Rena Matsui

Rena Matsui (松井 玲奈, Matsui Rena; born July 27, 1991) is a Japanese actress, singer, and novelist. Matsui is a former member of the Japanese idol girl groups SKE48 and Nogizaka46.^[2] As a member of the former, she also participated in the main lineup of AKB48's singles. As an actress, she has played roles in numerous films and television series, including Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One and the 99th NHK asadora Manpuku.

Rena Matsui
松井 玲奈
Matsui at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2018
Born	(1991-07-27) 27 July 1991 (age 34) Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan
Occupations	Actress novelist singer (former)
Years active	2008–present[1]
Spouse	Akihisa Kondo ​ (m. 2024)​
Musical career
Genres	J-pop
Instruments	vocals trumpet
Labels	Nippon Crown Avex Trax Sony Records/N46Div
Formerly of	SKE48 Nogizaka46 AKB48
YouTube information
Channel	Rena Matsui
Years active	2021–present
Genres	Vlog Let's Play
Subscribers	177 thousand
Views	19.8 million
Last updated: 11 February 2025

Early life

Matsui was born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture on July 27, 1991. She participated in the first SKE48 audition, held in July 2008, and was selected to join the group.

Career

SKE48 and Nogizaka46

Team S made its debut on October 5, 2008.^[1][3] She was also chosen to be in the main lineup for AKB48's single "10nen Zakura". Her first photobook, titled Kingyo, was published on March 1, 2012.^[4] In April 2013, SKE48 reorganized the teams, and Matsui was appointed the captain of Team E.^[5] In AKB48's 2013 General Election, she placed seventh overall with 73,173 votes.^[6][7]

In the AKB48 Group Daisokaku Matsuri, held February 24, 2014, she became a member of Nogizaka46 while remaining in SKE48's Team E.^[8] She made her debut as a member of Nogizaka46 during the group's handshake event for their single "Kizuitara Katamoi" at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba on April 13, 2014. For her first performance with Nogizaka46, Rena Matsui performed "Kizuitara Kataomoi" with the other members of the group.^[9] She published her second photobook, titled Hemeretto, on April 1, 2014.^[10] In AKB48's 2014 General Election, she placed fifth overall with 69,790 votes. On March 26, 2015, during a concert at Saitama Super Arena, it was announced that her concurrent position in Nogizaka46 would be cancelled.^[11]

On June 11, 2015, she announced that she would graduate from SKE48 at the end of August.^[12] Her graduation concert, titled "Matsui Rena SKE48 Graduation Concert in Toyota Stadium: 2588 Days" was held on August 30, 2015, at Toyota Stadium.^[13] Her last performance with SKE48 occurred the following day.

Acting

Since graduating from SKE48, Matsui has worked as an actress in several TV series and films, including Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One and the ninety-ninth NHK asadora Manpuku.^[14] Matsui opened her YouTube channel in 2021.^[15][16]

Writing

Matsui made her debut as a fiction writer in 2018, publishing the short story "Nugutte mo, nugutte mo" in the literary journal Subaru.^[17] The story was included in her first short story collection, titled Camouflage, which was published by Shueisha in 2019.^[18] Her second book of fiction, titled Ruirui and consisting of five connected stories, was published by Shueisha in 2021.^[19] That same year a collection of previously published and new essays about her experiences with food, titled Secret Food, was published by Magazine House.^[20]

Personal life

On January 3, 2024, Matsui and singer-songwriter Akihisa Kondo jointly announced through their respective social media accounts that they had officially married.^[21]

Bibliography

Photobooks

Year	Title	Source
2012	Kingyo	[22]
2014	Hemeretto	[23]

