Nikkei Entertainment 2014.01 Translation (Part 1)
Oh man, has it been a LONG time since I've translated something! But I have RL things going on and needed something to distract me, so I decided to tackle this article. Which turned out to be MUCH longer than it seemed, haha. But a very interesting read nonetheless. And my usual disclaimer that I'm sure there are mistakes, since sometimes English just doesn't have the same concepts that exist in the Japanese language, so I went for the meaning instead of a literal translation in some parts. You'll have to just go with it XD
Thanks to flitterfly5 for providing the scans I used to translate~
Will probably need to split this into two parts. Each member had his own 2 pages, and there was a 3 page group interview too....
At any rate, enjoy!
We are moving forward
The changes that are happening in us
2013 was undoubtedly a turning point for the group that continues to be out on top. A year we felt that the members who try to “maintain the status quo” unusually showed us some changes. We had them summarize some of the “things they started in order to keep moving forward.”
If we list some of the things they did, starting the year out with hosting Kouhaku, holding the charity event “Waku Waku Gakkou” and “Arafes,” being the main personalities for 24 Hour Television, and in the fall releasing an album and starting a Dome Tour, the year was full of accomplishments like any other year for them.
On the other hand, however, there were many things started in 2013. Sakurai Sho’s “Ima, Kono Kao ga Sugoi! (This face is amazing!),” Aiba Masaki’s “Aiba Manabu,” and Ninomiya Kazunari’s “Nino-san,” all started in April with 3 members serving as MCs individually. Even behind the scenes, Ohno Satoshi concentrated on his art, and Matsumoto Jun continued studying entertainment…each member continued to build upon their own foundations.
Also, their concerts at the Kokuritsu Stadium that have continued for the 6 years since 2008 have come to an end due to the stadium’s reconstruction. It may have been a coincidence, but we could sense a motivation to “restart” and “revise” in the way they tackled the music for their concert tour, as if symbolizing this.
And in agreement with our assumptions, to our question “What Kanji would you use to represent Arashi’s 2013,” Ninomiya picked the kanji for “new.”
Ninomiya - I think the Kanji for “new” would be the best fit for 2013. We really did a lot of new things this year, and were able to approach all of our work with new attitudes.
Did you 5 have the sense of moving to the next phase? Did you discuss it amongst each other?
Sakurai - We didn’t talk about it directly, but there was the shared opinion that we’ve become an adult group. Having all of us enter our 30s this year, as people, as men, played a big part in that, I think.
Ohno -- …it’s all downhill from here, you know
(All laugh)
Sakurai - Ohno-san’s message to MatsuJun when we celebrated his birthday at Kokuritsu was “Welcome to the adult world,” after all. It was like an invitation to the world of evil (lol).
Aiba - Oddly enough, I remember when Riida became 30 more than when I did.
Ninomiya - I know what you mean! Somehow on Riida’s 30th birthday the feeling that “Arashi is (becoming adults)” was really strong.
Aiba - Yeah. The rest of us just followed along, one by one (lol).
Other than your ages, was there anything else you noticed in particular?
Sakurai - Well, we do have that feeling of “restarting” every year, in one way or another.
Matsumoto - It’s not about whether we noticeably did something new, but whether we can do the same work we’ve done before with new feelings/perspective, isn’t it? I think for the moment we’re always doing our work with new feelings, so doesn’t that make us new?
Sakurai - …well said. Isn’t that right, Ohno-san?
Ohno - That’s it!
Aiba - (lol) But conversely, it was the 4th time we’ve done 24 Hour Television and Kouhaku, but I didn’t really think about doing it like new. No matter how I did it, it would be new each time anyway. I think it’s amazing if you got used to it.
The big trip to New York
What were Arashi’s top 3 big news stories for 2013?
Ninomiya - First, wouldn’t it be the 5 of us going to New York to do the choreography for the album’s lead song?
Aiba - That was pretty big. Going overseas to have someone choreograph for us itself was a new experience.
Ohno - It was like returning to being a beginner.
Matsumoto - Wow, going abroad makes you feel like you’ve become a beginner (lol)
Ohno - It’s because when we’re doing choreography in Japan, I can take a break if I feel like it, but I couldn’t do that there.
Matsumoto - You really shouldn’t be taking breaks in Japan either.
(All laugh)
Aiba - What you mean is that it’s more nerve-wracking because it’s an unfamiliar person and place, so you have less freedom to do what you want, right?
Ohno - Yeah, exactly!
Seems like it was a busy journey, but being able to return to the beginning must have became the power behind your album.
Sakurai - Yes. Simply put, it’s quite difficult to get the same 3-4 consecutive days all together like that. But I think there’s meaning in doing something because it’s hard. Though, it wasn’t hard for us, but for the manager who adjusts our schedules (lol).
Matsumoto - We really couldn’t sleep in New York, could we? There were so many meetings.
Sakurai - The 5 of us went to a concert and stuff together, but since it was after we’d been dancing all day, everyone’s legs were hurting (lol).
Ohno - We were dragging our feet to see the show, and having dinner.
So the schedule was pretty hard…
Aiba - Yes it was! It’s not like we were going for a vacation!!
Ninomiya - Yeah, it was like a training camp, so to speak. An intense training camp.
Ohno - Yeah, we had to be up early in the morning and everything.
Matsumoto -- But during our breaks we went to see 2 musicals.
Aiba - Yes we went. We all went to see a musical called “Kinky Boots!” That sort of thing isn’t in Japan.
Sakurai - (We’ve been doing Arashi) for 14 years, but I found there’s still lots of things we haven’t experienced. It’d be ideal if we could continue to do those “new experiences” in 2014 and beyond.
Ninomiya - Regardless of whether or not those things are seen by everyone else, I think they are important to us.
Becoming united over ramen
Sakurai -- The 2nd of the 3 big news stories is… the ramen, I think.
Other 4 - Oh yeah, we ate it~!
Sakurai - There’s no point in talking about ramen in “Nikkei Entertainment” (lol), but we can’t NOT mention this.
