It's better when you don't know where you are heading (Fujiyoshi Karin x Yamasaki Ten, BUBKA November 2020)

 

Where the song is headed

It has been about 1 year and 9 months since the 2nd generation members were announced, what are some of the most memorable songs you've participated in?

Karin: Tokyo Dome’s “Garasu wo Ware”. Actually I wanted to say “Taiyou wa Miageru Hito wo Erabanai” from Republic of Keyaki 2019, but I like it so much that I said it in many places (laughs).

What do you like about Dome’s Garasu?

Karin: It was the first song performed in Dome, and I was surprised by the scenery I was seeing. It’s not about my performance.

Ten: For me it’s “Dare ga Sono Kane wo Narasu no Ka?” from online live in July. It’s largely because of the costume we are wearing right now (laughs), but since it was our first performance of the song, so I thought that it might have left an impression on everyone.

Since it was the first performance of the song, I'm sure it attracted a lot of attention and left a lasting impression on the members as well. How was DareKane, Fujiyoshi-san?

Karin: Before it started, everyone looked like they were about to cry. But I didn't really feel it yet. I was thinking, "This still isn’t our last (as Keyakizaka46)”. After the online performance started, all I could think about was the 2nd generation members. That's because “Taiyou wa” was the first song.

On last year’s Republic of Keyaki, “Taiyou wa” was the song that every 2nd generation member gets to participate in, right?

Karin: Yes. After that, those feelings disappeared, but since the last song was Darekane, the feelings I had during "Taiyou wa” came back. Up until now, many of Keyakizaka46's songs have been about conveying our own will, but Darekane is a song about listening to the voices around you. I haven't been able to get to that level of feeling yet, so I sang it with the feeling that I have to feel that way in the future. When we perform this song on a music show, the part at the end where the 2nd generation members walk forward is omitted, but I try to walk with a firm will and a strong feeling.

It seems that the 2nd generation members cried after the online live performance.

Karin: In the end, when it comes to renaming, I wondered what will happen to all the songs we had so far. I want to do more songs like that. I’m still not satisfied. In that sense, I feel sad about the renaming.

Ten: I don't remember crying on stage that day, but there was a time limit for me to sign my name afterwards, and I didn’t appear. I was one minute too late. I’m the only one waiting at the back. When I learned that I couldn’t appear, it felt that something inside me dropped. I returned to my original state and cried.

Does those tears have anything to do with the renaming getting announced?

Ten: Of course there is. There is, but I wasn’t really against the renaming.

Karin: I’m not against it too. I do still wish to be able to continue (as Keyakizaka46), but the reality is that most of the members are now adults, and I think it's inevitable that the direction of the group will gradually change.

When Sugai (Yuuka)-san is making the speech about the renaming announcement, what are you thinking of at the back?

Karin: I've been thinking the same thing for a long time, that is "I want to do a song that resonates with students”. That's all I want. There's a lot of frustration there, and I'm like, "Hmm~”. I think it's going to be a completely different thing when conveyed by an adult and when it's conveyed by someone who is still active (as a student).

Ten: That is something we talked about a lot in 2nd generation.

The sounds from in-ear monitor

Now, let me ask you about your live performances so far. Did you have a song or moment when you thought "I was able to shine at that show"?

Ten: I don’t have one yet. Since I don’t have an ideal (within me). It always ended with something bothering me. I haven't had a show where I felt like I could give it everything I’ve got.

Is it the dance aspect? Or do you mean in terms of putting your heart into the lyrics?

Ten: It’s both.

Karin: I haven't thought much about it either.

So personally, you haven’t reached that feeling yet. So, setting aside your personal feelings, what about in terms of the group? Like, Keyakizaka46's live performance that day was amazing.

Karin: It’s something that could be told from the voice in our in-ear monitor. Like, "Everyone is definitely having fun in the performance today”. Recently, I heard how everyone frolicked around during the online live performance’s  "Kaze ni Fukarete" through the in-ear monitor. It was fun to listen to their cheerful behavior.

Ten: I can really understand that. There's a sound that only the members' earpieces can hear, and I really like it too.

Perhaps this is a “common things between members”.

Karin: I think so (laughs). And that became a motivation as well.

Darekane will be the only single where Keyaki’s 2nd generation members get to participate as original members. What do you think about being a part of it?

Karin: I don't really feel it. Of course we are grateful for that, but it's not the excitement of “We are releasing the songs that we’re also in”.

Ten: Maybe because it's an online single, I think there are many 2nd generation members who haven't really felt it yet.

Karin: But I like it as a song.

Yamasaki Ten-san was the Center for online live’s Otona wa Shinjitekurenai, right? How did you feel about it?

Ten: Considering my age, I thought I’d be like that, but as for my current feelings, I couldn't fully sympathize with what was written in the lyrics. That part bothers me a little.

Karin: Because I had too much on my plate at that time too, I couldn't really call out to Ten. I kept thinking that I should have said something to her.

Karin: Eh, you thought so? It's fine even if you don't think about it (laughs).

Karin: I'm sorry that it appears as if I’m the younger one.

