[TRANS] Sho's OTONOHA Jweb entry 15 Mar 2021

[karened]

Also on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/arashickarened/status/1371415893696081920?s=20

OTONOHA Vol.209 

Regarding the article submission for Newsweek

Hello.
It’s me.

For purpose of the Newsweek submission, I first went around shopping for a laptop.
Since my school days, it has been about 15 years that I last touched Microsoft Word.
(Although I used a laptop up to around 2008 to write rap lyrics, I have been using my smartphone in recent years)

And so, using a laptop, and in Microsoft Word, this became my first article submission. Congratulations.
The burden on my right thumb has been reduced. Thank you.

Next.
I want to looking back at this experience (for my own sake as well) and pen it down. I’m writing now without seeing the overall picture, but I can only imagine that it’ll become a ridiculously long entry. Please be careful of the burden on the right thumb.

January 18. Monday evening
It was before the crank-in for the drama filming. In the NTV greenroom prior to the broadcast for Zero, Manager-kun came to discuss it with me.
“We received a proposal from Newsweek-san inviting Sakurai-san to write an article.”

....hmmm? Does that “Sakurai” refer to me?

 “The drama filming starts at the end of the month so it might be challenging in terms of time…”

…Un. Which means, it refers to me right?

“Wait sorry (laughs). I can’t answer now so can I have some time to think about it?”

? Newsweek? (T/N: He wrote this in hiragana. The other instances above were written in English)?

When I returned home after the broadcast of Zero, I thought about it enthusiastically.

I have never written any article before so I wondered if I could write something that can be published in the “Great East Japan Earthquake Special”.
Wouldn’t Sakurai Sho’s article be unsuitable for (precisely because I read it so much) Newsweek magazine?

I thought about it over and over again.

“Still, let me just write what remains in my memories. That will probably make an impressive article,” was what I thought, and I formed a something like a sketch of that in my mind.
I imagined it to take up 4 sheets of manuscript paper.

Somehow, I did it within my mind…But, there are some things which I cannot recall.
I explained the situation to the Zero staff and they prepared 10 years’ worth of all the VTR clips of the interviews I did.
(Thank you very much!)

Before I checked the specific parts which I wanted to know, I first played back the DVD and watched the interview footages from 10 years ago.

In there, there were records from 10 years ago, 9 years ago, 8 years ago…

“Rather than just writing about “things which remained in my memories”, there is meaning in leaving before traces of all of this right? Rather than just recording the “steps” from 1 year, there is meaning in recording down the things “which doesn’t change” even after 1 year right? It’s precisely because I have been doing interviews over the years, isn’t it?”

After I rewatched the VTR, such thoughts started, and I decided to write an article for the Newsweek magazine. To me, it was a big challenge.
(Hey, this is quite similar to the part where Zero’s appearance in this magazine was decided)

Not to write about my own “memories” only. So that I can leave behind a “record”.

To be continued.

(Because it seems that it’ll become long so I will split it into a few entries. I still don’t know how many entries it will be. And it’ll be posted without fixed schedule.)

15 March 2021

Sakurai Sho

-----

Placeholder for Vol 210 as I forgot to save the MS Word draft. Will retype it later. The translation is in the Twitter thread at the top of this post.

-----

OTONOHA Vol.211

Regarding the article submission for Newsweek – 3

Hello.

It’s me.

Good afternoon to everyone who’s thinking, “When he said irregular, it really is irregular”.
I think so too. Sorry about that.

As usual, every day’s spent on shooting the drama.

The cast are also being announced gradually so look forward to the airing of the first episode.
(I didn’t get to see it yet as well. Kazama is looking forward to it.)

So the third issue.
It continues from the previous one. 

23 February.
Interactions with the editorial department commenced.

I will tell you in advance that I was shocked by many people.

“I, made my debut in using the Microsoft Word comment function!”

Eh!
What is this? Super convenient!

Red lines where inserted in the manuscript and edits were made to areas such as the ending particles and details in expression.
…That huge volume of manuscript in less than 1 day only.

From that day forth, countless interactions started. For example, I met the editor-in-charge and other responsible parties before zero or after the recording for the SHOW Channel…which covered discussions we had via email or the comment column.

This was the debut of what I have often heard as the “interactions between the writer and the editorial department”.
Ye-ah.

I was really touched by this. The “editorial department” is amazing.

The pointers they made which did not change the nuance of my article.
At times when I said, “This was written with such a meaning in mind, but how should it be expressed…”, they would suggest a new manner of expression.

I felt we “walked side by side”, and occasionally I was “pulled upwards”.

I will just share a few of those interactions which left an impression.

The discussion after recording for SHOW Channel.
Magazine P23
*3 lines before “3 years before the earthquake”.
The part “No one asked about his situation” was marked out with a line and a new suggestion was made to say “We couldn’t find the words to say”. 

Sakurai
“For this, I want to say “No one asked about his situation”. The suggested “We couldn’t find the words to say” will change the nuance a little.”

Editor-in-charge
“Why is that so?”

Sakurai
“We did not try to say anything to him. We couldn’t do it at all. We could not see his face either. We went to conduct interviews at Okuma. When we consider that he was born in the town, it became “this is not an interview”. When we think of the people who were evacuating from the tsunami, we couldn’t do it at all. That was something that should not be done. That’s why, we did not try to find “words to say” in the first place. No one asked about his situation.”

Editor-in-charge
“That is it! Please write that!”

…Eh?
Ah. Is that how it goes?

I was shocked.
It was to the extent that I thought, “Is this what it means to say that scales have dropped off from my eyes?” (T/N: Japanese idiom – suddenly understanding something which one didn’t understand all along)

This interaction was the impetus for adding to the final article this part “No one entered ~(middle part omitted)~ Many faces crossed each other”.

