Utsumi Kazuko

Shimoyama Kazuko (下山和子) née Utsumi (内海) is a Japanese talento, a racing driver, a former idol, a former actress, and a former member of Onyanko Club.

Utsumi started her career in entertainment as a child actress. After that, she began taking extracurricular singing lessons in Hirao Masaaki's musical training school. She joined All Nighters in early 1985, and from there auditioned for Onyanko Club. She joined Onyanko Club on April 5, 1985.

Due to her previous singing experience, she was chosen as a lead vocalist for many Onyanko Club songs. In early 1987, she announced that she would be graduating Onyanko Club to focus on her solo career, and graduated on March 30, 1987.

After graduating, she achieved moderate success as a soloist before retiring from entertainment around late 1989. She then took up various office jobs until her marriage, then became a housewife. However, she became very active in official and unofficial Onyanko Club reunions which she continues to this day.

In 2023, Tatsumi Rika announced that Shiraishi Mako, Tatsumi and Utsumi had formed an Onyanko Club reunion unit called "GoziU" for use in live performances. Their first concert will be held in December 2023.

Profile

 * Member Number: 13
 * Hobbies: Cooking, gym, driving, and beauty
 * Special Skills: Korean and car racing

Albums

 * 1) [1987.03.21] Lunch Time

Best Albums

 * 1) [2003.03.19] MY COLLE!CTION UTSUMI KAZUKO BEST (MY これ！クション 内海和子 BEST)
 * 2) [2010.05.19] My Kore! Lite Utsumi Kazuko (Myこれ！Lite 内海和子)

Collaboration Albums

 * 1) [1987.12.16] Triangle (トライアングル) (w/ Nitta Eri and Fukunaga Satomi)

Singles

 * 1) [1986.11.07] Aoi Memories (蒼いメモリーズ; Blue Memories)
 * 2) [1987.02.25] 20 Sai (20歳; 20-Year-Old)
 * 3) [1987.05.14] Mou Kimi no Namae mo Yobenai (もう君の名前も呼べない: I Can't Even Call You By Name Anymore)
 * 4) [1989.07.21] Kaze wa Endless Story (風はエンドレス・ストーリー; Wind is an Endless Story)

Trivia

 * She's the mother of Yulianne.
 * She was one of the only Onyanko Club members early on that had professional level voice training prior to joining, and was said to have perfect pitch. As a result she was chosen for lead vocals on their first single Sailor Fuku wo Nugasanaide, despite not being part of the original lineup.
 * Utsumi was known as the "B-men no Joou" (B面の女王/Queen of the B-Side) by fans because she had two solo songs as Onyanko Club single B-sides prior to her actual solo debut. (Otto CHIKAN! and Osaki ni Shitsurei)
 * On September 16, 2021, she announced that she's been diagnosed with a panic disorder.
 * Before Onyanko Club, she appeared as part of the All nighters with Tatsumi Rika.
 * For a long time she maintained a close relationship with many Onyanko Club fans online, even joining an Onyanko Club Facebook group run by fans and attending the annual final concert streams. However, after developing a panic disorder in 2021, she has dialed back with direct fan interactions, citing mental health reasons.