Kaga Kaede's graduation in conjunction with Morning Musume。's 25th anniversary ; these two themes are incorporated in Morning Musume。's 72nd single, which will be released on December 21st. Kaga's graduation will take place at Nippon Budokan on December 10th before the release. Ahead of the imminent date, Kaga says she wants to "Finish her career perfectly", while her classmate Yokoyama says she "Still can't imagine that Kaga will be gone". This long interview covers a wide range of topics, from Kaga to Yokoyama, and Yokoyama's thoughts on her role in the group. During the interview, it was impressive how Yokoyama looked at Kaga's profile many times while speaking pleasantly.
The graduation announcement to Yokoyama was made on the way home from a concert. A phone call was made...
― This is the last single with Kaga and Yokoyama together. Please tell us about your current feelings ahead of the release.
Kaga : First of all, about my graduation, I had been discussing this with the company for quite some time, and by the time of recording I had decided to graduate in December. So I was thinking, "This is the last one...", but at the same time, this song was very difficult. I was so desperate to practice that I honestly didn't have time to feel sad about it.
Yokoyama : I didn't expect Kaga to graduate at all, so when I heard it I was like "Eh? For real?". Kaga told me during a phone call. I was so surprised, I still can't really feel it now. I have a mysterious expectation that we will still be working together after 10 December.
Kaga : A lot of people told me that. "You will come to HelloCon as a guest, right?".
Yokoyama : I hope you will make a full guest appearance. I feel like my imagination hasn't caught up with Kaga's disappearance.
― Did you report your graduation over the phone because it was too hard to talk about it in person?
Kaga : It's something else. I wanted to say it properly and in person, but Yokoyama's schedule changed immediately.
Yokoyama : It wasn't work, it was my private schedule (lol). I was on my way home from a concert, and I got invited to a dinner, so I said "Sorry!". Then, she said she would call me later, and at first I thought she was going to get angry with me. When we found the time to call each other, the first thing I said to her was "What's so important that you have to call me?".
Kaga : This isn't something I wanted to talk about over a phone call.
― Didn't you notice the atmosphere of graduation?
Yokoyama : I feel like I didn't want to feel it. It's sad to see a member graduate, so I try to not pay attention to it even if I think something has changed. That's why I didn't notice at all that Kaga's thoughts was thinking about graduating.
For others rather than yourself. Kaga's insinuation in "Swing Swing Paradise"
― The first song of the new double A-face single entitled "Swing Swing Paradise" is a centered song to Kaga-san, a funny and energetic song that leads her to her sotsugyo obtention. How do you feel about that song now?
Kaga : To be honest, I don't mind being the center member, it still feels the same as the other songs. I wanted to deliver these lyrics to the listeners, especially the chorus which caught my attention. I'm the type of person who wants to do things for others rather than for myself, and I've been told by people around me that I tend to do that before I realize it, I'm somewhat aware of it myself. That's why I thought the chorus lyrics "君の為ならば なんでもしたげたいね" ("I would do anything for you") seemed to express my usual behavior.
― Among all those many Hello Project songs, I feel Tsunku♂-san's love for the members when he applies it to them. Fukumura Mizuki-san said on one of her blog that you talked with Tsunku♂-san for the production of the song, what did the two of you talk about?
Kaga : We and he didn't talk at all.
Yokoyama : Right. In fact, 13th generation never had the chance to talk properly with Tsunku♂-san, maybe because of the poor timing. The 15th generation once had a discussion with him. So lucky.
― Maybe it was this thing that Fukumura-san wanted to say then.
Kaga : I'm curious. What did they talk about? I'd like to hear.
― For "Swing Swing Paradise", what about song points?
Kaga : It's so groovy and the tempo picks up when I call out "go ahead!". It's a song that will make you all dance from the very beginning, and the dancing has a musical feel to it, so I think it's a song that will capture both your eyes and your ears.
Yokoyama : I really feel the music expanding from the slow pace to this level of development. It's fun to dance to, and it's also fun to listen to and see how much the music changes. As this is Kaga's last performance, the costumes are red.
― That's the outfit you're wearing now. They all look good in bright red.
Yokoyama : The theme was to show Kaga with everyone, and the teacher repeatedly told us that in dance it is not just about the choreography, but also about the power of expression. Kaga is amazing at dancing, singing and acting on stage, and this song is full of everything about her strong points and abilities. I can say that this song is the culmination of Kaga's performance in Morning Musume。. I really like Kaga's acting (lol)
Kaga : I've never heard that from you before. We've only been on stage with this song only twice. You already thought about so many things!