For reference, below is the first draft.

*
The time when we were carrying out this interview. There was an assistant director amongst the interview staff who was born in Okuma.
This happened when we were gathering materials on the cityscape while in a car. He said it in a soft voice.
“…Ah. That is my house.”

We were not allowed to stop the car, let alone get down from the car. At the very least, we asked for the car to be slowed down.
We passed by the front of his house.
When I look to my side, I saw tears slowly appearing on the face of this person wrapped up in protective gear.
No one asked about his situation. Only, the soft voice of sniffing resounded inside the car.

In the green room before zero. I interacted with the responsible party through the phone.
*Magazine P23
Second paragraph from the bottom, third line from the right.

Watching the news, we understand the progress of the decontamination work~
That part was originally
Looking at the numbers, we understand the progress of the decontamination work~

It was written as that.

Looking at the numbers
Using that phrase sounds quite unsuitable…but what should I do about it?

Sakurai
“For this part here…What I want to say is…something that’s like more macro…from a bird’s-eye view. Right before this, the numbers before and after the decontamination work will be listed down. I feel that if I mentioned the word “numbers”, it will not convey that macro message but instead will make people interpret it as a micro level discussion. Is there any way to express this…”

Responsible party
“If that is the case, how about “Watching the news”?”

…That’s it!! That! That! That! That!
Or rather, that was fast!

Well. I was shocked.

It wasn’t by email.
Within a few minutes, a response was given.

Through the phone, without any delay, a new proposal right away.

Seriously.
I decided to consult right away instead of being troubling over things by myself. At that instance.

There were many, many such interactions all the way until the very end.

The peak was on 6 March.
During the drama shooting, every time we had a one-cut scene, I would go out and continue to work on the details of the manner of expression with the editorial department. It was indeed the last spurt. I ran till the end.

I did write it by myself for sure.
But, I couldn’t have written it all by myself.

This is probably common for all types of work. I felt it once again.

If I were to give an example…
It’s the feeling I get when the raw footage that I’ve shot gets presented in a one-hour documentary program.

Thank you very much to everyone from the Newsweek editorial department.

To be continued.
(Is it still going to continue!)
27 March 2021
Sakurai Sho

-----

OTONOHA vol.212 @arashickarened (1/4)

Filming Nemesis now

Hello.

Sleepy (T/N: ROM – NEMUI) moments are nemsis (T/N: ROM – NEMUSHISU), happy (T/N: ROM – URESHII) moments are uresis (T/N: ROM – URESHISU). This is Sakurai who is filming for Nemesis.

Thanks everyone for watching the first episode.

I am now in the midst of filming episode 6. It was the shooting for the mystery solving part yesterday.
(Said with the intention that when you watch the broadcast, you will think, “He filmed this that day.”)

And so, I apologise for the delay in updates for “Relating to the submission for Newsweek”.
(I am making progress writing bit by bit…)

During the filming at the start of March, the sakura flowers had bloomed early.
I was admiring the scene thinking, “That’s beautiful”, when an elderly man taking care of the place spoke to me.

The trees were transported from elsewhere and planted here.
If I went further up, I could see a panoramic view.
I also heard that they were rearing Tokyo Salamanders.

The caretaker of a campsite in another place also spoke to me.

“Sakurai….san?
…You’re Johnny-san’s grandson right?”

Grand…grandson?

Yea.
Well, was it something like that?

“Grand…?
Yea. Ye…yes. It’s something like that.
To put it simply, I’m his grandson.”

“Well, I’m glad…I met him several times at a hotel at Asakasa almost 50 years ago.”

…Really? (T/N: Sho used the Katakana “MAJIDE”)

MA.JI.DE!

From then now, after completing the filming in one shot, I would hurry over to him and ask about various topics.

About the Shibuya and Harajuku of the 1960s.
About Washington Heights.*
about the former Santo Hotel.*
About the American ambassador to Japan at that time.

Etc…

The more I listened, the more I gathered many interesting topics.

My boss continued to watch from afar how I looked during the sakura blooming period and when I was at the campsite.

Eguchi Yosuke-san said this to me.

“Sakurai-kun, you like the grandpa don’t you?” (T/N: The romantic sense)

No no no!!!!! Laughs

It’s just that I like “That person’s history”!!!! Laughs

It’s not that “I like grandpa”!! Laughs

…But well, I guess it’s not like I don’t (T/N: like him).

Staff and cast had seen Sakurai going off to speak to someone every time after a take.
On hearing that one line from Eguchi-san, the shooting set was enveloped by loud laughter.

Filming is progressing in that enjoyable manner. This is Nemesis.

Because I’m the type who cannot remember the lines until the day before, I will memorise the mystery solving part for episode 6 after filming for today ends.

The coming Sunday is episode 2!!!

Ueda-kun makes his appearance!!!

Ah, that’s right.

During that scene, after each take, I went out to continue the final discussions about the Newsweek manuscript.
(Looking afar off)

I listened about KAT-TUN’s concert.
(Looking afar off)

[HIPHOP IS AFTER THE TEARS]

↑ The title is numbing!

Please do.
I’ll be happy (T/N: Sho used “URESHISU”) if you watched it.

15 April 2021
Sakurai Sho (Kazama Naoki)

* Notes from Wikipedia:
1) Washington Heights was a United States Armed Forces housing complex located in Shibuya during the occupation of Japan by Allied forces, and remained in operation until 1964. Johnny Kitagawa created Japan's first boy band from youths he found playing in Washington Heights in 1962.
2) The old Sanno Hotel was used as field officer lodging for the United States Armed Forces during the 1960s.