Koike Minami's interview in BLT November 2021

 

Q With the arrival of autumn came the unexpected opportunity to speak at length with you, Koike-san, and we are delighted to have you for another long interview for the third year in a row. This time I hope that we can go briefly back in time to the start of Summer, looking back from around the time of W-KEYAKI FES 2021.

Koike: The BACKS members were a step ahead in performing in front of the fans in BACKS LIVE!!, for which I watched Days 1 and 2 online, as well as Day 3 at the venue… On Day 1, when the members appeared for the first song, “Nobody’s Fault,” they all looked really fired up. And it was apparent even with their teary eyes. I only saw it through my screen, and it’s something that only the members who actually stood in that place would know, but it must’ve been such a nostalgic sight after performing in empty halls for the longest time, that I thought they were perhaps feeling a renewed joy from being able to finally perform in front of the fans, realizing it is not something we can take for granted.

That’s why even when I went to the venue on Day 3, it was hard to imagine what it looked like from the stage, but when I stood on the W-KEYAKI FES stage, seeing the fans on the other side clapping their stick balloons, I could finally understand: “So this is the sight that made the BACKS members all teary-eyed”... My feelings of gratitude for the fans who came to watch us came gushing from the bottom of my heart once again.

Q Did the feelings you had as a beginner come back to you, or did it feel like you had returned to your roots?

Koike: The early Keyaki days were so packed with things, I wonder when I started to become more aware of the audience… I don’t remember when precisely, but since we entered this pandemic, my feelings for the fans started to overflow, especially during concerts. I feel truly grateful for them every day. Of course, I think that there are things that can also be conveyed through online streaming, and there are performances that can only be done because of the online format. But being able to directly communicate what we wanted to show and see it reach the audience first-hand made me really feel how great doing a concert in front of the fans is.

Moreover, when I got close to the audience, there were even some fans who were crying. At first I was so nervous that I didn’t really have time to look at the audience, but I calmed down after performing a few songs, and when I did look at them, there were those who were crying, and there were those who were enjoying it with a smile on their faces… I thought, “How long has it been since I last saw this?” and simply felt deeply moved.

Then the next day I watched Hinata(zaka46)-chan’s performance from the audience, but the fans who were in front of us looked at the stage instead of the monitor, and they were really enjoying the concert, saying “Wasn’t that member’s dancing just now amazing?” I was able to enjoy how wonderful a live performance is by hearing actual comments like that from the fans.

Q I imagine that you will experience that kind of feeling many times during your current national arena tour. The final leg will be held in Saitama Super Arena, right?

Koike: Yes. In Keyaki times, we performed at Saitama Super Arena for an event just once (VIVA LA POP 2018 which was held in May 2018), but since this will be our first solo live there, we feel happy about it as well. We’re just grateful to be able to receive this opportunity considering the current situation the world is in…

Q You are still in rehearsals at the time of this interview, but I think that the group’s strength has increased as you’re moving toward one goal which is the tour. How do you feel about that, Koike-san?

Koike: I can’t give specific details, but I think that you will get the impression of “On the attack.” The staff have been very particular about the stage production, and above all, it will be our first national tour as Sakurazaka, so since the rehearsals I could feel that the members are putting more spirit into it than ever before. To describe it in steps, the distance between members who participated in BACKS LIVE!! was greatly reduced, and during W-KEYAKI FES rehearsals there were many moments when Sakura Eight members were helped by them. In this tour after those experiences, regardless of whether one is an Eight, BACKS, 1st or 2nd generation member, we are all able to say things like “Can you teach me this part?” without feeling shy.

It has become a normal occurrence to see 1st gens asking 2nd gens about something, and for a 2nd generation member to raise things they aren’t sure about when we are confirming the details of the choreography and say “I’d like to double-check this part.” I feel that it’s something really good for the group myself. I feel that the two live performances that we did in June and July raised the strength of the group, so I’m expecting that we will gain a lot from our upcoming tour as well.

Q The openness in communication really comes through from your words.