The true meaning behind “I want to destroy it”

It seems that you two haven't seen the documentary film yet, but frankly speaking, I felt that the members are living different everyday lives. You are living in a different world from what most working people and high school students live in. I wondered what it felt like for the members.

Karin: I don't feel like I'm living a different everyday life. It’s just that the repetition of having fun and being down have become the norm.

Is there anything that has changed since you came into this world that has made you less upset about some things?

Karin: I became more surprising. Before I moved to Tokyo, I was "nothing", but after I moved to Tokyo, I had a lot of emotional ups and downs. But I don't think the members can really feel it. As I don't show it.

Ten: Sometimes I get intense and sometimes I don't change. It's not stable.

Karin: I'm not really aware of what others are going through. No one knows unless you say it. I don't show... My state of mind, but I think they could tell (laughs).

Ten: I don’t understand everything, but I somewhat can understand what the others are feeling, not just Karin. I wonder if it’s relatively easy for me to sense the feelings of others.

What do you do when you sense it?

Ten: If they don’t say anything, I’ll be by their side. That's all I can do. It's always like, "I'm sorry I can't do anything for you”.

Karin: All the members are like that, aren't they? We don't talk much, but we rub each other’s backs.

Your last live performance as Keyakizaka46 will be held in October. How do you feel right now?

Karin: I’d be happy if we could do our utmost best as Keyakizaka46 on that day.

Ten: I'm a little scared now. I'm scared that it's really going to be over.... I wonder what the other members think about it, or what the fans think, I really think about it. I’m curious about it, but I don't want to ask them (laughs). I have both differing emotions.

It’s not really mutually exclusive, isn’t it? Nevertheless, can I assume that emotionally you are looking forward?

Karin: There was the graduation and withdrawal of our senior, and now we will be renamed, I thought that it will be something new then. I'm looking forward to being in the group at a time when we can start anew, although it’s not from the scratch. 

Ten: I've been wanting to do something new for a long time, so I'm glad we were able to do it this way.

What do you envision this "new thing" being? Is it a bold change, or does it build on what you've done in the past and give it a new flavor..?

Karin: Personally, I'd like to pass on "boku (my) strong will" that I've seen in the lyrics so far, even if we become a new group.

Ten: I like those songs too, but there's a part of me that wants to destroy them.

So that image is still not consistent among the members.

Karin: I think it’s still scattered.

Ten: That’s why I’m feeling anxious about how the last live performance will become. Should we all face the same direction? Can we face the same direction? Are we going to be able to perform with a solid will and bond? I have those worries.

Do you ever talk about that among the 2nd generation members?

Karin: We did talk about it among the 2nd generation members, but the 1st generation members may have different ideas, and the new 2nd generation members just came in as we are renaming, so they may have different ideas as well. Can we properly understand each other and share these ideas? I think we need to face this issue.

And that depends on the concept of the new group.

Karin: I'd like to see us all pointing in the same direction, but I also think it's interesting to have a group where everyone thinks differently.

If you enjoy that kind of situation, that’s good.

Karin: Yes. I like something like that (laughs).

Yamasaki-san’s word of “I want to destroy it” is stimulating.

Ten: I'm the type of person who suddenly feels bored when I can see the goal. It's just right if you can't see it.

It's true, it's always been that way, hasn't it? It's because you don't know what's going to happen next that you can enjoy it.

Karin: That also becomes a concern on it’s own. But I don't want to keep doing the same thing, because the fans should find new things more interesting.

I think you're right. Nevertheless, I think the 2nd generation members fit into the world of Keyakizaka46 very well. They were part of the finished product.

Karin: At first I was trying not to destroy our seniors' worldview, but I've come to realize that it's not good to worry too much about that kind of thing.

Ten: This may be a bit off the mark, but I think I've finally started to open up to the members recently. It's partly because of the flow of time, but I've come to feel that the members are “members”, and that I'm “one of them”. I don't know if it was a combination of things that made me do that, or if it was one reason that made me feel that way. It's really just a recent thing.

That's a big step forward. Lastly, and completely off topic, is there anything you've been working on during your time in the stay-at-home period?

Karin: I worked on my core training. Since it’s really weak. So I did some running, even though it was only about 3km. I remembered the core training that my dance teacher taught me when I was learning to dance. It’s also the training taught by TAKAHIRO-sensei.

Ten: I was training in preparation for the live performance. Also, I always thought I didn't have any hobbies, but then I realized that I do have hobbies. I've always liked drawing, but I decided to try my hand at oil painting, and I also wanted to try my hand at pottery. I started cooking, and I made a lot of things, but eventually I became very good at boiling eggs. Boiled eggs are very difficult. You have to boil the eggs at room temperature for seven minutes and then soak them in cold water. Then I put them in the refrigerator until the next day to eat them. That's the best way to eat them… Or so what I came up with. I think I boiled around 100 eggs?

You’ve taken in some protein.

Ten: Maybe that’s why my hair has grown long (laughs).

Karin: I want to grow my hair long, too.

Why don’t you try the recipe you just heard? (laughs)

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Translation: toomuchidea

QC: kiryu

Raw @ weibo