Hinatazaka46

Hiragana Keyakizaka46 logo

The group was established as Hiragana Keyakizaka46 (けやき坂46) on November 30, 2015, as a subgroup of Keyakizaka46, with their name written in hiragana as opposed to kanji. Colloquially, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 was also known as Hiragana Keyaki, while the main Keyakizaka46 group was known as Kanji Keyaki.

At its founding, the group was only composed of Neru Nagahama, who withdrew from Keyakizaka46's auditions early due to her parents' objections despite judges' high regard of her. When Nagahama's parents changed their minds, Nagahama was permitted to join as the only member of the new subgroup Hiragana Keyakizaka46.[4][5] Auditions were held soon after for Hiragana Keyakizaka46, and the first generation of eleven members joined the group in May 2016.[6] Nagahama left the Hiragana Keyakizaka46 to join Keyakizaka46 in September 2017.[7] A second generation of nine people was added in August 2017, and a third, composed of only Hinano Kamimura, was added in November 2018 in a Sakamichi Series joint audition.[8][9]

During its time as a subgroup, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 produced B-sides to the main group's singles, beginning with "Hiragana Keyaki" (ひらがなけやき) in "Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai". In concerts, the two groups often performed together, but Hiragana Keyakizaka46 also held independent concerts, including a nationwide Zepp tour in 2017 and a three-day Nippon Budokan performance in January 2018, after Keyakizaka46 pulled out from Yurina Hirate's injury.[10][11] Hiragana Keyakizaka46 also released an independent album in 2018 titled Hashiridasu Shunkan.[8]

In terms of variety shows, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 first appeared in Keyakizaka46's show Keyakitte Kakenai? and KeyaBingo! but were later given their own show named Hiragana Oshi.[12] The first generation were also featured in a television series titled Re:Mind in 2017.[13]

Hyūgazaka sloping street in Minato, Tokyo

Hiragana Keyakizaka46 became an independent group on February 11, 2019, and was renamed Hinatazaka46.[14] The new name is an alternate reading of Hyūgazaka (日向坂) street in Minato-ku, Tokyo, following the custom of naming groups after hills or sloping streets in the Sakamichi Series.[15] The group's variety show changed its name to Hinatazaka de Aimashō.[16] They also announced in a Showroom live broadcast that their fandom name would be Ohisama (おひさま), a slang for the Sun, stating that "just like a sunny place (日向, hinata) cannot exist without the Sun, [Hinatazaka46] cannot exist without the fans".[17]

Their first single, "Kyun", was released on March 27, 2019, and surpassed 476,000 copies sold within the first week. The single became the best-selling debut single by a female artist in Japan, a record previously held by Keyakizaka46's "Silent Majority".[18][19] "Kyun" also won the Best Choreography award at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.[20] On September 24, a rhythm game titled Uni's On Air was released that featured Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46.[21][22] Hinatazaka46 attended the 70th NHK Kōhaku Utagassen for the first time in the group's history, where they performed "Kyun".[23]

On January 16, 2020, the members of Hinatazaka46 were featured in a television series titled Dasada, with Nao Kosaka as the main protagonist.[24] On February 16, 2020, the remaining members not assigned to a group in the previous Sakamichi Series joint audition were added. Three out of fourteen of these members became part of Hinatazaka46's third generation.[25] On July 31, 2020, Hinatazaka46 live streamed a concert titled Hinatazaka46 Live Online, Yes! With You!, where they announced that their first studio album will be released on September 23.[26]

On March 7, 2022, the group announced an audition for the group's fourth generation with applications starting that day and screening taking place on April 4.[27] On March 30-31, they held their third anniversary concert at the Tokyo Dome, attended by around 100,000 people over two days.[28]

Members: Suzuka Tomita, Konoka Matsuda

Hana-chans (花ちゃんズ, Hanachanzu) is an acoustic guitar duo unit, named after the flower (花, hana) kanji in both members' names. Their first song as a duo, "Masaka Gūzen..." (まさか偶然・・・, lit. 'Such Coincidence...'), was released as part of Hinatazaka46's third single.

On June 27, 2021, Hana-chans held their first independent live show on MTV Japan, titled MTV Acoustic Flowers -Until Full Bloom "Bell & Like"-, in which they covered Hinatazaka46 songs and Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".[34] On October 5, they served as the opening act for MTV Live Match 2021, and also performed as part of Hinatazaka46 for the main event.[35]

Members: Miku Kanemura, Akari Nibu, Miho Watanabe

The Saitama Trio (埼玉トリオ), or Saitama Sannin-gumi (埼玉3人組), is the unofficial name for the three Hinatazaka46 members, all from the second generation, who are natives of Saitama Prefecture.

The Saitama Trio have participated in the prefecture's public relations activities. In September 2018, they served as one-day traffic chiefs of the Saitama Prefectural Police to promote traffic safety.[36] In November 2020, they joined the Saitama Supporters Group (埼玉応援団, Saitama Ōen-dan), a public relations group consisting of popular artists from the prefecture.[37][38]

In October 2020, the trio started their own radio program (ベルク presents 日向坂46の余計な事までやりましょう!) on Tokyo FM;[39] the supermarket chain Belc, which sponsors the program, subsequently released limited edition food products in collaboration with them.[40][41][42] The same month, it was also announced that they would become voice actresses for the animated miniseries based on the character Pickles the Frog (ピクルス ザ フロッグ).[43]

In February 2021, the Saitama Trio were voted the most wanted unit (subgroup with their own songs) by fans on a Twitter campaign to commemmorate Hinatazaka46's second debut anniversary.[36] Hinatazaka46's sixth single, released in October 2021, would include their first song as a trio, "Akubi Letter" (あくびLetter, lit. 'Yawn Letter'), performed under the unit name Color Chart (カラーチャート); the name is a reference to a nickname for Saitama Prefecture, "Land of Colors" (彩の国, sai no kuni).[44]