Highlights:
- Kyouko was thrilled that Hiragana Keyaki got a new name. It will allow them to progress
- Memi was heartbroken to lose the name they had had for three years, even though she likes the new name. She doesn't sound that ambitious, just wants to perform happily
- seeing her burikko performances made Kyouko realize Memi had something special. She thinks Memi is the most idol-like member of the group
- Memi used to hate people calling her burikko, but finally accepted it
- Memi has no objection to performing in any row
- Kyouko works hard to be indispensable to everyone
- when Memi was made co-centre for Hiragana Keyaki's first song, she kept wondering why they chose her
- Memi loves Techi. She admires how Techi is straightforward with everyone and treats everyone the same, and wants to be like that herself
- Kyouko's ideal idol is Ooshima Yuuko. Memi's is Matsuura Aya
- Memi thinks rotating centres is better for an idol group; Kyouko isn't sure whether fixed or rotating is best
- in addition to its "happy aura," Kyouko wants Hinatazaka to bring a "mischievous feeling" to the Sakamichi Series.
From Hiragana Keyaki to Hinatazaka46: joy and bewilderment
-- I'd like to ask you a few questions about your debut single. What were your feelings when you heard the news?
Saitou -- "We finally got there." Something like that.
Kakizaki -- I was just really happy.
-- You already had an album, but your feelings were different for this, then.
Saitou -- Totally different.
-- After the release of the single, you were thinking: "Keyakizaka46 is more independent now." Is that it?
Kakizaki -- Uh-huh. Before, we had lots of opportunities on our own, so we were like two different groups. After the single release, the feeling of independence was stronger. That probably describes it.
Saitou -- After we put out our own single, we wouldn't be taking part in nearly as many of the same handshake events as Keyaki, and seeing each other afterwards...except when we appeared on the same programs, and those would be much fewer, too.
-- On February 11th, on a live Showroom broadcast called "An announcement from Hiragana," right after the joyful announcement of the single, the name-change to Hinatazaka46 was announced. Did the idea that there might be a name-change at the same time occur to you?
Kakizaki -- I said to members beforehand: "They might change our name, too."
Saitou -- Even though I did have the idea they might, it still came as a shock when it was announced.
-- For Saitou, changing the name was a dream of yours. Could you please explain that a bit?
Saitou -- I didn't hate the name Hiragana Keyaki, nor did I want to separate from Keyakizaka. I just felt that we had to change the name to get beyond our current situation and move forward. Compared to releasing a single as Hiragana Keyaki, a new name of "something-zaka46" would bring us more attention, and maybe we would be able to have greater goals.
-- Kakizaki, you definitely had some different feelings, didn't you?
Kakizaki -- I felt really sad. I didn't oppose the name-change -- I think "Hinatazaka46" is a great name -- but being told suddenly like that, I couldn't really understand. We had been under the Hiragana Keyaki name for three years. For it to disappear just like that really hurt.
-- Saitou, you can understand Kakizaki's feelings, can't you?
Saitou -- Of course. But nothing can change what we did as Hiragana Keyaki. It's because we have that past that we can have this present.
-- The name Hiragana Keyakizaka46 will definitely be preserved because of your songs Hiragana Keyaki and Hiragana de Koi Shitai, won't it?
Kakizaki -- Yes. I want to keep singing those songs.
-- You weren't like Nogizaka46 unders, but you also didn't participate in Keyakizaka's singles. Did Hiragana's position feel awkward to you?
Saitou -- It was a very difficult thing to explain to people who didn't understand the Sakamichi Series. Some people may have ended up wondering what kind of group Hiragana Keyaki was. We performed as a group, but we couldn't say we were completely independent when variety programs would call us "Keyakizaka" and not "Hiragana Keyakizaka." So changing the name to let Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46 be separate finally lets us know where we stand.
Kakizaki -- Uh, I think just being happy is fine. In that vague situation I could still perform quite happily. After hearing what Kyouko says, though, I'm feeling: "It's good to be ambitious."
-- There's no way of saying who's right and who's wrong. There are probably fans who, because the group's position was unclear in various ways, felt "I have to support them!" But Kakizaki, you also may have felt uneasy when Hiragana Keyaki had no activities for half a year after it was formed, right?
Kakizaki -- At that time, everyone felt: "Is this really okay?" There were a lot of things that could make us feel thwarted, but there were more things to feel happy about, so I almost don't remember the unhappy things.
-- What did you think when Nagahama Neru decided to be part of Kanji Keyaki alone?
Kakizaki -- At first, I was broken-hearted. But at that point, the Zepp Sapporo Live was coming up, and I motivated myself with: "We have to give it our all!" I didn't want people to feel: "Hiragana Keyaki is no good without Neru." If it had gone that way, we would have been letting Neru down.
