More 2012.04 - Nino's 'It'
It's been a while since Nino dropped so many names in It.
Nino on humour and old(er) people, folks... Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
The path that Ninomiya Kazunari has walked thus far. Those earnest feelings expressed in every word. What is it that he currently feels and treasures?
Chapter 040
Black humour [1]
It’s almost March. There’s still a chill in the wind, but the seasons are changing. Graduations, starting school, promotions, job transfers… Spring is a time for junctures, a season for new beginnings. The starting topic is ‘classmates’.
“My school days were probably somewhat unique. I don’t have a concept of ‘classmates’. I had few friends in elementary and middle school, and I was a 1st-grader in a newly established high school, so there were people of various ages and circumstances in my class. So I had a very vague sense of age and school year. Even after becoming an adult, when there were people who said they were ‘born early in the year’ [2], I didn’t really have any sense of what they meant (laughs). It was the same even after joining Johnny & Associates. My peers would be people like our (Matsumoto) Jun-kun, right? There’s also KAT-TUN’s Nakamaru (Yuichi), Ueda (Tatsuya), Kanjani8’s Maruyama (Ryūhei), but… Actually, it’s more about order of entry (into the agency) than age, and in any case, hierarchies aren’t everything in the world.”
Whatever conversations intersect, however far you get to the core of it, no matter what relationships you amass, Nino says, “everything is decided by the ‘air’ that flows between you and the other person”.
“No matter who I dine with, there aren’t any rules that say that if they’re my senior I’ll have them treat me, or if they’re my junior I’ll treat them. For example, when I go eat with my junior Nishikido (Ryo), he always treats me (laughs) and that’s just how the atmosphere is between the two of us. But it seems when Nishikido’s with Jun-kun, he gets treated, and that’s probably also due to atmosphere. I like ‘creating joke material’ from the everyday (laughs), so I want to keep being the stingy senior being treated by juniors. When I treat people, I don’t use that as joke material, but I can talk about my stingy episodes in a humorous way. When I dine together with Kacchan (Takahashi Katsumi), there’s an established routine we have. After we’re done eating and about to leave, Kacchan will stand up to go to the toilet. During that time, I’ll take his wallet from his bag and make the payment. When he returns to his seat, I’ll nonchalantly tell him that I’ve paid. Kacchan’ll then thank me and grin while opening his wallet, then go, “hey!” as a riposte. It’s a sequence; it’s all something we’re mutually aware of (laughs).”
My being called up for jobs might be more for the atmosphere than for my acting abilities
From the trivial everyday to serious episodes, everything is a consequence of humour. That’s what he’s also aware of himself.
“I like black humour (laughs). Humorous older people are generally dark-humoured, and they want that too, right? Dokumamushi Sandayū-san and Ayanokôji Kimimaro-san both use barbed jokes, but it seems audiences enjoy that. I generally like interesting older people since they tend to be dark in humour; I think we’re quite compatible in that sense. Kacchan is the one I’ve known the longest, and he’s seen me go through various stages of life, so the atmosphere between us is pretty unique. (Kuramoto) Sō-chan and Ninagawa (Yukio)-san, too, they’re great people in society, so to speak, and I often feel that there are barbs in their humour. With people we call influential figures, everyone tends to tiptoe around them too much. When these influential figures make jokes or irrational arguments, nobody makes any comebacks. Most people just smile and nod in admiration, don’t they? I figure they must find it stuffy and formal. At times like that, I’m all blunt like, “may I just say something?” and I’ll lightly make some retort (laughs). It’s cheeky, but it’s coming from a place of respect, and you can actually feel that doing so improves the atmosphere. The more broad-minded people are, the more fun it can be since you can have dark-humoured banter.”
You could say black humour is a form of magic that helps ventilate stuffy relationships and relaxes hearts.
“Of course, if you’re using black humour, you have to be sure of and make allowances for the state of your companion. A good level of humour is also dark. If that person being at that place makes it fun to be in, you’d want to meet them again, right? Of course, your abilities for the actual job are also important, but people who can improve the atmosphere are more likely to be called upon again. In order not to be hated on set, it’s more a matter of atmosphere than your acting skills. I don’t really go along with young people talking of their hopes and dreams or older people talking about their health. If I can cross that generational fence and change the atmosphere, that’d be a good sort of presence to have, right? (laughs)”
He’ll soon be entering the set of his new movie. He’s enveloped by exhilaration; even the air around him has become more lively.
