Kobushi Factory

Kobushi Factory (こぶしファクトリー; Magnolia Factory) is a Japanese pop group under Hello! Project, formed with eight members from Hello Pro Kenshuusei 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: Formation and Major debut
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 DVD single, "Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor," on March 26, 2015 at the musical venue. "Survivor" is the tie-in song to the musical.

During April and May, the group performed as an opening act at Morning Musume '15 Concert Tour Haru ~GRADATION~, ANGERME's Budokan concert and Juice=Juice Fast Live Tour 2015 ~Special Juice~.

On May 16, Kobushi Factory had a joint live with Country Girls and Tsubaki Factory called Hello! Project New Fes! 2015. The second joint live with Tsubaki Factory, Hello! Project New Fes! II was held on September 23 and September 26 later in the year.

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.)." The single was released on September 2.

On September 28, Kobushi Factory performed at the Honkaku Ongaku Joshi-sai -Sono Kyuu-.

From November 6, 2015 to January 30, 2016, Kobushi Factory's first concert tour, Kobushi Factory Live Tour 2015 ~ The First Ring! ~, took place. The day before the first concert, they officially left Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

On November 16, Kobushi Factory performed at the Honkaku Ongaku Joshi-sai -Sono Juuichi-, making their second appearance at the live idol event.

On November 20, it was announced Kobushi Factory won the Newcomer Award at the 57th Japan Record Awards and was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award, which they successfully won on December 30.

2016
On January 11, Kobushi Factory performed at Radio NIKKEI's Idol Generation vol.34 event.

On January 26, Kobushi Factory was invited to perform at FM-FUJI's GIRLS❤GIRLS❤GIRLS premium live at Shinjuku ReNY.

On February 17, Kobushi Factory will release their second single, "Sakura Night Fever / Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin / Osu! Kobushi Tamashii."

On February 29, Kobushi Factory will perform at the Honkaku Ongaku Joshi-sai -Sono Juushi-, making their third appearance at the live idol event.

On March 12, Kobushi Factory will perform at the ''PINK!SS & Kopinks! Last Live 2016 MOMENT memories/memorize'', along with Juice=Juice.

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) meaning workshop.

Singles

 * Indie DVD Single
 * [2015.03.26] Nen ni wa Nen / Survivor (念には念 / サバイバー)


 * Major Singles
 * 1) [2015.09.02] 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.）)
 * 2) [2016.02.17] Sakura Night Fever / Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin / Osu! Kobushi Tamashii (桜ナイトフィーバー／チョット愚直に！猪突猛進／押忍！こぶし魂)

DVDs

 * [2015.08.05] Engeki Joshibu Musical "Week End Survivor"
 * [2015.09.26] Hello! Project New Fes! 2015 (with Country Girls and Tsubaki Factory)

Calendars

 * [2015.09.19] Kobushi Factory 2016 Calendar

Book

 * [2015.07.11] Hello! Project Maruwakari BOOK 2015 SUMMER
 * [2016.01.02] Hello! Project Maruwakari BOOK 2016 WINTER

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.
 * 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.

Awards

 * [2015.11.20] "The 57th shining! Japan Record Award" - Newcomer Award
 * [2015.12.20] "2015 Idol Best Performance award" (awarded by president of Tower records, Minewaki Ikuo)
 * [2015.12.30] "The 57th shining! Japan Record Award" - Best Newcomer Award