Tsuyoshi Kusanagi

• Name — Tsuyoshi Kusanagi 草彅 剛 • Born — 9 July 1974 • Origin — Seiyo, Ehime, Japan • Genre — J-pop • Occupation — Actor, singer, television host • Years Active — 1987–present • Label — Johnny & Associates • Current Member Of — *Atarashii Chizu • Past Member Of — *SMAP

Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan.

In 1987, at age 13, Kusanagi auditioned to enter Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency that recruits and trains young boys, preteens to teens, to become singers and members of boy bands. After five of the other band members auditioning individually from 1986 through 1987, in autumn 1987, twenty boys, from ages ten to seventeen, were put together into a group called The Skate Boys, which was initially created as backup dancers for a famous boy band, Hikaru Genji. In April 1988, producer Johnny Kitagawa chose six out of the twenty boys to create a new boy band and named them "SMAP". A year after the dissolution of SMAP, Kusanagi, alongside former members Shingo Katori, and Goro Inagaki formed the group, Atarashii Chizu.

He had the lead role in the movie, Yomigaeri (January 18, 2003; a Japan public presentation). Moreover, his Korean-language-Japanese-produced movie The Hotel Venus (March 6, 2004 Japan public presentation) was submitted to the Moscow International Film Festival on June 25, 2004. In 2020, Kusanagi took on the role of Nagisa, a transgender nightclub worker in Eiji Uchida's Midnight Swan. The film won numerous awards, such as Picture of the Year, and he was subsequently awarded the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

As a member of the boyband SMAP, Kusanagi used to co-host the weekly variety show SMAP×SMAP alongside his bandmates for 20 years. In 2001, he hosted the variety show Chonangang on Fuji TV. Determined to debut in Korea, Kusanagi started learning the Korean language and appearing on Korean variety shows. This focus on Korean culture led to him adopting Chonangang as his Korean persona in various SMAP concerts, even releasing several singles. Originally, Chonangang was intended to focus on Kusanagi's journey in South Korea, however lasted eight years due to its popularity. Because of the show's success, the format shifted to feature interviews with popular Korean celebrities such as Lee Min-ho, and led to Kusanagi interviewing former South Korean Presidents Roh Moo-hyun, and Lee Myung-bak on TBS.

Kusanagi announced his marriage on December 30, 2020.

On April 23, 2009, at around 3 a.m., Kusanagi was arrested on suspicion of public indecency at Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. On April 24, 2009, he held a press conference accompanied by his attorney and apologized for his misbehavior. Prosecutors decided not to indict Kusanagi because of his apology. He took a one-month-long hiatus and returned to the taping of SMAPxSMAP on May 28, 2009.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 1988–1989 — Abunai Shonen III — Himself — Main role • 1989 — Jikan desuyo Heisei Gannen — Hattori • 1992–1993 — Hime-chan's Ribbon — Koichi Shikura / Himself (voice) • 1995 — Inochi Uruwashiku — Daisuke Tsugawa • Tsuki Uma-ya Oen Jikencho — Seinosuke Ikeda • Ienakiko 2 — Tsuyoshi Kuroiwa • Mada Koi wa Hajimaranai — Hiroshi Ochiai • Thursday Ghost Stories: Himitsu no Nakama — Shinichi Imamura — Main role • 1996 — Nagoya Yomeiri Monogatari 8 — Ichiro Hiraoka • Kekkon Shiyouyo — Jyunya Sugimura • Delicious Relations — Kazuma Kimura • 1997 — Boku ga Boku de Arutame ni — Etsuro Mizoguchi — Main role • Sasho Taeko — Sadatsugu Yurioka • Ii Hito — Yûji Kitano — Main role • Gift — Yûji Kitano — Guest appearance; episode 7 • Tales of the Unusual: Mujitsu no Otoko — Ichiro Kawashima — Main role • Narita Rikon — Ichiro Hoshino — Main role • 1998 — Sensei Shiranaino? — Yûsaku Kinoshita — Main role • Jinbē — Shin Teranishi • 1999 — Furuhata Ninzaburo vs SMAP — Himself — Main role • Bakayaro 1999: Sekuhara de Karasawagi suruna — Masato Yamaguchi — Main role • Séance — Fumio Hayasaka • 1999–2003 — Team — Yûsuke Kazami — Main role • 2000 — Tales of the Unusual: Jû Otoko — Tarō Tanaka — Main role • 2000–2001 — Food Fight — Mitsuru Ihara — Main role • 2001 — Tales of the Unusual: Jûsanbanme no Kyaku — Kenichirō Honda — Main role • Star's Love — Sûsuke Nakata — Main role • 2002 — Saranheyo — Chonan Kan — Main role • 2003 — Boku no Ikiru Michi — Hideo Nakamura — Main role • Taikōki: Saru to Yobareta Otoko — Toyotomi Hideyoshi — Main role • 2004 — Shinsengumi! — Enomoto Takeaki — Taiga drama • Kaikyō wo Wataru Violin — Jin Chang Heryern — Main role • X’smap — Master — Main role • Tokugawa Tsunayoshi: Inu to Yobareta Otoko — Tokugawa Tsunayoshi — Main role • 2005 — Koi ni Ochitara — Shimao Suzuki — Main role • Chiisana Untenshu — Yōhei Takanashi — Guest appearance • 2005–present — PythagoraSwitch — Himself (voice) • 2006 — Ai to Shi wo Mitsumete — Minoru Kōno — Main role • Boku no Aruku Michi — Teruaki Ōtake — Main role • 2008 — Suzuki Fusai no Jingi naki Tatakai — Lawyer — Cameo appearance; episode 1 and 2 • Ryokiteki na Kanojo — Saburō Masaki — Main role • 2009 — Yume wo Kanaeru Zou — Fumio Fumiyama (voice) — Main role • Crayon Shin-chan — Matarō (voice) — Guest appearance • 2009–2011 — Care Worker Gang — Hikoichi Tsubasa — Main role • 2010 — 99 Years of Love: Japanese Americans — Chōkichi Hiramatsu / Ichirō Hiramatsu — Main role • 2011 — Fuyu no Sakura — Tasuku Inaba — Main role • 2012 — 37sai de Isha ni natta Boku — Yûta Konno — Main role • Tales of the Unusual: Hate Virus — Makoto Saeki — Main role • 2013 — Aji Ichi Monme — Yoshito Takuma — Cameo appearance • Kami-sama no Beret — Osamu Tezuka — Main role • Dokushin Kizoku — Mamoru Hoshino — Main role • 2013–2016 — Specialist — Yoshito Takuma — Main role • 2014 — Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi: Hannin wa Dare da — Kenta Misawa — Main role • Sazae-san — Himself (voice) — Guest appearance; episode 7148 • 2015 — Zeni no Sensou — Tomio Shiraishi — Main role • Shin Naniwa Kinyudo — Tomio Shiraishi — Guest appearance • 2017 — Uso no Sensou — Kōichi Ichinose — Main role • 2021 — Reach Beyond the Blue Sky — Tokugawa Yoshinobu — Taiga drama • 2022 — Peperoncino — Kiyoshi Onodera — Main role • Lost Man Found — Takeshi • 2023 — War of Traps — Washizu Toru — Main role • Tales of the Unusual: Eien no Futari — Hajime Sakamoto — Main role • Deaf Voice — Naoto Arai — Main role • 2023–2024 — Boogie Woogie — Zen'ichi Hatori — Asadora

