More 2018.01 - Nino's 'It'
This was a frustrating one! Not because of Nino, but well... see my footnotes XDD
Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
It’s the season where every day invites the cold, so one derives happiness from warm things. He’s earnestly walked this path so far; what is that quiet warmth inside his heart?
Chapter 109
Interview
Regardless of whether or not the interview is about to begin, he picks up the November issue of MORE that was left on the table and peruses the pages with unusual fervour. It’s the SexyZone special edition pages. “Are you interested in them?” I ask. He replies lightly, “They’re my adorable juniors, after all!”
“I was thinking how all of them give such proper answers in the interview (laughs). They’re really serious, naive, interesting kids. They’re young, but they have an old-fashioned way of thinking; it’s not very typical of entertainers. Somehow, it feels like when we were young... it’s like Arashi.”
Even a casual remark in a short interview reveals something of the person or the colours of the group. Starting from his teens, he’s personally had tens of thousands of interviews and been flooded with many questions. At the same time, in variety shows and so on, he’s also been in the position of MC posing questions to guests.
“Mm. But the printed word and TV interviews are completely different. For TV, you can tell from the atmosphere of the set or the nuances of the words, so it’s easy to joke around, but in print, it’s tricky. For example, let’s say you declared, “the highlight of this movie is me being cool!” (laughs) You can translate that into the printed word, but it’s hard to convey the atmosphere. Of course, print has its advantages, too. Generally, while on TV the conversation just goes with the flow at the time, the printed word allows you to explore conversations, questions and interviews more deeply, precisely because it’s in print.”
You can’t perceive the more profound parts of that person so easily.
As for printed media, he’s also been on the side asking the questions when he interviewed a popular author as part of a magazine feature [1]. With a Q&A corner of just four questions, he asked the author, “What are your favourite and least favourite times of day?” It’s a simple yet emotional question. Why did he choose such a question?
“Why did I? Firstly, that person must have been asked tens of thousands of questions before, so I probably figured I’d ask something they haven’t been asked before (laughs). Apart from that, it was simply a question I wanted to ask. For me, I hate the period from about 9PM to 2AM, and the precise reason being that it’s the time when the streets are most crowded. I wondered what it was like for them, so I asked. Naturally, with questions, I think the most important thing is for the interviewer to ask questions that they want to ask. There’s often questions that are prefaced by, ‘I was told by my editorial department to ask this’ or ‘for the sake of the fans and readers’, but once you’ve been in this line of work for 20 years, pretty much 100% of the questions that most people expect have already been answered in the past (laughs). Like your preferred type in women, or Valentine’s day memories, or if you were to compare Arashi to family members and so on (laughs). There aren’t any ‘questions that will definitely make everyone happy’, and even if you try to anticipate ‘the readers’ wishes’, there’s no way of really knowing what they are. Rather than being concerned about such things, the interviewer should ask their subject whatever they really want to know, discuss what they really want to discuss right now. Otherwise it misses the whole point of coming face-to-face to talk to them. Even if not ‘right now’, there’s no point if the interviewer just asks things that could be asked of anyone in general.”
Even with that cynical tone, there’s warmth in his nature. What’s important is to what extent you face the person before you right now. What Nino’s saying is, interview discourse aside, it can be said of both public and private communication in general.
“Since you’ve made all this effort to talk to them, besides interrogating your subject, it’s also important to use your imagination. For example, if I were the one asking the questions, I wouldn’t ask actors so glibly about acting. I mean, they’ve thought about it countless times. How much effort they’re putting into that, the hardships faced on set; I can imagine all that. So if you’re asking about that, you have to show some respect and really think through how to ask. Serial columns aside, most interviews are once-in-a-lifetime, you have precious little time. So if you have some person you barely know asking you questions that thrust deep without any sense of propriety, you’re going to be thrown off and won’t be able to elaborate clearly. Based on that, how you connect with them affects what you ask. If I were to interview someone, I wouldn’t touch acting theory in the allocated time, I’d probably start a conversation from a completely different angle (laughs). It’s the same with normal human relationships. You make an impression on the person you meet, and if you still want to connect with them in the future, don’t get caught up in appearances or etiquette and people won’t, either. Use your head and heart, have some consideration for your partner and do what you want to do.”
Certainly, if you relate to the person right in front of you, there’s no need for keeping up appearances. I casually ask Nino who he’d like to interview and it makes him pause for a moment. I try a name he’s mentioned occasionally when describing his ‘ideal woman, both past and present’. “What about Takeuchi Yuko?” He bursts out laughing. “Definitely not!”
“I’m fine with not meeting, much less speaking, to Takeuchi-san. I’m happy with just sharing the same planet with her (laughs)”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. His movie, ‘Last Recipe: Memories of the Giraffe’s Tongue’ is currently out in theatres, with rave reviews. Arashi’s new single, ‘Doors: Traces of Courage’ is currently on sale. This time, the photoshoot takes place while he’s eating ramen. “I eat ramen a lot. Wonton noodles, mostly.” The portion is large, so he ends up splitting it with the cameraman and eats it with a smile.
|| Words / Yoshi Rei || Photography / Emori Yasuyuki ||
|| Hair & Makeup / Hattori Yukio || Stylist / Iga Daisuke ||
- - - - -
f o o t n o t e s
[1] I've googled in 3 languages and consulted superior memories to mine, but cannot for the life of me find this Nino x Popular Author interview. If anyone can shed light on this, PLEASE do, you will have my eternal gratitude because I probably won't sleep well again until I solve this mystery...
Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
It’s the season where every day invites the cold, so one derives happiness from warm things. He’s earnestly walked this path so far; what is that quiet warmth inside his heart?
Chapter 109
Interview
Regardless of whether or not the interview is about to begin, he picks up the November issue of MORE that was left on the table and peruses the pages with unusual fervour. It’s the SexyZone special edition pages. “Are you interested in them?” I ask. He replies lightly, “They’re my adorable juniors, after all!”
“I was thinking how all of them give such proper answers in the interview (laughs). They’re really serious, naive, interesting kids. They’re young, but they have an old-fashioned way of thinking; it’s not very typical of entertainers. Somehow, it feels like when we were young... it’s like Arashi.”
Even a casual remark in a short interview reveals something of the person or the colours of the group. Starting from his teens, he’s personally had tens of thousands of interviews and been flooded with many questions. At the same time, in variety shows and so on, he’s also been in the position of MC posing questions to guests.
“Mm. But the printed word and TV interviews are completely different. For TV, you can tell from the atmosphere of the set or the nuances of the words, so it’s easy to joke around, but in print, it’s tricky. For example, let’s say you declared, “the highlight of this movie is me being cool!” (laughs) You can translate that into the printed word, but it’s hard to convey the atmosphere. Of course, print has its advantages, too. Generally, while on TV the conversation just goes with the flow at the time, the printed word allows you to explore conversations, questions and interviews more deeply, precisely because it’s in print.”
You can’t perceive the more profound parts of that person so easily.
As for printed media, he’s also been on the side asking the questions when he interviewed a popular author as part of a magazine feature [1]. With a Q&A corner of just four questions, he asked the author, “What are your favourite and least favourite times of day?” It’s a simple yet emotional question. Why did he choose such a question?
“Why did I? Firstly, that person must have been asked tens of thousands of questions before, so I probably figured I’d ask something they haven’t been asked before (laughs). Apart from that, it was simply a question I wanted to ask. For me, I hate the period from about 9PM to 2AM, and the precise reason being that it’s the time when the streets are most crowded. I wondered what it was like for them, so I asked. Naturally, with questions, I think the most important thing is for the interviewer to ask questions that they want to ask. There’s often questions that are prefaced by, ‘I was told by my editorial department to ask this’ or ‘for the sake of the fans and readers’, but once you’ve been in this line of work for 20 years, pretty much 100% of the questions that most people expect have already been answered in the past (laughs). Like your preferred type in women, or Valentine’s day memories, or if you were to compare Arashi to family members and so on (laughs). There aren’t any ‘questions that will definitely make everyone happy’, and even if you try to anticipate ‘the readers’ wishes’, there’s no way of really knowing what they are. Rather than being concerned about such things, the interviewer should ask their subject whatever they really want to know, discuss what they really want to discuss right now. Otherwise it misses the whole point of coming face-to-face to talk to them. Even if not ‘right now’, there’s no point if the interviewer just asks things that could be asked of anyone in general.”
Even with that cynical tone, there’s warmth in his nature. What’s important is to what extent you face the person before you right now. What Nino’s saying is, interview discourse aside, it can be said of both public and private communication in general.
“Since you’ve made all this effort to talk to them, besides interrogating your subject, it’s also important to use your imagination. For example, if I were the one asking the questions, I wouldn’t ask actors so glibly about acting. I mean, they’ve thought about it countless times. How much effort they’re putting into that, the hardships faced on set; I can imagine all that. So if you’re asking about that, you have to show some respect and really think through how to ask. Serial columns aside, most interviews are once-in-a-lifetime, you have precious little time. So if you have some person you barely know asking you questions that thrust deep without any sense of propriety, you’re going to be thrown off and won’t be able to elaborate clearly. Based on that, how you connect with them affects what you ask. If I were to interview someone, I wouldn’t touch acting theory in the allocated time, I’d probably start a conversation from a completely different angle (laughs). It’s the same with normal human relationships. You make an impression on the person you meet, and if you still want to connect with them in the future, don’t get caught up in appearances or etiquette and people won’t, either. Use your head and heart, have some consideration for your partner and do what you want to do.”
Certainly, if you relate to the person right in front of you, there’s no need for keeping up appearances. I casually ask Nino who he’d like to interview and it makes him pause for a moment. I try a name he’s mentioned occasionally when describing his ‘ideal woman, both past and present’. “What about Takeuchi Yuko?” He bursts out laughing. “Definitely not!”
“I’m fine with not meeting, much less speaking, to Takeuchi-san. I’m happy with just sharing the same planet with her (laughs)”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. His movie, ‘Last Recipe: Memories of the Giraffe’s Tongue’ is currently out in theatres, with rave reviews. Arashi’s new single, ‘Doors: Traces of Courage’ is currently on sale. This time, the photoshoot takes place while he’s eating ramen. “I eat ramen a lot. Wonton noodles, mostly.” The portion is large, so he ends up splitting it with the cameraman and eats it with a smile.
|| Words / Yoshi Rei || Photography / Emori Yasuyuki ||
|| Hair & Makeup / Hattori Yukio || Stylist / Iga Daisuke ||
- - - - -
f o o t n o t e s
[1] I've googled in 3 languages and consulted superior memories to mine, but cannot for the life of me find this Nino x Popular Author interview. If anyone can shed light on this, PLEASE do, you will have my eternal gratitude because I probably won't sleep well again until I solve this mystery...