Sumire Matsubara

Sumire
すみれ
Sumire Matsubara
Born	Sumire Matsubara (1990-07-15) July 15, 1990 (age 34) Tokyo, Japan
Alma mater	Punahou School Carnegie Mellon University
Occupations	Actress Singer Fashion model
Years active	2006–present
Agents	Sky Corporation (entertainment activities and advertising) Bon Image (fashion shows and magazines)
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Children	1
Parents	Junichi Ishida (father) Chiaki Matsubara (mother)
Relatives	Issei Ishida
Japanese name
Kanji	松原 すみれ
Hiragana	まつばら すみれ
Katakana	マツバラ スミレ
Transcriptions Romanization Matsubara Sumire

Sumire Matsubara (松原 すみれ, Matsubara Sumire, born July 15, 1990 in Tokyo),^[1] better known mononymously as Sumire (すみれ), is a Japanese actress, singer and fashion model.

Early life and education

Sumire was born in Japan to entertainers Junichi Ishida and Chiaki Matsubara (1958–2022).^[2] Sumire's half-brother is actor Issei Ishida.^[3] By the time Sumire was seven years old, her parents had divorced, and she moved from Japan to Hawaii with her mother.^[2]

Sumire recalled that her mother "would often take me to see musicals, Disney movies, and we would go karaoke together and perform for each other".^[2] She enrolled in her school's choir and eventually starred in a Punahou School production of the musical West Side Story.^[2][4] Sumire was accepted to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater and acting. She later complimented the school's conservatory program but noted that she "did feel some racial discrimination from the people of the town. After being in the school, it was amazing, but something in me was telling me that this place was not the place for me."^[2]

Following the death of her grandmother in 2010 and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, Sumire returned to Hawaii to live with her mother.^[2] She later moved back to Tokyo.^[2]

Career

Sumire is represented by the Japanese talent agency Sky Corporation (for entertainment activities and advertising).^[5] In 2014, Sumire guest starred on Hawaii Five-0^[2] as tour bus robber Keilani Makua in the episode "Kanalu Hope Loa".

In 2017, Sumire made her Hollywood debut in the American Christian drama The Shack where she played the role of Holy Spirit (Sarayu).^[6][7][8][9] In 2019, she appeared in the sports movie The Brighton Miracle which depicts Japan's performance at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Sumire played the role of Satomi Leitch, who is the wife of Michael Leitch and captain of the Japanese rugby team.^[10]

In 2021, she became a One Young World Japan Honorary Delegate.^[11]

Personal life

Sumire was baptized as an infant and attended church at an early age. She attended a Catholic elementary school in Hawaii before joining Punahou School.^[9]

On November 25, 2021, Sumire announced on her Instagram that she is married to a man two years older on November 12. At the same time, Sumire also announced the pregnancy of her first child.^[12] On April 30, 2022, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.^[13][14]

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2014	Cabin Attendant Keiji: New York Satsujin Jiken (キャビンアテンダント刑事)	Megumi Fujisawa	Fuji TV
2016	Hold My Hand (Te wo tsunaide kaerôyo) (手をつないでかえろうよ〜シャングリラの向こうで〜)	Reiko Takeuchi		[15]
2017	The Shack	Holy Spirit (Sarayu)	Asian World Film Festival - Rising Star Award (2015)	[2][8][16]
2019	The Brighton Miracle	Satomi Leitch		[10]

TV series

Variety

Year	Title	Network	Notes	Ref(s)
2007	Attention Please	TV	Honolulu special episode
2011	Waratte Iitomo!	Fuji TV
2013	Shin Chūbōdesu Yo!	TBS	Regular
2014	All-Star Thanksgiving	TBS
	Viking	Fuji TV	Tuesday regular

Drama

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref(s)
2014	Hawaii Five-0	Keilani Makua	CBS	Episode: "Kanalu Hope Loa"	[17]
	Soko o Nantoka	Eiko Mizoguchi	NHK BS Premium	Episode: "Episode 2"
2015	Ichiro (一路#テレビドラマ)	Otohime	NHK BS Premium	Episode 4
2015	Hagane no Keisatsu-i (諏訪のスゴ腕警察医)	Kaede Ishinomori	TV Tokyo
2016	Kamogawa shokudô (鴨川食堂)	Hatsuko Shirasaki	NHK BS Premium
2017	Inhumans	Locus	ABC	3 episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref
2013	Nito Monogatari (二都物語)	Lucy Manet	Imperial Theatre
2013	Anything Goes (エニシング・ゴーズ (ミュージカル))	Hope Harcourt	Imperial Theatre
2015	Bombay Dreams	Priya	Umeda Arts Theater	[18]