“I think I’m the type who naturally adjusts to match the air of the people or place, but I’m considerate in my own way towards actresses I’m working with for the first time (laughs). Especially with actresses who have co-starred with a lot of other Johnny’s; it’s like, would my way of doing things be okay? It’s likely that amongst all the Johnny’s, my way of acting or creating atmosphere may seem too free and unique, so I have to be careful not to overdo it… or something. In any case, I’m thinking it through as I tackle it (laughs).”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. Arashi’s new single ‘Wild At Heart’ is on sale 7th March. The filming for his movie ‘Platina Data’ (Platinum Data) has begun. As he doesn’t make distinctions by age or generation, he naturally mingles well with older folks. “If I can drink with them like anyone else, I call older actresses ‘Uncle’ too (laughs). Take Kacchan, whom I’ve known for ages; I know both his house and his wife, but I’ve never invited him over to my home. I still keep telling him that I live with my parents (laughs).”
|| Words / Yoshi Rei ||| Photography / Emori Yasuyuki ||
|| Hair & Makeup / Hattori Yukio ||| Stylist / Iga Daisuke (KiKi Inc.) ||
- - - - -
f o o t n o t e s
[1] The title 「毒とユーモア」literally means ‘poison and humour’, and all the instances of ‘black humour’ or ‘dark humour’ or ‘barbed jokes’ in my translation are actually variations of what is literally ‘poisonous humour’ in Japanese. I opted to go with idiomatic English rather than the literal translation because I wanted to avoid the ‘toxic’/‘malicious’ connotations that the word ‘poisonous’ has in English.
[2] Those ‘born early in the year’ were born between 1st January to 1st April. In Japan, the academic year is from April to March the following year, so those ‘born early’ in the year would be one school year above those ‘born late’.
E.g. Despite being born in the same year as Aiba [1982] and two years after Ohno [1980], January-‘early’-born Sho was actually just one academic year below November-’late’-born Ohno and one academic year above December-’late’-born Aiba.
Nino on humour and old(er) people, folks... Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
The path that Ninomiya Kazunari has walked thus far. Those earnest feelings expressed in every word. What is it that he currently feels and treasures?
Chapter 040
Black humour [1]
It’s almost March. There’s still a chill in the wind, but the seasons are changing. Graduations, starting school, promotions, job transfers… Spring is a time for junctures, a season for new beginnings. The starting topic is ‘classmates’.
“My school days were probably somewhat unique. I don’t have a concept of ‘classmates’. I had few friends in elementary and middle school, and I was a 1st-grader in a newly established high school, so there were people of various ages and circumstances in my class. So I had a very vague sense of age and school year. Even after becoming an adult, when there were people who said they were ‘born early in the year’ [2], I didn’t really have any sense of what they meant (laughs). It was the same even after joining Johnny & Associates. My peers would be people like our (Matsumoto) Jun-kun, right? There’s also KAT-TUN’s Nakamaru (Yuichi), Ueda (Tatsuya), Kanjani8’s Maruyama (Ryūhei), but… Actually, it’s more about order of entry (into the agency) than age, and in any case, hierarchies aren’t everything in the world.”
Whatever conversations intersect, however far you get to the core of it, no matter what relationships you amass, Nino says, “everything is decided by the ‘air’ that flows between you and the other person”.
“No matter who I dine with, there aren’t any rules that say that if they’re my senior I’ll have them treat me, or if they’re my junior I’ll treat them. For example, when I go eat with my junior Nishikido (Ryo), he always treats me (laughs) and that’s just how the atmosphere is between the two of us. But it seems when Nishikido’s with Jun-kun, he gets treated, and that’s probably also due to atmosphere. I like ‘creating joke material’ from the everyday (laughs), so I want to keep being the stingy senior being treated by juniors. When I treat people, I don’t use that as joke material, but I can talk about my stingy episodes in a humorous way. When I dine together with Kacchan (Takahashi Katsumi), there’s an established routine we have. After we’re done eating and about to leave, Kacchan will stand up to go to the toilet. During that time, I’ll take his wallet from his bag and make the payment. When he returns to his seat, I’ll nonchalantly tell him that I’ve paid. Kacchan’ll then thank me and grin while opening his wallet, then go, “hey!” as a riposte. It’s a sequence; it’s all something we’re mutually aware of (laughs).”
My being called up for jobs might be more for the atmosphere than for my acting abilities
From the trivial everyday to serious episodes, everything is a consequence of humour. That’s what he’s also aware of himself.
“I like black humour (laughs). Humorous older people are generally dark-humoured, and they want that too, right? Dokumamushi Sandayū-san and Ayanokôji Kimimaro-san both use barbed jokes, but it seems audiences enjoy that. I generally like interesting older people since they tend to be dark in humour; I think we’re quite compatible in that sense. Kacchan is the one I’ve known the longest, and he’s seen me go through various stages of life, so the atmosphere between us is pretty unique. (Kuramoto) Sō-chan and Ninagawa (Yukio)-san, too, they’re great people in society, so to speak, and I often feel that there are barbs in their humour. With people we call influential figures, everyone tends to tiptoe around them too much. When these influential figures make jokes or irrational arguments, nobody makes any comebacks. Most people just smile and nod in admiration, don’t they? I figure they must find it stuffy and formal. At times like that, I’m all blunt like, “may I just say something?” and I’ll lightly make some retort (laughs). It’s cheeky, but it’s coming from a place of respect, and you can actually feel that doing so improves the atmosphere. The more broad-minded people are, the more fun it can be since you can have dark-humoured banter.”
You could say black humour is a form of magic that helps ventilate stuffy relationships and relaxes hearts.
“Of course, if you’re using black humour, you have to be sure of and make allowances for the state of your companion. A good level of humour is also dark. If that person being at that place makes it fun to be in, you’d want to meet them again, right? Of course, your abilities for the actual job are also important, but people who can improve the atmosphere are more likely to be called upon again. In order not to be hated on set, it’s more a matter of atmosphere than your acting skills. I don’t really go along with young people talking of their hopes and dreams or older people talking about their health. If I can cross that generational fence and change the atmosphere, that’d be a good sort of presence to have, right? (laughs)”
He’ll soon be entering the set of his new movie. He’s enveloped by exhilaration; even the air around him has become more lively.
“I think I’m the type who naturally adjusts to match the air of the people or place, but I’m considerate in my own way towards actresses I’m working with for the first time (laughs). Especially with actresses who have co-starred with a lot of other Johnny’s; it’s like, would my way of doing things be okay? It’s likely that amongst all the Johnny’s, my way of acting or creating atmosphere may seem too free and unique, so I have to be careful not to overdo it… or something. In any case, I’m thinking it through as I tackle it (laughs).”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. Arashi’s new single ‘Wild At Heart’ is on sale 7th March. The filming for his movie ‘Platina Data’ (Platinum Data) has begun. As he doesn’t make distinctions by age or generation, he naturally mingles well with older folks. “If I can drink with them like anyone else, I call older actresses ‘Uncle’ too (laughs). Take Kacchan, whom I’ve known for ages; I know both his house and his wife, but I’ve never invited him over to my home. I still keep telling him that I live with my parents (laughs).”
|| Words / Yoshi Rei ||| Photography / Emori Yasuyuki ||
|| Hair & Makeup / Hattori Yukio ||| Stylist / Iga Daisuke (KiKi Inc.) ||
- - - - -
f o o t n o t e s
[1] The title 「毒とユーモア」literally means ‘poison and humour’, and all the instances of ‘black humour’ or ‘dark humour’ or ‘barbed jokes’ in my translation are actually variations of what is literally ‘poisonous humour’ in Japanese. I opted to go with idiomatic English rather than the literal translation because I wanted to avoid the ‘toxic’/‘malicious’ connotations that the word ‘poisonous’ has in English.
[2] Those ‘born early in the year’ were born between 1st January to 1st April. In Japan, the academic year is from April to March the following year, so those ‘born early’ in the year would be one school year above those ‘born late’.
E.g. Despite being born in the same year as Aiba [1982] and two years after Ohno [1980], January-‘early’-born Sho was actually just one academic year below November-’late’-born Ohno and one academic year above December-’late’-born Aiba.