Interest
Ex-Morning Musume Tsuji: I Will Not Name Baby After Dragon Ball
posted on by Egan Loo
Entertainment figure and former Morning Musume idol singer Nozomi Tsuji posted a Sunday blog entry to deny reports that she wanted to name her second baby after the Dragon Ball anime hero Goku. Tsuji was responding to reports by Nikkan Sports and other media outlets that claimed otherwise last week.
Tsuji's husband — actor Taiyō Sugiura — was speaking during an October 6 promotional event for Danone Bio Yogurt Honey and Apple. According to the media reports, Sugiura said that Tsuji thought "Goku would be nice" because their two children would then have the same kanji character (空) in their names.
In her blog, Tsuji noted that she was and continues to be a fan of Dragon Ball's Goku character. She was anxious with a lot of time on her hands during her first pregnancy in 2007. On Sugiura's recommendation, she watched Dragon Ball often during her first pregnancy and "absolutely adored Goku." She ended up searching for Dragon Ball goods at the Kiddy Land store chain. However, she emphasized, "I love Goku, but I will not name my baby 'Goku'!"
Tsuji performed as a part of the all-female idol group Morning Musume from 2000 to 2004, and she continued to perform as part of the larger Hello! Project collective until last year. She voiced various roles in anime, including a super-deformed version of herself (Nono) in Mini Moni the TV with her other Mini Moni sub-group mates. She married Sugiura in June of 2007 and gave birth to their first child, Noa, in November of that year. The second kanji in "Noa" is the same as the second kanji is "Goku."
Sources: J-Cast News, Nikkan Sports, Sports Nippon
Image © 2003 Bird Studio/Shueisha, Toei Animation
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history