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1994–2014 — Waratte Iitomo — Himself • 1995–1996 — Tamori’s The World of Music — Himself • 1996–1997 — Oh! El Club — Himself (host) • 1996–2016 — SMAP×SMAP — Himself (host, chef, performer) • 1997 — Scratch — Himself (host) • 1997–2005 — Dotch Cooking Show — Himself • 1998 — Muchu Sengen Ganbarimasu — Himself (host) • 1998–2018 — Pussma — Himself (host) • 2001–2003 — Chikyu Fushigi Daishizen — Himself (narrator) • 2001–2010 — Chonan Kan — Himself (host) • 2003–2016 — Tsuyoshi Kusanagi’s Ganbatta Taishou — Himself (host) • 2004–2014 — Bokura no Ongaku — Himself (host) • 2005 — 24 Hour Television — Himself (host) — Telethon • 2005–2014 — FNS Music Festival — Himself (host) — TV special; 15 episodes • 2007–2016 — Baby Smap — Himself (host) • 2012–2014 — FNS Music Fes. In Summer — Himself (host) — TV special; 3 episodes • 2014–2015 — SmaShip — Himself (host) — TV special; 2 episodes • 2015–2024 — Bura Tamori — Himself (narrator) • 2022-2025 — Waruiko Atsumare — Himself (host, performer) — 2 episodes in 2021; 1 episode in 2022; become a regular show from April 2022 • 2022-present — Kusanagi Yasutomo no Usagi to Kame — Himself (host) — 4 episodes in 2021; become a regular show from May, 2022

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 02-05/11/2017 — 72 Hour Honne TV — Host • 01/01/2018 — 27 Hun Hon no chotto TV — Host • 30-31/01/2018 — 72 Hun mou chotto TV - Shingo Katori Birthday Special — Himself — Appeared on phone • May, 2018-present — 7.2 Atarashii Betsu no Mado — Himself (host, performer) • 16/09/2018 — Namie Amuro Densetsu's Live Video Revival: WE ▼ NAMIE FINAL Encore LIVE — Host • 2019-2021 — Nagisuke! — Host — With Yusuke Santamaria

• Year — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. • 2005 — Robots — Rodney — Lead role • 2007 — Strings — Hal — Lead role • 2018 — Mutafukaz — Angelino — Lead role

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1994–2016 — Ohayo SMAP — Himself • 1995–present — SMAP POWER SPLASH → ShinTsuyo POWER SPLASH — Himself — Changed to "ShinTsuyo POWER SPLASH" since 2017

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1991 — Saint Seiya — Dragon Shiryū — Lead role • 1992 — Dragon Quest — Atlas — Lead role • 1993 — Another — Shunichi — Lead role • Hime-chan's Ribbon — Daichi Kobayashi — Lead role • 1995 — Haisenkoku no Ōji: Fortinbras — Taketoshi Hanezawa — Lead role • 1999–2000 — Kamata Koshin-kyoku — Yasuji Muraoka — Lead role • 2002 — Readers theater: La Dame aux Camélias — Himself — Lead role • 2006 — Chichi Kaeru — Kenichirō Kuroda — Lead role • 2008 — Mabuta no Haha — Chûtarō — Lead role • 2010 — K2 — Taylor — Lead role • 2012–2013 — Boku ni Honou no Sensha wo — Naoki Yanagihara — Lead role • 2013 — Nito Monogatari — Sukune — Lead role • 2015 — burst! — Himself — Lead role • 2018 — Ballyturk — Man 1 — Lead role • 2018 — Musical Drama: La Strada — Zampano — Lead role • 2019 — Family Story PART1 — Nakaji Nobuhiro — Lead role • 2021 — Family Story PART1 — Nakaji Nobuhiro — Replay • 2020 — Musical Drama: The rise of Arturo Ui — Arturo Ui — Lead role • 2021-2022 — Musical Drama: The rise of Arturo Ui — Arturo Ui — Replay • 2022 — burst! — Himself — Replay