#'is that—' a photo from 1992 / check your head era? yeah it is <3

[mhaccunoval]

i was going to study all three guys but mike was the only one getting anywhere so i spent a while refining <3

[color experiments below the cut]

[mashalocked-blog]

[Translation] My 「Tamaradi」- The only conversation between DJ and writer (5)

I’m on a roll... looks like the last part will be up tomorrow.

ANN timeline

TamaRiku interview translation

Credits to Mashaism for original Chinese translation.

M: Fukuyama Masaharu

S: Souguchi Akihisa

O: Ohara Shinji

“Purify” black history (黒歴史を「浄化」する)

—Did any projects in Tamaradi leave an impression on you?

M: Occasionally I’ve mentioned it in the show, it’s the “GNP” project. “‘Good night’ Promotion Plan”. That was in 1992.

S: It was when [Tamaradi] just started.

M: To me, ‘Good night’ is my first smash hit. Around 100,000 copies were sold. At this time, I had the opportunity to write an insert song for the drama “Ai wa douda” [Masha’s second drama], it was a huge opportunity for me. It’s true that the song became popular because it was broadcasted on TV. But compared to this, I personally think that it was the contribution of the radio listeners who bought the album and helped me to promote, so I have a stronger impression in this aspect. Even now, I still feel that ‘Good night’ was really dependent on the strength of radio, the strength of listeners, to climb onto the hit charts. It was a plan that made me feel the strength of radio.

S: There’s also one plan that left many memories for me… Fukuyama-san provided the theme song, 'Tokyo ni mo Attanda’ for the movie “Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad”. In a corner that spanned several weeks, Fukuyama-san’s story of going to Tokyo was recounted in detail. In other words, it’s the events that happened [when Fukuyama travelled] from Nagasaki to Tokyo, until now. It’s a life filled with ups and downs.

(Note: English translations of the above segment can be found here.)

M: So this can be linked to “Ryomaden” afterwards. It’s “Masaharu-den”. [literally translated to Masaharu-legend] (lol)

S: It’s really “Masaharu-den”, yes. It’s similar to lower level samurai from the country going to the city.

O: That’s really interesting.

S: As one of the segments every week, [the story] was explained in detail. The good thing about Tamaradi is that a segment can be as flexible as one wants it to be. (lol) Sometimes one segment can take 20 minutes. A sizeable amount accumulates after broadcasting every week.

M: It was originally supposed to be 3-4 weeks long.

O: Yes.

M: But in the end, it took about 3 months. (lol)

O: It felt like, “Eh, he still hasn’t debuted yet?”

S: In the end it became, “Please speed up a little more”.

O: The debut was supposed to be mentioned around the second week, but the debut didn’t get mentioned for a long time.

S: The story all the way until debut was especially long.

M: But in truth, I really didn’t debut immediately. After I auditioned, it was 3 years before I debuted.

O: Yet, the story till the point of going to Tokyo was very long. The high school era was very long too. (lol)

S: There was also a segment called “When Fukuyama Masaharu was really an idiot”, when some of Masha’s debut interviews were picked. (lol)

M: Yes, yes.

S: It was a time when your answers were a bit funny. (lol) That segment was done quickly in a week after it was revealed.

M: It would be better to produce a collection of improper remarks.

S: Interesting.

M: I feel that actually making a collection of Fukuyama Masaharu’s improper remarks would be better. It’s the best. (lol)

S: But won’t normal people dislike it? Digging up those words.

O: Most would pretend they’ve never said it before.

S: Conversely, to actively seek to dig up those words, I think that’s really awesome.

M: That’s because it’s still kept in the office. (lol) The interviews from the past. It’s a mountain of treasure.

O: That’s true.

S: No, most people wouldn’t think that’s treasure, to most celebrities. (lol)

O: More than anyone, Fukuyama-san would probably find it the most interesting, seeing those reports.

M: Because I spoke those unbelievable words in a normal way.

O: You said it yourself. (lol)

S: And those were official interviews that went through agency checks.

M: That’s why I’m really an idiot. Of course I’m also an idiot, and a bad one at that, but honestly Amuse was terrible too. (lol) That can’t be good management.

S: That’s why it’s interesting, thinking about that aspect too. “This actually went through checks!”

M: Yeah, that’s right.

S: I think it’s a way to find out what Fukuyama-san lacks, so I often think it should be preserved in some form.

M: Including this aspect, turning it into a conversation topic on radio, making it entertaining, how should I say this… it gets purified, I guess. (lol) Does it get purified, or sublimated? Even if I pretend that I never said those things, it might get dug up somewhere, “He said those things (lol)”, and copied around the web as Fukuyama’s embarrassing sayings.

S: That looks even worse on you.

M: But if we turn it into a joke on our own radio show and treat it as entertainment, it doesn’t hurt anyone and becomes an interesting topic. When we laugh, it gets purified.

S: When you were asked where you wanted to go with your lover, you answered “the river bank!” “Eh, river bank? What river bank?” (lol)

M: The Tamagawa river bank! I just forgot to say Tamagawa!

S: This is how it gets purified, after we laugh at it.

M: That’s right.

S: I see, I understand now! The reason Fukuyama-san feels happy from the depth of his heart.

M: But I really am happy. [These words] can only be purified when I think I'm happy. Using these things that I feel happy about in the show makes everyone and myself happy. Everyone’s happy. That’s a win-win. Though I don’t know if it really is a win-win. (lol) What left an impression on Ohara-san?

O: Until then, I had more jobs on TV, and spent most of the time working at a studio in Tokyo. Afterwards, Fukuyama-san’s radio show was the first artiste broadcast I participated in. I travelled to many areas around the country for the nationwide tour, and hosted broadcasts in those places. That was the first time I went to those places, seeing the sea together with Fukuyama-san…

M: Was it Tottori? Yonago?

O: It was Yonago. That was in ’95.

M: We went to the photographer Shoji Ueda’s art gallery opening, and held a radio broadcast there. Ohara-san went too.

(Note: For new readers who don’t know Shoji Ueda’s influence on Masha, the last few paragraphs here briefly explains why he’s credited on all of Masha’s albums. Also, his photos of Masha are some of the best photos of Masha, ever.)

O: Yes. Because there was some time… I remember walking freely along the sea for a very long time. The cars were travelling alongside the sea.

M: The Ohara-san then was amazing. When a dog sits in a car, it constantly stretches its head out of the window. You were like that. (lol)

O: The scent of the tide! The sea! Freedom! These feelings.

M: Ohara-san's feelings towards travelling started from there?

O: Because Fukuyama-san is someone who enjoys travelling outside, the staff got motorbike licenses too and everyone went on a tour together… in my heart, the meaning of “travel” follows Tamaradi wherever it goes. Sometimes I think of the smell of the sea.

M: Travelling while touring… it’s Yonago right? The rural scenery while travelling through Hiroshima. It happened to be raining, and the smell of the countryside that seemed like tears made me really feel that this is “Japan”. Watching Ohara-san there made me smile, I felt very happy. (lol) Although whenever Ohara-san is in Tokyo, his mental state easily turns bleak unintentionally, but once travelling begins, Ohara-san’s true personality of gentleness and purity shows on his face. He softens. It feels good.

O: We used to do local broadcasts while travelling, and the atmosphere is always a little different. I really like the feeling of travelling.