Sakamichi Notes
Keyakizaka46 + Hinatazaka46
01 December 2016
Interview: Kakizaki Memi and Kageyama Yuuka, of Hiragana Keyaki
From the January 2017 issue of BUBKA magazine.
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More outstanding talents in Keyakizaka46
Kakizaki Memi and Kageyama Yuuka: a new-century combo bursts into existence
Hirate Yurina is the new heroine, born in 2001. But she’s not alone. There are two more members in Keyakizaka46 who are third-year middle-schoolers like her: Kakizaki Memi, with her stately good looks; and Kageyama Yuuka, with her enthusiasm for and rich knowledge about soccer. They are being talked about everywhere. We chase down the truth about this “new century combo.”

Meeting
— You are Hiragana Keyaki’s two middle-school members, so there is a feeling that you are a combo, isn’t there?
Kakizaki: Is that so? Thank you.
Kageyama: We’re good friends.
Kakizaki: Yes. We get along well.
Kageyama: I talked with Memi at the audition, when we were waiting.
Kakizaki: It was at the final judging, wasn’t it?
Kageyama: That’s right. I think I was the one who started talking to you. I watched everyone’s Showroom broadcasts, so I knew there was someone who was the same age as me. But I only broadcast my voice, so I thought the other members wouldn’t know me. (laughs)
— When Kageyama-san spoke to you, what did you think?
Kakizaki: I tend to be shy of new people. I’m not at all the type to start a conversation with someone. I was surprised and thought: “Waa! She’s speaking to me!” But since I knew Yuuka was the same age as me, I wasn’t upset. I was happy!
Kageyama: Yay! I got up my courage to speak to her, and that started us talking together.
— What did you say in your PR for yourself at the audition?
Kakizaki: I went to after-school English conversation classes, so I took sayings I liked and said them in English. Like sayings from “Anne of Green Gables….”
— Oh, please say them in English!
Kakizaki: Eh?! I don’t really remember. (laugh)
Kageyama: (giggle)
— Japanese is okay, too.
Kakizaki: Well, sayings like: “Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.” I saw the drama “Hanako and Anne,” so I knew those sayings.
— What were the judges’ reactions?
Kakizaki: Well…it didn’t seem as if they had any reaction at all….

— I doubt that was true (laughs). Kageyama-san, did you appeal on the basis of having a qualification as a soccer referee?
Kageyama: No, at that time I didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t realize it would be something I could promote myself with.
— But now you make it known that you are a “soccer freak.”
Kageyama: (giggle) My whole family likes sports. We watch baseball, sumo, boxing, soccer…. I love J-League, high-school soccer and overseas soccer.
— And the team you like is Sanfrecce Hiroshima?
Kageyama: Yes. I watch shows like “Yabecchi FC” and “Foot x Brain” that sometimes introduce the special characteristics of various teams. Those showed how Sanfrecce players prepare before a game and I was naturally drawn to them. I’m the kind of person who, once she has gotten interested in something gets totally into it and wants to learn more and more. And as I looked into the team, I fell in love with it.
— What kind of soccer does Sanfrecce Hiroshima play?
Kageyama: Well, first of all…(here she goes into a detailed explanation of the nature of the team and its strategy, which is left out of the Japanese interview)…ah, is it okay for me to go on talking like this?
— It’s fine (laugh)
Kakizaki: (giggle)
Kageyama: The heart of the team is Satou Hisato. Next comes Aoyama Toshihiro, and…. In attack, Uta-chan…ah, Peter Utaka….
— Ahaha. You call him Uta-chan?
Kageyama: Yes (laughs). Lots of teams have foreign players. Uta-chan starts the attack….
— This is so interesting! You can tell me anything I ask (laugh). By the way, in soccer, what position do you think Kakizaki-san would play?
Kageyama: Probably striker? But not an intense attacker like Okazaki Shinji….
Kakizaki: Uh?
— Kakizaki-san is quick at short range, I suppose?
Kakizaki: Yes, I run the 50 meters in 7.5 seconds.
— And you have a good grip strength?
Kakizaki: Yes, my grip is strong (laughs). My right hand is 34 kilos.
Kageyama: Wow! A young, fast, physical forward…. Maybe like Asano Takuma? Lately, he’s become physical and really strong. Now that he’s appearing for the A side, his physical condition and body control….
— You even know the latest news about Asano. (laughs).
Kakizaki: I’m sorry, I don’t know anything about this (laughs).
Kageyama: You don’t? When he scores, he does his “jaguar pose…”
Memi with Nagahama Neru
Ideal Image
— Kageyama-san has her soccer, does Kakizaki-san have something she loves that much?
Kakizaki: I love cute things. Things like dolls. And stuffed animals. And I love frilly lolita clothing. I want to become like a frilly French doll.
Sak
— My Nogiya 46 —
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