Music

In 1987, at age 13, Kusanagi auditioned to enter Johnny & Associates, a Japanese talent agency that recruits and trains young boys, preteens to teens, to become singers and members of boy bands. After five of the other band members auditioning individually from 1986 through 1987, in autumn 1987, twenty boys, from ages ten to seventeen, were put together into a group called The Skate Boys, which was initially created as backup dancers for a famous boy band, Hikaru Genji.^[3] In April 1988, producer Johnny Kitagawa chose six out of the twenty boys to create a new boy band and named them "SMAP".^[4]

A year after the dissolution of SMAP, Kusanagi, alongside former members Shingo Katori, and Goro Inagaki formed the group, Atarashii Chizu.^[5][6]

Acting

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 The 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.

In 2020, Kusanagi took on the role of Nagisa, a transgender nightclub worker in Eiji Uchida's Midnight Swan. The film won numerous awards, such as Picture of the Year, and he was subsequently awarded the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.^[7]

Television

As a member of the boyband SMAP, Kusanagi used to co-host the weekly variety show SMAP×SMAP alongside his bandmates for 20 years. In 2001, he hosted the variety show Chonangang on Fuji TV.^[8] Determined to debut in Korea, Kusanagi started learning the Korean language and appearing on Korean variety shows. This focus on Korean culture led to him adopting Chonangang as his Korean persona in various SMAP concerts, even releasing several singles. Originally, Chonangang was intended to focus on Kusanagi's journey in South Korea, however lasted eight years due to its popularity.^[9] Because of the show's success, the format shifted to feature interviews with popular Korean celebrities such as Lee Min-ho, and led to Kusanagi interviewing former South Korean Presidents Roh Moo-hyun, and Lee Myung-bak on TBS.^[10]

Arrest

On April 23, 2009, at around 3 a.m., Kusanagi was arrested on suspicion of public indecency at Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo.^[12] On April 24, 2009, he held a press conference accompanied by his attorney and apologized for his misbehavior. Prosecutors decided not to indict Kusanagi because of his apology. He took a one-month-long hiatus and returned to the taping of SMAPxSMAP on May 28, 2009.

Film

Television (as actor)

Television (as personality)

Web program

Japanese dub

Radio

Theatre