Kumi Koda was born into a family of musicians. She is a from Kyoto Huzinomori. Her grandfather was a Shakuhachi master and her mother was a Koto teacher. she is the older sister of Misono, current solo artist and former lead singer of Day After Tomorrow. Inspired by her mother, who performed in karaoke bars, Koda, from a young age, had aspirations of becoming a singer. Her school years were unhappy, she described her junior and high school years as obscure times, as she was bullied due to her fatness, shortness, ugliness, and other factors related to her appearance. During her second year of high school Kumi Koda auditioned in Avex’s Dream Audition, where she came in second out of 120,000 participants. She was then signed onto the Avex sub label Rhythm Zone. Koda's first semi biographical book, Koda shiki was officially described as a story about a girl who was filled with inferiority complex pursuing her way. In August 2007, it was rumored that Kumi Koda was dating SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai. The media questioned the artists' agencies on the matter, neither agency had confirmed or denied the rumors. In September, during a variety show that Nakai was a semi regular on, socialite Dewi Sukarno was discussing her ideal boyfriend mentioned that Nakai and Kumi Koda were dating. It was also rumored that the two would get married before Koda's 25th birthday. In the December issue of Josei Seven, it was confirmed that the two were dating.The couple has been dubbed as the national couple, a nickname last used in the early 1960s when actor Akira Kobayashi married enka singer Hibari Misora. However, some have denied that the relationship is real, claiming that Johnny Kitagawa orchestrated the relationship in order to move SMAP to the Avex label; websites have claimed that Koda is just a cover up for Nakai's real girlfriend.
