Actress Kawashima Umika will be releasing her new photo book, 'Umi Kore. ~Kawashima Umika actress collection~', on September 27th.

The photo book is said to show the growth of Kawashima over the past 2 and a half years. She commented, "I hope people can find where I've grown up ? I want everyone to see my growth process."

The photo book features unpublished pictures from Kawashima's "Moments...", which has been serialized in the weekly tv guide magazine, 'B.L.T.', since June of 2010. Coming up with various ideas herself, the actress has previously portrayed a photographer's assistant and balloon girl for this project. "I did it every time with a fresh feeling," she said.

For this photo book, Kawashima challenged herself to be a ballerina for the first time. "I'll only wear it once in my life. I was a little embarrassed during my photo shoot," she revealed. "I think the highlight are my stretches that I've continued to practice until now."

Aside from her acting career, Kawashima has been busy as a part of idol unit 9nine. On August 19th, they're scheduled to perform their first outdoor live.

Kawashima will hold a release event for 'Umi Kore. ~Kawashima Umika actress collection~' on October 6th.

[gallery link="file"]

Source & Photos: Oricon