Kakizaki Memi -- BOMB magazine interview and photos

The May issue of BOMB magazine has a photo feature on the front row of the Kyun senbatsu: Sasaki Mirei, Saitou Kyouko, Kosaka Nao, Katou Shiho, and Kakizaki Memi.

Many photos have been online for a few weeks now, but one of Memi, along with a Chinese translation of her interview, has just shown up on a Chinese site. Here's the fuzzy photo, along with my fuzzy English translation.

Memi says she liked performing as Hiragana Keyaki, but that in show business, you have to keep moving forward, and she realizes that the name-change was necessary. She also talks about Neru, about her parents, about acting and performing in lives, and about what she wants to learn more about.

Memi's hands are the most expressive part of this photo

-- What are your thoughts about the name-change to Hinatazaka46?
Memi – Personally, I was very happy performing as Hiragana Keyaki, and would have been happy to continue. But in this world, you have to keep climbing, so I think the name-change was necessary. What’s most important is that everyone is enjoying themselves!

-- What is there in Kyun that is special, or especially Hinatazaka-like?
Memi – I liked the song the first time I heard it. It didn’t feel the same as a song by either our Nogizaka or our Keyakizaka seniors. We did the MV back home in Nagano, and I had a chance to eat dinner with my mother and father. It was brief, but it felt like a visit home.

-- What would you like to try doing in the future?
Memi -- I really like acting, so I would like to have more acting work. But what I still enjoy most is lives. Nagahama Neru came to our last live, and I couldn’t stop crying right up to the moment I went on stage….

-- You have a good relationship with Neru?
Memi – I think Neru thought for a long time about her decision to graduate, so I support her. She was the one who founded Hiragana Keyaki, and now that we have changed the name, Hiragana Keyaki is gone… I'd like it if -- along with Kageyama Yuuka, who is now on hiatus -- the twelve of us could do another live together…

-- In your personal life, are there things you want to do?
Memi – I’d like to go picking wild vegetables, as I often used to do with my father. As soon as it’s spring, I think of going into the mountains to pick vegetables and herbs. This is my final year of high school, and recently I’ve become very interested in the world outside Japan. I’d like to study the history of the beautiful things in the world’s heritage.

Here are more photos from the magazine:

In this version of the photo, is Memi pinching Toshi-chan's arm?

EDIT: I should add that this is not a recent interview. The magazine came out several weeks ago, and the interview and pics were probably done sometime in March.

I should add that this is not a recent interview. The magazine came out a month ago or so, and the interview and pics were probably done in March.

I should add that this is not a recent interview. The magazine came out a month ago or so, and the interview and pics were probably done in March.

Finally, here's a picture of Memi picking "mountain vegetables" in March, 2017 (when she was 15):

And here's my translation of the blog post the pic is from.