Important announcement
Kakizaki Memi2019.06.21 18:00h
Today I have something to announce to everyone.
I apologize for the suddenness of this,
But with the activities for the 1st single
I will be graduating from Hinatazaka46.
Since around April I have been unable to get my mind and body in balance, and have been allowed many absences from work.
I am truly sorry for the great trouble and worry I have caused the fans who support me, the members of Hinatazaka46, and staff of various organizations.
In the time off I have received, I have thought a lot about things up to now and about the future.
With friends around me thinking about university and so on, I've been thinking about my own future,
And in thinking over my life, I have made the choice called "graduation".
I will take time from now on to think about what I will do after graduating.
I was in third-year middle school when I entered Hiragana Keyaki,
And now I'm suddenly in third-year high school.
It seems like the time has passed in a flash.
No matter what part I look at, it's packed with memories. It's like a dream.
There were fun things and bitter things. It was a tremendously important life experience.
And I love all the members with whom I have run together through these three years.
They are like family,
And will be my life-long treasure.
Thank you very much also to Neru, who created Hiragana Keyaki,
And to Keyakizaka46.
I will love you forever.
And to all those who have supported me up to now,
It's because you were all there that I have been able to pass this wonderful time.
Truly, thank you very much.
I love idols.
I have received much power and spirit from them, and will be happy from the bottom of my heart if I have been an existence of that kind for anyone.
My thanks are unending to the staff who have been beside us,
Supporting us and training us up to this point,
And to everyone involved.
I want to convey my thanks to all concerned.
As for my activities after this, I believe staff will announce them as they are arranged.
There is only a little time left, but I want to fulfill my idol life right to the end.
Please continue to support Hinatazaka46 from now on!
Kakizaki Memi
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I will talk about all this as time goes by. For now, I will just mourn, while believing this to be the best thing for Memi. Over the past few weeks of doubt and confusion, I have gotten used to the possibility this could happen. But I will also look forward to the possibility that Memi may reappear in the entertainment world. Either sooner or later.
The final event for the 1st single is scheduled to be an individual handshake event in Aichi on 11 August. Whether Memi will take part in handshake remains to be seen. She will not be taking part in the handshake event this Saturday. Will she return to HinaAi? We don't know, although her statement about carrying out her idol life to the end suggests it's possible. Neru is scheduled to graduate 14 July. The announcement was also made that Hamagishi Hiyori will be taking an indefinite hiatus, starting immediately, for health reasons.
There was an announcement in the Hinatazaka official news, as well as Memi's blog post.
The photo was not in the original post.
Something at the back of my mind felt this coming...
ReplyDeleteAt the rate Memi's maturing, given her already strong sense of self... it'd be ludicrous to believe she'd still in 2019 place on a pedestal a life she used to feel was her dream in 2016.
Perhaps it's just the fickleness of youth. Perhaps there was a business deal or other outside-control event that soured her to Hinatazaka46, to Sony, to enta... who knows at this point. But though I'd entirely invested in Memi = Hinatazaka46 as a core member... there was a part of me that felt being an idol was actually limiting for her.
All the best and hope she occasionally pops up sometime, whether for her artistic skill or as a nostalgic ex-Hii... I hope she finds happiness, challenges, and growth in the after-idol-life :')
I agree with this so much. She's got a lot of growth left in her, and worlds to enter and learn. Maybe a bit of "fickleness", but if you can't be a bit irresponsible when you're young, you never can, lol. I love how some of the other members' blog posts talk about her having her own ideas and sticking with them, right from 2016.
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