Yokoyama : Your acting was really amazing in this.
Kaga : Indeed, I think the same though (lol)
Yokoyama : So it's a very fun song to stage, including those aspects! (lol)
Difficulty in keeping the rhythm the same in "Happy birthday to Me!"
― Another song entitled "Happy birthday to Me!" is meant to be a birthday song for the 25th anniversary.
Kaga : This one is a song that just keeps on folding. It's about wishing a "happy birthday" to your new self. At first I thought it was that kind of song, but the theme was more than that only. Birthdays are repeated many times in life, aren't they? When I was a child, I couldn't wait for my birthday to come, but then I realized I was getting older and older, and I felt like the year was going by faster and faster. I feel like that feeling is reflected in the tone of "Happy birthday to Me!", and the song ends very quickly. Because there are no breaks in the song. There are interludes and there's an introduction, but the same rhythm is being played all the time, and there are no changes in the chorus or anything like that. It's the same rhythm all the way to the end, so it feels even faster. That part of the song seems to represent the real flow of life, and after I realized this, I started to feel the song very heavy.
Yokoyama : You talked a lot (lol).
Kaga : Sorry, I spoke too quickly (lol).
― Yokoyama-san's turn for impressions about "Happy birthday to Me!".
Yokoyama : This song is very difficult. We performed it on the group's autumn tour, but the tempo is so fast that I struggle to keep up with it. I can't even enjoy it (lol). Because the tempo is so fast, the lyrics are also spoken very quickly, so I struggle to convey them.
Kaga : I feel like the lyrics of the chorus "思い通りにしてやる" ("I'll do what you want) and "思い通りにゃさせない" ("I won't let you do what you want") have a double meaning. But I think the way the lyrics poke at the human side will definitely resonate, so although the tempo is fast and difficult, I'm trying my best to convey the lyrics somehow.
― Whether in Morning Musume。 or Hello! Project as a whole, there are other songs with fast counts, aren't there? Kenshuusei's members train in the fine rhythm of 16 beats. Is it still difficult?
Kaga : Yes, it's still difficult. How can I say this? Maybe it's the sounds in it? There are extremely few base sounds or chord-like instruments compared to the other songs, and it's all melody that gives the impression of the song, so it's extremely difficult to match the rhythm.
Hurdles to overcome to take the next step up
― Back to "Swing Swing Paradise", the choreography is quite different from usual, as I said it also has a special musical shade. Did it have any influence on you, Kaga-san, who wants to pursue a career in dance after graduation?
Kaga : I was nervous when I first started with my solo dance. The choreography, the positions of the members and the composition were all very different at the beginning, but after repeated lessons, it took its current form. Since then, I've always struggled with the intro choreography. But I think it's a way of overcoming my difficulties. After graduation, if I want to continue dancing, I have to challenge myself in genres I'm not good at, and I feel like Tsunku♂ and my teachers have given me a push. I feel like Tsunku♂-san and the teachers gave me some guidance such as "Even if you're not good at it, you have to do it!" and made me study with my future in mind. In fact, during the lessons, they taught me how to express myself in more detail than usual, which made me think that I have to keep this feeling in mind when I dance in the future.
― It's not something new I heard about Tsunku♂-san's songs, I get the feeling that he is overcoming his difficulties everytime saying, "If you can do this, you can go up one step".
Kaga : Oh. I can feel that. We often had meetings after our concerts, the manager used to give us a lot of bad advice, but nowadays he just says "That's good!" I like it!".
Yokoyama : Lately, the first word I say after a concert is "I'm relieved"... scary, isn't it (lol)
Kaga : Right! I couldn't believe my ears at first. I was like "What, are you joking about something?". Anyway. The level of the songs is completely different from before, I really feel that it's getting harder. But they're not forcing us to raise the level, they're raising it in order, and if you can do this, you can probably do this next time, the staff members are really good at that.
― With such difficult songs coming your way, how about Sakurai Rio, the 16th generation member who has just joined the group?
Yokoyama : She will have to do her best for sure. We all know it's hard to join a group alone, especially when there's lots of members. The 13th generation had 2 members when we joined, so we helped each other. It was like "Since my mate is working hard, I have to work hard too!". If you have a partner in the group, that kind of feeling is born, but if you are alone, it's much harder. Sakurai is lonely, so she has to manage on her own.
