[Magazine] Yasuda Shota - "Da Vinci" Nov 2021
Hello! Here we have a translation of a magazine interview featuring Yasu, talking about how eyeglasses have become an indispensable item in his life.
Thank you the kind eighter, Cathy ( @Cathywang98 / cattiger99 on LJ), for the translation!
Shota Yasuda is the main vocalist & lead guitarist of Kanjani8, one of Johnny’s most popular groups. The glasses that he started wearing to protect his eyes from light are now implanted into many people’s minds. We asked him, who has been living with glasses for 4 years now to talk about how he enjoys his new lifestyle.
In the group Kanjani8 where members of different vivid personalities are gathered, Yasuda has a calm aura that surrounds him. His gentle expression & voice is a healing force even within the members, and unknowingly the blue lenses have become a part of his trademark look.
“It’s my first time doing an interview for a special column on eyeglasses. I was surprised to get this interview request. But I’m very happy~. Because many people think color lenses like mine are sunglasses. Under such circumstances, these glasses were recognized as eyeglasses. I'm really happy with that.”
He said that while filming, he likes the color & lightness of the glasses that he wore. “It’s the style of Japanese brand glasses that I own the most. The first pair of glasses I bought was called model number 606. Even before I wore sunglasses as a fashion item, and I happened to find them at an eyeglass store that I randomly entered. "If you look closely, the colors are different on the inside and outside of the frame. I think it's fancy that the look changes depending on the angle.”
"In all the glasses that I currently own, about 20 glasses have these kinds of lenses."
“I have a lot of glasses with dark frames like black or brown. I have liked earth tones since a long time ago. Natural colors such as the sea & mountains. By the way, the sofa in my home is also dark brown (lol) On the contrary, I don’t really have transparent or silver frames. When I put on blue lenses, for some reason the whole glasses look small. When that happens it feels slightly out of place.”
During his time awake, he always wears glasses. Because of this, another point for his selection is “something that’s sturdy and can be worn for a long time, and won’t break even if you fall asleep with it on (lol)” “Also, it’s important that the glasses don’t slip off our face. Because during a Live performance when we dance and it moves around, it becomes quite difficult to control haha. I think it’s a good idea to put on something like a strap, but when I saw myself I thought it ruined the cool look of the hair & stage clothes. That’s why when I’m doing a turn, I use my hands to hold down my glasses quickly (lol). "In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, I will casually fix it with a series of dance moves. I have gotten better at these techniques (lol).”
About 4 years ago Yasuda started to wear glasses in his private life, which he used to love as fashion elements. Because of the sequela left after the surgery, he must avoid strong light, since then blue lenses have become indispensable for him.
Even now, I often feel like I’m wearing sunglasses, and when I walk by the TV station I sometimes feel bad for making others feel uncomfortable. Of course, there are many people who don’t know my situation so that can’t be helped. But there are many people in this world that have similar illnesses and can’t live without wearing colored glasses, just like how in school or at work there are people with narrow shoulders. Therefore even though I’m not representative of those people, I think of it as part of my job to let people know that ‘people like us exist’.
Glasses are now like a part of Yasuda’s body. He laughingly said “even among (Kanjani8) members, they tell me that I look different from when I didn’t wear glasses~” “It’s interesting eh, how in just 4 years people’s impression can change so much (lol). My lifestyle also changed. I think more about coordinating my clothes. As well as my hairstyle and hair color. However, there’re very limited styles that go well with blue lenses. Now, the problem is the hat. I liked straw hats and baseball caps, and I collected a lot of them, but none of them goes well with my style these days (lol).”
During the interview, he talked about his hardships, saying, "It's hard to do things when the lenses are colored." However, contrary to those words his facial expression did not show such hardships.
It’s very interesting to see the start of a new lifestyle. It becomes more and more fun to pick glasses. And as the shape of my face changes with age, the glasses that look good will also change. It's fun to think about what kind of glasses I'll be wearing 10 years from now. Maybe I'll be like Roz from ‘Monsters, Inc.’ wearing glasses with sharp ends (lol)."
By the way, how have the fan reactions been since you started wearing glasses…...?
“How has it been? I would like to know too. I'm sure there are various opinions such as "I think a thick frame is good " or "I think a more circular shape will suit you." I would like to respond to those voices and tell everyone that it would be great if we can look forward to my life with glasses together ^.^”
Next month Kanjani8 will release their original album “8BEAT”. For the first time in 4 and half years, since becoming a 5 member group, this work will be released as one that welcomes their new phase as a group. Even though because of coronavirus, we weren’t really able to connect with our fans, but they still supported us unchangingly. I'll be happy if they enjoy this release. The songs were given to us by musicians like Seiji Kameda, Enon Kawatani, and other such members. Even if we think we understand ourselves, there are mountains of things that we can't see. So I think this is a collection of what the outside sees in Kanjani8"
In addition, the limited edition will also include solo songs from all five members for the first time in 11 years. Yasuda's solo was completely self-composed and the lyrics were also written by him. "When I was on an airplane about five years ago, the lyrics and melody came to me all at once. I quickly left my seat and while the airplane was making a "koo" sound (laughs), I recorded it in my voice memo. Later, when I was soaking in the bath at my parents' house, I finished the song. The theme of the lyrics is about "human commonalities", because when we talk about people, I think people have so many aspects that everyone seems to have multiple personalities. I'm sure there are parts where you can agree with, and I've put all my attention on the details of the arrangement, so please listen to it!"