Morning Musume Members

[[File:Tikibun1.jpg|thumb| Members

Members (all together): 38 Current members: 13 Graduated members: 23 Resigned members: 2 Generations: 12]]

This page consists of all current and former members of the J-pop group Morning Musume.

The group is known for their ever-fluctuating line-up, with "graduations" and auditions held nearly every year. As of November 2014, there have been a total of 38 members altogether (1997 - present), 23 graduated members, 2 members which have resigned and 12 generations. There are currently 13 members in Morning Musume '14.

Leadership

 * The sub-leader position was established on April 16, 2001, when Kaori Iida became the second leader.
 * The Sub-leader position was empty from October 1, 2011 to May 21, 2013.

Members Colors
Each Morning Musume member has their own color for outfits and merchandise to distinguish between each member. Over time as each member leaves the group, current or new members have the opportunity to change their current colour to a different one which is available. No member has the exact same colour, but some might have colours that look fairly similar to another members.

Notable tenures
Members of Morning Musume rarely stay in the group for more than six years, and to date only nine members have done this.

Mentors
Beginning with third generation, when a new member joins Morning Musume, a senior member is sometimes assigned to be their mentor. The mentor system was dropped after seventh generation.

The following is a list of official mentors:
 * Third Generation
 * Ichii Sayaka → Goto Maki
 * Fourth Generation
 * Yasuda Kei → Ishikawa Rika (Team Vocals)
 * Yaguchi Mari → Yoshizawa Hitomi (Team Expressive Power)
 * Iida Kaori → Tsuji Nozomi (Team Rhythm)
 * Goto Maki → Kago Ai (Team Greeting and Manners)
 * Seventh Generation
 * Michishige Sayumi → Kusumi Koharu

The following is a list of unofficial mentors:
 * Fifth Generation
 * Yoshizawa Hitomi → Takahashi Ai
 * Abe Natsumi → Konno Asami
 * Ishikawa Rika → Ogawa Makoto
 * Yaguchi Mari → Niigaki Risa
 * Sixth Generation
 * Yasuda Kei → Mentor to all sixth generation members
 * Eighth Generation
 * Kusumi Koharu → Mitsui Aika
 * Kamei Eri & Tanaka Reina → Junjun
 * Ninth Generation
 * Mitsui Aika → Mentor to all ninth generation members
 * Tenth Generation
 * Mitsui Aika → Mentor to all tenth generation members

Members Single Count

 * Last Updated: October 2, 2014 (JST)

Trivia

 * Two of the ninth generation members, Sayashi Riho and Suzuki Kanon, are the first members to have been born after the group's formation in 1997.
 * Kudo Haruka is the youngest person to ever join Morning Musume at the age of 11 years and 11 months, and auditioning at age 11. She beat Kago Ai's 11-year record which was set at the age of 12.
 * Makino Maria and Haga Akane are the first members in the group to be born in the 21st Century.
 * They are the main group to have the most graduates (not including Hello Pro Kenshuusei).
 * 2008 was the only year so far in which no line-up changes occurred and that line-up has been the longest unchanging lineup so far going over 2 years with no graduations or new members until Kusumi Koharu graduated in December 2009.
 * Niigaki Risa is the only leader to have once been the youngest member of Morning Musume.
 * Takahashi Ai and Niigaki Risa are the longest serving Leader and Sub-Leader (4 years).
 * Morning Musume recieved eight new members in 2011 (both 9th Gen and 10th Gen of 4 each), ages 11-16 years old, while everyone else in Morning Musume was in their 20's (besides Mitsui Aika), it was also the only year where two generations were added.
 * Fukumura Mizuki is the first former Hello Pro Kenshuusei to become sub-leader of Morning Musume. She is also the youngest sub-leader the group has ever had.
 * Five generations in a row have a former Hello Pro Kenshuusei: the 8th Generation has Linlin, the 9th Generation has Fukumura Mizuki, 10th Generation has Kudo Haruka, 11th Generation has Oda Sakura, and 12th Generation has Makino Maria and Haga Akane.
 * To date, only four members have been featured in over 30 Singles. 5th Generation Members Takahashi Ai (35 Singles) and Niigaki Risa (37 Singles) and 6th Generation Members Michishige Sayumi (39 Singles) and Tanaka Reina (35 Singles).
 * Michishige Sayumi has been a part of the most singles, with 39.
 * Michishige Sayumi is the longest serving member in Morning Musume.
 * 1st Generation Fukuda Asuka is the only former member that has never participated in any type of unit or subgroup during her time in Hello! Project.
 * Fujimoto Miki is the only Morning Musume leader not to be leader within a single.
 * Takahashi Ai and Niigaki Risa were the only leaders that graduated from both Morning Musume and Hello! Project.
 * All current members were added to the group in either January or in September.
 * 8th generation members Junjun and Linlin are the only members to graduate before a new generation has joined the group.
 * There have been no new members added in February, June, July, October, or November.
 * Ishiguro Aya and Fukuda Asuka are the only members to never have a member color while in the group.
 * Ikuta Erina and Ishida Ayumi are the only members to have been born in the same year as the group was formed in 1997.
 * 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013 are the only years where no new members joined.
 * There has been a graduation every year since 1999, except in 2008.

External Link

 * Wikipedia: English

Členky Morning Musume