Morita Hikaru & Tamura Hono interview in SWITCH June 2026 Edition

 

Q As you approached the “5th Anniversary Live”, what kind of concert did you want to make it to be?

Tamura: While of course it was such a big venue, it is first and foremost a concert “celebrating the 5th year anniversary of Sakurazaka46”, so there was a strong feeling of wanting to make it into a concert where we could properly convey our gratitude to all of the Buddies who have been supporting us until now. And I’d be happy if, by watching our performance, they could feel glad to have been supporting such a group. I also think there were a lot of people coming to see us for the first time, so I hoped that those people could also come to think “Sakurazaka46 is kind of good” or “This concert feels so good, it’s so fun”... It’s a rough way of putting it, but I wanted it to be a concert where those people could feel glad to have come, that they could have fun. If you point out that it’s no different from any other concert, then indeed, it doesn’t.

Morita: In the setlist and stage productions, there were parts where we showed the current Sakurazaka46, as well as parts where we showed what Sakurazaka46 has built up until this point, and productions that were only possible because of the journey we've taken over these five years together. It is filled with Sakurazaka46’s present and past. Parts where we conveyed our gratitude to those who have been supporting us since the beginning, and parts where we showed those who are coming to watch Sakurazaka46’s concert for the first time just what kind of concert we are showing. We didn’t want anyone to feel left behind, so our biggest feeling is of wanting to celebrate our 5th anniversary together with everyone and have fun.

Q What did you prepare for most carefully during the rehearsal period?

Tamura: There were a lot of new choreographies or new arrangements than ever before for this concert, so I think that we took our time to thoroughly check each and every song. But, the one we spent the most time on was probably “Nobody’s fault”. For us, especially the original members of this song, it might be the song that we have performed the most in Sakurazaka46– which is of course something natural because of how long ago it was released, so we also have a lot of emotional attachment to it. The choreography is simple, but that is precisely why we have to work on synchronizing every single detail. It’s easy to just think, “That’s good enough” and just stop there, so I think it is especially important this time to convey to our juniors the meaning of not compromising and pursuing perfection through this song. And it’s not just about the choreography alone, rather than trying to convey what the choreography is like, it is more like we intended to convey what we have been doing all these time. We did this with the hope that the choreography of ‘Nobody’s fault’ would also continue unchanged down to the smallest details, as Sakurazaka46 continues on.

Morita: Even something as simple as the direction of one’s face can look quite different when viewed as a whole, and if it’s slightly a few angles off can completely change the meaning. The song seems simple, but I think that it is the most difficult song, so we all paid close attention to those details during the rehearsal. In the rehearsal place, because I was positioned to stand at the very back, I can see everyone. So if there was anything that bothered me, even if it is something small, I made sure to talk about it.

Q What did you feel when you stood on the stage of National Stadium at the opening of the concert, seeing it filled with an audience?

Tamura: First, Fujiyoshi (Karin) walked forward at the center, and then when we all came out to stand in a row, everyone applauded at once. I was truly so happy when I heard that applause. We didn’t just perform on the stage to show our sparkling selves on the stage, but the most important feeling is how we have made it here together with the Buddies. And what I heard at the time was such warm applause, as if they were sincerely celebrating our big moment and made me think, “Eh? You guys are welcoming us this warmly?”. That welcome really hit me hard. That applause made us feel how close we are better than any “Wooo” or “Kyahh” or any other cheerings.

Q In the concert, there was a part in the middle where each generation performed one after another, and the expression of the 2nd generation members was particularly memorable to me.

Morita: The graduation of our fellow 2nd generation member, Takemoto (Yui), was announced and it made me think that it was probably the last time we can perform with that line-up. “Aozora ga Mierumade” started with the staging where the center, Ozono (Rei) and the members looked and nodded at each other, but even at that point Zono (Ozono) already had her tears welling up (laughs). My position was quite close to Zono’s, and you can say that I got swept along in the emotion too… Seeing the members with tears welling up like that really drew out my own emotions as well, so to say; I come to think of it as an even more precious time. The 2nd generation have been working together for eight years now, and every day I couldn’t help but to keenly feel not to take for granted the time that we can spend doing our activities together. It made me feel even more deeply how precious this “time with the 2nd generation”is.

