Everybody was waiting for the yankii!
Next are all the graduated members, but when this book was written, Yaguchi was still in MM, so I'll start with her first and then go by when the member graduated.
Translated by Fenrir
MM x Tsunku 2
Yaguchi Mari
Looking forward to and feeling the responsibility of creating a new Morning Musume.
On January 31st, Yaguchi Mari became Morning Musume’s 3rd leader. This interview takes place 13 days before that. While saying, “I still don’t feel like it yet,” she frankly talks about looking forward to and feeling the responsibility of creating a new Morning Musume.
While her eyes are shining and glittering like a young girl, sometimes you can see a look of deep understanding that flows out with a quiet calmness.
She says she doesn’t want to be an adult, but certainly, she became an adult.
Birthday: 1983.1.20
Blood Type: A
Birthplace: Kanagawa Prefecture
Debut Song: Summer Night Town (1998.5.27)
Stage Debut: Shibuya Hall (1998.7.12)
Yuko Nohji: Among the members that were in the book, “Morning Musume x Tsunku,” 2 and half years ago, this time, from Goto to Iida, 5 people have graduated.
Yaguchi Mari: It’s been fast, hasn’t it? Each year is fast. It feels like Goto’s graduation was a long time ago. Although it was only almost 2 years ago, I can’t believe it. When Goto, Tsuji, and Kago graduated, I was surprised. Just when I thought graduation went in order by the oldest member, younger members suddenly graduated.
When it is April, another younger member, Ishikawa Rika, will graduate. Don’t you think of why you haven’t graduated yet?
No, I don’t talk about that at all. I wonder why. By the way, doesn’t everybody talk about that (laughs)? But, I think it’s strange.
It’s not that you are rejecting graduation, right?
No, not at all. It’s not that. It’s just that I talk about not wanting to be alone right now. I just have a part of me now that feels that I’m in this entertainment world because I’m still a member. If you say that I’m going solo suddenly, I think that’s impossible. I think just a little more time, please.
In a way, I have an image of you being the most self-reliant in Morning Musume. I see you working solo or a radio host from early on.
Yeah, but I still have a “place to return to”. I have a home in Morning Musume, so I can go out. If I was just by myself, I feel like I lost my home to relax in.
You might become homesick.
Yes. If I was doing it by myself, I think it will get painful being tense all the time. If other members are around, they are willing to listen to me when I’m worried. And they will always cheer me on. When I’m working by myself, the other members will send me lots of mail. At that time, I quietly think, “Ah, being in a group is good.”
Does the group change whenever somebody graduates?
Yes. But, surprisingly, it can be the same as before. For example, when Tsuji and Kago left, I worried about losing the “mood makers,” but the other members naturally filled the gap. We are able to have that kind of relationship. Well, still, every time there is confusion.
Well that is not unusual. There will be sadness.
Everybody often talks about how even if it’s just one person that graduated; it feels like the number of people suddenly dropped a lot. If you think negatively and that the group is becoming smaller and smaller, you start to think, “I have to try harder,” and it becomes a positive feeling. I think that happens naturally.
The “hole” the person who graduated is big, but the Morning Musume “likeness” still continues without changing. I think it’s because the group continues to strongly protect it.
Yes. But there is a really tall hurdle each time.
Does it get higher and higher?
Yes. For example, in Nacchi’s case, she has been in the center for a long time, so the hurdle was really high. Certainly, everybody thought, “How do I get over this?” That’s because it took a lot of years of team work to get to there. But we didn’t get confused and continued to the “next Morning Musume.” It’s a mysterious thing.
You feel that creating a new Morning Musume is stronger than continuing what was from before?
Yes. Therefore, this time, for me, original member Kaori’s graduation will be a very big wall. I feel the responsibility of having to create a “new Morning Musume.” I also have expectations that the real test for this big group is if are able to overcome this. Therefore, this year and next year Morning Musume will be….a time where not voices change, um, voices change? Um, what’s a good word (laughs).
Anyways, you have been receiving especially important scenes up to now.
I think so. That’s quite a big thing. Of course, everybody is also worried. That’s why, as the next leader, I need to calmly and steadily take over from Kaori. Moreover, I think it’s better to do our best together.
How did it feel when they told you were going to be the next leader?
It felt really normal and they said it normally.
Were you surprised?
I was more surprise about Kaori’s graduation. It felt like, “Eh? Kaori is graduating? What am I going to do? What am I going to do?” At the same time, they said, “You are going to be the next leader,” but I was like, “I know that, but is she really going to graduate?” (laughs).
