Yamasaki Ten interview in SWITCH Vol. 43 (October 2025 Edition)

 

2020 - 2022

Q In an interview last year, you said that you took the group’s renaming into Sakurazaka46 very positively, so were you not feeling anxious at all in that situation when it was still not clear what lies ahead for the group?

Yamasaki: No, I did feel that. All the songs included in our debut single are different from one another, and I often discussed with members on which path we should take as a group. So when we were asked “What is Sakurazaka-likeness?” during interviews, we didn’t really know how to answer that. We didn’t know where our differences with Keyakizaka were, so to say, what should we say to be our strengths, there were so many options that it was difficult to sum them all into one.

Q After the new year, the group releases its second single “BAN”, and as you start doing group activities in its fullest such as holding the first tour, what were Yamasaki-san thinking in the period?

Yamasaki: Generally I did everything with a feeling of enjoyment, but how to say it, ever since I entered Keyakizaka it’s not like I’ve ever properly participated in a CD release, and it was a time where I was still not used to filming and recording, so there was this impression that we all did together while learning. Even when it comes to dancing, it was still something I didn't enjoy at the time of “BAN”.

Q It’s a pretty shocking difference compared to the current Yamasaki-san.

Yamasaki: I really hated dancing. It was a time where my core was not solid and my dance moves still wavered, and I had no dance experience at all, I would even stumble when I turned. I especially hated “BAN”... Well, “hate” is a pretty strong word (laughs), but it was because it is difficult to dance. The level of the dance was incomparable to the first single, “Nobody’s fault”, and back then I was so unable to dance it that I felt down. But then in the third single, “Nagaredama”, I learned the fun of practicing. I was hooked into this feeling of, “Practicing something is really fun!”, and from there I came to become really fond of dancing. I find it interesting to study the choreography, so to say. And from there I’ve finally had the leeway to look at my surroundings, so to speak, I think I was able to have the leeway to start looking at the group as a whole. When I look back to it like this… I really gave it my all back then, at the beginning. I felt that my skills can’t catch up to everyone else’s. I really struggled.

Q And in the next year, you were entrusted to become the center of the lead song of the next single, “Samidare yo”. I heard that you felt confusion on how it was a completely different song than ever before, on the worldview of the lyrics, and as a result weren't really able to understand the song.

Yamasaki: That’s right. Even now I feel nervous when performing this song at concerts, so much so it makes me want to ask, “Is it really fine for me to be the one centering this song?” (laughs). I can’t help but to think that this song would become more alive if it were centered by someone else. But there are a lot of people who said that they like this song, and their support has become my driving force.

Q And Yamasaki-san double-centered the lead song for the first album “As you know?”, “Masatsukeisuu”, together with Morita Hikaru-san.

Yamasaki: I really like this album. All the members went to Okinawa for the jacket photoshoot, and the pictures were really good, and it felt like an experience that will never happen again, so I was really happy about it. I’m also happy to have been able to create an album together with these members and be able to become a double-center with Hikaru. It feels reassuring to have Hikaru next to me, it’s like I become able to enjoy myself to the fullest. There was nothing that I feel worried about.

Q What kind of presence was Morita-san for you back then, Yamasaki-san?

Yamasaki: She was someone I hung out with and went out for meals with every day. In that sense, she’s like… it’s not like she’s my sister or my family, but she’s something more than just a friend. It’s strange. And moreover, Hikaru is someone so funny. She's someone that I’ve never met before in my life, so when we are together there is truly no end to our laughter… though it doesn’t mean that we share the same opinions (laughs).

Q The members were smiling in the jacket picture of “As you know?”, which is rare for a Sakurazaka work, isn’t it?

Yamasaki: At the time the filming was about “Let’s laugh to the fullest!” in the Okinawa beach, and everyone really went out for it and got over our worries. It felt like we had suddenly been released from the armor that we have been wearing until then. There was this feeling that, with the release of this album, we finally became able to see what Sakurazaka-likeness is. I think that in that sense, in the tour that happened afterwards, it has become a tour where we become able to see the shape of Sakurazaka. We all also thought that we were able to create a different show than Keyaki, and I really felt that was also the period where we became a one big team together with the show staff members.

2023 - 2025

Q In the next year, 3rd generation members newly entered the group, and I received the impression that with every release; “Sakurazuki”, “Start over!”, “Shoninyokkyu”, the group increased its momentum. In November, the group’s first stadium concert (Two days at ZOZO Marine Stadium) was held, and I wondered if you noticed the sudden increase of fans?

Yamasaki: Right… I was shocked. Not just on being able to stand on such a huge stage on such a wide venue, but even more by the fact that there are so many people who want to watch Sakurazaka. Concerts are places that allow you to feel that, that lets you see it with your own eyes.

