Name: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (草彅剛)

Nickname: Tsuyoshi (つよし), Tsyoshi-kun (つよしくん). Tsuyopob (つよぽん) Tsuyo-chan (つよちゃん)

Birthdate: July 9, 1974

Birthplace: Seiyo, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Blood Type: A

Height: 170cm

Weight: 55kg

Favorite Sports: Swimming, Artistic Gymanastics, Tae Kwon Do

Favorite Artist: B'z

Before he joined SMAP, he was part of the singing unit CHA-CHA from 1988 to 1991. Although not one of the more popular members of SMAP at first, following his well-received performances in a variety of roles, and riding the hanryū wave in the wake of the success of Winter Sonata in Japan, Kusanagi has come to be one of the more popular members of SMAP.

In 2004, he hosted his own variety show Chonan Gang (チョナン・カン Chonan Kan) with Korean guests and themes. The show was named after himself, as Kusanagi uses Chonan Gang (초난강), the Korean reading of his name, as his stage name in South Korea. He has also hosted a program in which he talked with South Korean President Roh Mu-hyun in Korean, while the president was on an official visit to Japan in June 2003.

He had the lead role in the movie, Yomigaeri (黄泉がえり) (January 18, 2003; a Japan public presentation.) Moreover, his Korean-language-Japanese-produced movie Hotel Venus (ホテルビーナス Hoteru Bīnasu) (March 6, 2004 Japan public presentation) was submitted to the Moscow International Film Festival on June 25, 2004.

User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL.