[Translation] Baila 2011.12 - Matsumoto Jun
My first time translating a Jun interview :D ...That's about all I have to say. Jun talks about his stage play (which I believe has ended now? Guess I'm a bit late xp), and some views on relationships and such. Enjoy!
Scans are from saobang2211 - thank you! ^^
I was first exposed to theatre in my high school days, and I’ve been hooked ever since
“I would always look at magazines and check the theatre flyers, or I would go and look into things that had come up in conversation with friends. From there I would get the ticket myself and go to watch the play. It’s not that I go to watch plays to be studious or anything; it's just something that I really enjoy. Though my eye sometimes travels to the acting side of things, on the whole I just enjoy the experience of being a spectator.”
Even when overseas, it’s the theatre he will run to when he finds time. Matsumoto-san’s love of plays is well-known. It would be thought that he, who by his own will sent his application to Johnny’s Jimusho, would have had an interest in the entertainment world since a young age. However, his words, “Before entering this [entertainment] world, I hadn’t even seen a play”, came unexpectedly.
“It was actually my older sister who triggered my interest in joining Johnny’s. It all started with a video my sister borrowed from a friend. We watched the video together, and when I saw these guys of about the same age as me dancing, I simply thought “that looks like fun”. Until then I was just a normal kid living in the world of Toei Manga Matsuri and Korakuen Yuuenchi de boku to akushu! [T/N: a catchphrase from some old CM with the power rangers for an amusement park :p] (laugh).”
So it came to be that this Matsumoto, now absorbed in a different world, spent his high school years frequenting the theatre.
“The kabuki [T/N: a form of traditional Japanese theatre] actor Nakamura Shichinosuke was a classmate of mine. Standing on the stage as a professional since a young age, as an actor I found him very respectable. He went to see not only kabuki, but also a lot of contemporary plays, so talking with him would always excite me about the theatre. It was from here that I developed an interest in theatre and started to go and see plays.”
The moment the curtain rises, the audience becomes the accomplice of the actor
Even if the actor himself doesn't change, the play changes according to the space that flows throughout the people sitting in the audience. It is the space where those people share that story which exists only for that day, that time, that moment. The thing that captivated Matsumoto-san was the kind of sense of comradery that existed between the stage and the audience. Since being given the chance to appear on stage, he has also experienced the struggle one must go through to achieve this kind of space within the theatre. He has stood on various stages over the years, one invaluable experience amongst these being his appearance five years ago under the direction of Ninagawa Yukio in Byakuya no Valkyrie.
“Working on Ninagawa’s stage, just learning your lines is not enough. Doing that work I saw many things, gained new experiences, the importance of hard-working… I kind of feel like I was taught the way of the fight.”
This time Matsumoto-san rises to the stage again in Ninagawa’s production of Ah, Wild Field. The role he plays is that of Shinjuku Shinji; a man who boxes with a wild spirit and physical tenacity. Matsumoto-san began training at a boxing gym since March in preparation for building the fighting spirit needed for his role. He devoted himself entirely to exploring the image of a boxing match.
“During training I had to face my negative points and weaknesses. There are many situations which cause me to feel a strong sense of my immaturity; for example, if I want to do something in such a way but my body won’t move, or not being able to reach my highest level of acting. Even if I feel down each time this happens, there’s no one who can help me up; it’s a wall I can only overcome myself. What's more, if I don't become completely focused on reaching those goals, the wall will become so high that I can no longer overcome it. Embarrassment, awkwardness, somehow all of these unnecessary feelings are discarded by training at the gym. The preparations are already done.”
A relationship starts to change once the mutual feeling of “I want to get closer” is formed
Always stoic with his punches during the play, upon seeing this Matsumoto-san in the ring, the image he produces is one of a man fighting with all his strength. He also holds the image of someone who is hard to get close to.
“That’s not really true (laugh). Like when I feel I want to get closer to someone, I’ll ask them out for a drink. Then when we’re sitting there drinking, instead of me talking, most of the time I’ll be listening to the other person’s conversation. I guess maybe I just don’t have many words. Is that unexpected?”
Here I start to wonder what kind of people are able to get close to Matsumoto-san.
“For me, the relationships which become deep are with the kinds of people who, for example, I’ll usually have stupid conversations with, but even amongst that there’ll be a few words which really stick. However, if we eat together and everyone is noisy and boisterous, the next time we meet it feels like returning to the very beginning. If it's like this, and there's no communication between us, it's impossible to deepen the relationship.”
Speaking of relationships, this is the final talk Matsumoto-san left us with.
“Actually, the first play I ever saw was Ninagawa-san’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. Then straight after that at my Johnny’s training location, I met him, simply by chance. I somehow remember being right next to Ninagawa-san, eating hamburger and thinking “It’s that guy I saw in the pamphlet” (laugh). I couldn’t have imagined at that time that the one who would be training me relentlessly now would be that same guy (laugh)."
--------------------------
...Not really the place to put this, but I can't believe it's Aiba-month and I still haven't made an Ohno birthday post, so here, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIIDAA!!