Discography

Singles with SKE48

Year	No.	Title	Role	Notes
2009	1	"Tsuyoki Mono yo"	A-side	Debut with Team S.
2010	2	"Aozora Kataomoi"	A-side
	3	"Gomen ne, Summer"	A-side
	4	"1! 2! 3! 4! Yoroshiku!"	A-side
2011	5	"Banzai Venus"	A-side, Akagumi, Center	Also sang on "Dareka no Sei ni wa Shinai" as subgroup Akagumi.
	6	"Pareo wa Emerald"	A-side, Akagumi, Selection 8	Also sang on "Tsumiki no Jikan"; "Papa wa Kirai" as Akagumi; "Hanabi wa Owaranai" as Selection 8.
	7	"Okey Dokey"	A-side, Akagumi, Selection 8	Also sang on "Hatsukoi no Fumikiri"; "Hohoemi no Positive Thinking" as Akagumi; "Utaōyo, Bokutachi no Kōka" as Selection 8
2012	8	"Kataomoi Finally"	A-side, Akagumi, Selection 8	Also sang on "Kyō made no Koto, Korekara no koto"; "Koe ga Kasureru Kurai" as Akagumi; "Kamoki no Tsuki" as Selection 8.
	9	"Aishite-love-ru!"	A-side	Also sang on "Nante Ginga wa Arui no Darou".
	10	"Kiss Datte Hidarikiki"	A-side, Center
2013	11	"Choco no Dorei"	A-side	Also sang on "Bike to Sidecar".
	12	"Utsukushii Inazuma"	A-side, Center,[citation needed] Boat Pier Senbatsu	First single as member of Team E. Also sang on ""Seishun no Mizushibuki" as Boat Pier Senbatsu; "Shalala na Calendar" as Team E.
	13	"Sansei Kawaii!"	A-side, Center[citation needed]
2014	14	"Mirai to wa?"	A-side	Also sang on "GALAXY of DREAMS"; "Machiawasetai"
	15	"Bukiyō Taiyō"	A-side
	16	"12 Gatsu no Kangaroo"	A-side
2015	17	"Coquettish Jūtai Chū"	A-side, Center
	18	"Mae Nomeri"	A-side, Center	First Center and last to participate of the Single in SKE48. Also sang on "Nagai Yume no Labyrinth" and "2588 Days" which is her graduation song.

Singles with AKB48

Year	No.	Title	Role[24]	Notes
2009	11	"10nen Sakura"	A-side	First single with AKB48 as member of SKE48.
	12	"Namida Surprise!"	A-side
	13	"Iiwake Maybe"	Under Girls	Ranked 29th in 2009 General Election. Sang on "Tobenai Agehachō".
	14	"River"	Under Girls	Sang on "Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara".
2010	15	"Sakura no Shiori"	B-side	Sang on "Majisuka Rock 'n' Roll"
	16	"Ponytail to Shushu"	Under Girls	Sang on "Nusumareta Kuchibiru" and "Majijo Teppen Blues".
	17	"Heavy Rotation"	A-side	Ranked 11th in 2010 General Election.[25] Also sang on "Yasai Sisters".
	18	"Beginner"	A-side
2011	20	"Sakura no Ki ni Narō"	A-side
	–	"Dareka no Tame ni - What can I do for someone?"	–	Charity single
	21	"Everyday, Katyusha"	A-side	Also sang on "Yankee Soul".
	22	"Flying Get"	A-side	Ranked 10th in 2011 General Election.
	23	"Kaze wa Fuiteiru"	A-side
	24	"Ue kara Mariko"	B-side	Did not sing on A-side; lineup was determined by a rock-paper-scissors tournament.[26][27][28] Sang on "Noel no Yoru"
2012	25	"Give Me Five!"	A-side (Baby Blossom), Special Girls B	Played trumpet in Baby Blossom.[29] Also sang on "Hitsujikai no Tabi" as Special Girls B.
	26	"Manatsu no Sounds Good!"	A-side	Also sang on "Gugutasu no Sora".
	27	"Gingham Check"	A-side	Ranked 10th in 2012 General Election.
	28	"Uza"	A-side
	29	"Eien Pressure"	B-side	Did not sing on A-side; lineup was determined by a rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Tsuyogari Tokei" with SKE48.
2013	30	"So Long!"	A-side
	31	"Sayonara Crawl"	A-side
	32	"Koi Suru Fortune Cookie"	A-side	Ranked 7th in 2013 General Election.[6][7]
	33	"Heart Electric"	A-side
	34	"Suzukake no Ki no Michi de "Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru" to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono"	B-side	Did not participate in the A-side. Lineup was determined by a rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Mosh & Dive" and "Escape"
2014	35	"Mae shika Mukanee"	A-side
	36	"Labrador Retriever"	A-side
	37	"Kokoro no Placard"	A-side	Ranked 5th in 2014 General Election.
	38	"Kibouteki Refrain"	A-side
2015	39	"Green Flash"	A-side
	40	"Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai"	A-side	Last single she participated in.

