Tanpopo

This article is about the pop group. For the film, see Tampopo. For the song, see Tanpopo (song). For the character, see Tanpopo Yamazaki.

Tanpopo タンポポ Tanpopo# タンポポ#
Tanpopo, 2002. L to R: Risa Niigaki, Rika Ishikawa, Ayumi Shibata, Asami Konno
Background information
Origin	Tokyo, Honshū, Japan
Genres	Pop
Years active	1998–2003 2009–present
Labels	Zetima
Associated acts	Morning Musume, Mini Moni, Otomegumi, Sakuragumi, W, Melon Kinenbi
Website	Hello! Project.com
Members
Aika Mitsui Yurina Kumai Chisato Okai
Past members
Aya Ishiguro Kaori Iida Mari Yaguchi Ai Kago Rika Ishikawa Asami Konno Risa Niigaki Ayumi Shibata Eri Kamei

Tanpopo (タンポポ, "dandelion") was the first official subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume formed in November 1998. They specialized in singing slow and mature^{[citation needed]} songs, which morphed to an old-fashioned and upbeat style—a genre somewhat similar to that of the band from which it originated.

History

First Generation 1998-1999. (L-R) Mari Yaguchi, Kaori Iida, and Aya Ishiguro.

The group was founded in November 1998, consisting of three Morning Musume members: Aya Ishiguro, Kaori Iida, and Mari Yaguchi. After the formation, the group immediately released their first single, "Last Kiss," which was used on the anime Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. The single has a "sexy" vibe that they used on their second single and first album. However, they created a fresh image when they released "Tanpopo". This new image did not become as popular as the first image they had created.

After the release of the group's fourth single, Aya Ishiguro graduated from Morning Musume and left the group. The remaining members continued performing their songs in concerts as Generation 1.5 Tanpopo.

On June 2000, Morning Musume 4th Generation members Rika Ishikawa and Ai Kago joined Tanpopo, making the two-member group a four-member group. The style of their songs changed also when the four released "Otome Pasta ni Kandō." The style of this song became analogous to the songs Morning Musume had released. They also used this style on their next singles, which became popular and reached the number one spot on Oricon, and their second (and last) album.

On July 31, 2002, it was announced that Tanpopo was going to be completely reformed. Kaori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, and Ai Kago graduated from the group and were replaced by Morning Musume 5th Generation members Asami Konno and Risa Niigaki, with Ayumi Shibata of Melon Kinenbi. This newly-formed group only released one single before they went on indefinite hiatus. All members except Niigaki graduated from Hello! Project as part of the Elder Club graduation concert in early 2009, rendering the group completely inactive.

In 2009, the Tanpopo name was revived as Tanpopo# (read "Tanpopo Sharp"), with the new group consisting of Eri Kamei and Aika Mitsui of Morning Musume, Yurina Kumai of Berryz Kobo, and Chisato Okai of C-ute. The sharp symbol was chosen to represent the kanji "井", read "i", which is the second character in each of the new members' surnames. Their first song was a cover of Seiko Matsuda's "Akai Sweet Pea", released on the Champloo 1: Happy Marriage Song Cover Shū album. Their next song, "Umbrella", was released on the Petit Best 10 album.

Members

Second Generation 2000-2002. (L-R) Rika Ishikawa, Mari Yaguchi, Ai Kago, and Kaori Iida.

First generation

• Aya Ishiguro (石黒彩)
• Kaori Iida (飯田圭織)
• Mari Yaguchi (矢口真里)

Second generation

• Kaori Iida (飯田圭織, Leader)
• Mari Yaguchi (矢口真里)
• Rika Ishikawa (石川梨華)
• Ai Kago (加護亜依)

Third generation

• Rika Ishikawa (石川梨華, Leader)
• Asami Konno (紺野あさ美)
• Risa Niigaki (新垣里沙)
• Ayumi Shibata (柴田あゆみ)

Revival (Tanpopo#)

• Eri Kamei (亀井絵里, Leader) (Morning Musume) (Left in 2010)
• Aika Mitsui (光井愛佳) (Morning Musume)
• Yurina Kumai (熊井友理奈) (Berryz Kobo)
• Chisato Okai (岡井千聖) (C-ute)

Discography

Albums

#	Title	Release date
1	Tanpopo 1	1999-03-31
2	All of Tanpopo (All of タンポポ)	2002-09-04
3	Petitmoni/Tanpopo Megabest (プッチモニ／タンポポ　メガベスト)	2008-12-10

Singles

#	Title	Release date
1	"Last Kiss" (ラストキッス)	1998-11-18
2	"Motto" (もっと)	1999-03-10
3	"Tanpopo" (たんぽぽ)	1999-06-16
4	"Seinaru Kane ga Hibiku Yoru" (聖なる鐘がひびく夜)	1999-10-20
5	"Otome Pasta ni Kandō" (乙女　パスタに感動)	2000-07-05
6	"Koi wo Shichaimashita!" (恋をしちゃいました!)	2001-02-21
7	"Ōjisama to Yuki no Yoru" (王子様と雪の夜)	2001-11-21
8	"Be Happy Koi no Yajirobee" (Be Happy　恋のやじろべえ)	2002-09-26

DVD

• 2004-06-16 – Tanpopo Single V Clips 1 (タンポポ シングルＶクリップス①)

Appearances

Photobooks

Title	Release date	Company	ISBN
Tanpopo Photobook (タンポポPhoto Book)	2001-07-05	Wani Books	ISBN 4-8470-2654-3

Radio

Program	Radio station	Start date	End date
Tanpopo Hatake de Tsukamaete (タンポポ畑でつかまえて)	Nippon Hōsō	1999-10-09	2000-03-25
Tanpopo no Konya mo Mankai (タンポポの今夜も満開)		2000-03-30	2001-04-12
Tanpopo Henshuubu Oh-So-Ro! (タンポポ編集部 Oh-So-Ro!)	TBS	2000-10-03	2003-09-23

External links

• Official Hello! Project discography page