Kaga : This is so different.
Yokoyama : Right. When we don't understand something, I was going to ask my senpai by myself. It's not easy to say "I don't understand" and go and ask your senpai when you've just joined the group. Watching rehearsals is part of the hardest work for me, they make us watch them so many times for this autumn tour. But lately, I'm getting used to doing so. And Sakurai is talking to me actively, so after all, I think I'm starting to enjoy being a senpai. Kaga is really good at taking care of me, but she's leaving now, so now I have to take care of others.
Yokoyama: "My memories of Budokan is essentially about Kaga"
― The end of the autumn tour; 10 December at the Nippon Budokan is Kaga's graduation concert. What memories do you both have of the Budokan stage?
Kaga : Nippon Budokan is the stage where I made my debut after joining the group, so I think fans have a strong impression of that moment. But personally, my strongest memory is when I was a Kenshuusei member and I was performing alongside ℃-ute members. I think my first performance was at the Budokan during the "Treasure Box" ℃-ute 2013 Spring Tour. Before I joined Morning Musume。, I had been to the Budokan many times as a back-up dancer for ℃-ute, so I wasn't that nervous about the Budokan stage. But that said, I know how much hard work the previous members went through to get to the Budokan, so I'm happy to be performing my graduation concert on such a traditional stage, and I want to make sure it goes perfectly.
Yokoyama : From my Kenshuusei days, I first attended Nippon Budokan stage during a Juice=Juice concert. I knew that the Budokan was bigger than a hall concert, that you could see 360 degrees around the venue, and I was able to see that beautiful view the day I joined Morning Musume。. All I can do is to thank the fans for the beautiful view, which I have been able to see many times in the six years since I became a Morning Musume。member. As her generation mate and her partner, I'm happy to see her leaving Morning Musume。at the place where her Morning Musume。's life began, I think it's very meaningful for her idol's life.
Kaga : I'm going to cry.
Yokoyama : Well, I might cry too. I shouldn't have used difficult words (lol). My memories of Budokan are essentially about Kaga, so I'm still sad when I think "Oh, this is the last time we're going to be there together". But I want to see her leaving with a smile.
Kaga : It's best to end up with a smile on your face.
Yokoyama : Of course!
"The path to dance I found because I was in Morning Musume。"
― We know Kaga-san loves to dance, but I never thought it would be your next work after you leave. How did you choose it?
Kaga : To be honest, I don't have a specific trigger, but Morning Musume。is a group that has dance as one of its strengths, and many of the members and senpai are also very picky about dancing formation. I've been taking part in more and more dance-specialized programmes and projects, I've been talking to a lot of dancers, so I've spent a lot of time in contact with dance after all, and I think that's one of the reasons. I had that path after auditioning for Hello! Project, so I only knew the world of Hello! Project. But after I started working in dance, I realized that there are genres of dance that I didn't know about yet, that there are many different jobs related to dance, and I became really interested in it. That interest grew and grew, and I realized that this might be what I could do next, that's why I decided to graduate.
― Did Yokoyama-san hear about interest in dance from Kaga-san?
Yokoyama : Not at all. But I could already feel that she loves dancing.
Kaga : Come on, now. You have to find a better way to describe it (lol)
Yokoyama : Kaga and her famous "Come on now", always sounds good (lol) But I thought Kaga's was dance cool since I'm a Kenshuusei, so in fact, I wasn't surprised. When I joined Kenshuusei, I thought Kaga was an experienced dancer, she would have been doing it since she was little or something like that... She had such a strong core, I didn't think she was doing it with no experience. I thought she had a talent for dance from then on, plus she's a hard worker and studies everyday the dance she wants to do, so I felt - especially recently - that she really likes dancing. When I heard that she was going into dance, I knew she would definitely succeed. Kaga is really cute when she's doing what she loves. She looks really happy, just like when she's eating chocolate.
Kaga : Really? Chocolate and dancing are the same to you!?
Yokoyama : She's not half as passionate about what she likes. I've seen that, so I'm not worried about anything. That's what I mean (laughs)
― Do you have any memories of the two of you together?
Kaga : Well... We hardly see each other in private. We only see each other at work... (lol)
Yokoyama : Just the other day, we went out for dinner together for a long time.
Kaga : That was between jobs, though.
