Yamasaki Ten Mercari Magazine column "To live with what I like" #38 24th December 2020)

Yamasaki Ten, who is the only middle schooler in the Sakamichi groups, is the Center of Sakurazaka46’s “Buddies”. She is perhaps having one of the most intense “restart” days for a 15-year-old in Japan right now. While she has the courage to say “Not really” when asked about the pressure from being chosen as Center, on the other hand, she also says “I am truly bad at communicating my feelings to others”. 

However, after going through a period of various changes, she said that she feels that “we have become much stronger both as a group and as individuals”. What was swirling within the heart of the wise 15-year-old before she was able to objectively look back on herself up to this point, stating that “I didn’t whine about anything, or rather, I didn’t know how to”.

I can be stronger because I have “allies”

“After all, without the people around me, I am still weak”

Yamasaki Ten who boldly acts as the Center of “Buddies”, a coupling song of Sakurazaka46’s debut single “Nobody’s fault”. In the MV too, her lively expression and dynamic dance under the blue sky left an impression. That's why her words about standing at the center of the reborn group were unexpected.

“When I was feeling truly hurt, or weak inside, I think that I became stronger from the support of the people around me. In “Buddies” too, I realized that I am weak when I am alone, but I am able to stand here because I have friends. There is the phrase “You have allies” in the song by Keyakizaka46 “Dare ga Sono Kane wo Narasu no ka?”, and I also thought that “When I am weak, having allies really strengthens my heart”.”

On July 16th 2020, during the audience-less online live “KEYAKIZAKA46 Live Online, but with YOU!”, it was announced that the Keyakizaka46 Yamasaki Ten belonged to, would be reborn as Sakurazaka46. Yamasaki talks about how there is also a change in how she deals with “weakness” there.

“I think that Keyakizaka’s songs were songs where we expressed the weaknesses of the heart, which were interpreted by the listeners in their own way and taken to heart like “I have this part inside of me as well”. But Sakurazaka is about songs that feel like getting close and saying, “We have those feelings too”. ”What we are going to do next” is strongly depicted in Sakurazaka songs, and every song has the idea of “moving forward together while considering each other’s feelings”. I think that’s where both as a group and as individuals, we have grown much stronger.”

I didn’t know how to whine

Yamasaki joined Keyakizaka46 as a 2nd generation member in 2018. She was still 13 back then. When I asked if she ever looked at the middle schoolers around her during her days of moving to Tokyo from Osaka and imagined “if I wasn’t part of Keyakizaka46...”, she laughed and said “No, not at all”.

“I have always been bad at a lot of things. So I have a lot of respect for people who are doing things at school that I can’t properly do. My younger sister who is a 1st grade middle schooler is exactly that. She can study, she can play sports, and she has a lot of friends, which are things that I couldn’t do at all, so I really respect my younger sister. I genuinely think that it is amazing. I am often told “You are still a middle schooler but you’re amazing”, but I've no choice but to do my best here to make up for what I'm not good at.

She said that during her middle school days, there was a part of her that couldn’t open her heart to others.

“I thought that middle school was quite difficult. There were many people that I met for the first time, and I am a very shy person so I wasn’t really able to speak with those around me. They were very nice people, but I wasn’t able to open my heart to them much.”

In Keyakizaka46 too, she recalls that she used to feel nervous among a large group of people. There was a 1st generation member who understood Yamasaki’s inner feelings.

“It was Watanabe Risa-san. I’ve been calling her “Onee-chan (Older sis)”. I didn’t whine, or rather, I didn’t know how to, and I think that Risa-san had a big role in making me able to naturally say it. I think that she carefully watches and understands us very well. Thanks to not only the members from Keyakizaka, but also to the new 2nd generation members who entered (in 2020), I was able to grow mentally. That is why I often think “I’m glad to have these members”. There was a period of time when a lot was going on in my mind, and at that time I once again realized the importance of the people around me, and thanks to that I became able to show my feelings a little bit more.”

It is not only Yamasaki who has changed. The group’s atmosphere has also changed dramatically after becoming Sakurazaka46.

"The 1st generation members have created a very comfortable and warm atmosphere, and the 2nd generation members have been able to gradually show themselves more without worrying. After all, there are many things that we can do because the 1st generation members are there.”