Koike: But when playing around in the dressing room or such, (the 2nd generation members) feel so junior-like, they are just so cute! So cute that I would give them a pat on the head (laughs).

Q Is there someone you have been fond of recently?

Koike: (Fujiyoshi) Karin-chan. There is a game that we often play recently. When Karin-chan is standing and zoning out, I would put in my hands between her armpits like an electrical outlet. But if I don't do it nicely, she would run right away (laughs).

T/N: Something like this

But she knows that I’m the culprit, so she would ask, “You just did it from behind, didn’t you?” It made me really happy. In any case, I love Karin-chan, and I send her my “love beam” with my gaze, but Karin-chan would first say, “Somehow I really don’t like Koike-san’s gaze.” I would then be like “Eh, you don’t like it?” and she goes along with it and replies “Um, I like it...” so I personally think that we might have the most “mutual love” fufufu.

Q There sure are a lot of members who like Fujiyoshi-san. With Watanabe Risa-san at the top of the list.

Koike: Not at all! I think our love is more mutual than Risa’s! I was also the first to confess my love for Karin-chan, I even said that to Risa. But Risa said, “That’s fine. Since I like her (one-sidedly).”

Q What do you feel about that, Koike-san?

Koike: I’m like, “Sure~…” (laughs). And right now Risa is into (Masumoto) Kira-chan and (Morita) Hikaru-chan, she’s showering them with love like “Cute~” Risa calls me a “player,” but I think that Risa is the most “player”-like~! I think that the Risa that the fans see, the Risa that we 1st gens know, and the Risa that plays with the 2nd gens are completely different. So I hope that one day, the fans can also see the Risa who likes to be spoiled.

Q By the way, what is it about Fujiyoshi-san that attracts the members, including yourself?

Koike: It may seem as though Karin-chan always wears the same expression, but there are subtle differences. You can also really see joy or sadness there, so on the contrary, I feel that she is an emotionally expressive person. She’s “easy to read” in that sense, so I can tell whether “I can tease her right now” or “I should leave her alone for now.” There’s that side to her, so for me… she is like a “little sister that I want to protect.”

Q So it makes you, as an only child, happy to feel like an older sister. I think that Habu Mizuho-san, who is also an only child, gives me a different impression as well.

Koike: That’s right, Habu-chan is my older sister after all... (Looking like she remembered something) That’s right, Habu-chan calls many members her “sweetheart,” doesn’t she? It happened the other day when I squatted down, Habu-chan came over and said, “What’s wrong, little kitten?” And then the staff member next to me was like, “It’s because (Koike is) the original sweetheart”~ (laughs).

Q Just how many sweethearts does she have? (laughs)

Koike: I know, right~? It’s like how many do you even have when you talk about there being an “original” (laughs). But I think that Habu-chan is actually cool. She’s hard on herself, but she doesn’t show that, and even when she seems a little worried, she doesn’t show it in her actions. But since we’ve been together for a long time, I can sort of sense it, like if she has something in mind. And when I approach her, she would enter this “spoiled mode.” I want to be by her side at those times, so for a short moment, I became the older sister (laughs).

Q What a pleasant relationship (laughs). Returning to the topic with Fujiyoshi-san, in the 3rd single, Koike-san and Fujiyoshi-san moved from Sakura Eight to backs position. It’s a sensitive topic, but do you share your feelings and thoughts about that with each other?

Koike: We don’t talk much about our own positions, but we talk quite deeply about the group as a whole, in terms of performance, the current state of Sakurazaka from an objective point of view and such. She is easy to talk with because what we think and our opinions tend to be relatively in line with each other. Karin-chan also reaches out to me, and often I’ll  talk about what I’m feeling as well. Like, “What should we do to make things better than they are now?” But I think that it’s something that all members understand, so we talked about how it’s going to be an individual effort as well. Even though both Karin-chan and I are not a part of Eight this time, I am sure that we felt it and came to terms with it in different ways. But I sense that what we think about the next single is the same. In the first place, Karin-chan is one of the members that I’ve been talking about the group with since quite a while ago, so it’s not like our positions this time led to us talking.

