Exciting, fun, tough, and joyful. Following the path taken over the last 4 and a half years (Ishimori Nijika x Saito Fuyuka, B.L.T June 2020)

The storytellers of the group, Ishimori Nijika and Saito Fuyuka. They’ll talk about plenty of stories of the grand happiness leading up to the current turning point, as well as what’s to come going forward.

(All published gravure & interviews of Keyakizaka46 in B.L.T. and blt graph are laid out in front of them)

Saito: Hey, isn’t this from the first time we were photographed as all 21 members?

Ishimori: How nostalgic～ They took the photo from above while everyone was formed in a circle with their eyes closed.

Saito: Which was it now… that photo of you, Nijika!

Ishimori: Eh no it’s fine we don’t find it. (lol)

Saito: This one this one! This will be a topic among members forever won’t it? (lol)

This has to do with the time you were shooting the MV for 『Kataru nara Mirai wo...』 right? Was there something in the photo on the opening page?

Saito: All of the members were looking at the completed volume of blt graph. At first we were laughing at Ozeki’s face in it, but then someone said “Isn’t Nijika’s even worse here?”

Ishimori: They were saying “Doesn’t it look like some pose out of kabuki theater?”

Saito: Then an enlarged photo of just Nijika’s face was being passed around in Keyaki member’s group LINE chat. (lol) For a while we’d laugh so much whenever it was imitated. 

Ishimori: Ugh, even though I already forgot about it. This is definitely gonna make everyone make fun of me for it again…

Saito: The shooting for the 『Katamira』 MV was going on at the same time as 『Tokuyama Daigoro wo dare ga Koroshita ka?』 though, right? I thought our schedule from then on was seriously hard.

Ishimori: 『Tokuyama』 is so nostalgic huh.

Saito: It was hard work, but shooting it was interesting. (Watanabe) Risa, Nijika, and I played characters set in the same clique.

Ishimori: Yep, 3 gyaru sisters. (while looking at a separate volume of the 『Tokuyama』 guidebook) Eh wait, (Harada) Aoi, Aoi somehow looks… so yooouung! (lol)

Saito: Acha (Harada) really has matured!

Ishimori: And Habu-chan (Mizuho). She looks so cool now, but her bangs at this time are totally cute. I remember her cutting and arranging them every day. Wasn’t (Suzumoto) Miyu doing the same around this time?

Saito: She really, really regretted it, though. She said “Somehow it’s started to feel like I’ve become someone else.” After 『Tokuyama』, there was talk of Ozeki maybe changing her hairstyle too, wasn't there? Someone suggested she should show her forehead.

Ishimori: Yeah, but then when she tried it out, she ended up crying. It showed a lot of her forehead… did she fix it in place with a pin?

Saito: Yup. Having no bangs made her feel uncomfortable though, so she was crying a ton.

This is the first time I’m hearing of this.

Ishimori: Staff-san tried their best to explain to us that sometimes costumes and hairstyles are everything. But we were still kids, so we couldn’t understand.

Saito: When you think of it like that, we’ve really become adults.

Ishimori: It’s like somehow, we’re not very particular about my bangs anymore. At first, no matter the circumstance we’d say stuff like “Please fix my bangs!” but nowadays nobody says it anymore (lol).

Saito: For sure we don’t say it much anymore.

Ishimori: It’s like we’ve changed to think it’s cooler to be just a little untidy looking.

Turning back time a bit, this is a magazine cover photo of all members of Keyakizaka46 from their debut 4 years ago.

Saito: Wahh, white really looks good on everybody. Looking at her here, Yuipon (Kobayashi Yui) has really grown up since then.

Ishimori: (Sugai) Yuuka somehow looks young too.

Saito: According to her, her face was perfectly round back then, so she calls it the “Melonpanna-chan (T/N: Anpanman character)” days.

Ishimori: Eh, is that so? (lol) This is also around the time I thought Risa looked a bit like a Shiba Inu. She had a cute dog-like face.