Saitou -- Obviously, the group was born because of Nagaru, and with Nagaru gone it gave people a kind of "left-overs" feeling: "Now what should we do?" But I've never forgotten my feelings of gratitude toward Nagaru.
-- Your January 2018 "Budoukan 3 Days Live" was originally meant to have two days of Kanji Keyaki, wasn't it?
Kakizaki -- I couldn't help being worried (laughs).
Saitou -- It was the first time we'd had a live that went three days in succession. I wasn't just worried whether fans would come or not, I was also quite concerned about my own physical stamina. "One performance leaves me exhausted, do I really have the strength to do three days in a row?"
-- It was by overcoming that crisis that the group was able to bring forth a feeling of unity.
Saitou -- Actually, we were in despair over the first half of that Budoukan live performance. Getting through that made us feel strong. It was like the feeling in the words of the song we premiered at Budoukan: Ima ni Miteiro ("Now you'll see").
"The Burikko Championship changed my view of Memi"
Kakizaki -- Heheheh. I love her. Just seeing her picture makes me feel such affection for her. The change to Hinatazaka won't change our relationship.
-- Have you learned things from Hirate-san?
Kakizaki -- I have. Watching her do things related to performance makes me feel she is "high above the clouds." But she's also very straightforward, and treats everybody equally, no matter who they are. Her being like that makes me feel: "I should be that way, too."
-- Saitou-san, you were friends long ago with Imaizumi-san, who graduated last November, weren't you?
Saitou -- Even though we're apart now, I believe that there will come a day when we will sing together. We never have.
-- Have you learned things from Imaizumi-san?
Saitou -- I've learned a lot of things from her. Looking at her handshake and her blog, I felt that she was extremely good with fans.
-- Saitou-san, your treatment of fans also leaves an extremely good impression.
Saitou -- No, I can't compare with Imaizumi.
-- In Showroom broadcasts, one can sometimes see your wink or Kyouko Heart. I think these sorts of reactions are really great.
Saitou -- That's just from seeing comments. I can see pretty well, so even if I can't read them I can at least see all the comments (laughs).
-- I see (laughs). From your point of view, Saitou-san, does Kakizaki-san have a high level of idol qualities?
Saitou -- I think Memi is the most "idol-like" of all Hinatazaka members. She and Miyata Manamo are the two members most able to do burikko, and when they did, it changed the way I saw Memi. Before that, I just saw her as another member, but after that I felt how terrific she was. I invited her to be part of a two-person Showroom with me (February 5th).
-- Kakizaki-san, did you notice this feeling of hers?
Kakizaki -- I didn't notice at all. Oh! Now that you mention it, I got a message from her on my birthday (December 2nd) where she wrote something like: "Happy Birthday. Recently I've come to like you." (laughs)
Saitou -- So you still remember.
Kakizaki -- Uh-huh. We'd been together for three years, and you say "recently"? When that occurred to me, I laughed out loud.
Saitou -- And she's very good at variety. I've learned a lot of things from Memi during recording of Hiragana Oshi. Even the staff praises her: "Isn't Memi great!"
-- You can do such wonderful burikko in front of the camera. Have you always had this ability, or did you gain it through training? Which kind of person are you?
Kakizaki -- I wonder. The staff says: "You weren't like this before." (laughs) Thinking of it now, I used to hate people calling me "burikko." There were times when I cried and said: "Don't say that about me."
Saitou -- Ah, yes, that did happen. But once she got over that, she became a total burikko character.
Kakizaki -- Uh-huh. Now I've accepted being a burikko character.
-- To be an idol, I think you have to have weapons like that. Aren't there a lot of fans who have come to like you because of burikko?
Kakizaki -- At handshake events, almost everyone who goes by says: "Please wink." (laughs)
-- Your eyes must get tired (laughs)
Kakizaki: No problem (winks).
The qualifications for being centre are strongly expressive eyes and an ability to see everything
-- Both of you have experience at centre. How do you see each other in that position?
Saitou -- The history of Hiragana Keyaki begins with Kakizaki Memi at centre, and I think it had to be that way. I still want to see her at centre again.
-- The first centre of any group must have strong memories of it. Was there a lot of pressure?
Kakizaki -- Uh-huh. I was always thinking: "Why did they choose me?" At the time, though, there was much less attention on us than on our Nogizaka or Kanji Keyaki seniors, so the pressure I felt gradually subsided, and I gained the courage to stand there at centre.
-- I think a big element in that was probably having Nagahama-san beside you.
Kakizaki -- Yes. When Neru left, I really felt how much support she had given me.
-- From Kakizaki-san's point of view, how was Saitou-san as centre?
Kakizaki -- I think Kyouko is someone anyone would happily accept as centre. Not only is her singing and dancing outstanding, but she's quite cute. She's the very image of a centre.
Saitou -- Eh?!