Q So that’s how it was. In any case, it was a pretty flimsy suspicion... This is something Risa-san talked about, but she said, “When I look at the 2nd generation members, I see ourselves from several years ago in them.” Do you feel the same, Koike-san?

Koike: This is just what I feel personally… But when I look at the 2nd generation members, it’s not just “It’s like ourselves from a few years ago” but I also don’t want to forget the hunger we had back then. I wondered if perhaps the reason the 2nd gens are saying “for the group” and becoming so hard on themselves is because of our inadequacies as 1st gens.

Even though the 1st generation members are the ones who have experienced more things than the 2nd generation, I can’t say that I’ve been able to translate that into confidence. And yet, I sometimes feel that we accept how lenient we are with ourselves all too easily. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough, or that it was a wasted opportunity, and if I can give back with the experience I’ve gained so far by sharing it with the 2nd generation, I think that the group can become even stronger. Since looking at the 2nd generation members makes me realize what I’m lacking in and recognize things I should improve on…

Entering Keyaki and standing in the positions of members who have graduated, that’s not something we as 1st gens have experienced. I wondered what the 2nd generation members felt at the time… I think that if we could understand what the other has experienced and felt, it would lead to a greater sense of togetherness. I hope that the 1st gens and 2nd gens can become closer like that, and be able to comfortably share our thoughts with each other.

Q I think that’s a wonderful way of thinking about things. Building on that, could you tell us about your current feelings toward the group and such in greater detail?

Koike: My sense is that the impression people have of Sakurazaka46 as a group is still very vague. I thought about it during W-KEYAKI FES as well, when I received a lot of questions like “Are you going to perform that Keyaki song?” through the letter function of the mobame app. Even if a lot of people may have made the connection that it would be that kind of concert due to the name, I also felt that there is still a strong desire among many fans for us to perform Keyaki songs. When I talk with my friends too, they’ll say, “I was just listening to a Keyaki song~” and it makes me feel like, “Oh, not a Sakura song…”

But I also accept that this is what the current situation is. Perhaps those who are not our fans might not even know that Keyakizaka has changed its name to Sakurazaka, and there might still be a greater level of name recognition for Keyakizaka than Sakurazaka. That’s why while it’s about to be a year since our renaming, the feeling of “we haven’t accomplished anything” is still strong within me. Even when I’m performing, it always feels like something is lacking or something isn’t being conveyed. I can’t tell for sure what the reason is, but I think that there is still something that we lack, and that’s something I’m always trying to figure out.

I once asked my friends, “Do you know any Sakurazaka songs?” and they replied, “I don’t know what the name is, but I know there is a song like this.” Then when I play it, they’d say “Yeah, it’s this one!” But they don’t know what the title is. That’s how it is right now, and I wondered if it’s due to our lack of ability… feeling like we are constantly unable to go one step further.

I have absolutely no intention of comparing Keyaki and Sakura, nor do I want to end up rejecting Keyaki by comparing the two. I don’t want to erase the path I have taken or the memories I have made, but since Keyakizaka’s mark still remains in this world, I think it’s our challenge to make Sakurazaka46’s group name and songs even more widely known. Nogizaka-san and Hinatazaka-chan have representative songs that people can give both the title and melody of, right? I want to make ourselves known to the extent that those who aren’t fans could also name a song when asked about Sakurazaka46.

Q I imagine that through the national tour and the release of the 3rd single “Nagaredama”, you will be able to find “something certain” in your future activities.

Koike: For me… I want to channel what I felt when I heard what the formation this time was going to be into my performances. But not just channeling it blindly, as it would be meaningless if I didn’t properly convey it. That is also a challenge for myself. We don’t like to feel as though what we’re doing is already complete, or rather, we often think about how we can ensure that we reach our audience. That’s why our mindset is not one of “someone else is doing it for us,” but rather one of wanting to come together as a single group while individually having our own strong sense of “not giving up.”

Q Going back to an earlier topic, if it's okay with you, could you talk about your feelings when you first heard about the formation…?