Did you have a hunch that you were going to be the next leader after Iida graduates?
Well, even just thinking about the ages, I probably thought so.
About when did they tell you?
It was 3 days before Kaori’s graduation announcement; the eve of that. Actually, I was worried. The Morning Musume now was focused around Kaori. It was quite daring to have this big of a figure to graduate.
And your responsibility grew heavier.
When Rika graduates, it will just only be me, Yossi, 5th and 6th generation. We have to put out all the power that we have with these members now. In order to do that, each of us have to step out. Certainly the hurdle is suddenly high, but, um, how do I say this… I think we will be able to do a lot of new things. I think everybody, including me, still has a new character to put out.
You are the 3rd leader after Nakazawa and Iida. I wonder what kind of leader do you will be?
Hmm, I wonder. During Mini Moni, I think I was a completely scary leader.
Really?
I yelled angrily a lot. I think I scared Tsuji and Kago. But at that time, they were really naughty kids, so I had to yell. For Morning Musume, each person creates her own noise, but they are members where when it has to be done, they will do it. Unlike Tsuji and Kago, they aren’t a handful.
You sound like a mom who is skilled in raising kids (laughs).
Ahaha. I feel that I can do it without straining myself. And I want to become a leader that they can rely on if they are in trouble.
This might be true in Mini Moni too, but I have this image of you who protects the harmony in the group while moving forward and breaking old traditions.
I know I like doing new things. It’s really fun. I search for things that other people haven’t done, so I think that will continue on. That’s why I’m sure the atmosphere will be different from when Kaori and Yuu-chan were leaders. More like I think it will be good if it turns out like that. If anything, I want it to feel something not felt before.
Do you think about when you will graduate?
It’s not that I don’t think about it, but I just don’t know when that timing will be. When there is something else I want to do besides Morning Musume is when I think I will graduate. About wanting to do something else is like without limiting work I want to get married (laughs). Maybe something like that.
Like having an option to retreat by marriage?
Yes!
That was supposed to be a joke.
No, no, it just if I have to graduate, I don’t want it to be the same as the other kids. I think it’s better to be able to create an original world that nobody has done yet. That’s why I think graduating because of marriage is ok (laughs).
But if you are worrying about things now and after you can’t graduate, right?
I can’t. I wonder how many more years. Well, after I become leader, a retreat through marriage is impossible (laughs).
In these two years, what part of you do you think changed the most? Before you said about once a month there would be a day you would cry at home alone.
Oh, it was like that, huh. Yes, yes. I’m much calmer now than before. I think I have matured a little.
What part for example?
I’ve come to understand the points where I have to bear with it and the parts where I know I shouldn’t be. Before, it was like I just went forward no matter what. Now, I can normally think to let the younger members to do it, instead of me. I think I have matured a little bit in that part.
Yeah, that is maturity.
I usually just plunge straightforward. Tehehe.
2 and half years ago there was in impression that the Yaguchi people thought and the Yaguchi that you wanted to show was poised between trial and error…
Ah, that may be so. That might have been a time where I didn’t think about myself a lot. I was paying too much attention around me and became restless.
Restless?
Yes. Restless. I worried about what other people thought more than what I thought, so I wondered if it was ok to do this or would they get mad if I did this. Very restless. And when I think too much, I can’t do what I want. Like a kid. Well, even now I worry about my surroundings. I’ve come to be able to think about myself more than before. The things I do by myself have increased, so the time to think by myself has increased. I think that is good. On the other hand, after doing work by myself, I notice when I’m back among everybody a lot.
Do you achieve results doing activities both in and out of the group?
Thanks to that, I think I can balance things well. It’s not completely “solo” activities, but it’s not that I can do a concert by myself. However, I can do radio and T.V. work by myself that I haven’t been able to do before. Usually there are members there you can depend upon, so I had to do things by myself. I have learned a lot. And when I go back to Morning Musume, I am more powered up than before.
Having your own name on a radio show is one “solo” activity.
In a way, yes. They have let me do the radio for 4 years. I think having a place where I can talk about myself, even in Morning Musume, is a unique position. Every week it’s a live broadcast, so I’m able to give information about myself, like what I’m doing right now, and what I did on my day off.
Is that a place where you can confirm if you grew or not?
Yeah, it’s a really important place. At first, I didn’t think I would be able to do it. I wondered what in the world I was going to talk about for 2 hours of live broadcast (laughs). I was really embarrassed. But, now, it’s really fun. Even though it’s two hours, it’s not enough. I like it when it changes from worry and embarrassment to “looking forward to it.”