It seems the rumors that the 5 of you were united over the ramen you had during rehearsals for the LOVE Tour were true (lol).
Ninomiya - Yes. The Kanji for “new” that I chose earlier also included meaning we had found a new regular menu.
Sakurai - (lol). Our usual regular of curry for rehearsals over 3-4 hours was finally defeated…
Ohno - I haven’t ever faced ramen so completely.
Ninomiya - It’s amazing because I was gaining weight despite all the dancing.
Matsumoto - (lol). To gain weight with all THAT exercise, just how many calories were we eating, seriously.
Sakurai - On the last day of rehearsals, I ordered soba from catering. And then Nino says, “Oi! Today is the final! It’s the final rehearsal, in other words, today is Ramen The Final, so why are you not eating ramen!” (lol)
Aiba - In my case, even though I’d ordered something different, Nino canceled my order and got me ramen instead.
Ninomiya - Because you suddenly tried switching to sandwiches. It’s not good; if you eat so healthy you won’t have the stamina for concerts.
Aiba - No… I’m sure I’d be fine.
Matsumoto - I mean, our new choreographer was most surprised, like “Arashi eats ramen before they dance?!”
Ninomiya - That’s why for me, I go into rehearsals with the idea that it’s going to be heavy (on my stomach). I expect it to upset my stomach, so I go to the rehearsal studio an hour before you all to eat it (lol).
You really are a group that enjoys everything to the fullest, with a “training camp” feeling. Perhaps through those little things you are unconsciously trying to unite all the members.
Aiba - Yes. Ramen tied us together and made us work well. I’m just saying that from hindsight though (lol).
Sakurai - Like that “eating from the same table” saying.
Ninomiya - That’s why I even volunteered myself to make a ramen mascot.
Sakurai - (lol). Well, that story ties into this, but I think this year we were able to do lots of things thoroughly, from the things on the surface, to the behind the scenes work, to the process itself. The rehearsals for the LOVE tour gave us a lot of time all together, which we hadn’t had for a while.
Matsumoto - It’s not nearly as much as it was back in the day, but compared to the last few years, we really got a lot of time together. Definitely a lot more than we did for the Popcorn tour in 2012. Even for the Arafes this year, we only got about 3 days together.
Sakurai -- Yes. It’s not about which rehearsal had the better quality (lol), but at the very least there is that feeling with this year that we took the time to make it together. That was big.
With this tour, you’re trying out having the fans learn the dance for 1 entire song. Releasing a video of the choreography beforehand, it’s something you’ve never tried before. Who came up with this idea?
Sakurai - MatsuJun.
Matsumoto - The fans always dance with us at the concerts. I remember that they always do their best to learn the dances, so I thought, “Then let’s have them dance it for real.”
Sakurai - In other words, you thought “They can do even better,” right?
Ninomiya - Like, their potential is much better than this
You're hard on your fans too then (lol)
Aiba - Up until now the fans have been perfectly learning the dances even without any teaching materials, so we wondered what would happen if we gave them those materials… (lol)
Ohno - I’m sure it’ll be an amazing level of perfection.
Inside the production of “Arafes ‘13”
Sakurai - Having a concert made up of each members’ productions (Arafes ’13) was also a huge thing for us.
Ninomiya - That’s true.
Sakurai - If I remember, it happened when we were having the meeting for the Osaka “Waku Waku Gakkou” and MatsuJun said, “What about something like this?”
Matsumoto - Yeah, it was because when I saw the midway results for the fans’ requests, it wasn’t that much different from last year. So I started thinking we could do it differently even with a similar program (of songs), like “For example…”
Sakurai - The “…” atmosphere from us 4 the moment he asked us, “How about having the members produce it?” was impressive, wasn’t it? (lol)
Aiba - Like, “We’ll think about it” (lol)
Sakurai - But in the end I think it turned out to be a really great concert.
Ohno - It was new seeing what songs the other members picked, like “oh, they want to do this one,” and really nostalgic too. Like how we recreated the choreography for “COOL&SOUL” (2006).
Matsumoto - We were pretty flashy/glittery back then~
More emphasis was placed on the dances for “Arafes ‘13” compared to the previous year, and we were able to feel that even now Arashi is motivated to keep pushing harder.
Matsumoto - That’s because the top requested songs are dance songs!
Sakurai - The members produced one block (of songs) each, and we all wanted a high point in our respective blocks, so we each wound up putting a dance song in our own block (lol)
For MatsuJun’s block, the other 4 were literally “made to dance,” it seems… (lol)
Sakurai - We first realized it at the rehearsal, like, “Wait, this is MatsuJun’s section, but we 4 are dancing?” MatsJun was the only one like this (crossing his arms) and sitting (lol)
Matsumoto - I was visualizing it in my head (lol)
Sakurai - But it was fun re-watching old videos to remember the dances. To see the different eras that we went through.
Ohno - The sharpness (of the dances) was different than now.
(All laugh)
Aiba - We still have that sharpness!
Ohno - We do, but it’s amazing we can be that sharp even during the rehearsals.
Aiba - That just shows how into it we were.
Ohno - From now on, we need to do our best even during rehearsals.
Other 4 - Right! (lol)
The aesthetic to “ganbaru (do your best/work hard)” that Ninomiya-san is always mentioning seems to have been stuck to in 2013 as well.
Ninomiya - In reality, I think Arashi is striving to work hard, seriously and honestly. For instance, even with the (Arafes) request ranking, if the fans’ votes weren’t going to be much different from last year’s, we could have just reduced the overlapping songs and added more of the ones we didn’t do (last year) to the set list. But isn’t the fact that we didn’t do that Arashi’s aesthetic? The fact that we instead came up with the idea, “How can we change things so that even with a similar song list it will seem like something different?”
Other 4 - … (Seriously listening)
Ninomiya - After all, we want to show the fans what they want to see. On top of that, we racked our brains, like “How can we do this so that those who came to see us last year won’t be bored (with a similar list)?” Perhaps those things are what it means to always have that new-ness. That’s what Ninomiya thinks.
