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Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

Discussion in 'Hinatazaka46 Graduated Members' started by ForrestFuller, May 11, 2016.

  1. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Another photo by Memi from her father's Facebook (and Twitter), but this time not of his work, but of fish in a pond. The style remains the same: the subject clear, but obscured -- in this case by darkness and spots of light on the surface of the water. But the composition of forms and light works. I'm grateful to her father for giving her (and us) these opportunities. I'm beginning to have more confidence that she is actually good at this. It's good to see her working with something other than her father's art.

    [​IMG]

    Caption:

    池の鯉 Carp in the pond
    Photo: Memi Kakizaki
    Copyright ©️JUNICHI KAKIZAKI HANA OFFICE+PEALab. All Rights Reserved. [...]

    I note that the copyright belongs to Kakizaki-sensei's companies. I expect Memi to be going to college in April, or else going to study a bit overseas, but for the moment maybe she is acting like an assistant to her father. Or maybe she wants to continue like that, in an easy family environment, but doing actual art.

    EDIT: I see now a new interview with Hirate-san, in which she says that her current interest is going to art galleries and looking at art. I have wondered before how close Memi and Yurina still are, or even if Memi moved in with her (to save money, lol). If anyone might lead Techi to art galleries, it would be Memi.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2020
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  2. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    A long documentary about Hiragana/Hinata will be released in theatres across Japan, and a wonderful 45-minute preview has appeared on Japanese TV. Here it is from YouTube, with broadcast ads:


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    Like Japanese Memi fans, I was surprised and delighted to see a lot of her in the feature. The show makes clear how interesting and attractive she is, as a person. Her weeping in the early days when she felt her performance wasn't good enough. Her playing around with Kumi. Her reaction to her broken wrist. Her unhappiness with the name-change. And it appears from previews of the rest of the show that they will deal directly with her graduation, at least to some extent.

    In any case, no-one should miss this, no matter whom they support. The long preview deals most with Hiragana, and with the 1gens, although there is lots of good footage of the 2gens, too.

    Here are two photos that seem to me to embody why I liked her so much. She was being interviewed just after the name-change, when she had wept in desolation. By the time of the interview, she had recovered, but she did not hide her feelings when she was asked about the change:

    [​IMG]

    "Because my feelings for Hiragana Keyaki were so strong..."

    [​IMG]

    "...honestly, it doesn't make me happy."

    Memi never seemed to lie, at least about her own feelings. I think this may be one reason she was not as suited to being an idol as people say she was.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2020
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  3. otabe

    otabe Member

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2018
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    USA
    Oshimen:
    soranyan
    I just hate to see what we all thought. The name change might've been one of the final nails in the coffin.. :(
     
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  4. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi's father, artist Kakizaki Junichi 柿崎順一, has happily announced in his Facebook and Twitter that he is in Paris for his second art show there. This one will be in the same little gallery where he held his first show, in 2011. Here's the poster:

    [​IMG]

    The photo is from the first show, Petit Monstres des Fleurs de Paris (~"Little Flower-Monsters of Paris"), and the new show takes the same name. The photo is from the first show, and is by by his friend and collaborator, photographer Joji Okamoto. Here are some of Okamoto-san's photos from the first show, and of other works by Kakizaki. One thing they did together was a show of flowers from the area irradiated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Since much of Kakizaki's art is perishable, photography of it is very important.

    The show will start on 13 March, and he will be creating and installing it until the 15th, the date of the opening event. He works with flowers and other natural materials, and does a lot of what could be called "performance art." He says he will be at the gallery most of the time, and invites people to come and meet him. He makes no mention of Memi.

    For anyone who might want to go, the Galerie des 26 Chaises ("26 Chairs Gallery") is east of Montmartre, in the Barbès/Goutte d'Or area of the 18th arrondissement, between the Barbès-Rochechouart and Château Rouge metro stations.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2020
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  5. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Papa has posted more info about his opening, and apparently his own photographer Joji Okamoto is already there, so that makes it even less likely Memi will be there (and I'm not big on air travel these days, anyway).

    Here's more info about the opening, which will feature a jazz trio, a dancer, and Kakizaki himself orchestrating things. They're calling the event "A Big Monster Appears in Paris: Jun'ichi Kakizaki". I'll put the notice (mainly in French) in this spoiler:
    Jun'ichi Kakizaki + Nobuyoshi Asai
    Avec la dissonance de la Danse et de L'Art, avec le Son d'un Trio: Antonin Gerbal, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, Bertrand Denzler

    ────────
    Vernissage: Un grand monstre apparaît à Paris -
    JUN'ICHI KAKIZAKI Exposition
    ヴェルニサージュ: 大怪獣パリに現る ─ 柿崎順一 展

    Nous fêterons l'ouverture de l'exposition personnelle de JUN'ICHI KAKIZAKI "PETITS MONSTRES DES FLEURS DE PARIS Ⅱ" et réaliserons un vernisage. Profitez de la performance de Junichi Kakizaki et des sons des membres d'Umlaut Paris: Antonin Gerbal, Pierre-Antoine Badaroux et Bertrand Dentzler!