Saito: Yea, doggie-like. But as expected from back then, everybody’s bangs are amazing!

Ishimori: Yeah, they’re all tidy. We became more stylish as we pulled away from being so orderly. 

Saito: Yup. I was going off of what I thought was the ideal image for an idol.

Ishimori: Although, back then I liked Hirate (Yurina)’s “mushroom (her hair style).”

Saito: I get you. She doesn’t have it anymore now, though. She grew her hair out and it started to curl around her neck. It was best around 『Futari Sezon』 when it looked girliest.

Ishimori: Yeah totally, she was being tsuntsun about it.

Saito: That’s when she started learning to use women’s makeup and braiding her hair as well. It’s like she had a “I hate it short” feeling about her. Although I can’t imagine that now (lol).

Ishimori: Right? Lots has happened, huh…

Well 4 and a half years is quite a long time, right? Speaking of which, what would it be like if you were to meet with your selves from back then?

Saito: Looking back at the past now, I can say things like “Oh this time was fun wasn’t it?” or “Ah, that time was like that huh?” but back then I didn’t have the chance to see it that way. BLT-san covered the news on us while we were filming for 『Tokuyama～』 right? Looking at it now, I can understand the value of them coming to the scenes and covering all the members when there wasn’t much time to do so. But even though I understand now that it was an amazing thing, back then I didn’t have the capacity to think about other people.

Ishimori: We really didn’t have the capability back then, for everything. We didn’t have the awareness that we had to do things properly because it was our job. In that way, I think we were still kids.

Saito: Among the members, there are some of us that had the mentality “It’s work, so I have to do it as best I can,” but for the first year after debut, most of us were still teenagers. There were so many times we thought “I can’t do it, I’m already at my limit” and barely held on.

Ishimori: Speaking of dramas, it was tough when we were filming 『Zankyaku (Zankoku na Kankyakutachi)』 as well, wasn’t it?

Saito: That time was a different level of difficulty altogether though.

Ishimori: Partway through, Hirate lost her voice.

Saito: Now that I think of it, there really were a lot of things that happened.

Around the same time, you were shooting the MV for 『Eccentric』, but the way you talk about that, it seems like it was a good time.

Saito: That’s right! Doesn’t it feel like we were so young back then?

Ishimori: We were crying from seeing the sky full of stars。 Everyone was saying “I hope things can stay like  this for a long time.”

Saito: That was the first time I cried from how beautiful the stars looked. Then we played some songs that suited the starry sky, and cried together。 It was hectic as well, but somehow it was special too.

Ishimori: Oh and then! There was that day we finished shooting and went back to the hotel, and it was my 20th birthday, so Fuu-chan (Saito) and (Nagahama) Neru came to my room and sang me the Happy Birthday song. Do you remember?

Saito: Yup, there were some other members there too. And then, at the conbini…

Ishimori: Right, you bought me eclairs and flowers. It was a 20th birthday I think I won’t ever forget. 

Saito: Then we encouraged each other, saying “From the next day on, let’s do our best for the drama.”

Ishimori: That time was hard too. We finished shooting for the drama, then immediately took the Shinkansen to Kyoto for the handshake event.

Saito: Yeah that’s right, we went from the studio to Shinagawa Station.

Ishimori: Everyone carries a suitcase with them.

Saito: Everybody’s been saying they’d like to take on doing a drama again. But back then we couldn’t handle the workload we can now and caused a lot of trouble for the staff that worked on the drama. I’ve thought about how maybe they won’t want to give us another shot…

Ishimori: Yeah there’s things to regret from then. I wonder why we weren’t able to do more back then.

Saito: That’s something that we think about now… But if we get another opportunity, I think we’ll definitely get it done properly start to finish. 

Then if there was another Keyakizaka46 drama, what kind would you like it to be?