Koike: Even though I’ve been in Sakura Eight and the title song since the 1st single, I’ve always felt that I was on the borderline in being selected for it. I never liked that version of myself. Like I wondered why I had that kind of feeling. Then, in the announcement for the 3rd single, my name was called last in the 3rd row for the title song. There was a part of me that went, “Ah, called it.” Following that, a feeling of frustration began to build up inside me. I don’t know what the right thing to think about during times like these is, but sometimes I think that the reason why my 1st generation self harbors this feeling of frustration is because she’s still immature.

Ever since Keyaki times, I’ve always felt frustration regarding the formation and my own position, like, “I haven’t grown.” In the letters I received from the fans too, there were quite a few messages from fans who saw through what I was thinking, and it made me feel even more frustrated... It’s not that I want to lie to myself, nor do I want to pretend to feel something I don’t, but my fans were able to see right through me, and more than anything I feel frustrated at myself for accepting that it was something that was to be expected. But now, on the contrary, I think that it’s a chance. Just because we use a formation system now doesn’t change the fact that the works are conveyed by every member participating in each song, and there’s no need to hold myself back when performing either, so I’d like to express what I want to in my own way. That is what I think right now.

Q I guess if you look at it from a different perspective, you could say that you are being strict with yourself.

Koike: I feel happy when the staff and other members tell me “This part is good”... but it makes me wonder if they are just being mindful. Strangely, I can straightforwardly accept the praise Kobayashi Yui gives me. It’s because she doesn’t just praise me, but also gives out criticism. That’s why what Yuipon (Kobayashi Yui) says allows me to think, “Oh, is that so? Then I guess I can praise myself a bit.”

Like Karin-chan, Yuipon and I have quite a lot of similarities, and we naturally started talking about deeper matters. I once told her, “You don’t have to be so strict with yourself like that,” but from Yuipon’s point of view that’s the same with me (= Koike) as well. Myself aside, Yuipon is really serious about herself, and she’s the same way about the group… I think that's something everyone can agree with, but I feel that she might be straining herself. And I’m a year older than her too (laughs), so I thought “I want her to take it easy when she’s with me at least~”, and she has gradually let herself get spoiled.

Since I’ve also been a Sakura Eight member until recently, we were often together, like on breaks during MV shoots, but for the 3rd single I only participate in songs that (Tamura) Hono-chan is centering, so during the production period, Yuipon would send me LINE messages saying, “I’m feeling lonely~”. I think that part of her is cute too. It made me happy feeling that I was needed, and I thought that I could look after her through LINE, so we could talk about trivial things or fool around. (*This interview was recorded before Kobayashi Yui announced her hiatus).

Q When I imagine Kobayashi-san, who is so strict with herself, letting herself get spoiled by Koike-san, it’s really heartwarming (laughs).

Koike: When she came to talk with me about trivial things, like “The other day, this happened~”, it made me happy and at ease. I truly love the members, especially the 1st generation members with whom I have overcome many things together with, so they are a very important presence to me. But you could say that Yuipon is a bit more special. I can tell her anything about myself… I don’t know what the correct analogy is, but she is closer to a best friend or comrade in arms.

Q Around when did the distance between you two start to close like that?

Koike: From the latter half of Keyaki. Around the time during “Kuroi Hitsuji” activities. I… I don't think I have talked about this much, but at the time I was thinking of graduating. I didn’t seek advice nor even talk with anyone about it, but perhaps because Yuipon somehow sensed it, she reached out to me. She said, “Miichan (Koike) has these good sides,” and talked about the image of Koike Minami as seen by Yuipon without rejecting anything about me.

She said, “It’s good that you don’t hide parts of yourself that you think are weak,” and that really resonated with me… Hearing her say that it’s good to show the parts of me I think of as a negative and how she affirms everything about me made me truly happy, and it made me change my mind, “Maybe I should continue a little longer…” I conveyed my gratitude to Yuipon on her birthday the next year, but she said, “Eh~ I didn’t realize (any sign of graduating)”. She might have said that from being shy, but she then said, “I’m the one who should be thanking you”. Because I’m also indebted to her for that, I want to spoil Yuipon (laughs).

