[Johnny's] Shuukan Bunshun - 01/29/2015 (1/3)
At a friend's behest I start translating this 10-page monster of an exclusive interview which Mary Kitagawa had with Shuukan Bunshun. It touches on many Johnny's groups and more importantly addresses the faction war rumors that have been brewing for years. Definitely worth a read, though I'm only done about a third of the entire article and haven't gotten to the juiciest parts yet. Will try to get the rest done within the next couple of days!
Enjoy, and feel free to speculate/share your thoughts!
Shuukan Bunshun - 01/29/2015 (1/3)
Hollering at SMAP's manager in front of our reporter!
The empress of Johnny's
5 Hours of furious ranting
"The next president will be my daughter Julie. If you want to oppose that then take SMAP with you and get out right now!"
On January 13, in Johnny's agency located in Tokyo's Nogizaka, Mary consented to her first interview in 30 years. When asked about the "successor rivalry" between her daughter, Fujishima Julie Keiko, and SMAP's foster mother, Iijima Michi: "How rude. That's equivalent to stabbing me with a knife. Call Iijima over!"
"Honestly, you. You may laugh, but why do you keep doing all these pointless things? I used to go out and buy Bunshun and Shinchosa every week, come rain or shine. But now it's so idiotic that I don't read anymore. Seriously."
An approximately 5-hour long interview opened up with complaints and words of disapproval towards our publication.
It was midday on January 13th, in the meeting room located on the second floor of the flagship building for Johnny's agency in Tokyo's Nogizaka, when Mary Kitagawa, vice president of the agency, consented to our interview.
Starting with popular idol groups in the earlier years, from Four Leaves, Tanokin Trio, Shounentai to Hikaru Genji and SMAP and Arashi, Johnny's has produced numerous male stars that shaped generations. They now possess more than ten companies in related businesses, and as a collective group they form an "idol kingdom" that boasts income statements that exceed tens of billions of yen. Johnny Kitagawa (83), Mary's younger brother who was certified by Guinness World Records as "the most concerts produced by an individual" in 2011, has seen an increase in speaking opportunities such as a guest appearance on a NHK radio program during New Year's of this year. However, as the irrefutable top dog when it comes to managerial aspects, Mary - who is called "The Empress of Johnny's" - has rarely made a public appearance over these past 30 years or so.
The reason for this interview was a certain meeting which this publication had found out about. Around mid-December of last year, Mary and her daughter Fujishima Julie Keiko, the representative managing director at Johnny's and also one of its vice presidents, enjoyed a meal with Daichi Mao (58) and her husband, designer Morita Yasumichi (47), as well as Kuroki Hitomi (54) at the Italian restaurant "Margotto e Baciare" in Nishi-Azabu. The two of them frequently work with Johnny's talents. Arashi's Matsumoto Jun (31) was also spotted with them.
As they saw the actresses off in front of the restaurant, Matsumoto was seen beside Mary along with Ikuta Toma (30), whose popularity as an actor has been rising sharply, and NEWS' Masuda Takahisa (28), all of them with their hats off and unmoving, before lowing their heads in a deep bow. We described that scene as the strict discipline and order within the organization called Johnny's. We wondered what purpose that meeting had served. Strangely enough, it was going to be Mary's birthday soon after.
Later on, our publication served Johnny's agency with a questionnaire, and Mary got in touch with us through her legal advisor to accept this interview.
On the day of the interview, Shirahase Suguru, who is a senior managing director, another male staff, and two legal advisors for their company were waiting for us in a large meeting room that likely spanned over 20-jo [T/N: over 329 square feet].
It was there, at around 10 minutes past the appointed time, that Mary made her jaunty appearance, dressed in flashy, bright red Western-styled clothing. In an instant, even as she directed a gentle smile at our reporter, the look in her eyes beyond those green-black glasses were sharp. "I'm the one most keen to hear about that restaurant issue..."
Needless to say, our publication's connection with Johnny's runs deep. And Mary was angry.
The very first thing she pointed out was an article from our January 1st to 8th issue which reported on Kondo Masahiko (50)'s 35th anniversary event ("Rekindling with Nakamori Akina!? Appearing backstage at Kondo Masahiko's concert"). We quoted a witness who spoke about Mary appearing as a guest and having her photo taken, as well as how she had worn boots and seemed extremly lively; however, Mary was fuming over the numerous errors in the article. She also pointed out the fact that we did not ask their agency directly. It is true that we made no attempt to interview them for confirmation and should be reflected upon.