Matsumoto -- …what he said.
Aiba - Wonderful
(All laugh)
Sakurai - What position are you guys saying that from (lol)
Ohno - Well, in those ways Arashi hasn’t changed. We haven’t changed, but we are different. If I were to sum Arashi up in one phrase, I think it’d be something like that.
They maintain their new-ness by seriously facing each thing
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Ohno Satoshi
A year of moving forward in his connections with people, and working towards the next solo exhibit
The first half of 2013 he had the most free time he’s had since practically their debut. With that off time, he didn’t go out and about, he didn’t rest, he did nothing but stay at home drawing. It’s already been 5 years since he had my solo exhibit “FREESTYLE” in 5 places across the country. Right now, he is tackling a large painting “intensely, and thoroughly.” It was a year of going back to the basics in the way he faced his art and his connections with others.
Up until the summer I was doing all kinds of things like making figures and drawing. I did go fishing a number of times too, but I really felt like drawing. That’s why there really wasn’t a day where I was just relaxing. I’d like to show my work one more time, so with that in mind, I made schedules for when I’d try to finish each project by.
I’ve finished quite a lot of pieces. The last exhibit I was enjoying myself, haphazardly making tons of figures, but this time I’m taking the time to think out and carefully draw or make each piece one by one. So there won’t be as many pieces as last time.
You tried your first oil painting as well this time.
I’d never done oil painting before, but I really wanted to try it, so I ordered a huge canvas. It was so big it barely fit in the elevator or the front entrance but I got it into the house. Unlike watercolors or acrylic paint, oil paints take one day to dry, so at first I was really impatient with it. You can only do a certain amount at a time. Like, “Today I only got this far I guess. Well, good night” (lol). I started looking forward to waking up in the morning and touching the painting to make sure it dried. My days were full with the routine of painting a little before going to filming, and then painting after I got back home.
You planned to draw a full-length picture of a woman on a large canvas over 2 meters from top to bottom. It’s big enough that if you put it at your front entrance, it’d be like a life-sized person is greeting you.
Yes. I’d wanted to say “I’m home ♥” to it (lol), but part way through I didn’t like that anymore, so I completely changed it. I felt like I was doing something small with that large canvas. So I thought “Ok, I’ll make a big impact! With a face only!” and decided on drawing a child’s face. But now with that there’s been many times when I’ve come home surprised like “OHH!” upon seeing it (lol).
Speaking of a large child’s face, we are reminded of the 2012 “24 Hour Television” charity T-shirt that was designed in collaboration with the contemporary artist Nara Yoshitomo. And of the exchange that occurred after he said “When I told him I’d never done an oil painting before, Nara-san came with me to buy the art supplies.” Also, the influence of the avant-garde artist Kusama Yayoi with whom he designed the 2013 charity T-shirt has appeared in Ohno’s works since.
A changing style
My pieces have started to change. I feel like they’ve become deeper. With the encouragement from Nara-san and Kusama-san, I wanted to draw with my own style as the motif. I was influenced by Kusama-san’s dots and have since tried drawing them too. On the back of a full-length drawing of a child, I tried drawing tons of dots. After drawing them for a while, I started feeling depressed, thinking all the while “This feeling, is really bad,” but then it started getting more entertaining as I kept going. I feel like I understand Kusama-san a little more now.
Do you think the 2nd exhibition that you are aspiring to will become reality?
When I thought about what I really wanted to do, there was a part of me that didn’t want to stop (doing art). That and it seems that people would like to see it, and I would like to show it. It’s been 5 years since the last time, after all. But there a still a few more pieces I’d like to do, so I’ll think about it after that.
Another reason the art has been coming along is due to the period of time he stopped going out to eat. That started because of the 24 Hour Television drama, “Kyou no Hi wa Sayonara (Good-bye to Today).” He played the role of a real-life young man who passed away from lymphoma, and placed a “limit” on himself.
I thought I couldn’t do this role halfheartedly since it was based on a true story about this incurable disease. I felt I needed some kind of limit to make myself work hard on this, so I gave up going out to eat. The time that I spent confined to my house I put into that role.
As far as dramas go, the “Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP” will soon be airing at the start of the year. He wonderfully played the “key otaku” Enamoto Kei, who solves the trick with his catchphrase “The locked room has been broken,” in this drama that aired in 2012 with an average rating of 16.0%. Were you able to get right back into the role of Enamoto Kei after a year and a half?
No, I’d completely forgotten it, so when I went on set and said my lines, the director told me, “Too slow” (lol). I’d forgotten the speed of the lines, like “It was that fast?!”
They were long lines full of technical terms. You were frantically learning them this time too.
With the drama, there was so little time left towards the end that the staff even asked if they should get cue cards ready for me. But I didn’t look at them in the end. That’s how I did it last time, so this time for the SP I wanted to avoid the cue cards, and I woke up early to learn them. They were easier to learn in the morning. It was much healthier lifestyle (lol), so I was easily able to wake up everyday.
And now we come to the LOVE album and concert tour. His solo song “Hit the floor” has lyrics that give a seductive feeling, depicting assertively inviting a woman. He did the choreography for it himself.
My solos up to now have been quieter songs for the most part, so this time I wanted one with a good rhythm you could dance along to. And then those lyrics came, and I thought, “Really?!” I think it was Aiba-chan that told me, “Oh, you really won with this one!” (lol) I almost didn’t have time to do the choreography, but putting it all together only took one day.
In recent years, he has also become “Arashi’s choreographer,” doing a few songs for each album. It seems that making up choreography and drawing are similar.
For dances and drawing, I first come up with the overall picture in my head. With the dances, I imagine how it would look with all 5 of us doing it, like looking down on us dancing here (palm of my hand). And then I try to incorporate the image I got from listening to the song. With drawings, I first imagine the finished product, like “It’d be fun if it turned out like this.” But what’s really fun about that is that it never actually turns out exactly as I pictured it. There are times it changes. In the end, it usually becomes something even better. That’s what I find so fun with the dances or drawing.
