Nozomi Ōhashi

Nozomi Ōhashi
Nozomi Ōhashi in January 2009
Born	(1999-05-09) May 9, 1999 (age 25) Tokyo, Japan
Other names	Non-chan
Occupation(s)	Child actress, singer
Years active	2002–2012
Notable work	Shiroi Haru The Quiz Show Ponyo Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky
Website	Official profile

Nozomi Ōhashi (大橋 のぞみ, Ōhashi Nozomi, born May 9, 1999) is a Japanese former child actress and singer attached to the Central Kodomo Gekidan talent agency.^[1] She is noted for her role in the 2008 Studio Ghibli film Ponyo.^[2] Nozomi has also starred in various Japanese television series.^[3]

Ōhashi retired from acting in 2012.^[4]

Career

Ohashi made her acting debut at the age of three,^[5] and debuted as a singer with the song "Gake no Ue no Ponyo", which she sang together with the duo group Fujioka Fujimaki in 2007.^[2] "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" is the theme song of the 2008 Studio Ghibli anime film Ponyo.^[6]

When this single was first released on December 15, 2007, it debuted at 115 on the Oricon charts.^[7] After the release of Ponyo, however, the single reached the number 3 position on the charts.^[7] It remained on the Oricon Top 10 charts for ten consecutive weeks, a record for an artist under the age of 10.^[8] This record was only broken by the single "Maru Maru Mori Mori!" in 2011.^[8] For singing "Gake no Ue no Ponyo", Ohashi was invited to participate in the 59th edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen, becoming the youngest participant in the history of this program.^[9] In addition to singing the theme song for Ponyo, Ohashi also voiced the character of Karen in this film.^[3]

In the 2009 Fuji TV drama Shiroi Haru, Ohashi starred as Sachi Murakami, one of the main characters in this television series.^[10] She also played the lead role in a one-off television special drama Happy Birthday.^[11] This drama aired on November 21, 2009 on the Fuji TV network.^[11]

In 2011, Ohashi released her second single entitled "Panda no Yume".^[12] The title track of this single was approved as the "Panda Welcoming Song" for Ueno Zoo by the zoo's publicity committee.^[12] It was then used as a publicity song for the new panda exhibit that had opened at the zoo on April 1, 2011.^[12] The single was later released in Japan on July 27, 2011.^[12] In addition to releasing her single, Ohashi also starred in the television series Don Quixote.^[3] She played the role of Airi Nakano in this NTV drama.^[3]

Ohashi played a minor role in the film Shiawase no Pan, which was released in Japanese cinemas on January 28, 2012.^[13]

On March 1, 2012, it was announced that Ōhashi would be retiring from show business to concentrate on her studies after entering junior high school.^[4][14] Ōhashi's last day in show business was on March 31, 2012.^[4] It was also announced that the film that Nozomi was supposed to star in, Daisuki na Kutsu o Haitara, had been cancelled due to production problems.^[14]

She starred in the television program Jinsei ga Kawaru 1-Funkan no Fukaihanashi on March 19, 2012.^[15] During this program, she sang the songs "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" and "Kyo no Hi wa Sayonara", both of which were featured in her album Non-chan Kumo ni Noru.^[15] This was her last public appearance before her retirement from show business.^[15]

Personal life

Nozomi Ōhashi is the youngest child in her family.^[16] She has two sisters who are respectively 7 and 4 years her elder.^[16] Her favorite actress is Mirai Shida.^[17]

Television dramas

• Ningen no Shomei (CX, 2004)
• Yonimo Kimyona Monogatari Anata no Monogatari (Fuji TV, 2005)
• Kinyo Entertainment (Fuji TV, 2006)
• Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi Slot (Fuji TV, 2006)
• Juken Sentai Gekiranger (TV Asahi, 2007, ep1)
• Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi Tsukareta Mori (Fuji TV, 2009)
• Shiroi Haru (Fuji TV, 2009)
• The Quiz Show 2 (NTV, 2009)
• Veterinarian Dolittle (TBS, 2010)
• Don Quixote (NTV, 2011)

Film

• Inu no Eiga (2005) as the young Mika
• Luna-Heights (2005) as Anna Kishibe
• Luna-Heights 2 (2006) as Anna Kishibe
• Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008) as the voice of Karen
• A Happy Birthday (2009) as Asuka Fujiwara
• Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky (2010) as the voice of Satoshi Kawaguchi

Commercials

• Asahi Soft Drinks Mitsuya Cider (2008) - appearing with Fujioka Fujimaki

Discography

Singles

• "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" (5 December 2007, Yamaha Music Communications) - alongside Fujioka Fujimaki
• "Panda no Yume" (27 July 2011)

Albums

• Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Image Album "Ponyo's Lullaby"
• Non-chan Kumo ni Noru (24 December 2008, Yamaha Music Communications)

References

1. "Nozomi Ohashi official profile". central-g (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
2. 大橋のぞみのヒストリー. Oricon (in Japanese). 6 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
3. 大橋のぞみ. Stingray (in Japanese). allcinema. Retrieved 2012-03-20..
4. "Official Announcement on central-g website" (PDF). central-g (in Japanese). 2012-03-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
5. 芸能芸能 実は誰よりも賢かった？ 「テレビ業界への再就職を見据えて……」？ 大橋のぞみ、子役引退の裏事情. cyzowoman (in Japanese). 9 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-24..
6. 崖の上のポニョ(2008). Stingray (in Japanese). allcinema. Retrieved 2012-03-20..
7. ポニョ主題歌、ジブリ曲で歴代最高3位＆「ツトム君」以来約32年ぶり快挙. Oricon, Inc. (in Japanese). 2008-07-29. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
8. "【オリコン】「マルモリ」、ポニョ超え記録の12週連続TOP10". Oricon, Inc. (in Japanese). 2011-08-16. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
9. 紅白最年少出場の大橋のぞみ、いつもは午後10時就寝も「最後まで頑張る！」. Oricon, Inc. (in Japanese). 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
10. "白い春(2009)". allcinema. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
11. "ハッピーバースデー(2009)". allcinema. Retrieved 2012-03-20..
12. 大橋のぞみ、上野動物園初公認"パンダ歓迎ソング"歌う. Oricon, Inc. (in Japanese). 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
13. "しあわせのパン(2011)". allcinema. Retrieved 2012-03-20..
14. "Child star Ohashi Nozomi to retire from show business". Sports Hochi. Tokyograph. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012. Translated from original article by Sports Hochi.
15. "大橋のぞみが最後のメッセージ「中学生になったら将来の夢を決めたい」。". Narinari.com. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-03-20..
16. "Her speech made in the program "Tetsuko no Heya"". Japan. 2009-02-18. TV Asahi. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
17. Sankei Sports (in Japanese). Japan. Sankei Sports. 12 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Nozomi Ōhashi at IMDb