Singles with Nogizaka46

Year	No.	Title	Role[24]	Notes
2014	9	"Natsu no Free & Easy"	A-side	First single with Nogizaka46 as concurrent member. Also sang on "Sono Saki no Deguchi"
	10	"Nandome no Aozora ka?"	A-side	Also sang on "Korogatta Kane o Narase!"
2015	11	"Inochi wa Utsukushii"	A-side	Last single with Nogizaka46

Solo singles

Year	No.	Title	Role	Notes
2016	1	"Shabon"	With Charan-Po-Rantan	Solo debut single.

Stage units

Team S 1st Stage

• クラスメイト (Classmate)
• 星の温度 (Hoshi no ondo)

Team S 2nd Stage

• 雨のピアニスト (Ame no Pianist (1st Unit))
• チョコの行方 (Choco no Yukue (2nd Unit))

Team S 3rd Stage

• 枯葉のステーション (Kareha no Station (Solo))
• Omoide Ijou (2nd Unit)

Team E 3rd Stage

• ヒグラシノコ (Higurashi no Koi)

Team E 4th Stage

• この胸のバーコード (Kono Mune no Barcode)

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2014	Gift	Saori Yamane	Lead role	[30]
2017	Opening Night	Rina		[31]
	Laughing Lucky Cats	Honda Akako	Lead role	[32]
	Megamisama	Rika Sakura	Lead role	[33]
2018	Kamen Rider Build the Movie: Be the One	Ryoka Saiga/Scissors Lost Smash		[34]
2019	Bento Harassment	Wakaba Mochimaru		[35]
	21st Century Girl		Anthology film	[36]
	Wachigaiya Itosato	Yoshie		[37]
	Blood Friends			[38]
2020	Looking for Magical Doremi	Mire Yoshizuki (voice)	Lead role	[39]
2021	Zokki			[40]
	Back to That Day	Manami Saitō	Lead role	[41]
2022	The Nighthawk's First Love	Aiko	Lead role	[42]
2023	Dependence	Kyoko		[43]
	Saga Saga	Kyoko Oyamada	Lead role	[44]
2024	Gold Boy	Shizuka		[45]
	Cha-Cha			[46]

Television drama

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2010	Okagesamade!			[47]
	Chuugakusei Nikki	Rena Morikawa		[48]
2011	Mousou Deka	Herself (Celebrity judge)		[49]
	Oshare ni Koi Shita Cinderella: Okarie ga Yumi o Kanaeru Made	Matsuoka Rie		[50]
	Shin Anata no Shiranai Sekai	Rie	One episode	[51]
2012	Gakkou no Kaidan			[52]
2012-17	Nagoya Iki Saishuu Ressha			[53]
2019	Sherlock: Untold Stories	Mari Mizuno	Episode 1	[54]
2020	Yell	Gin Sekiuchi	Asadora	[55]
	30 Kin Sore wa 30-sai Miman Okotowari no Koi	Shino Moriyama		[56]
2021	Promise Cinderella	Kikuno/Akira Kagami		[57]
2022	Boy's Abyss	Yuri Shibasawa		[58]
2023	What Will You Do, Ieyasu?	Oman	Taiga drama	[59]
2024	Omusubi	Mika "Chanmika" Aihara	Asadora	[60]

Television animation

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2015	Ultimate Otaku Teacher	Suzune Kagami		[61]
2023–present	Sydney Sailboat	Sydney	Japanese dubbing	[62][63]

Other television

Year	Title	Notes	Source
????	Dera SKE		[64]
2011-12	SKE48 no Sekai Seifuku Joshi		[65]
2011-13	SKE48 no Magical Radio		[66]
2014-15	NogiBingo!		[67][68]
2015	Animaga		[69]

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue(s)	Source
2014	16-nin no Principal Trois		Akasaka ACT Theater	[70]
2015	Majisuka Gakuen Stage Play	Gekikara	AiiA Theater	[71]