When we asked, “What changed a lot in 2013?” his answer was, “The way I talk with people.” He became more aware of the fact that he is now a national presence - and it was a friend that made him realize this.
For me, it was a year I was able to connect more closely with people. I thought a lot about what friends really are. After thinking about it, the conclusion I reached was that how it turns out depends on you yourself.
I didn’t tell this to the other members, but the times when I really wasn’t sure about things, when I met up with them, I’d feel relieved. Like, “It’s ok here” (lol). I thought a lot, faced it straight on, and was able to organize my thoughts. That was how the year went. I think that was a big change for me.
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Sakurai Sho
Working with different communities allows us to expand our potential
From the start of the year, he had filming for “Kamisama no Karute 2,” and in the spring starred in the drama “Kazoku Game.” In the summer, the movie “Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de” was released. Sakurai Sho’s 2013 was very busy even if you only look at his acting work. In looking back, even he himself could only say, “I did a lot!”
“Kazoku Game” was a big piece for me, but I’m unsure how much the general public will wind up remembering about it since everything moves so fast nowadays. Was “Ii ne” (“it’s good,” his role’s catchphrase) written on fans’ uchiwas? Even if it was, there was no pose to go along with it, so I wouldn’t be able to respond (lol). In the first place, I tend not to give fan service to just one person during concerts like that. I’d rather try to make 100 people happy at once. In regards to that, everyone in Arashi takes a different approach. Though it’s unfortunate for my fans (lol).
The first time his idea was accepted
Sakurai’s solo work is quite varied compared to the others. The top of that list is newscasting. A big thing happened in the fall that made him say, “In a way it was the first time I had that kind of happiness.” His ideas were accepted on News Zero, allowing him to do a special report on the Kanto Earthquake, and do an interview with his college classmate, Hirose Toshiaki, now captain of the Japan national rugby team.
There are a few projects I’m getting advice on. But I don’t want to be like in the Emperor’s new clothes or anything, so it’s not like “I want to do this project by any means” but rather that I’d like them to further consider this one project out of the many we have… It was big that I was able to interview the athlete Hirose.
Our work basically consists of figuring out how we will perform the jobs that are offered to us. That’s why picking something I want everyone to learn about, and starting from scratch with it, working out the details, and presenting the final product…the joy of seeing a dream become reality, is something I may have experienced for the first time since becoming Arashi 14 years ago. Well, at any rate I was happy about it! I mean, that was the first time I actually took a picture of the tv screen when I watched the recording of it (lol).
The reason I was able to do it was really because of the history and trust I have built with the Zero staff over the last 7 years. I’d had a lot of topics I wanted to turn into projects in my head, if only vaguely. I’d always wanted to bring them up, and finally I got the chance in the fall.
Now that I know that happiness, I’d like to actively continue to bring up new ideas, in other words, I’m going to keep my antennas up and open during my everyday activities. When I’d been doing news casting for only a year or two, there was one time when a producer asked me, “Sho-kun, what kinds of topics are you interested in lately?” and I wasn’t able to answer right away. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it traumatizing, but it was a bit of a shock to me. I thought, “Why am I on this tv program?” With our jobs, every show is another audition, so if you can’t answer something like that, there’s a chance they might drop you from Zero next time. Back then, I worried, “Worst-case scenario, I might not be doing this next year…” But because of that experience I learned the importance of keeping your antenna up every day.
Though I say I want to bring up more projects, I definitely don’t think that what I say should be made a priority or anything. There are many journalists out there working hard on the field from early in the morning to late at night. I’ve started thinking that it’s a bit scary that something I say can get blown out of proportion, not just on Zero. I don’t want to be in a position where little things that I say in passing suddenly turn into “deep meaningful words.”
He looks back on 2013, saying “There was something that made me realize both the wonderful and the scary thing about television.” That is that due to editing, sometimes the true meaning of his actions can get slightly altered and aired. He felt that firsthand, but has no intention of stopping to face television despite its challenges.
Don’t misunderstand me, but the filmings of “Ima, Kono Kao ga Sugoi!” are like I’m going into battle. Having a show individually during the 10 o’clock hour, which is close to the Golden times, is a great thing, but at the same time, it’s expected to do well. Right now I’d like to carefully do my best with it.
When I do variety shows, I’m not really thinking, “I have to protect my image as the newscaster Sakurai Sho.” In any case, I’m just trying to create a show that the guests can participate in and enjoy themselves. I want the show to be one where the guests leave thinking, “Today’s filming was really fun.” I think that would result in something the audience at home will enjoy as well.
During the summer he worked as the main personality for “24 Hour Television.” One of the projects he did for the show involved having a graduation ceremony for a middle school class that couldn’t have one due to the Touhoku Earthquake. He played the piano for their song that aired live. Sakurai’s expression while reminiscing about the children was just like a teacher thinking fondly of his students.
I was nervous, but it really was an honor to help support their graduation ceremony. The first time I went to Iwate to meet them, it was just to give my greetings. I said, “You may think I’m just a celebrity that came and left right away, but I will be practicing the next two weeks until the show as if my life depended on it. For these 2 weeks, I will practice every single day, thinking of your faces as I do it.” But at that time of course there were some students that were skeptically listening. But when so many came on the actual day that I thought wouldn’t, I was really happy…
The card of signatures that I received from them is hanging up in my living room. I hope they will be able to gather together and sing again on their coming-of-age ceremony.
About 4 years ago, I was in a drama that depicted the events of the Hanshin Earthquake. That experience and projects like this really made me think about the events that happened. That then may also be tying into how I engage in journalism. If I think, “That’s not something idols do,” then that’s the end of it, but I think being able to work with the community has meaning in that it “expands the potential of an idol.” 14 years ago when I was picked to be part of Arashi even though I was thinking about quitting, I never could have imagined all of this.
Ok, I think I'm running out of room, so the other 3 members are in this post.