Ishimori: Right… I’d like to see a drama that tries to put a spotlight on each member individually. Dramas like Tokuyama and Zankyaku that have all the members performing are good too, but I want something like individual PVs or our photobook (Nijuuichi nin no Mikansei) where there are short stories that each feature one member as the protagonist. The director could be different for each story as well. This way we can see everyone’s acting. With something where everybody performs together, it’s difficult to focus on each person individually. Wouldn’t it be nice if fans of each member could happily say “My oshimen is playing the lead role!” It’s a dream of mine for us to be able to do that kind of omnibus type drama just one time.

Saito: It hasn’t changed for me. Since I grew up watching AKB48-san’s 『Majisuka Gakuen』, I’d like to try doing something yankee themed. Although I think there’d be barely any difference in my appearance (lol), but it seems like the Keyaki members would look cool doing battling or action scenes with yankee visuals. We could have a theme song that fits the perspective of the drama, clothes that fit our roles, make-up for bruises and such. I’d like to try doing a live performance where we’re dressed up as our characters as well. We wouldn’t be able to use our usual appearance or way of speaking, so it’d be a chance to see some gaps between us and our characters.

Who do you think would have the most noticeable gap?

Ishimori: I wonder who’d be interesting to see?

Saito: Wouldn’t it have to be Pe-chan (Watanabe Rika)? I think she’d be excited to do it, though I’m not sure about when the camera’s on her (lol). You could make her look totally different in costume with her hair and makeup done, right? Although I think I’d like seeing everyone in that way.

Ishimori: Thinking of it that way, I’d like us to try comedic drama as well

Saito: That would be good. A drama that you could enjoy laughing at.

Ishimori: Rather than something that has a serious thinking vibe to it, it’d be more like seeing everyone’s character gaps wouldn’t it?

If you did a comedy, it’d certainly be surprising. Perhaps because of how Keyakizaka46’s image has been established in the 4 years since your debut.

Ishimori: 4 years… it passed by so fast.

Saito: But while looking back is fun and brings nothing but happy memories, for myself, I’ve been feeling like I have to start talking about the future.

Ishimori: That’s right. I’m good at looking back on the past, but with that said things are moving forward (lol). Yeah, if I have to talk about Keyaki going forward it’s honestly a weak point for me. I end up not being able to say anything.

Looking at it in a different way, perhaps you could compromise by properly facing the past and keeping it in mind while moving forward towards the future. Now with that in mind, could we move back to before and after your debut?

Ishimori: There are a lot of memories that come to mind before debut. The guerilla handshake events that had us in a few separate groups at shopping malls was memorable. I handed out flyers for them, but was surprised that people wouldn’t take one. It would leave me heartbroken and I’d end up crying. But when one of us would start crying, the whole group broke down with them. Thinking back on it now, it was kind of Keyaki-like (lol).

Saito: For me, at that time I was working at a yakiniku shop and handing out flyers, so in that I was fine. When trying to hand them out to people in front of the station on their way home for work, they were tired so for the most part they wouldn’t take them. I could understand that, and on the contrary, people left a very kind impression at the guerilla handshake event. I think maybe rather than handing out flyers, the handshake itself was frustrating. It hadn’t been long since we formed, but there were fans there that already had an oshimen. I was in a group together with Yuuka, Imaizumi (Yui), and (Nagasawa) Nanako, so even when shaking hands with me, if their oshimen is one of the members next to me, it feels like maybe their attention is directed towards them rather than myself. But in the idol world, since that’s pretty normal, it felt more like I was confronted with the reality of the world I was going to be living in.

Ishimori: At first, when I saw someone say “I really like you!” the moment they’re up to the member next to me, it made me feel so down (lol).

Saito: But it seemed like I had to work hard because of those experiences we had before debut. It was only afterwards that I felt I was prepared.

Ishimori: I was thinking then that it’s something that’ll get better with time. Really, during national handshake event, fans came up to us equally.

Saito: Lately though I’ve been talking with members about what’s gonna happen. More members are graduating, and maybe there are a lot of fans that came to like Keyaki because they have an oshimen… And that made me feel lonely.

Ishimori: 1ki has already gone from 21 members to 13…

Saito: Well whenever one person leaves, I’ve thought “This might cause a chain reaction.” The other members were saying that as well.

