Kobushi Factory

Kobushi Factory (こぶしファクトリー; Magnolia Factory) is a Hello Pro Kenshuusei unit under Hello! Project, formed with eight members from the trainee program in early January 2015.

Members

 * Fujii Rio (藤井梨央; ) Sub-leader
 * Hirose Ayaka (広瀬彩海;) Leader
 * Nomura Minami (野村みな美; Royal Blue )
 * Ogawa Rena (小川麗奈; )
 * Hamaura Ayano (浜浦彩乃; )
 * Taguchi Natsumi (田口夏実; )
 * Wada Sakurako (和田桜子; Green )
 * Inoue Rei (井上玲音; Purple )

2015
On January 2, during the Hello! Project 2015 WINTER concert, a new Hello! Project unit consisting of Hello Pro Kenshuusei members Fujii Rio, Hirose Ayaka, Nomura Minami, Ogawa Rena, Hamaura Ayano, Taguchi Natsumi, Wada Sakurako and Inoue Rei was announced. The group name was originally supposed to be announced in January, however it was postponed until February 25.

On March 8, during Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2015 ~3gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~, Hirose Ayaka was announced leader of Kobushi Factory, while Fujii Rio was announced sub-leader of the group.

From March 26 to April 5, Kobushi Factory starred in the Engeki Joshibu musical Week End Survivor alongside Sudo Maasa. Kobushi Factory released their first single, "Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor," on March 26, 2015 at the musical venue. "Survivor" is the tie-in song to the musical.

From April 11 to May 27, the group will perform as an opening act at chosen dates of Morning Musume '15 Concert Tour Haru ~GRADATION~.

On May 26, the group will be opening for ANGERME's Budokan concert on May 26

The group along with Country Girls will be the opening act for Juice=Juice's, Juice=Juice Fast Live Tour 2015 ~Special Juice~.

On June 14, it was announced that Kobushi Factory will release their first major label single Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan / Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta / Nen ni wa Nen (Nen'iri Ver.) in the fall.

Group Name Origins
The word kobushi has multiple meanings. In this case it is supposed to represent both the coming of spring and grace of the Kobushi Magnolia (辛夷), as well as the strength of a fist (拳). Factory follows a similar naming pattern as earlier 8-member group Berryz Koubou--koubou (工房) means workshop.

Singles

 * Indie Singles
 * [2015.03.26] Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor (念には念 / サバイバー) (DVD Single)
 * Major Singles
 * 1) [2015] Dosukoi! Kenkyo ni Daitan / Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta / Nen ni wa Nen (Nen'iri Ver.) (ドスコイ！ケンキョにダイタン / ラーメン大好き小泉さんの唄 / 念には念（念入りVer.）)

Theater

 * [2015] Week End Survivor

Trivia

 * Prior to the official announcement, Miyoshi Erika had leaked the unit in a blog post on December 27, 2014 by saying she had interviewed the "Hello Pro New Unit" members. She edited the blog post later that day to remove mention of the unit.
 * The average age in the group as of the formation is 14.67 years old and they are currently the youngest group in Hello! Project.
 * All the members are born between 1999 and 2001, making this the first group to have all members born after Hello! Project's formation.
 * Kobushi Factory and Tsubaki Factory are the only Hello! Project groups that don't consist of any legal adults.
 * Hirose Ayaka and Inoue Rei were both previously members of NICE GIRL Project! Kenshuusei and had only been members of Hello Pro Kenshuusei for a month before debuting in this unit.
 * Hamaura Ayano hopes that the group will become the most famous within Hello! Project.
 * Berryz Koubou member Shimizu Saki helped in deciding the group's name.
 * Shimizu Saki has noted how alike this group is to Berryz Koubou when they first formed.
 * The group is considered the successor of Berryz Koubou, due to their name deriving from Berryz Koubou (Berryz Workshop).
 * Wada Sakurako hopes to follow their senior group, Berryz Koubou, by lasting for more than 10 years.
 * Management heard the concerns of potential long-term consumers of Kobushi Factory merchandise regarding the apparent parallels between Kobushi Factory and Berryz Koubou; so, they abandoned the plan to name Rio as Captain in favor of naming Ayaka as Leader.
 * Hamaura Ayano and Taguchi Natsumi have been in Hello Pro Kenshuusei the longest out of any of the members having joined the program in February of 2011.