(Also, just wanna say I cracked up during the entire ramen story, especially where Nino MADE them all eat it XD )
As always, my translation will stay public. Please don't repost w/o permission~
Comments are not necessary but greatly appreciated, since these really do take a long time.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks to flitterfly5 for providing the scans I used to translate~
Will probably need to split this into two parts. Each member had his own 2 pages, and there was a 3 page group interview too....
At any rate, enjoy!
We are moving forward
The changes that are happening in us
2013 was undoubtedly a turning point for the group that continues to be out on top. A year we felt that the members who try to “maintain the status quo” unusually showed us some changes. We had them summarize some of the “things they started in order to keep moving forward.”
If we list some of the things they did, starting the year out with hosting Kouhaku, holding the charity event “Waku Waku Gakkou” and “Arafes,” being the main personalities for 24 Hour Television, and in the fall releasing an album and starting a Dome Tour, the year was full of accomplishments like any other year for them.
On the other hand, however, there were many things started in 2013. Sakurai Sho’s “Ima, Kono Kao ga Sugoi! (This face is amazing!),” Aiba Masaki’s “Aiba Manabu,” and Ninomiya Kazunari’s “Nino-san,” all started in April with 3 members serving as MCs individually. Even behind the scenes, Ohno Satoshi concentrated on his art, and Matsumoto Jun continued studying entertainment…each member continued to build upon their own foundations.
Also, their concerts at the Kokuritsu Stadium that have continued for the 6 years since 2008 have come to an end due to the stadium’s reconstruction. It may have been a coincidence, but we could sense a motivation to “restart” and “revise” in the way they tackled the music for their concert tour, as if symbolizing this.
And in agreement with our assumptions, to our question “What Kanji would you use to represent Arashi’s 2013,” Ninomiya picked the kanji for “new.”
Ninomiya - I think the Kanji for “new” would be the best fit for 2013. We really did a lot of new things this year, and were able to approach all of our work with new attitudes.
Did you 5 have the sense of moving to the next phase? Did you discuss it amongst each other?
Sakurai - We didn’t talk about it directly, but there was the shared opinion that we’ve become an adult group. Having all of us enter our 30s this year, as people, as men, played a big part in that, I think.
Ohno -- …it’s all downhill from here, you know
(All laugh)
Sakurai - Ohno-san’s message to MatsuJun when we celebrated his birthday at Kokuritsu was “Welcome to the adult world,” after all. It was like an invitation to the world of evil (lol).
Aiba - Oddly enough, I remember when Riida became 30 more than when I did.
Ninomiya - I know what you mean! Somehow on Riida’s 30th birthday the feeling that “Arashi is (becoming adults)” was really strong.
Aiba - Yeah. The rest of us just followed along, one by one (lol).
Other than your ages, was there anything else you noticed in particular?
Sakurai - Well, we do have that feeling of “restarting” every year, in one way or another.
Matsumoto - It’s not about whether we noticeably did something new, but whether we can do the same work we’ve done before with new feelings/perspective, isn’t it? I think for the moment we’re always doing our work with new feelings, so doesn’t that make us new?
Sakurai - …well said. Isn’t that right, Ohno-san?
Ohno - That’s it!
Aiba - (lol) But conversely, it was the 4th time we’ve done 24 Hour Television and Kouhaku, but I didn’t really think about doing it like new. No matter how I did it, it would be new each time anyway. I think it’s amazing if you got used to it.
The big trip to New York
What were Arashi’s top 3 big news stories for 2013?
Ninomiya - First, wouldn’t it be the 5 of us going to New York to do the choreography for the album’s lead song?
Aiba - That was pretty big. Going overseas to have someone choreograph for us itself was a new experience.
Ohno - It was like returning to being a beginner.
Matsumoto - Wow, going abroad makes you feel like you’ve become a beginner (lol)
Ohno - It’s because when we’re doing choreography in Japan, I can take a break if I feel like it, but I couldn’t do that there.
Matsumoto - You really shouldn’t be taking breaks in Japan either.
(All laugh)
Aiba - What you mean is that it’s more nerve-wracking because it’s an unfamiliar person and place, so you have less freedom to do what you want, right?
Ohno - Yeah, exactly!
Seems like it was a busy journey, but being able to return to the beginning must have became the power behind your album.
Sakurai - Yes. Simply put, it’s quite difficult to get the same 3-4 consecutive days all together like that. But I think there’s meaning in doing something because it’s hard. Though, it wasn’t hard for us, but for the manager who adjusts our schedules (lol).
Matsumoto - We really couldn’t sleep in New York, could we? There were so many meetings.
Sakurai - The 5 of us went to a concert and stuff together, but since it was after we’d been dancing all day, everyone’s legs were hurting (lol).
Ohno - We were dragging our feet to see the show, and having dinner.
So the schedule was pretty hard…
Aiba - Yes it was! It’s not like we were going for a vacation!!
Ninomiya - Yeah, it was like a training camp, so to speak. An intense training camp.
Ohno - Yeah, we had to be up early in the morning and everything.
Matsumoto -- But during our breaks we went to see 2 musicals.
Aiba - Yes we went. We all went to see a musical called “Kinky Boots!” That sort of thing isn’t in Japan.
Sakurai - (We’ve been doing Arashi) for 14 years, but I found there’s still lots of things we haven’t experienced. It’d be ideal if we could continue to do those “new experiences” in 2014 and beyond.
Ninomiya - Regardless of whether or not those things are seen by everyone else, I think they are important to us.
Becoming united over ramen
Sakurai -- The 2nd of the 3 big news stories is… the ramen, I think.
Other 4 - Oh yeah, we ate it~!
Sakurai - There’s no point in talking about ramen in “Nikkei Entertainment” (lol), but we can’t NOT mention this.
It seems the rumors that the 5 of you were united over the ramen you had during rehearsals for the LOVE Tour were true (lol).
Ninomiya - Yes. The Kanji for “new” that I chose earlier also included meaning we had found a new regular menu.