Q So something like that happened…

Koike: Because of what happened between Yuipon and me, I started to be able to share my feelings with the other members as well. Until then, I couldn’t really talk about myself. But when I understood that someone like Kobayashi Yui is by my side, I started to think that it’s okay for me to talk about it not just with Yuipon, but with other members as well. I was slow to realize it, but from that point on, I could open my heart in the truest sense to the 1st generation members… I truly think that it is thanks to Yuipon.

Q If you hold things in on your own, it becomes progressively harder to bear, doesn’t it?

Koike: During the “Hitsuji” period, I often cried. I was worried that I’d just be making people worry if they saw it, so I would shut myself in a bathroom stall. And then Yuipon would come… and we would have a conversation like I just described through the door.

Q It feels like a scene from a movie.

Koike: Yuipon was cool then too. She said, “Miichan, you can come out (from the stall) whenever you’re ready.” I opened the door after some time had passed, but Yuipon was no longer there. Actually, she left as soon as she said that, but like… I thought that’s very Yuipon-like. She’s cool and cute, what a wonderful person.

Q I think that the experience of having your heart saved like that could be utilized in caring for other members, but what do you think?

Koike: For me, I told Inori (Inoue Rina) and other 2nd generation members that “You can talk to me casually.” That’s why I actually feel happy about being called “Pomu (= Koike’s pet dog’s name)” instead. It’s something very gratifying for me to have a relationship that is free of walls like that. Since it’s not that easy to have a relationship where the sense of distance is small enough that you feel it’s ok to tease each other. Speaking of which, during W-KEYAKI FES, when I asked the make-up artist to apply pink blush on me, Inori teasingly said, “Huh~ So senior is using pink~” (laughs). When I asked, “Then what color would Inori use?” she said, “Me? It’s orange, a mature color~”... It’s fun to be able to fool around with them about something small like that. You could say that it feels sisterly.

And Matsuri (Matsuda Rina)-chan has recently been calling me “Miichan.” On top of that, she’s a bit reluctant about it and instead of speaking in a loud voice, she comes really close to me and shyly says “......Miichan.” And that’s so cute too! Her puppy-like feeling that you can’t imagine coming from the same Matsuri-chan that has been making cheers and comments in the background of SokoSaku (Soko Magattara, Sakurazaka?) is so cute. When she was finally able to call me “Miichan” without whispering, I praised her like I would Pomu, like “Good girl! Good girl!” (laughs).

I want to spoil more members like that, and for them to call me “Miichan.” That’s why it made me so happy how they came to me during BACKS LIVE!! and said, “Please teach me” or “Please let me take a dance video of you.” That live concert was big for us, in the sense that it broke down walls like those between us too.

Q Indeed. With that in mind, let’s conclude our interview with what the present you will do for the group, for others, and for yourself.

Koike: As for what I’d do for the group, I talked about it earlier too, but I have this “aspiration” to make Sakura songs more widely sought after. Not only to make more people know of our songs, but also to have non-fans humming them and singing them a lot at karaoke.

And as for the members… I want them to always be smiling, so I’d like to be able to create that kind of environment. Recently, (Endo) Hikari-chan also began to rest her chin on my shoulder and let herself be spoiled by me, which is really so cute. When that happens, I would ask, “What’s wrong?” and most of the time she seemed to look troubled, so I would say, “You don’t have to tell me, just come here for now~” and give her a hug. It seems that Habu-chan is also spoiling her like that, but I very much welcome them to come to me. I want to be someone they can come to and feel at ease with.

And I also want the 1st generation and 2nd generation to each share their experiences and what they’ve felt. I want us to be a stronger group. At times like this, I can’t think of myself. There are so many things that I want to achieve as a group… That’s why I’d like to stay in the group until the day I feel that I’ve achieved everything I could as a member of Sakurazaka. That is my sincere feeling right now.

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Translation: tmi

QC: Cirrus, Peezy

Raw: Kiryu