The seventh season of the popular TV Asahi drama series "Kaasano Mitazono," starring TOKIO's Matsuoka Masahiro, has been scheduled to air in January 2025, and it has been revealed that Kumagaya Rinka will appear as the seventh new housekeeper. This year, auditions were held for the series' first new housekeeper role, and she was selected from among the candidates who met the conditions of "women between the ages of 18 and 30 who belong to a talent agency," "people who live in or near Tokyo and can participate in recordings from this fall onwards," and "people with acting experience."
Kumagaya was born on February 23, 2001 and is 23 years old. She is active as an exclusive model for the women's fashion magazine "non-no" (Shueisha), and has appeared in numerous dramas and movies. She is currently playing the heroine in the TV Asahi drama series "Watashitachi wa Koi suru Riyuu" (Saturday 11:00 p.m.), which is currently airing, and will be appearing in two TV Asahi dramas in a row.
Kumada plays Daimon Sakura, a new housekeeper at Musubi Housekeeper Agency. Her father is a detective and her mother is a police investigator, so she lets even the smallest of incidents become a "crime" through her delusions and imagination. She also has a passionate side, believing that "investigations should be done on the feet."
Regarding her role in this production, she commented with joy, "I started working as an actress about four years ago, and have had the opportunity to take part in several comedy productions. I wanted to try my hand at comedy more and more, and when I came across this audition, I put my life on the line and took on the challenge! My father is a big fan of "Kaasano Mitazono" and always imitates Mitazono. I'm also happy to be able to tell my father that I passed the audition. I'll do my best for the next three months! Thank you very much."
Mitazono Kaoru (aka Mitazono, Matsuoka) and regular member Murata Hikari (Ino Kei) surprised Kumada with a congratulatory message on her recent appearance. The two visited Kumada during an interview, and when Hikari broke the paper lantern that she had brought with her, the words "Congratulations!" appeared. Kumada happily greeted him, saying, "My name is Daimon Sakura," to which Mitazono replied, "Daimon! Oh, I've heard that name somewhere before." When he asked, "Do you also not fail?", likening her to a "genius freelance surgeon who never fails," Kumada replied, "Yes! I never fail!", showing their perfect interaction. Seeing it up close for the first time, Mitazono said, "It's bigger than I imagined. I'm happy to have met the real thing."
"Kaasano Mitazono" is a human drama in which Matsuoka plays Mitazono Kaoru, a large, cross-dressing housekeeper who solves problems in the families he is sent to. It began in October 2016 and has become one of TV Asahi's most popular drama series, with a stage adaptation planned for 2022. The sixth season began airing in October last year, when the show moved from its previous Friday Night Drama slot (Friday 11:15 p.m.) to Tuesday 9 p.m. ◇ Past new housekeepers from "Kaasan no Mitazono" (titles omitted)
▽ Season 1 (October 2016) Shimizu Fumika (now Sengen Yoshiko)▽ Season 2 (April 2018) Gouriki Ayame▽ Season 3 (April 2019) Kawaei Rina▽ Season 4 (April 2020) Iitoyo Marie▽ Season 5 (April 2022) Yamamoto Maika▽ Season 6 (October 2023) Sakurada Hiyori