Sakurai - (lol). Our usual regular of curry for rehearsals over 3-4 hours was finally defeated…
Ohno - I haven’t ever faced ramen so completely.
Ninomiya - It’s amazing because I was gaining weight despite all the dancing.
Matsumoto - (lol). To gain weight with all THAT exercise, just how many calories were we eating, seriously.
Sakurai - On the last day of rehearsals, I ordered soba from catering. And then Nino says, “Oi! Today is the final! It’s the final rehearsal, in other words, today is Ramen The Final, so why are you not eating ramen!” (lol)
Aiba - In my case, even though I’d ordered something different, Nino canceled my order and got me ramen instead.
Ninomiya - Because you suddenly tried switching to sandwiches. It’s not good; if you eat so healthy you won’t have the stamina for concerts.
Aiba - No… I’m sure I’d be fine.
Matsumoto - I mean, our new choreographer was most surprised, like “Arashi eats ramen before they dance?!”
Ninomiya - That’s why for me, I go into rehearsals with the idea that it’s going to be heavy (on my stomach). I expect it to upset my stomach, so I go to the rehearsal studio an hour before you all to eat it (lol).
You really are a group that enjoys everything to the fullest, with a “training camp” feeling. Perhaps through those little things you are unconsciously trying to unite all the members.
Aiba - Yes. Ramen tied us together and made us work well. I’m just saying that from hindsight though (lol).
Sakurai - Like that “eating from the same table” saying.
Ninomiya - That’s why I even volunteered myself to make a ramen mascot.
Sakurai - (lol). Well, that story ties into this, but I think this year we were able to do lots of things thoroughly, from the things on the surface, to the behind the scenes work, to the process itself. The rehearsals for the LOVE tour gave us a lot of time all together, which we hadn’t had for a while.
Matsumoto - It’s not nearly as much as it was back in the day, but compared to the last few years, we really got a lot of time together. Definitely a lot more than we did for the Popcorn tour in 2012. Even for the Arafes this year, we only got about 3 days together.
Sakurai -- Yes. It’s not about which rehearsal had the better quality (lol), but at the very least there is that feeling with this year that we took the time to make it together. That was big.
With this tour, you’re trying out having the fans learn the dance for 1 entire song. Releasing a video of the choreography beforehand, it’s something you’ve never tried before. Who came up with this idea?
Sakurai - MatsuJun.
Matsumoto - The fans always dance with us at the concerts. I remember that they always do their best to learn the dances, so I thought, “Then let’s have them dance it for real.”
Sakurai - In other words, you thought “They can do even better,” right?
Ninomiya - Like, their potential is much better than this
You're hard on your fans too then (lol)
Aiba - Up until now the fans have been perfectly learning the dances even without any teaching materials, so we wondered what would happen if we gave them those materials… (lol)
Ohno - I’m sure it’ll be an amazing level of perfection.
Inside the production of “Arafes ‘13”
Sakurai - Having a concert made up of each members’ productions (Arafes ’13) was also a huge thing for us.
Ninomiya - That’s true.
Sakurai - If I remember, it happened when we were having the meeting for the Osaka “Waku Waku Gakkou” and MatsuJun said, “What about something like this?”
Matsumoto - Yeah, it was because when I saw the midway results for the fans’ requests, it wasn’t that much different from last year. So I started thinking we could do it differently even with a similar program (of songs), like “For example…”
Sakurai - The “…” atmosphere from us 4 the moment he asked us, “How about having the members produce it?” was impressive, wasn’t it? (lol)
Aiba - Like, “We’ll think about it” (lol)
Sakurai - But in the end I think it turned out to be a really great concert.
Ohno - It was new seeing what songs the other members picked, like “oh, they want to do this one,” and really nostalgic too. Like how we recreated the choreography for “COOL&SOUL” (2006).
Matsumoto - We were pretty flashy/glittery back then~
More emphasis was placed on the dances for “Arafes ‘13” compared to the previous year, and we were able to feel that even now Arashi is motivated to keep pushing harder.
Matsumoto - That’s because the top requested songs are dance songs!
Sakurai - The members produced one block (of songs) each, and we all wanted a high point in our respective blocks, so we each wound up putting a dance song in our own block (lol)
For MatsuJun’s block, the other 4 were literally “made to dance,” it seems… (lol)
Sakurai - We first realized it at the rehearsal, like, “Wait, this is MatsuJun’s section, but we 4 are dancing?” MatsJun was the only one like this (crossing his arms) and sitting (lol)
Matsumoto - I was visualizing it in my head (lol)
Sakurai - But it was fun re-watching old videos to remember the dances. To see the different eras that we went through.
Ohno - The sharpness (of the dances) was different than now.
(All laugh)
Aiba - We still have that sharpness!
Ohno - We do, but it’s amazing we can be that sharp even during the rehearsals.
Aiba - That just shows how into it we were.
Ohno - From now on, we need to do our best even during rehearsals.
Other 4 - Right! (lol)
The aesthetic to “ganbaru (do your best/work hard)” that Ninomiya-san is always mentioning seems to have been stuck to in 2013 as well.
Ninomiya - In reality, I think Arashi is striving to work hard, seriously and honestly. For instance, even with the (Arafes) request ranking, if the fans’ votes weren’t going to be much different from last year’s, we could have just reduced the overlapping songs and added more of the ones we didn’t do (last year) to the set list. But isn’t the fact that we didn’t do that Arashi’s aesthetic? The fact that we instead came up with the idea, “How can we change things so that even with a similar song list it will seem like something different?”
Other 4 - … (Seriously listening)
Ninomiya - After all, we want to show the fans what they want to see. On top of that, we racked our brains, like “How can we do this so that those who came to see us last year won’t be bored (with a similar list)?” Perhaps those things are what it means to always have that new-ness. That’s what Ninomiya thinks.
Matsumoto -- …what he said.