"If you're going to write about us then you should walk right in (to the venue) and ask. I've never said no to any type of interview. Of course I would go (to the event). It would be rude of me to not entertain the mass media and those who have looked after Matchy for 35 years. You wrote about me taking pictures with everyone and being cheerful and wearing a leather jumper, but no one goes to a club wearing a jacket like that. You'd take it off outside. And I never greeted (the guests) either. You should do some proper research. I don't know how many people read that article and asked me, 'You were there, Mary-san?'."
There was no faltering in her speech. When we asked about her meeting in Nishi-Azabu that was brought up previously by our reporter:
"Everyone saw each other at Arashi's concert at the time. We invited the other members besides MatsuJun (to the meal), but they were exhausted from the concert and excused themselves. MatsuJun himself was in good spirits. Do you people generally have an objective when you're eating out? We've never had such complicated meals before. We were hungry, so we looked for a place with good food to go to."
---So it wasn't to celebrate Mary-san's birthday (on December 25th)?
"I've never had a birthday party held for me, because I hate getting older. I do celebrate Christmas though. And I've thrown surprise parties for others' birthdays before, where I secretly brought out cakes and we drank champagne. But it wasn't my birthday."
Mary's age cannot be revealed, but our reporter had no intentions of prying into that to begin with. What we wanted to investigate was the objective of that meeting.
And following that, our publication touched upon the truth to the rumours regarding the successor to Johnny's - the "faction problem" - that have gripped entertainment media for some years.
The word on the street was that the two leaders behind the "great faction war" which contended over being the next successor to the Johnny's agency were Mary's oldest daughter, Julie, and Iijima Michi, the chief management to groups such as SMAP and Kis-My-Ft2.
Though they are still considered nationwide idols to this day, it has been said that SMAP was nurtured by Iijima's unscrupulous shrewdness. Kimura Takuya (42) and Nakai Masahiro (42)'s trust in Iijima runs deep for she has sacrificed much to support them.
Johnny's agency, which will surpass its 50th year in business, was established by the sister-brother duo of Johnny and Mary, and they are the so-called first-generation owners. However, though Iijima is not part of the Kitagawa family, her presence has grown alongside SMAP's fame and, particularly for those involved in casting at TV stations, she remains someone who cannot be set aside and ignored.
On the other hand, the groups which Julie is in charge of managing are TOKIO, Arashi and Kanjani8, all of which are extreme forces to be reckoned with at the moment. With multiple groups competing with one another within the agency, there isn't a single person in this industry who isn't aware of the fact that "Iijima faction" and "Julie faction" are at odds with one another.
A certain commercial broadcasting station insider had this to say:
"With Johnny-san and Mary-san getting older, I get the sense that the issue about who is going to take over Johnny's has really deepened these past few years. There's no way that Julie-san and Iijima-san can continue to produce their own respective factions like this. There's going to be problems if they ever do any cross-castings, so everyone is taking care to accommodate them. Iijima-san has a stronger hold over TBS and TV Asahi. Fuji is half-and-half. NTV is Julie-san's. Iijima has the late-night slots, and that's how they've been striking a balance. Julie-san seems to be promoting TOKIO as of late, which is why they're getting more appearances."
Last summer, on the same day as the first episode for Kimutaku's starring drama "HERO" (Fuji TV), Kanjani8's Yokoyama Yu (33) appeared in a special program on NTV that clashed with it. Furthermore, whereas SMAP was the overall host of Fuji's "27jikan Terebi", NTV's "24jikan Terebi" main personality was Kanjani8. Arashi and SMAP also rarely share the stage or appear on TV together. It is such incidents that project the issue of a faction war.
With the shade that has started to cast over SMAP's popularity as of late, quite a few TV station insiders share the view that "Iijima-san will break off along with SMAP and establish independence". Everyone has their eyes on the situation with bated breath.
And the scene that our publication witnessed truly seemed like a gathering of talents such as Matsumoto and Ikuta who are under Julie's faction, interacting with Mary and Julie. But when we asked about the true motive behind that meeting, Mary made her rebuttal with some heat.
"I'm going to make it clear right here and right now, what is with this faction war you're speaking of? I won't say who in SMAP, but I still go visit their home, we still go out for meals, and I send them delicious food when I come across any."
---In regards to Matsumoto-san and Ikuta-san (who joined the meeting), do you favour them in particular?
"I call all the talents under us 'our children'! If they're sick I'd go visit, if their relatives pass away I'd take complete care of them. Not just Matchy, but also Okamoto Kenichi (45, former Otokogumi member) and Akkun (Sato Atsuhiro, 41, former Hikaru Genji member). That's only natural, is it not? To take things one step further, I don't go to anyone's concerts, it's not just SMAP. Because if I go to one, I'd have to go to all of them. I don't watch any of their movies, even more so than concerts. They can tell me "This is my movie" and I'd have no idea. If I start watching their movies there'd be no work left for Shii-san (Shirahase director) to do. I don't have the time to pick a target and delve that deep into it like you people do."
Though Mary said as such, she has been spotted at venues for stageplays which star Johnny's talents. In the beginning of January of this year, Mary was seen at "PLAYZONE" (Aoyama Gekijo), a musical starring talents from her agency. It starred Shounentai from 1986, when the first performance was held, to 2008. Since then, it has been taken over by their kouhai. Up until now, TOKIO and V6 have also appeared in it. In recent years, Travis Payne, the choreographer behind Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT", is known for his role in overseeing the choreography for the play.
"Well, no one else (besides me) can speak English, after all. Our choreographer is a foreigner. Who else in our agency can speak English? It would be too hard on me to do it alone, so we added one girl to help with interpreting and while that has been a great help, she herself said she isn't able to do it all alone since she just started. Which means I have no choice but to go, so of course I must greet him. How can you not even understand that?"
Born in America before the war, Mary also went back after the war and lived in Los Angeles for a period of time. She is renowned for her fluent spoken English.
However, the "sister and brother moguls" who have been at the helm managing their talents are now past their 80s, and the truth remains that it has come time for them to pass the reins to the next generation. Who will take over in place of Johnny, with his natural instinct for uncovering idol gems, and Mary, with her vast network of connections and managerial skills?
to be continued
T/N: Mary and Johnny are referred to throughout the article as "Mary-shi" and "Johnny-shi", which is a more polite form of -san. I left it off because I'm sleepy and this flows better, but Bunshun did give them proper respect by referring to them with a higher honorific!
Enjoy, and feel free to speculate/share your thoughts!
Shuukan Bunshun - 01/29/2015 (1/3)
Hollering at SMAP's manager in front of our reporter!
The empress of Johnny's
5 Hours of furious ranting
"The next president will be my daughter Julie. If you want to oppose that then take SMAP with you and get out right now!"
On January 13, in Johnny's agency located in Tokyo's Nogizaka, Mary consented to her first interview in 30 years. When asked about the "successor rivalry" between her daughter, Fujishima Julie Keiko, and SMAP's foster mother, Iijima Michi: "How rude. That's equivalent to stabbing me with a knife. Call Iijima over!"
"Honestly, you. You may laugh, but why do you keep doing all these pointless things? I used to go out and buy Bunshun and Shinchosa every week, come rain or shine. But now it's so idiotic that I don't read anymore. Seriously."
An approximately 5-hour long interview opened up with complaints and words of disapproval towards our publication.
It was midday on January 13th, in the meeting room located on the second floor of the flagship building for Johnny's agency in Tokyo's Nogizaka, when Mary Kitagawa, vice president of the agency, consented to our interview.
Starting with popular idol groups in the earlier years, from Four Leaves, Tanokin Trio, Shounentai to Hikaru Genji and SMAP and Arashi, Johnny's has produced numerous male stars that shaped generations. They now possess more than ten companies in related businesses, and as a collective group they form an "idol kingdom" that boasts income statements that exceed tens of billions of yen. Johnny Kitagawa (83), Mary's younger brother who was certified by Guinness World Records as "the most concerts produced by an individual" in 2011, has seen an increase in speaking opportunities such as a guest appearance on a NHK radio program during New Year's of this year. However, as the irrefutable top dog when it comes to managerial aspects, Mary - who is called "The Empress of Johnny's" - has rarely made a public appearance over these past 30 years or so.