The new 2nd generation members are already a big presence for Yamasaki. When I asked her who is the most interesting, she laughed and said “I can’t choose”, and named them one after another.

“Onuma (Akiho)-chan and Masumoto (Kira)-chan are both interesting, and they are very active in variety. Endo Hikari-chan is also very chatty. And then Ozono Rei-chan is very good at speaking, and it seems that she is the middle child in her family. I thought that’s also a little surprising, but she is very good at choosing her words. She is the only new 2nd generation member participating in the title song this time, so I think that she must be very anxious about it, and I could sense it from her, so we all reached out to her about it.”

All members are smiling, a change from Keyakizaka46 to Sakurazaka46 shown in the MV

For Yamasaki, “Nobody’s fault” was the first single she was involved in the production of from the beginning since she joined Keyakizaka46.

“The production period was really fun. I talked about things like “I want to do this again!” or “I wish we could always remain in the production period”. It was the first time for the 2nd generation members  to be involved in a full-scale production, but we watched from the side the thoughts, passion, and stance that the 1st generation members put into the production, and there was a lot that we learned from it. I respect that aspect of them a lot, and as I’m learning from them, I also thought “Since we are reborn, we can do anything without being bound by form” during “Buddies.”

The MV for “Buddies” features an impressive scene of Yamasaki beckoning to the viewer with a smile. It leads the viewer into the new world of Sakurazaka46.

“While discussing with Takahiro-sensei “Isn’t it better this way?”, we received a choreography that includes either moves that would make each of us shine the most or moves that we were good at individually. And in the 2nd part of the “A” melody, there is a part where we all line up and appeal to the camera one by one, and here we were really free to express what “Buddies” was to each of us, so our expressions all came naturally”.

Through showing their expressions freely, a fresh image was born. Standing in a line, all the members were smiling. As a result, it has also become a scene that gives a strong impression of the change from Keyakizaka46 to Sakurazaka46. When I mentioned the scene, the love Yamasaki had for the members began to ooze out.

“I genuinely think that everyone have amazing expressions, that they are all cute. I always think of how cute everyone is. So I also take pictures of them. No matter where or when I take them, they are always cute. Ufufu.”

I don’t want to create an ideal, but to go beyond even my own imagination

While some of the members looked down in pain during the announcement of renaming from Keyakizaka46 to Sakurazaka46, Yamasaki looked back and said “I think I was already quite prepared”. So was there any pressure when chosen as the Center for “Buddies”?

“Not really… Of course there was a lot of pressure, but this time there are 3 Centers, so there was a strong sense of “We are making this together” from the beginning.”

The songs included in “Nobody’s fault” is also centered by fellow 2nd generation members Morita Hikaru and Fujiyoshi Karin. Yamasaki positively talks about wanting to change her relationship with these girls.

“I am truly bad at communicating my feelings to others, so when I try to talk, I almost always end up running out of things to say. But even if we don’t speak, there are things that we can feel from each other, and there is really the feeling of wanting to support each other. But I can’t help but think “Am I supporting her?” or “Sorry you always end up supporting me”, so without thinking too much of those feelings, I want to communicate with them more honestly, even if it’s slowly.”

Although the pressure of being a Center is light, she said that there are times when she suddenly comes back to her senses  during the lessons.

“There are often times when I freeze looking at myself standing in front of the mirror.. But when that happened everyone was nearby, so I felt that the burden had been slightly lifted up. Since the 1st generation members have already overcome their debut once, they are supporting us with that experience, and it makes us feel reassured. I think that the 2nd generation members are also able to share the workload without taking on too much.”

After about 2 years, she welcomed a new start. When asked about what she would like to do in the future, a question commonly asked at the end of an interview, Yamasaki answered with a clear, straight look that easily broke through any predetermined answer. 

“I try not to create an ideal. Of course, there’s also the fact that I can’t, but I always want to create something that exceeds the imagination of myself and the people around me. I think that “Perhaps it’s okay to not decide on too many things”. I want to properly take in what I can learn from my seniors, such as dance, how to behave on location, how to spend time in the dressing room and so on, and break it down in my mind. I hope that I can learn a lot, and connect it to how I express things in my own way.”

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Original Article (Even more pictures!)

Translation: toomuchidea

QC: Cirrus, Kiryu