Aiba - Wonderful
(All laugh)
Sakurai - What position are you guys saying that from (lol)
Ohno - Well, in those ways Arashi hasn’t changed. We haven’t changed, but we are different. If I were to sum Arashi up in one phrase, I think it’d be something like that.
They maintain their new-ness by seriously facing each thing
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Ohno Satoshi
A year of moving forward in his connections with people, and working towards the next solo exhibit
The first half of 2013 he had the most free time he’s had since practically their debut. With that off time, he didn’t go out and about, he didn’t rest, he did nothing but stay at home drawing. It’s already been 5 years since he had my solo exhibit “FREESTYLE” in 5 places across the country. Right now, he is tackling a large painting “intensely, and thoroughly.” It was a year of going back to the basics in the way he faced his art and his connections with others.
Up until the summer I was doing all kinds of things like making figures and drawing. I did go fishing a number of times too, but I really felt like drawing. That’s why there really wasn’t a day where I was just relaxing. I’d like to show my work one more time, so with that in mind, I made schedules for when I’d try to finish each project by.
I’ve finished quite a lot of pieces. The last exhibit I was enjoying myself, haphazardly making tons of figures, but this time I’m taking the time to think out and carefully draw or make each piece one by one. So there won’t be as many pieces as last time.
You tried your first oil painting as well this time.
I’d never done oil painting before, but I really wanted to try it, so I ordered a huge canvas. It was so big it barely fit in the elevator or the front entrance but I got it into the house. Unlike watercolors or acrylic paint, oil paints take one day to dry, so at first I was really impatient with it. You can only do a certain amount at a time. Like, “Today I only got this far I guess. Well, good night” (lol). I started looking forward to waking up in the morning and touching the painting to make sure it dried. My days were full with the routine of painting a little before going to filming, and then painting after I got back home.
You planned to draw a full-length picture of a woman on a large canvas over 2 meters from top to bottom. It’s big enough that if you put it at your front entrance, it’d be like a life-sized person is greeting you.
Yes. I’d wanted to say “I’m home ♥” to it (lol), but part way through I didn’t like that anymore, so I completely changed it. I felt like I was doing something small with that large canvas. So I thought “Ok, I’ll make a big impact! With a face only!” and decided on drawing a child’s face. But now with that there’s been many times when I’ve come home surprised like “OHH!” upon seeing it (lol).
Speaking of a large child’s face, we are reminded of the 2012 “24 Hour Television” charity T-shirt that was designed in collaboration with the contemporary artist Nara Yoshitomo. And of the exchange that occurred after he said “When I told him I’d never done an oil painting before, Nara-san came with me to buy the art supplies.” Also, the influence of the avant-garde artist Kusama Yayoi with whom he designed the 2013 charity T-shirt has appeared in Ohno’s works since.
A changing style
My pieces have started to change. I feel like they’ve become deeper. With the encouragement from Nara-san and Kusama-san, I wanted to draw with my own style as the motif. I was influenced by Kusama-san’s dots and have since tried drawing them too. On the back of a full-length drawing of a child, I tried drawing tons of dots. After drawing them for a while, I started feeling depressed, thinking all the while “This feeling, is really bad,” but then it started getting more entertaining as I kept going. I feel like I understand Kusama-san a little more now.
Do you think the 2nd exhibition that you are aspiring to will become reality?
When I thought about what I really wanted to do, there was a part of me that didn’t want to stop (doing art). That and it seems that people would like to see it, and I would like to show it. It’s been 5 years since the last time, after all. But there a still a few more pieces I’d like to do, so I’ll think about it after that.
Another reason the art has been coming along is due to the period of time he stopped going out to eat. That started because of the 24 Hour Television drama, “Kyou no Hi wa Sayonara (Good-bye to Today).” He played the role of a real-life young man who passed away from lymphoma, and placed a “limit” on himself.
I thought I couldn’t do this role halfheartedly since it was based on a true story about this incurable disease. I felt I needed some kind of limit to make myself work hard on this, so I gave up going out to eat. The time that I spent confined to my house I put into that role.
As far as dramas go, the “Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP” will soon be airing at the start of the year. He wonderfully played the “key otaku” Enamoto Kei, who solves the trick with his catchphrase “The locked room has been broken,” in this drama that aired in 2012 with an average rating of 16.0%. Were you able to get right back into the role of Enamoto Kei after a year and a half?
No, I’d completely forgotten it, so when I went on set and said my lines, the director told me, “Too slow” (lol). I’d forgotten the speed of the lines, like “It was that fast?!”
They were long lines full of technical terms. You were frantically learning them this time too.
With the drama, there was so little time left towards the end that the staff even asked if they should get cue cards ready for me. But I didn’t look at them in the end. That’s how I did it last time, so this time for the SP I wanted to avoid the cue cards, and I woke up early to learn them. They were easier to learn in the morning. It was much healthier lifestyle (lol), so I was easily able to wake up everyday.
And now we come to the LOVE album and concert tour. His solo song “Hit the floor” has lyrics that give a seductive feeling, depicting assertively inviting a woman. He did the choreography for it himself.
My solos up to now have been quieter songs for the most part, so this time I wanted one with a good rhythm you could dance along to. And then those lyrics came, and I thought, “Really?!” I think it was Aiba-chan that told me, “Oh, you really won with this one!” (lol) I almost didn’t have time to do the choreography, but putting it all together only took one day.
In recent years, he has also become “Arashi’s choreographer,” doing a few songs for each album. It seems that making up choreography and drawing are similar.
For dances and drawing, I first come up with the overall picture in my head. With the dances, I imagine how it would look with all 5 of us doing it, like looking down on us dancing here (palm of my hand). And then I try to incorporate the image I got from listening to the song. With drawings, I first imagine the finished product, like “It’d be fun if it turned out like this.” But what’s really fun about that is that it never actually turns out exactly as I pictured it. There are times it changes. In the end, it usually becomes something even better. That’s what I find so fun with the dances or drawing.
When we asked, “What changed a lot in 2013?” his answer was, “The way I talk with people.” He became more aware of the fact that he is now a national presence - and it was a friend that made him realize this.