Q The wider the venue is, the more audience there is, and does your joy and fun increase as you perform?

Yamasaki: Ahh, but it’s not exactly like that… It’s complicated. People tend to think that we are successful when we are able to perform a concert at a large venue, and certainly a visible easy to understand number is easier to understand. But rather than how big the venue is, I think that the content of the concert and what the audience thinks is more important than that. So the more people come to watch, the more distant they are from the stage, it becomes harder for us to deliver what we want to convey; it’s complicated, isn’t it?  Even though they want to genuinely enjoy the concert, they can’t really enjoy it because of how far they are sitting from the stage. And if that doesn’t make them want to come to Sakurazaka concert again, it’ll make me feel frustrated. How should we hold a concert that can be enjoyed in the seats furthest from the stage? What can we do as members to achieve that? That is what I have always been thinking lately.

Q To create a concert that makes even those sitting the furthest want to come again, that is certainly not something easy to do.

Yamasaki: That’s right. And the bigger the venue becomes, the harder it is as well, and if you ask me if I feel happy about performing at bigger venues… I don’t know, like, it’s a really good thing for the group and I am grateful for it, but that means more pressure and things that we have to do, right? Of course, the members will need to improve their skills, so it’s a matter whether we can keep up or not. In that sense, even now I still feel anxious about it.

Q You were entrusted to be the title song center for the second time for “Ikutsu no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?” which was released in 2024. What were your thoughts on being the center on this occasion?

Yamasaki: Hmm. Wonder what it was? But the most consistent thing in my mind is how I almost never have any thought of “Because I’m the center…”. That is because I have the thinking of, “Sakurazaka song is something that we all make together, no?”

Q Speaking of, I think that in this single period there were many times where you were presented as the face of the group. What do you think of it?

Yamasaki: But still, I can’t bring myself to feel that way. I think that the fans are the ones with the feeling of excitement of wondering who will be the next center, but I think that what Sakurazaka truly wants to do and show are not things like that. I want them to enjoy Sakurazaka as a group, as a whole, through each song and concert. While of course each member has their own charm, I strongly wish that they can look at the group as a whole, so even now I don't put much thought into positions.

Q All of the 1st generation members have graduated this year, and with the entrance of new 4th generation members, I think that Yamasaki-san’s position in the group will also change. How do you interact with your juniors?

Yamasaki: I wonder? I’m not the kind of person who goes out my way to interact with my seniors (laughs). But with the graduation of all the 1st generation members, the 2nd generation inevitably needs to be the ones to take lead, and I do have that awareness. You can say that my biggest goal right now is to make sure that my juniors are growing properly. My juniors are packed with so much charm, and I really think a lot on how I can make use of their charms. They are the ones who will be leading Sakurazaka from now on, and right now I’d like to raise them properly so that I can entrust Sakurazaka to them at any given time… though it’s not like I’m planning to quit (laughs).

Q When you look back to the past five years like this, what comes to mind?

Yamasaki: Sometimes I think of how strange my life is on the way home. Like, I never imagined that my life would be like this. But at the same time, there is also a part of me who feels really excited about what I will be doing in the future. Lately I’ve been able to go overseas a lot, and I feel that not only the members, but the staff members, those we work with, and those who have been watching Sakurazaka get even more passionate by the year. This makes me really happy, and I want to respond to those feelings even more. For me, that’s also connected to what makes it meaningful to do what I’m currently doing for the group.

Q Yamasaki-san is turning 20 this year. From 15 years old to 20, you have spent half of your teens in Sakurazaka.

Yamasaki: Yes. But there is also the feeling of “My teenage years are finally over”. Everyone often say “You’re turning 20 already!?”, but for me it feels like, “Finally” (laughs). My teens feel pretty long. But in that time, the Buddies have supported us with much more passion than we imagine, there was even a time where they did a lot of things in order to present Sakurazaka with an award. A lot changed from there. And I think that the members’ love for the group properly blossomed too.

Q So your love for the group has deepened thanks to the feelings of the fans.

Yamasaki: Yes. At first I didn’t expect the group to be cherished this much, and to be honest, felt like giving up… That’s just how low our expectations were. But there are those who keep on cheering and believing in us without giving up, and there are those who become newly interested in Sakurazaka… And we started to feel like, “The group is loved this much, why are we not loving it too?”. And from there I started to have the awareness that Sakurazaka is the group that I belong to, so to say. It’s not that I have only finally been able to love Sakurazaka, but it is something that I have finally come to realize after these past five years. That this is the group that we created. But the battle is just starting, as it feels like it is only now we finally become able to stand upright on our two feet, so I think the real battle is to decide what kind of path we will be walking on from now on, and what kind of things Sakurazaka will deliver to the world. I will continue to do my best.

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Raw: Kiryu

Translation: tmi

QC: meg