Ishimori: There’s also the timing with everyone’s age.

Saito: It came so suddenly, right? Back during formation, most of us were around 17-18 years old, but after 4 years everyone has started thinking about their futures. On the other hand, in my 3rd year of high school I was seriously betting my life on the auditions for Keyaki. Even after I quit cram school, despite having no other plans when I took the AO College Entrance Exam, I was taking a risk on starting over and studying for it again if I didn’t pass. Until the 2nd semester of my 3rd year of high school, I hadn’t failed any classes, but after starting Keyaki activities, I became busy and it seemed as though I was going to fail physical education. So because of that, I wouldn’t have been able to graduate and was given make-up classes. But honestly, if I hadn’t passed auditions at that time, I have no idea what I’d be doing with my life.

Ishimori: After passing auditions, when we had our first photo taken in uniform together, Fuu-chan was wearing a sailor suit. It gave such a Showa era impression… like why didn’t you have a blazer? (lol)

Saito: Right, the mysterious sailor suit. (lol) What was Nijika wearing?

Ishimori: Me? A grey blazer. Throughout auditions, I had been wearing my school uniform, but I had the thought “The last time I’m going to wear this uniform will be here.” I was thinking that if I passed the audition, I would definitely be going to Tokyo. So once I did, I was absent from school to do all the preparations for going there, but my sensei got in touch with me and told me “Come to school one time before anything else.” Sensei knew I had gotten into Keyaki from reading about it in a sports newspaper. The truth is, I was thinking about transferring schools in secret, but it didn’t work out (lol). So instead, he went through the procedures for me to transfer with me there. It seemed like he was just concerned for me.

Saito: But our age group just had half a year left of our last year of high school, so we got to seriously live out our school lives and then be members of Keyaki. We were really fortunate in that sense.

Ishimori: Definitely. Though if I’m being honest, being in Keyaki was more fun than school (lol). It’s fun now too, but with the circumstances right now, it’s lonely not being able to meet with everyone.

Saito: This year is the first time we’re not with the other members on the day of our debut (April 6th). Normally we’d always be together for the (anniversary) live.

Ishimori: …What I thought I could always count on to be there, I was actually taking for granted. Why didn’t I realize it until afterwards?

Saito: Since there were comparatively so many live performances last year, the loss of them this year has been intense.

Speaking of lives, what would each of you say is your “best live performance?”

Saito: The first Republic of Keyaki.

Ishimori: Me too! We’re the same!

Saito: Because of the situation surrounding the group, we wanted to prove Keyaki’s strength, so we were all fired up with the same feeling.

Ishimori: We had gotten used to things in our 2nd year, but were still reconfirming things that everybody was feeling unsure about. Plus we were trying to focus on rehearsal.

Saito: It was a really hard time wasn’t it?

Ishimori: We’d do it continuously from morning until night, but our ability to concentrate on practicing was amazing. That’s how it was for getting down the choreography for Sakamichi-AKB’s 『Dare no koto wo ichiban Ai shiteru』 as well, but we were saying to each other that we should do something new.

Saito: Hirate said that. “Let’s try to do this as Keyaki.”

Ishimori: The flag (flag parts in the opening & closing performance)was also a new production. Thinking about it now, it was a wonder how at that time we were able to confidently and optimistically do such intense rehearsals. I want to do a live with those kinds of feelings again.

Saito: Somehow everyone fired themselves up for it. Then after 『Fukyouwaon』 everyone was sobbing.

Ishimori: And then 『Abunakkashii Keikaku』

Saito: It was an incredible sense of accomplishment. After 『Abunakkashii Keikaku』, I the stage director Nomura-san (Hironori) through the earphone say “You guys are the best!” and I started crying so hard.

Ishimori: Haven’t heard that since then (lol).

Saito: For sure (lol). That’s why I want to do a live that’s like that again.

