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matataku_hoshicaithion I hope that it’s okay that I stole the name of this series of articles from your Graph guide on your site. Let me know if you want me to change it.
In “Hot Flower of
Both roles were really difficult and all sorts of things were troublesome. Whether I was playing Rodrigo or Ramon, because I was playing people who had experiences that I never had, I created the roles in a fumbling condition and that remained unchanged. For the role change, while I was being the actor who plays the lover [Rodrigo], the people around me said things like, “Won’t Ramon, who has a slightly comical side, be easier to play?”, but it was the opposite. Because it was that kind of role, I carried a feeling of difficulty. I let myself hit this double role and I fell into a state of depression about the things I couldn’t do and I hit a wall many times.
[Note: That last sentence is one of the dodgier parts of this translation, so please take it with a grain of salt. The original Japanese is 「この二役をさせて頂くにあたり、自分の出来なさ加減に落ち込み、何度も壁にぶち当たりました。Any suggestions are, per usual, deeply appreciated]
You performed on a TV program together with SMAP (1). How was that?
It was a very exciting experience. When we were first was told that we would be making an appearance on SMAP x SMAP, I think there was talk of “This is like a dream!” and “No way!”, but for the actual recording, because I held my pride as a pro when I attended, my lowbrow heart unfortunately went somewhere (laugh). Takuya Kimura-san enthusiastically asked me questions about the structure of finale feathers and wearing black tail coats. Because he had an attitude of admiring genres that he didn’t know, I was impressed.
[Note: Er…those last two sentences make up the other particularly dodgy part. That and the part about lowbrow hearts >_<]
Please tell us your impressions of performing the role of Jake in the Bow Hall show “The Second Life.”
It was really fun playing the two-sided role of a youth who on the outside was a member of the Italian mafia but on the inside was a pianist. Because it was a modern show with a comedy touch, I was able to relax and have fun while playing this role.
You memorize spoken lines and song lyrics．Do you have any original techniques for this?
In my case, I memorize while exaggerating the flow of the scene on a large scale.
Have you ever had a dream about the stage?
I have them a lot. I have many times in my dreams fallen into a big pinch (laugh). I can’t say my lines, I oversleep and I’m late to curtain call… Things like that (laugh).
Do you have any superstitions when standing on the stage?
I don’t have any superstitions so to speak, but every day I without fail put my hands together in front of the Inari (2) in the dressing room. Also, before curtain call and after the performance is finished, I put my hands together behind the curtains and murmur “Thank you for keeping me safe on the stage again today.”
When you’re about to have a picture for a poster of a show taken, what kinds of things do you look out for?
Because the expression in one’s eyes changes everything a lot, I ask the director of the show about the details of the role and think about what kind of eyes would be best in the picture.
What do you do to make yourself feel better when you’re down?
For example, when I’m depressed about a role not going the way I thought it would, I think about it single-mindedly until I find the answer. I’m the type that pursues the cause of the dead end thoroughly. By thinking something through, I find the answer and make a recovery.
Are you the type who can line up in front of a store? (3)
I can’t. I’m the type who thinks “I’ll go when the boom has passed” (laugh).
What do you do when you want to change how you’re feeling?
I watch comedian
If you were given a ticket for a ten day trip, where would you want to go?
What is your ideal living room?
An open living room is ideal. Even now, the door between the living room and the next room is removed (laugh) Because I don’t really like furniture being placed down either, even my table folds out and I close it when I’m not using it.
Is there an entertainment celebrity that you want to meet really badly?
Do you check your daily horoscope in newspapers or on TV?
If I happen to be watching TV I’ll look at it, but I’m not in the habit of watching it without fail every day.
If you could change how you were born, would you want to be a woman? A man?
A woman. If midway through I think want to be a man, I should enter Takarazuka and become an otokoyaku (laugh).
Notes:
1) SMAP is a popular music group in
2) Inari is the Japanese god of fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success. Hokushou is probably referring to a statue of a depiction of Inari.
3) The Japanese love to queue in line for things. I once waited over an hour at the first Krispie Kreme store in Shinjuku. Don’t laugh, I got free donuts.
4) Fujiyama Kanbi is apparently a Japanese comedian, although I'm having trouble finding information on him. IMBD is telling me he was born in the twenties and died in the early 90s.