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details
Kumo No Ue Ha Itsumo Hare	Released: 8 November 2017 Label: SSS Records

As lead artist^[19][20]

Title	Year	Album
"Start Line"	2017	Kumo No Ue Ha Itsumo Hare[21]
"Canvas"
"Mijuku"
"100°C"
"Todoke"
"Hitori"
"Makenaide"
"I Know Only You"	2018	I Know Only You - EP[22][23]
"Stand By Me"
"I Was Made For You"
"Love Untold"	2020	Love Untold - Single[24]
"Still Stay Here"
"Tsuki No Koori"
"Picture Frames (feat. Untorn)"[25]	2020	-
"Home"	2020	Home - EP[26]
"Home (Japanese)"
"Wanna Be Free (feat. 110kid)"[27]	2021	-
"Melody of Love"[28]	2021	-
"CONMAN (with SHIMA)"[29]	2021	-

References

1. "Official profile at Sky Corporation". Retrieved 15 August 2015.
2. Luhar, Monica (22 October 2015). "'Finding My Way': Sumire Matsubara on Acting, Diversity, and Connecting with Her Roots". NBC News. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
3. 松原千明、元夫・石田純一の騒動に理解「かわいそうだったよね」. Oricon (in Japanese). 16 May 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
4. すみれ (2016-01-25). "すみれ流、夢の叶え方【Interview】". Cosmopolitan (Interview). Interviewed by 若山あや. Hearst Fujingaho. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
5. "プロフィール (芸名/すみれ ( Sumire ))". Sky Corporation (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 October 2021.
6. "すみれ流、夢の叶え方". Cosmopolitan Japan (in Japanese). 2016-01-25.
7. Shoji, Kaori (2017-08-31). "What works for Japanese actresses in the West may not work at home". The Japan Times.
8. Pedersen, Erik (23 June 2015). "Sumire Matsubara Joins 'The Shack'; Trio Set For 'Amy Makes Three'; 'Tallulah' Rounds Out Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
9. "映画『アメイジング・ジャーニー 神の小屋より』公開 女優 すみれさん 「三位一体」「聖霊」の難役に挑む 2017年9月1日". キリスト新聞 Kirishin (in Japanese). 2017-09-01.
10. Freeman, Rich (16 August 2019). "Rugby: "Brighton Miracle" film set for release before World Cup". Kyodo News. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
11. "ONE YOUNG WORLD X SUMIRE". One Young World Japan One Young World Japan. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
12. "すみれ 結婚&妊娠!今月12日に2歳上イケメン実業家と 来春ママに 自身インスタでも報告 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-11-25.
13. INC, SANKEI DIGITAL (2022-04-30). "すみれ、第１子出産「ＢＩＧで元気な男の子」". サンスポ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-02.
14. "すみれ 長男お宮参り 鮮やか白の着物「美しいママ」「優しいお母さんの顔」 石田純一の孫/デイリースポーツ online". デイリースポーツ online (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-02.
15. "Hold My Hand". Retrieved 17 December 2020.
16. Zilberman, Alan (3 March 2017). "Religious drama "The Shack" doesn't live up to its own lofty ideals". The Denver Post. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
17. "9 CBS Sync Facts From "Kanalu Hope Loa" - Hawaii Five-0 S5 E3". CBS. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
18. "＜その2＞【2/14（土）・15（日）、梅田芸術劇場で】話題のマサラ・ミュージカルが日本で初の舞台化！「ボンベイドリームス」のヒロイン・すみれにインタビュー！". walker plus. 28 January 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
19. "Sumire". iTunes. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
20. "Sumire". Spotify. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
21. "Kumo No Ue Ha Itsumo Hare". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 8 November 2017.
22. "I know only you / Stand by me - EP". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
23. "I know only you / I was made for you - EP". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
24. "Love Untold - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 6 March 2020.
25. "Picture Frames (feat. Untorn) - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 30 July 2020.
26. "Home - EP". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 24 November 2020.
27. "Wanna Be Free (feat. 110kid) - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 13 February 2022.
28. "Melody of Love - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 13 February 2022.
29. "CONMAN - Single". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved 13 February 2022.

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Sumire808
• Official profile at Sky Corporation (in Japanese)
• Sumire at IMDb
• Sumire Matsubara on Instagram