The reason for this interview was a certain meeting which this publication had found out about. Around mid-December of last year, Mary and her daughter Fujishima Julie Keiko, the representative managing director at Johnny's and also one of its vice presidents, enjoyed a meal with Daichi Mao (58) and her husband, designer Morita Yasumichi (47), as well as Kuroki Hitomi (54) at the Italian restaurant "Margotto e Baciare" in Nishi-Azabu. The two of them frequently work with Johnny's talents. Arashi's Matsumoto Jun (31) was also spotted with them.
As they saw the actresses off in front of the restaurant, Matsumoto was seen beside Mary along with Ikuta Toma (30), whose popularity as an actor has been rising sharply, and NEWS' Masuda Takahisa (28), all of them with their hats off and unmoving, before lowing their heads in a deep bow. We described that scene as the strict discipline and order within the organization called Johnny's. We wondered what purpose that meeting had served. Strangely enough, it was going to be Mary's birthday soon after.
Later on, our publication served Johnny's agency with a questionnaire, and Mary got in touch with us through her legal advisor to accept this interview.
On the day of the interview, Shirahase Suguru, who is a senior managing director, another male staff, and two legal advisors for their company were waiting for us in a large meeting room that likely spanned over 20-jo [T/N: over 329 square feet].
It was there, at around 10 minutes past the appointed time, that Mary made her jaunty appearance, dressed in flashy, bright red Western-styled clothing. In an instant, even as she directed a gentle smile at our reporter, the look in her eyes beyond those green-black glasses were sharp. "I'm the one most keen to hear about that restaurant issue..."
Needless to say, our publication's connection with Johnny's runs deep. And Mary was angry.
The very first thing she pointed out was an article from our January 1st to 8th issue which reported on Kondo Masahiko (50)'s 35th anniversary event ("Rekindling with Nakamori Akina!? Appearing backstage at Kondo Masahiko's concert"). We quoted a witness who spoke about Mary appearing as a guest and having her photo taken, as well as how she had worn boots and seemed extremly lively; however, Mary was fuming over the numerous errors in the article. She also pointed out the fact that we did not ask their agency directly. It is true that we made no attempt to interview them for confirmation and should be reflected upon.
"If you're going to write about us then you should walk right in (to the venue) and ask. I've never said no to any type of interview. Of course I would go (to the event). It would be rude of me to not entertain the mass media and those who have looked after Matchy for 35 years. You wrote about me taking pictures with everyone and being cheerful and wearing a leather jumper, but no one goes to a club wearing a jacket like that. You'd take it off outside. And I never greeted (the guests) either. You should do some proper research. I don't know how many people read that article and asked me, 'You were there, Mary-san?'."
There was no faltering in her speech. When we asked about her meeting in Nishi-Azabu that was brought up previously by our reporter:
"Everyone saw each other at Arashi's concert at the time. We invited the other members besides MatsuJun (to the meal), but they were exhausted from the concert and excused themselves. MatsuJun himself was in good spirits. Do you people generally have an objective when you're eating out? We've never had such complicated meals before. We were hungry, so we looked for a place with good food to go to."
---So it wasn't to celebrate Mary-san's birthday (on December 25th)?
"I've never had a birthday party held for me, because I hate getting older. I do celebrate Christmas though. And I've thrown surprise parties for others' birthdays before, where I secretly brought out cakes and we drank champagne. But it wasn't my birthday."
Mary's age cannot be revealed, but our reporter had no intentions of prying into that to begin with. What we wanted to investigate was the objective of that meeting.
And following that, our publication touched upon the truth to the rumours regarding the successor to Johnny's - the "faction problem" - that have gripped entertainment media for some years.
The word on the street was that the two leaders behind the "great faction war" which contended over being the next successor to the Johnny's agency were Mary's oldest daughter, Julie, and Iijima Michi, the chief management to groups such as SMAP and Kis-My-Ft2.
Though they are still considered nationwide idols to this day, it has been said that SMAP was nurtured by Iijima's unscrupulous shrewdness. Kimura Takuya (42) and Nakai Masahiro (42)'s trust in Iijima runs deep for she has sacrificed much to support them.
Johnny's agency, which will surpass its 50th year in business, was established by the sister-brother duo of Johnny and Mary, and they are the so-called first-generation owners. However, though Iijima is not part of the Kitagawa family, her presence has grown alongside SMAP's fame and, particularly for those involved in casting at TV stations, she remains someone who cannot be set aside and ignored.