Yay~!
YAY~!!
*ahem* well done on your play, Jun-kun. ^_^b
Scans are from saobang2211 - thank you! ^^
I was first exposed to theatre in my high school days, and I’ve been hooked ever since
“I would always look at magazines and check the theatre flyers, or I would go and look into things that had come up in conversation with friends. From there I would get the ticket myself and go to watch the play. It’s not that I go to watch plays to be studious or anything; it's just something that I really enjoy. Though my eye sometimes travels to the acting side of things, on the whole I just enjoy the experience of being a spectator.”
Even when overseas, it’s the theatre he will run to when he finds time. Matsumoto-san’s love of plays is well-known. It would be thought that he, who by his own will sent his application to Johnny’s Jimusho, would have had an interest in the entertainment world since a young age. However, his words, “Before entering this [entertainment] world, I hadn’t even seen a play”, came unexpectedly.
“It was actually my older sister who triggered my interest in joining Johnny’s. It all started with a video my sister borrowed from a friend. We watched the video together, and when I saw these guys of about the same age as me dancing, I simply thought “that looks like fun”. Until then I was just a normal kid living in the world of Toei Manga Matsuri and Korakuen Yuuenchi de boku to akushu! [T/N: a catchphrase from some old CM with the power rangers for an amusement park :p] (laugh).”
So it came to be that this Matsumoto, now absorbed in a different world, spent his high school years frequenting the theatre.
“The kabuki [T/N: a form of traditional Japanese theatre] actor Nakamura Shichinosuke was a classmate of mine. Standing on the stage as a professional since a young age, as an actor I found him very respectable. He went to see not only kabuki, but also a lot of contemporary plays, so talking with him would always excite me about the theatre. It was from here that I developed an interest in theatre and started to go and see plays.”
The moment the curtain rises, the audience becomes the accomplice of the actor
Even if the actor himself doesn't change, the play changes according to the space that flows throughout the people sitting in the audience. It is the space where those people share that story which exists only for that day, that time, that moment. The thing that captivated Matsumoto-san was the kind of sense of comradery that existed between the stage and the audience. Since being given the chance to appear on stage, he has also experienced the struggle one must go through to achieve this kind of space within the theatre. He has stood on various stages over the years, one invaluable experience amongst these being his appearance five years ago under the direction of Ninagawa Yukio in Byakuya no Valkyrie.
“Working on Ninagawa’s stage, just learning your lines is not enough. Doing that work I saw many things, gained new experiences, the importance of hard-working… I kind of feel like I was taught the way of the fight.”
This time Matsumoto-san rises to the stage again in Ninagawa’s production of Ah, Wild Field. The role he plays is that of Shinjuku Shinji; a man who boxes with a wild spirit and physical tenacity. Matsumoto-san began training at a boxing gym since March in preparation for building the fighting spirit needed for his role. He devoted himself entirely to exploring the image of a boxing match.
“During training I had to face my negative points and weaknesses. There are many situations which cause me to feel a strong sense of my immaturity; for example, if I want to do something in such a way but my body won’t move, or not being able to reach my highest level of acting. Even if I feel down each time this happens, there’s no one who can help me up; it’s a wall I can only overcome myself. What's more, if I don't become completely focused on reaching those goals, the wall will become so high that I can no longer overcome it. Embarrassment, awkwardness, somehow all of these unnecessary feelings are discarded by training at the gym. The preparations are already done.”
A relationship starts to change once the mutual feeling of “I want to get closer” is formed
Always stoic with his punches during the play, upon seeing this Matsumoto-san in the ring, the image he produces is one of a man fighting with all his strength. He also holds the image of someone who is hard to get close to.
“That’s not really true (laugh). Like when I feel I want to get closer to someone, I’ll ask them out for a drink. Then when we’re sitting there drinking, instead of me talking, most of the time I’ll be listening to the other person’s conversation. I guess maybe I just don’t have many words. Is that unexpected?”
Here I start to wonder what kind of people are able to get close to Matsumoto-san.
“For me, the relationships which become deep are with the kinds of people who, for example, I’ll usually have stupid conversations with, but even amongst that there’ll be a few words which really stick. However, if we eat together and everyone is noisy and boisterous, the next time we meet it feels like returning to the very beginning. If it's like this, and there's no communication between us, it's impossible to deepen the relationship.”
Speaking of relationships, this is the final talk Matsumoto-san left us with.
“Actually, the first play I ever saw was Ninagawa-san’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. Then straight after that at my Johnny’s training location, I met him, simply by chance. I somehow remember being right next to Ninagawa-san, eating hamburger and thinking “It’s that guy I saw in the pamphlet” (laugh). I couldn’t have imagined at that time that the one who would be training me relentlessly now would be that same guy (laugh)."
--------------------------
...Not really the place to put this, but I can't believe it's Aiba-month and I still haven't made an Ohno birthday post, so here, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIIDAA!!
Yay~!
YAY~!!
*ahem* well done on your play, Jun-kun. ^_^b