Himawarigumi (ひまわり組) is a special unit in AKB48, SKE48, and HKT48. The purpose of Himawarigumi is allow members from different teams of the group to perform in the same theater show.
History[]
Himawarigumi was first created for AKB48 in May 2007. It was originally proposed at First Concert "Aitakatta ～Hashira wa Naize!～" in Nippon Seinenkan as two different groups, Baragumi and Yurigumi. The two groups were cancelled and made into one Himawarigumi in May 2007.
Himawarigumi consists of members from Team A and Team K. No Team B members participate, but 4th Generation Kenkyuusei would fill in as understudies. According to Akimoto Yasushi, the reason for shuffling members of Team A and Team K together into one Himawarigumi theater show was to avoid the confrontational structure between teams and encourage members to improve their skills by learning and competing alongside each other. There was also hope of encouraging fans of exclusively Team A or Team K to learn about the other team's members.
AKB48 Himawarigumi debuted in July 2007 with their first stage "Boku no Taiyou". The stage was made for 16 people. Because Team A and Team K had 32 members combined, Himawarigumi had two lineups: a 1st Lineup (main) and a 2nd Lineup (sub). The stage ran from July 2007 to November 2007. Himawarigumi returned with their second stage "Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai". The stage ran from December 2007 to April 2008.
Stages[]
AKB48 Himawarigumi Stages[]
| # | Stage name | Date | Performances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boku no Taiyou (僕の太陽) |
2007.07.01 - 2007.11.30 | 124 |
| 2 | Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai (夢を死なせるわけにいかない) |
2007.12.08 - 2008.04.19 2009.06.○○ |
108 — |
SKE48 Himawarigumi Stages[]
| # | Stage name | Date | Performances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seishun Girls (青春ガールズ) |
2018.03.02 – 2019.10.26 | — |
| 2 | Te wo Tsunaginagara (手をつなぎながら) |
2019.07.09 – | TBA |
HKT48 Himawarigumi Stages[]
| # | Stage name | Date | Performances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pajama Drive (パジャマドライブ) |
2013.11.02 – 2015.12.14 2022.08.04 – |
241 TBA |
| 2 | Tadaima Renaichuu (ただいま 恋愛中) |
2015.12.19 – 2020.03.31 | 253 |
| 3 | Yuuwaku no Garter (誘惑のガーター) |
2017.12.17 – | TBA |