Sumika was formed in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, in May 2013.[2] The group's name is derived from the Japanese word sumika (すみか, residence), and refers to the desire of its members to consider the band as their "house" or their "room".[3] The original members were Kenta Kataoka, Junnosuke Kuroda, and Tomoyuki Arai.[3] Takayuki Ogawa, who had previously performed with the group as a guest member, joined the group full-time in 2015.[4]
Sumika debuted in 2013 with the release of their first mini-album Shinsekai Orichalcum (新世界オリハルコン) in October of that year.[5] Their second mini-album I Co Y was released in November 2014 and peaked at number 59 on the Oricon weekly charts.[6] Their third mini-album Vital Apartment was released in June 2015 and peaked at number 32 on the Oricon weekly charts.[7] In 2016, they released the single "Lovers/Dengon Uta" (Lovers/「伝言歌」), the mini-album Answer Parade (アンサーパレード), and the extended play "Sally".[8][9][10] In 2017, they released their first full-length album Familia, which peaked at number 5 on the Oricon weekly charts and charted for 41 weeks.[11]
Sumika became affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment Japan in 2018.[12] That same year, they released the extended play "Fiction"; the title track was used as the opening theme to the anime television series Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.[13] This was followed by the release of the single "Fanfare/Shunkashuutou" (ファンファーレ / 春夏秋冬) in August;[14] The release's two songs were used in the anime film I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, and the band's members also made voice acting appearances in the film.[15]
On February 24, 2023, it was announced that guitarist Junnosuke Kuroda died the day prior, at the age of 34.[16]
Members
Current members
Kenta Kataoka (片岡 健太, Kataoka Kenta) – lead vocals, guitarist[2]