Kenchi Tachibana

Kenichiro Teratsuji (寺辻健一郎; Teratsuji Kenichiro, born September 28, 1979, in Yokohama, Japan), better known by his stage names Kenchi Tachibana (橘ケンチ) or simply KENCHI, is a Japanese dancer and actor. He is a member of J-Pop groups Exile and Exile The Second. He was also member of J Soul Brothers' second generation Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009.

He is represented with LDH and also acts as a representative of LDH Asia.

Biography Kenchi was born on September 28, 1979, in Yokohama, Japan and grew up in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

He became an active dancer in his youth and joined dance teams such as Poly-3, Fulcrum and Red Blockerz in his early 20s. At the same time, he also started working as an LDH apparel staff.

In 2007, he was selected as a member of the group Nidaime J Soul Brothers. They announced their indefinite hiatus after releasing one album in 2009 and all members joined the line-up of Exile shortly after.

In July 2012, Kenchi joined the Exile sub-unit Exile The Second alongside his fellow former Nidaime J Soul Brothers members Nesmith, Shokichi, Keiji and Tetsuya.

On December 4, 2015, he was announced as leader of Exile The Second.

In 2017, Kenchi entered the literature business by becoming an ambassador for the 2nd Short Shorts Award. He also opened his blog Tachibana Bookstore, in which he regularly introduces the books he has read.

While attending a business presentation for the Future Sake Project (未来の日本酒プロジェクト) held in Tokyo on February 21, 2019, he expressed his desire to enter the Sake business with a long-term perspective. On September 8 in the same year, Kenchi opened his first Izakaya with the name LDH Kitchen IZAKAYA AOBADAI in Tokyo. The Izakaya is intended to collaborate with local Sake breweries and to hold events related to Sake and Japanese culture every day.

In 2023, he made his stage musical debut, in the role of Miguel da Corella in CESARE ~ Creator of Destruction ~.

Personal life Kenchi and Exile members Akira, Tetsuya and Keiji met each other and became friends in the early 2000s, long before entering LDH as artists.

On October 1, 2019, Kenchi announced his marriage to a non-celebrity woman in her 30s. They were introduced to each other by mutual friends and had been dating for 3 years. This made him the 8th married member of Exile.

Participating groups Name Period of time Ref. Poly-3 2002 – unknown Fulcrum 2005 – 2006 Red Blockerz 2006 – unknown Nidaime J Soul Brothers 25 January 2007 – 1 March 2009 Exile 1 March 2009 – Exile The Second 2012 –

Filmography

※His roles in bold are his starring works

Stage Year Title Role 2004 Heart of Gold: Street Future Opera Beat Pops 2008 Crown Nemuranai Yoru no Hate ni... 2009 Attaku No. 1 Military Medicine Captain Hideaki Muramatsu, Lt. Ichiro Terauchi 2010 Night BalletOga / Miyake 2011 Moshimo Kimi ga.YumotoRed Cliff: SenSun Quan 2012 Guitar o Machinagara Makoto Kurosawa Love Letters 2012 22nd Anniversary Andy 2014 Atami Satsujin Jiken Battle Royal Seigei Kimura Utahime Matsu's Croissant 2015 Don DraculaCount Don Dracula 2016 Aitakute... 2019Mōryōnohako (魍魎の匣) 2023CESARE ~ Creator of Destruction ~Miguel da Corella

Films Year Title Role Notes 2006 Backdancers! 2013 SPEC: Close Kentaro Fukuda 2016 Road To High & Low Nikaido High & Low: The Movie Ninkyō Yarō Muto 2024 The Hotel of My Dream 2025 Step Out

TV dramas Year Title Role Notes 2009 Genryō Boxer Pancho Tamura Co-starring with Naoto 2011 Rokudenashi Blues Fuji Maeda QP Mario 2013 Star Man Kono Hoshi no Koi Kohei Satake 2015 Oretachi ga Propose Dekinai no ni wa, 3ttsu no Riyū shika nakuteda na Shunsuke Hoshino High & Low –The Story Of S.W.O.R.D.– Nikaido 2016 Night Hero Naoto Episode 9; ending dance

TV programmes Year Title Notes 2011 Shūkan Exile MC 2012 Ex-LoungeMC 2013 Little Charo 4 Eigo de Aruku New York 2014EXILE Casino

Radio Year Title Network Notes 2009 Oh! My Radio J-Wave 2011 Radio Mashup FM Yokohama

Advertisements Year Title 2011 Recruit Hot Pepper Gourmet 2012 Fujitsu Arrows Angfa "Scalp D" 2013 Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical "Air Salon Path" The Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola Zero Daiichi Kosho Company "SmartDam" 2015 Yōfuku no Aoyama

Magazine serials Year Title 2014 Gekkan The Television

Others Year Title Notes 2016 Yokosuka Excitement Ambassador 2017 2nd Short Shorts Award Ambassador