Ishimori: I've talked with Staff-san about that, like what’s a good idea for putting together a performance that will make not just Nomura-san, but also the fans let out a “Woah!” while they’re watching it. I’ve thought a bunch about what the Keyaki of today is capable of.

Saito: I did say that 『Republic of Keyaki 2017』 is the best live we’ve had but (lol), I don’t want to make the past our high point. Ideally, our best live would constantly be something new, but even if it’s frustrating, I know deep inside myself that it was 『Republic of Keyaki』 of ‘17. However, that frustration is exactly why I want to change that.

Ishimori: Exactly, it’s something that keeps us fired up.

Saito: This is something I felt recently, during the 『Keyakake』 episode where 1ki, 2ki, and new 2ki split off into teams to compete against each other. I changed to “I don’t want to lose mode” for the first time in a while and became serious in front of our kouhais (lol).

Ishimori: Even though it’s variety, you took it seriously (lol).

Saito: When I looked at the makeup of 1ki like that, with 1ki members continuing to withdraw and graduate, and the sense of crisis as a group, I felt some kind of burning passion. My desires to do something, to perform were unmistakably piling up. For 2ki as well, they’re watching their counterparts in Nogizaka-san (4ki) and Hinatazaka’s (3ki’s Kamimura) Hinano-chan performing in new songs and participating in group activities. I can somewhat relate to how they might be worrying about that. Ah… not good, I totally feel like about to cry (and thus moved to tears)! This is bad, I’ve already reached that old sentimental age (lol). 

Anyway, 2ki is considerate and doesn’t say those kinds of things to us 1ki, but once in a while there are times they open up about it. Recently, the new 2ki members have joined as well, right? In their interviews they said something like “I want to quickly catch up to the 2ki that have entered before us.” But (2ki’s Tamura) Hono-chan was saying “We don’t have a song that’s our own yet, so there’s no such difference between us.” 

From my perspective, I could really feel how much 2ki has been supporting us 1ki for the past year. Seeing the frustration of the 2ki members, I thought about how bad it’d be if we didn’t make this a group where the 2ki and new 2ki could feel “I’m glad I was put in Keyaki” in the same way it was enjoyable for us 1ki. The 2ki girls are so kind and all of them say “I’m glad to have joined Keyaki.” I’m worried that might just be out of consideration, though.

Ishimori: We and the staff-san around us have been watching 2ki work so very hard the past year we’ve spent together and experienced their growth, so I think it’s fine if they don’t look down on themselves that much. I think it’s 1ki’s job to say “These 9 are truly amazing people” and boost their confidence. Every member in 2ki can dance every single Keyaki song… Isn’t that incredible!? What we took 4 years to do, they pulled it off in just 1 despite it being something that normally can’t be done. Even just that is something I want them to take pride in.

Saito: Some of the 2ki members were talking and one of them said something like “I don’t want 1ki-san to be taken away from us by the new 2ki.” Gosh… it was so cute I wanted to eat them up!!(lol) Like, you would think that they meant to say something like they’re afraid of being surpassed by the new kids, won’t you? And then another says “We’ve finally just reached the point where we can spend time with them and speak casually too…” seeming completely serious, even though they were talking to fellow 2ki members. Isn’t that just too damn cute?

Ishimori: That’s way too cute! Now I want to eat them too (lol).

Saito: Toooo cute. Like “Eh, so you meant that instead!?” (lol). You see 2ki having a cheery image on 『Keyakake』 and such but unexpectedly they’re also serious and shy. There are a lot of shy girls in 1ki as well, so it took time to open our hearts to each other. It’s been 1 year since last year’s Anira (3rd anniversary live), so it’s finally starting to come bit by bit.

Ishimori: That’s right, now that a year has passed.

Saito: It was as big a year as you’d expect wasn’t it?

Ishimori: Since we got to stand together at Tokyo Dome.

Saito: 2019 had its fill of difficulties, but I think 2ki’s ability to fit in and adapt every time was amazing.