I think you are a beautiful person when you surpass a seemingly impossible high hurdle. But I can’t explain it well.
Ahahahaha, I understand. I understand. That might be so.
If the hurdle was a little lower, I see you passing that hurdle coolly and easily, but with a high hurdle, I see you flying over it (laughs).
Yes, yes. But that is really thanks to the people around me, including the staff, believing in me to take charge. When they say, “If it’s Yaguchi, you will do it, right,” I think I might be able to do it even if I’m worried. My strength comes as I want to meet that expectation no matter what. But sometimes, I think, “Even if you say it, it’s impossible,” (laughs).
While saying that, the end result is that you somehow overcome it.
No matter how worried I am, I still manage to get over it somehow. I think that if I try my best, there’s no hurdle I can’t jump over.
This is a mean way to say it, but I want you to keep doing the impossible (laughs).
Ahahaha, but that’s true. I think so too, even if it’s painful. I think even if you are running down any road calmly, you will surely get tired halfway. Halfway there is a test, so I always think you have to try you best for that. Also, if you do your best, the part that you did will repay you back. I’m happy about that. That’s why I always run to where there is a test.
What has been the most difficult test?
The biggest damage was the time when the first graduated members left.
As a person who still remained in the group.
Yes. When it is time for graduations, I get really naive and that was the most difficult to get over. I’m much better now than before. Long ago, I was always worried for two months after the graduation thinking, “What do I do? What do I do?” Especially when it’s a person who has been with me everyday since joining this world graduates, the time after is different. It was difficult.
Anything else?
Also, when I was in a lot of units. I was at my limit in strength (laughs).
It was a time where you participated in a lot of groups.
The worst one time was when I was in a shuffle and 2 other units… ZYX, ROMANS, the shuffle group, Morning Musume, and… Just doing those jobs at the same time made it difficult to switch my feelings among them. Something like, “Next is with the kids,” “Next, there are a lot of people,” and “Next, there aren’t a lot of people,” (laughs).
When it is like that you aren’t the type who thinks, “I am me,” and go at my pace?
Yes. Being busy rather than the number of groups was tougher during Mini Moni and Tanpopo. All I wanted more than anything else was to have sleeping time (laughs)!
It was tough on your stamina?
Hmm. Mentally, I was surprisingly stable. Changing my feelings was difficult, but it was fun. Things like “I can do this here,” or “I can’t do this here, but I can do it over there,” came out one right after another. There were a lot of chances. I don’t know about my stamina, but I’m happy that I was able to do those things.
Has it become not fun when you are pushed to your limits?
It’s not that I didn’t have those moments. I love my work and singing, so there isn’t a time where I haven’t been able to overcome even if I was thinking that it’s painful. Just when I do that, I have times I don’t like that I’m able to do it. I wondered if I fall here, will they decrease my work load (laughs).
It’s like you hate the self that doesn’t fall down.
But if I don’t fall down, I get to in charge of more and more things. I’m glad that I was able to experience a time like that. While I thought it was really tough, I still realized that I wanted to do my best…. It’s like I woke up. I really understood the fact that I love to sing.
When you joined Morning Musume, you were 15 years old. I think these 7 years are a time that you change the most, even for a normal girl.
When I see old VTRs I see it right away, but I think everything has changed (laughs). I don’t think my personality has changed much, but my mental and physical appearance has changed. Before my debut, I was a normal girl, but when I joined Morning Musume, the thought that everybody can see me was implanted in my head. I started to think, “I have to become prettier,” and “I have to become cuter.”
I wonder if that is a common thought in Morning Musume.
I think so. Even looking at the younger members, they have steadily changed since they joined. Everybody is becoming prettier. Yeah, Morning Musume is definitely that kind of place.
In more ways than one, that is a place where you continue to polish yourself.
But, girls who are by far the most beautiful or really, really cute don’t join Morning Musume.
Really?
Yes. It will surely be a normal girl. Recently, in a way, it feels like she is a “Morning Musume-like girl,” and somehow, it feels like that she will become cute. Even watching the audition on T.V., I think, “Oh, that girl is Morning Musume-like.”
What makes a girl Morning Musume-like?
Umm, I can’ explain it well in words. But, while imagining, “If that girl joined Morning Musume, I wonder how pretty she will turn out to be,” I look from an objective point of view. When a normal girl joins, I look forward to how she will change.
Do you think that it has changed from when you joined to when 5th and 6th generation joined?
I certainly think it has.