Yokoyama : Umh, any memories of Kaga in my private life... I don't have this (lol). But she's great as a partner - we had so much fun doing internet signings together the last time.
Kaga : We talked so much, we even pushed for time, just because of this "Make! Make!" moment.
Yokoyama : That's still in my memory and will be an event I'll never forget.
Kaga : Really enjoyed it. Such a great moment.
Yokoyama : But it's still a very recent memory. That's my point ; I don't remember anything at all until a few years ago.
― I heard that somewhere. You say you have amnesia because you've been too busy.
Kaga : I remember some of our overseas performances, Mexico, New York and Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019... Taiwan very quickly too. It was in Hong Kong that I got hooked on werewolves game.
Yokoyama : That's right, that's right!!!!
Kaga : I just want to say this. Fans may wonder why I was so obsessed with werewolves, but it all started from the Hong Kong trip.
Yokoyama : There was a mysterious boom.
Kaga : We started with Word Wolf, and since all the members were there, we decided to do werewolf instead, and we did it all the way from the event backstage to the bus on the way to the event. Then we played five rounds at the hotel until 5:00 AM. At that time, Sato Masaki-san also came. Sato-san rarely comes to such gatherings because she likes to spend time alone, but she was the last one to come to the room. I was so surprised that I almost shouted "She's here!".
Yokoyama : Sato-san must have had that much fun. That was the start of the werewolf boom (lol)
Kaga : I couldn't take any pictures from that day. I wish I could have taken that one.
Yokoyama : None of it has been publicly released (lol)
Because we know how painful it is, here some words
― Kaga-san, is there anything you would like to say to Yokoyama-san?
Kaga : There's something! I've always had a hard time speaking to people around me. I want to leave something to Yokoyama.
Yokoyama : Well, what is it about? Indeed, she has trouble saying things.
Kaga : Well, you know... On Haga Akane-san's birthday, we all paid together to buy her a present, right? I paid 100% for it, but only four people have returned it yet.
Yokoyama : Ah!!! I forgot! I'll be right back, I'll be right back! Oh, what? You want me to collect it?
Kaga : It's fine. It's fine. I'll give you a list of uncollected people, just in case (lol)
Yokoyama : Understood! I'll take care of it. But members who read this interview should pay back as much as possible voluntarily (lol)
― Yokoyama-san, what role do you see yourself playing for the group in the future?
Yokoyama : Recently, I feel that Morning Musume。's group shade is changing ; 16th generation's member Sakurai Rio-chan joined, 13th generation's Kaga graduated. Moreover, we are currently in the middle of group auditions, so I think it will change even more when new members join. My position will change as the members change, but I'm lost... I don't know what I should be. I'm in the middle of the group now, but I'm still thinking about what I can do... One thing I think is to connect the history and tradition of Morning Musume。. I cannot do anything to tarnish the Morning Musume。name. I will firmly pass on the history, tradition and the size of the name to the younger members.
Kaga : We've been taught to do the same.
Yokoyama : It's difficult for us to do the same. It's difficult, but we'll do our best. I hope that you all will watch over us too.
― Please give a message to the Kenshuusei who are aiming for promotion, or to children who aspire to join Morning Musume。in the future.
Kaga : Everyone has their own individuality, two people will not sing or dance the same way. I think it's important to have a strong sense of who you are, you don't have to try to make yourself like another Morning Musume。member just because you admire them. I want the children who audition to show their true selves. I also want the Kenshuusei members to work hard and never give up. It took me five years to get promoted and people say it was a long time, but if you look at the length of time, OCHA NORMA's Yonemura Kirara has been a Kenshuusei for much longer. It's normal to be a Kenshuusei for a long time, but it's painful. It's important how you accept that painful part of your life, and I want you to accept yourself, do what you have to do now to the best of your ability. Like I did, there will definitely be times when you think about your career path and future and consider quitting being a Kenshuusei. But if you can't give up on your dream of debuting in Hello! Project at that time, I want you to stand up one more time with all your might so that you won't have any regrets.
Yokoyama : This time, there were 16th and 17th auditions in a row, but maybe the next one will be years away. I actually missed the 12th audition. I wasn't confident enough to audition, so I stopped. Then there were no auditions for a while and I regretted it a lot. It doesn't matter if you are confident or not. There's nothing negative about failing an audition. All you need is one desire to be a Morning Musume。, so even if you're not sure, just go for it!
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