For me, it was a year I was able to connect more closely with people. I thought a lot about what friends really are. After thinking about it, the conclusion I reached was that how it turns out depends on you yourself.
I didn’t tell this to the other members, but the times when I really wasn’t sure about things, when I met up with them, I’d feel relieved. Like, “It’s ok here” (lol). I thought a lot, faced it straight on, and was able to organize my thoughts. That was how the year went. I think that was a big change for me.
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Sakurai Sho
Working with different communities allows us to expand our potential
From the start of the year, he had filming for “Kamisama no Karute 2,” and in the spring starred in the drama “Kazoku Game.” In the summer, the movie “Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de” was released. Sakurai Sho’s 2013 was very busy even if you only look at his acting work. In looking back, even he himself could only say, “I did a lot!”
“Kazoku Game” was a big piece for me, but I’m unsure how much the general public will wind up remembering about it since everything moves so fast nowadays. Was “Ii ne” (“it’s good,” his role’s catchphrase) written on fans’ uchiwas? Even if it was, there was no pose to go along with it, so I wouldn’t be able to respond (lol). In the first place, I tend not to give fan service to just one person during concerts like that. I’d rather try to make 100 people happy at once. In regards to that, everyone in Arashi takes a different approach. Though it’s unfortunate for my fans (lol).
The first time his idea was accepted
Sakurai’s solo work is quite varied compared to the others. The top of that list is newscasting. A big thing happened in the fall that made him say, “In a way it was the first time I had that kind of happiness.” His ideas were accepted on News Zero, allowing him to do a special report on the Kanto Earthquake, and do an interview with his college classmate, Hirose Toshiaki, now captain of the Japan national rugby team.
There are a few projects I’m getting advice on. But I don’t want to be like in the Emperor’s new clothes or anything, so it’s not like “I want to do this project by any means” but rather that I’d like them to further consider this one project out of the many we have… It was big that I was able to interview the athlete Hirose.
Our work basically consists of figuring out how we will perform the jobs that are offered to us. That’s why picking something I want everyone to learn about, and starting from scratch with it, working out the details, and presenting the final product…the joy of seeing a dream become reality, is something I may have experienced for the first time since becoming Arashi 14 years ago. Well, at any rate I was happy about it! I mean, that was the first time I actually took a picture of the tv screen when I watched the recording of it (lol).
The reason I was able to do it was really because of the history and trust I have built with the Zero staff over the last 7 years. I’d had a lot of topics I wanted to turn into projects in my head, if only vaguely. I’d always wanted to bring them up, and finally I got the chance in the fall.
Now that I know that happiness, I’d like to actively continue to bring up new ideas, in other words, I’m going to keep my antennas up and open during my everyday activities. When I’d been doing news casting for only a year or two, there was one time when a producer asked me, “Sho-kun, what kinds of topics are you interested in lately?” and I wasn’t able to answer right away. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it traumatizing, but it was a bit of a shock to me. I thought, “Why am I on this tv program?” With our jobs, every show is another audition, so if you can’t answer something like that, there’s a chance they might drop you from Zero next time. Back then, I worried, “Worst-case scenario, I might not be doing this next year…” But because of that experience I learned the importance of keeping your antenna up every day.
Though I say I want to bring up more projects, I definitely don’t think that what I say should be made a priority or anything. There are many journalists out there working hard on the field from early in the morning to late at night. I’ve started thinking that it’s a bit scary that something I say can get blown out of proportion, not just on Zero. I don’t want to be in a position where little things that I say in passing suddenly turn into “deep meaningful words.”
He looks back on 2013, saying “There was something that made me realize both the wonderful and the scary thing about television.” That is that due to editing, sometimes the true meaning of his actions can get slightly altered and aired. He felt that firsthand, but has no intention of stopping to face television despite its challenges.
Don’t misunderstand me, but the filmings of “Ima, Kono Kao ga Sugoi!” are like I’m going into battle. Having a show individually during the 10 o’clock hour, which is close to the Golden times, is a great thing, but at the same time, it’s expected to do well. Right now I’d like to carefully do my best with it.
When I do variety shows, I’m not really thinking, “I have to protect my image as the newscaster Sakurai Sho.” In any case, I’m just trying to create a show that the guests can participate in and enjoy themselves. I want the show to be one where the guests leave thinking, “Today’s filming was really fun.” I think that would result in something the audience at home will enjoy as well.
During the summer he worked as the main personality for “24 Hour Television.” One of the projects he did for the show involved having a graduation ceremony for a middle school class that couldn’t have one due to the Touhoku Earthquake. He played the piano for their song that aired live. Sakurai’s expression while reminiscing about the children was just like a teacher thinking fondly of his students.
I was nervous, but it really was an honor to help support their graduation ceremony. The first time I went to Iwate to meet them, it was just to give my greetings. I said, “You may think I’m just a celebrity that came and left right away, but I will be practicing the next two weeks until the show as if my life depended on it. For these 2 weeks, I will practice every single day, thinking of your faces as I do it.” But at that time of course there were some students that were skeptically listening. But when so many came on the actual day that I thought wouldn’t, I was really happy…
The card of signatures that I received from them is hanging up in my living room. I hope they will be able to gather together and sing again on their coming-of-age ceremony.
About 4 years ago, I was in a drama that depicted the events of the Hanshin Earthquake. That experience and projects like this really made me think about the events that happened. That then may also be tying into how I engage in journalism. If I think, “That’s not something idols do,” then that’s the end of it, but I think being able to work with the community has meaning in that it “expands the potential of an idol.” 14 years ago when I was picked to be part of Arashi even though I was thinking about quitting, I never could have imagined all of this.
Ok, I think I'm running out of room, so the other 3 members are in this post.
(Also, just wanna say I cracked up during the entire ramen story, especially where Nino MADE them all eat it XD )
As always, my translation will stay public. Please don't repost w/o permission~
Comments are not necessary but greatly appreciated, since these really do take a long time.
Thanks for reading!