On the other hand, the groups which Julie is in charge of managing are TOKIO, Arashi and Kanjani8, all of which are extreme forces to be reckoned with at the moment. With multiple groups competing with one another within the agency, there isn't a single person in this industry who isn't aware of the fact that "Iijima faction" and "Julie faction" are at odds with one another.
A certain commercial broadcasting station insider had this to say:
"With Johnny-san and Mary-san getting older, I get the sense that the issue about who is going to take over Johnny's has really deepened these past few years. There's no way that Julie-san and Iijima-san can continue to produce their own respective factions like this. There's going to be problems if they ever do any cross-castings, so everyone is taking care to accommodate them. Iijima-san has a stronger hold over TBS and TV Asahi. Fuji is half-and-half. NTV is Julie-san's. Iijima has the late-night slots, and that's how they've been striking a balance. Julie-san seems to be promoting TOKIO as of late, which is why they're getting more appearances."
Last summer, on the same day as the first episode for Kimutaku's starring drama "HERO" (Fuji TV), Kanjani8's Yokoyama Yu (33) appeared in a special program on NTV that clashed with it. Furthermore, whereas SMAP was the overall host of Fuji's "27jikan Terebi", NTV's "24jikan Terebi" main personality was Kanjani8. Arashi and SMAP also rarely share the stage or appear on TV together. It is such incidents that project the issue of a faction war.
With the shade that has started to cast over SMAP's popularity as of late, quite a few TV station insiders share the view that "Iijima-san will break off along with SMAP and establish independence". Everyone has their eyes on the situation with bated breath.
And the scene that our publication witnessed truly seemed like a gathering of talents such as Matsumoto and Ikuta who are under Julie's faction, interacting with Mary and Julie. But when we asked about the true motive behind that meeting, Mary made her rebuttal with some heat.
"I'm going to make it clear right here and right now, what is with this faction war you're speaking of? I won't say who in SMAP, but I still go visit their home, we still go out for meals, and I send them delicious food when I come across any."
---In regards to Matsumoto-san and Ikuta-san (who joined the meeting), do you favour them in particular?
"I call all the talents under us 'our children'! If they're sick I'd go visit, if their relatives pass away I'd take complete care of them. Not just Matchy, but also Okamoto Kenichi (45, former Otokogumi member) and Akkun (Sato Atsuhiro, 41, former Hikaru Genji member). That's only natural, is it not? To take things one step further, I don't go to anyone's concerts, it's not just SMAP. Because if I go to one, I'd have to go to all of them. I don't watch any of their movies, even more so than concerts. They can tell me "This is my movie" and I'd have no idea. If I start watching their movies there'd be no work left for Shii-san (Shirahase director) to do. I don't have the time to pick a target and delve that deep into it like you people do."
Though Mary said as such, she has been spotted at venues for stageplays which star Johnny's talents. In the beginning of January of this year, Mary was seen at "PLAYZONE" (Aoyama Gekijo), a musical starring talents from her agency. It starred Shounentai from 1986, when the first performance was held, to 2008. Since then, it has been taken over by their kouhai. Up until now, TOKIO and V6 have also appeared in it. In recent years, Travis Payne, the choreographer behind Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT", is known for his role in overseeing the choreography for the play.
"Well, no one else (besides me) can speak English, after all. Our choreographer is a foreigner. Who else in our agency can speak English? It would be too hard on me to do it alone, so we added one girl to help with interpreting and while that has been a great help, she herself said she isn't able to do it all alone since she just started. Which means I have no choice but to go, so of course I must greet him. How can you not even understand that?"
Born in America before the war, Mary also went back after the war and lived in Los Angeles for a period of time. She is renowned for her fluent spoken English.
However, the "sister and brother moguls" who have been at the helm managing their talents are now past their 80s, and the truth remains that it has come time for them to pass the reins to the next generation. Who will take over in place of Johnny, with his natural instinct for uncovering idol gems, and Mary, with her vast network of connections and managerial skills?
to be continued
T/N: Mary and Johnny are referred to throughout the article as "Mary-shi" and "Johnny-shi", which is a more polite form of -san. I left it off because I'm sleepy and this flows better, but Bunshun did give them proper respect by referring to them with a higher honorific!