Q What about Tamura-san?

Tamura: I wasn’t that affected, I was more of someone who would go to think “Ahh, they are crying” or “They are so cute” (laughs). As Sakurazaka46 has a lot of songs about expressing one’s feelings toward someone, I think that this song is one sung by a 2nd generation member to another. I sang while looking at 2nd generation members the entire time. While I came up on the main stage, Hiichan (Morita), Rei-chan, and (Moriya) Rena-chan were in the center stage, and we danced while facing each other during the intro. To be honest, I was dancing while looking at the members the whole time too. At the time I was really feeling how nice that moment was. I could feel a connection between the 2nd generation members, and really had a lot of fun, it was such a lovely moment.

Q And then, regarding “Nobody’s fault” that was performed at the end of the main show, as we discussed earlier, I think that it held a special meaning in this concert. What were your thoughts as you performed it?

Morita: Personally, I really wanted to cherish the origin of Sakurazaka46 in this concert. Before the first day's performance, I rewatched the past concert videos. And somehow I suddenly started crying (laughs). I was like, “Ah, it’s so good.” What I watched at that time was the “Nobody’s fault” performed at the end of Keyakizaka46’s Last Live. That “Nobody’s fault” was the first time Sakurazaka46 song performed to the Buddies, and though the feelings that I felt at that time were something that could only exist in that exact moment t, I wanted to stand on the stage while carrying feelings that are just as strong. And then after we sang, the letter VI appeared on the monitor behind us, and together we started to walk toward our 6th year; that stage production was slightly similar to the Last Live one. Seeing for myself the number of people who had come to the venue because they wanted to watch Sakurazaka46’s concert compared to how it was back then made me so happy, and we had never expected that we’d be able to become what we are now … I found myself wishing we could let our past selves see this.

Tamura: Back then we went from having no audience to having audiences, but there was a period when the venues were not fully fill up. But we had a lot of confidence in Sakurazaka46, and so we continued to give our all in everything that we could do. Amidst of that, at times we feel worried about how we could get more people to know about us, and we spent a long time struggling together with that question; those are the feelings within “Nobody’s fault”. So when we perform this song, we have a strong desire to show the Buddies who have always been with us since then the same feeling of desperation we had back then. The current Sakurazaka46 could exist because of the foundation that us and Buddies made together back then. It is such a precious song for me.

Q Then lastly, among all the sceneries that you have seen on those to days, please tell me which one is the most vividly engraved into your memory.

Tamura: Hmm… I’ll go with “Ikutsu no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?”

Morita: I thought exactly the same thing (laughs).

Q Why is it?

Tamura: We performed it at the center stage, and the cheers that happened when the intro started were so loud that I could barely hear the sound from my in-ear monitor. The volume of the cheers told me just how much everyone has been waiting for this song. Being surrounded 360 degrees by the Buddies with their glowing penlights, and hearing their passionate voices echoing around me… I really felt that I am performing a concert, that I am alive. It was a moment when all emotions of such happiness to the point that I couldn’t help but smile — pure excitement, and joy are all mixed together into one as I thought, “Sakurazaka46 really is the best!”

Q Is it the same for Morita-san?

Morita: That's right. But “Sakurazuki” also left a strong impression on me. It was already a song dear to me, but I grew to love it even more this time. Even while performing, I could clearly feel the way Buddies were quietly watching and listening so attentively. This song carries a feeling you can really sense for yourself, and I remember that feeling very strongly. It’s a song that depicts meetings and partings, but encounters and farewells always exist, both among the members themselves and between the members and the Buddies, don’t they? Even while performing it, we’re always carrying those bittersweet feelings in our hearts, and I think I’ll continue to remember the emotions I felt on that stage forever. 

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Raw & QC: kiryu

Translations: tmi