It was a generation where people who auditioned looked up to the stellar performance of Morning Musume.
The condition when I joined and now are different. When we first debuted we started from 0. It will obviously be different the amount of change in each person.
It’s amazing that you have been doing the same group activities from the original generation, to the Morning Musume of “Love Machine,” and to a new generation now.
But I don’t really think about that. However, when I suddenly think of it, I think of how amazing it is that I have gone through so many generations. But I don’t have much to think about that with my surroundings now. Moreover, when talking about those things, my older member aura will come out too much and I’ll lose the younger members (laughs). But old talk like that hardly comes up.
When your older member aura comes out, you become atrophied?
If it comes out, I’ll probably restrain myself. If I restrain myself, on the other hand, I become scared (laughs). Well, the past is in the past. But I’ve learned a lot from that time, so I know that part. It feels something like that. Also, I’m doing my best right now.
Lastly, there are two questions from the community. First, from your point of view, what do you think of Tsunku?
A person with lots of love! He is a person who holds a giant size love (laughs). The number of people in Hello! Project has grown considerably. In the little amount of time he sees, he understands each person’s personality. It’s amazing. He is suppose to very busy, so I wonder when he has the chance to look at us. I think it would be impossible to be able to support this many people if he didn’t have a giant size love!
Has communication slowly decreased from the time where he would go to the studio with you guys from before?
Certainly, at the recordings it is not Tsunku, but the project director, and the environment has changed. On the other hand, I feel that the distance from before has shrunk. I think it’s because all of Morning Musume’s songs are by Tsunku. You can really feel his feelings to us in each song. Therefore, even if we meet few and far between, you can feel that it’s always close.
There is a bond. Even if you don’t meet or don’t talk.
That’s because it’s been a long time. Morning Musume is entering its 8th year. This will be my 7th year.
Well then, one other question. What kind of person is Morning Musume Yaguchi Mari? It might be the same answer as last time in “Morning Musume x Tsunku,” but please answer again with what you feel now.
When I’m at the work place, I’m like the “older sister,” but when it’s private time, I like a young boy. Recently, I’ve been getting into things that only boys like.
For example, what kind of things?
Games. When I get home now, I go play video games. When I have a day off, I go to the game center. Also, I love to go to amusement parks to play. I often didn’t go when I was 15-16 years old, so I wonder if that reaction is coming now (laughs). When I get off work, I just think about playing.
Well, I think that is perfectly normal for a person working to think like that.
But, usually when a 20 year old say “play,” isn’t it playing more mature things? For example, going to a darts bar or going out to eat with your friends? But it’s not like that and I go to game centers and amusement parks. I think, “What’s going on?”
Well, certainly you don’t have an adult image.
I don’t. I’m totally like a boy. It’s like not caring to be exposed and romping in a zoo.
A zoo, huh (laughs)?
I went to the zoo the other day. Those kinds of days are fun even now. I just wonder what will happen as I become an adult. Until around last year, I’ve completely forgotten what it is to be like a girl. I thought this was bad. When I see the other girls around my age acting like girls, I start to worry. Even if it might not be a mistake for a person, I wonder how it is for an adult. Hmm.
But if you are worried about it, you can perfectly become an adult.
No, no, that’s impossible. No matter how many years pass, I feel that it’s impossible…
Right now it’s the tomboy stage?
I feel like that.
Perhaps you are a leader like the boss of a group of kids.
The “me” now, so to speak, is like “Peter Pan.” Like a person who always want to stay as a kid (laughs). But even if Peter Pan says, “I don’t want to grow up,” he is still casually open to it. When it is necessary he will show the leadership that is needed promptly. If it comes to that point, he’ll do his best. I think it would be nice if I was like that. In general, I like games and running around in zoos. But, if it comes to a point, I will promptly do the leader’s work. Something like that. Yeah, so the Yaguchi Mari now is “Peter Pan.”
It’s fits perfectly. The cool Peter Pan suits you too.
Right now, even I thought that was a good catch phrase (laughs).
(2005.1.18 )
Morning Musume My Best Song “Summer Night Town”
I remember a lot of things with this song.
This was my debut song in Morning Musume. I did my best in the recording, but I also felt it wasn’t enough and regrettable and it’s a song where I remember a lot of things. I also love the lyrics. I like songs with a mellow rhythm. It’s a bit mature and melancholic, but it’s not a ballad. The recent song, “As For One Day,” also has that kind of feel, so I love it.
Topic: MM x Tsunku 2 Translations (Read 29224 times)