Kakizaki -- And she's extremely hard-working. She studies on her own how to make expressions. In No War in the Future, she differentiates her use of bold expressions and of smiles.
Saitou -- I had no idea you thought that way. It makes me really happy. We've performed No War live many times. Since Memi is taking notice of me, I'll work even harder.
-- Have the two of you had ideas like: "This is how a centre should be"?
Saitou -- "Eyes with bold expressive power", maybe. In No War, eyes full of that bold expressive power allow you to perform the song better.
Kakizaki -- Eh? What should I say? I think maybe: "Eyes that reach everywhere." If you don't think of things from the whole group's point of view, you can't do a good job in the position.
-- Hiragana Keyaki had no fixed centre, right? That is to say, the group could change into all kinds of forms. Does the idea of a fixed centre seem attractive to you?
Kakizaki -- For idols, having various members act as centre gives their various fans pleasure. Isn't that a good thing?
Saitou -- For me, this is a hard question to answer. After seeing Hirate-senpai, the most direct impression is: "She's great." And this is the foundation of the Kanji-sans' performance style. This is probably the good thing about having a fixed centre. It seems as if this is how Korean idols are. But if centre goes through many changes, the attention paid to each member can add up, so I think having a changing centre is good, too. I've worried over this many times.
-- Do the two of you try to hold on tightly to the position you're in?
Kakizaki -- Although it would lead to emotional ups and downs, I don't have any thoughts like: "I don't want to be in that row."
Saitou -- I work hard to become someone who is indispensable to everybody.
-- What is your impression of Hinatazaka's first centre, Kosaka-san?
Saitou -- Her face is very good-looking. And she has eyes with that bold expressive power.
Kakizaki -- She's extremely cute, very suited to taking on the position. Because she's a second-generation member, I want to do what I can for her.
-- Please tell me what your ideal idol is like.
Saitou -- Someone like Ooshima Yuuko-senpai. She's an all-rounder who can dance and sing. I hope to become someone like Ooshima Yuuko-senpai, about whom people say: "Her only fault is that she has no faults."
Kakizaki -- For me, I think it's Matsuura Aya. When I was little, I listened to Momoiro Kataomoi and so on. Recently, watching her videos again, I feel "she's simply godly" and "Matsuura-san is a true idol." I've always aspired to be like her.
"I want to bring a mischievous feeling to the Sakamichi Series."
-- What kind of song is your debut single?
Kakizaki -- Hearing the debut single can make you feel so excited you want to start shaking your head back and forth to it.
Saitou -- It's a cheerful and energetic song like Dare yori mo Takaku Tobe. No matter how many times I hear it, I continue to think: "This is a really good song, it's wonderful that this is our debut single."
-- Hiraganazaka had its representative song, Dare yori mo Takaku Tobe!, and this may be Hinatazaka's.
Saitou -- I think Dare Tobe is a good song that could also have been a premium release. But if we don't do better than Dare Tobe, we can't progress. And I also hope our debut single will be a big hit.
-- Does Hinatazaka also have a "happy aura," like Hiragana?
Kakizaki -- It does. That's our strength. We can continue to show our happy aura, as before.
Saitou -- But other groups also have an atmosphere like "happy aura." So we'd like to open up a new path in the Sakamichi Series, adding in a bit of "mischievous feeling." If our Nogizaka senpais are "quiet and gentle", and our Kanji Keyaki senpais are "cool", then it's good for our debut single to have its own "cheerful and energetic" style.
-- In fact, this kind of distinction is quite necessary for the Sakamichi Series.
Kakizaki -- Up to now it has often been said of us that after Hiragana came on the scene, things became much more cheerful-seeming, so I want to continue to show that cheerful and energetic side.
-- The members of Hinatazaka are quite close in age and positioning, and that makes team cooperation easier. In lives it seems you have an especially good rapport.
Kakizaki -- I think our team cooperation and the way we get along is thanks to our captain, Sasaki Kumi.
-- Speaking of Sasaki Kumi, she's a "says directly what she means" kind of captain, isn't she?
Kakizaki -- Yes, she is. She doesn't just say things directly, she can speak extremely well. Her critiques are effective, too. Hearing them, everyone feels "let's go for it!" I respect her a lot.
Saitou -- I really feel grateful to the Captain that Hinatazaka can be this together.
-- Finally, please tell us your expectations for Hinatazaka's future.
Saitou -- I hope we can gradually follow in the footsteps of our Nogizaka and Keyakizaka elders and say proudly: "We are part of the Sakamichi Series."
Kakizaki -- I don't have any concrete goal like "I hope we will become a bigger and bigger group," but I want us to be a group that will bring happiness to the people who support us.
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Here are a few more pics from the EX Taishuu feature. The photos and interview were probably done in late February-early March:
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Interview translated from a Chinese translation by the "Kakizaki Memi Support Association" 柿崎芽実应援会.
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