marriage to screenwriter Tatsuya Kanazawa. They registered their marriage on 1 January 2013 [13][14][15] and their wedding ceremony was held in Hawaii on 16 August of the same year.[16]
On 6 April 2013, she announced that she participated in AKB48's Senbatsu Elections as a graduated member but she was not placed in the final results.[17]
On January 11, 2013, Hori Pro, Ohori's agency, announced that she has married screenwriter Tatsuya Kanazawa.[18] On 12 January 2014, Ohori announced that she was pregnant with her first child in her blog.[19] She later gave birth to her first child, a daughter via cesarean section on 17 June of the same year.[20]
Her catch phrase was "The Emperor of the Night" that she have been using since the AKB48 era, before that was "Super Loli Face" that was attached because she was seen younger than her actual age.[21] During her time with AKB48 she was the oldest member as well as Kayo Noro. Although she was a classmate with Noro, Ohori is two months earlier on birthday,『Babā』was said to have been touched and being treated as the oldest, and was is the second senior member of SDN48 after the oldest Reiko Nishikunihara.
Ohori is sometimes called "Sexy Tantō", but there are many episodes unique to that title, in an AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 100 unit held at Shibuya-AX on 24 January 2008 appeared in a bikini appearance and surprised the audience and members while performing "Blue rose" and "Amai Kokansetsu", she made a surprise of her costume (nurse clothes, sukumizu, etc.) at "Oshi be tomeshi be to Yoru no Chōchō".
Participating songs as a member of AKB48/SDN48[edit]