Ishimori: They did so well entering Oda Nana’s position at Tokyo Dome. They memorized everything about the formation without having any time. There’s a part in 『Ambiva(lent)』 where we turn towards the back and pretend like we can’t move and they mastered it in such a short time.

Saito: They were practicing in front of a mirror in their free time. It’d be fine if each of them chose to rest when they weren’t filling in for a song, but they continued to dance in front of a mirror.

When it was just 1ki, when a member was resting, their position would be left vacant. However, now that 2ki has come in, that’s not how it is anymore. That’s a big change is it not?

Saito: Back then I did think that it was better to not fill (the absent member’s position). However, now I’ve stopped thinking that way. That’s something that I myself have changed on. When it was just 1ki, there wasn’t a question of who’s going where. Even when we performed 『Fukyouwaon』 on a music program, when Imaizumi’s spot was left vacant in the early days, I had no concept of having that spot filled. But now I think I had a narrow-minded way of thinking back then. I was an emotional child, or rather, I wasn’t able to think of alternative options for things.

Ishimori: When we performed on 『Music Station』 in the early days when Imaizumi’s position was empty, as well as the during the first tour that Hirate was absent for, we all felt that even if they weren’t on stage our feelings are one, and we performed with that thought in mind, but now my way of thinking has changed as well. I don’t want to show the fans something that’s imperfect. 

Do you think there have been any other changes…?

Saito: My body is definitely stronger now than it was during our debut. In High School I ranked about 5th from the bottom on endurance running tests, but when I think of people in the group that have good stamina, I count even myself. Even when I’m running or something, I don’t get worn out easily. Since that was impossible a long time ago, I’ve worked on it these past 4 years.

Ishimori: Undergoing so many live performances has definitely been a big part of that.

Saito: Even if it’s painful, we must be able to be up on stage no matter what. And we’ve experienced quite a few live performances like that, right? But it could be because we move our bodies that we feel young. 

There was a story you posted on your blog that was like that, where you went to celebrate your birthday with members, who have went through the highs and lows together with you. If it’s alright, could you tell us about that?

Saito: I took a trip to Chiba with a few of the members, including Nijika. It was such a fun time.

Ishimori: It was a good time. While Fuu-chan was still asleep at around 7am, we were preparing her a surprise cake. Then she woke up but was still half asleep!

Saito: Even though normally I wouldn’t be awake (lol). I ended up going to sleep a 2nd time but everyone woke me up with the sound of party poppers.

Ishimori: You weren’t fully awake yet, but you were so surprised (lol).

Saito: With a blue jersey top and bottom on, still wearing glasses, and my hair a mess (lol).

Ishimori: It was because we were really lively the night before.

Saito: We were intent on playing a card game and bought a deck of UNO cards from the convenience store.

Ishimori: And we were just hysterically laughing the whole time, remember?

Saito: I was thinking that I was happy from the bottom of my heart that I was just able to meet all the members of Keyaki.

Ishimori: I feel that. It was lonely when we returned home.

Saito: Somehow I immediately felt lonely after saying “Well, later, byebye!”

Ishimori: I want to be together with the members every day.

No doubt, it’s “Keyaki love” Well, it’s been 5 years since your debut. To end the interview, let’s hear what your ambitions are now.

Ishimori: There are dreams I had coming into Keyaki and still haven’t fulfilled many of them, so on that front I don’t want to give up. Of course, I haven’t given up on Keyaki matters either. I want to show everyone my pride and willpower.

Saito: I'm the opposite of Nijika and have this strong feeling that it was a miracle that we were able to meet. Rather than accomplishing something, while I’m in Keyaki I want to discover what I want to do with my life and where I want to go from here. One thing that is certain is that I love Keyaki, and as such my goal is for us to become a group that can do a Dome Tour. There are so many things I want to do as Keyaki, and for that reason we must surpass our own accomplishment last year of performing in Tokyo Dome. That is my motivation.

Ishimori: We have a long way to go. It’s not enough just yet.

Saito: Yup. Because Keyaki is only just starting!

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Translation: fuyupz

QC: toomuchidea

Raw @ Weibo