    Vernissage: Un grand monstre apparaît à Paris -
    JUN'ICHI KAKIZAKI Exposition

    Junichi Kakizaki (Artiste)
    Nobuyoshi Asai (Danseur/Chorégraphe)
    Antonin Gerbal (Musicien/Batteur)
    Pierre-Antoine Badaroux (Musicien/Saxophoniste)
    Bertrand Denzler (Musicien/Saxophoniste)

    March 15 (Sun) 7:00 p.m.-

    Galerie les 26 chaises
    47 rue Polonceau 75018 Paris


    Entrée libre

    Cooperation with Umlaut Paris
    Organization with Galerie les 26 chaises
    Support by naonakamura
     
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  6. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    This is not about Memi, who apparently did not go to Paris with her father, but about Kakizaki Junichi's powerful, artistic, dangerous, and faintly ridiculous adventure there. He went to Paris, he says, because he was invited to see the final performance of Japanese dancer Nobuyoshi Asai in a piece called Vessel. He put together a show of his own, although barely recovered from his own heart operation, and flew off into the teeth of COVID's arrival there. He was creating his work as the exhibit progressed, and did have the vernissage (opening party) but lockdown for COVID ended his show before it was scheduled to end, and cancelled the dance performance he went there to see. Dancer Asai expressed admiration for Junichi-san, getting up from his sickbed to come and see his show, and also for the fiery intensity with which he created his strange art in the Bois de Vincennes, a forest park on the edge of Paris.

    I have added thumbnails of photos from Kakizaki's Facebook: of the outside of the gallery where he held his show; of nearby Montmartre; of the vernissage, with Asai-san dancing and Kakizaki-san participating in the music; and shots by Asai-an of Kakizaki creating his nature art in the forest.

    In his latest post, Kakizaki is in Shinjuku and announces his return to Japan. He says he was forced out of his hotel in Montmartre, and that there was chaos at De Gaulle airport, but he thanks staff from the Japanese embassy for helping him get home. Now sit tight and don't let Memi visit, Junichi-san!

    Not many of us grew up with a father like this.

    89639139_3264786826894085_2012644738879979520_n.jpg 89846012_2662379093811395_9188942376419196928_n.jpg 84388481_3278859372153497_3348651671294050304_n.jpg 90554445_3278897625483005_8627441987345186816_n.jpg 90442304_3278859108820190_4469263773315629056_n.jpg 89875976_2667228146659823_6090602657561444352_o.jpg 90050853_2667231739992797_5948561092580999168_o.jpg 90257437_2667290753320229_7491123469095010304_o50.jpg 89922334_2667232743326030_2570789667574120448_o50.jpg 90309558_2667289286653709_5339484766653644800_o50.jpg
     
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  7. piduai

    piduai Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 16, 2019
    What we all suspected. Good for her!
     
  8. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Kakizaki Junichi's Facebook has been silent for a week, since he returned from Paris. But for him it has been an eventful week. He says he has complicated feelings. He was tested for COVID and found not to have it. He expresses the hope that Tokyo will not repeat the terrible COVID situation in Paris. And he posts an interview from today's Nihon Keizai Shinbun (a major newspaper, focusing on business, but also covering the arts) in which he talks about parents and children, and gives us a bit of info about what Memi is doing.

    He talks mainly about his father and himself. His father was originally a salaryman, but in the strong economy of those days, he was able to start a business selling floral arrangements, and eventually left his job to found a florist shop. Junichi helped out at the shop and was always interested in floral art. At one point, while he was at horticultural college in Tokyo, his father called him back to Nagano to watch them make a commercial featuring a set made by the florist shop. He spent time with the art director from Tokyo and started to have ambitions toward a larger world.

    His father did not push him to take over the florist shop, but encouraged him to go in the direction he himself chose. His father said he was like a space alien to him, and should go for the life in a greater world that he wanted. He said his father never praised his work or expressed any opinion about it, but after his father died, in 2009, he found out from his father's friends that he had brought a book of photos of Junichi's work to show them, and expressed his pride in him. This made Junichi very happy.

    Then Junichi mentions his own two daughters, and says what they are doing. One daughter is studying marine biology and museology. The other daughter, after being active as a singer, is now aiming for the world of art. They also are like aliens to him. He tries hard not to impose his own ideas on them, wanting to just quietly watch over them as they keep running ahead.

    His publishing of some of Memi's photos now makes even more sense. Perhaps she is now about to start studying photography, or art in general. Or even to start work as a photographer or photographer's assistant. Or work in a gallery. In any case, she is entering the world of art.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    EDIT: I should add that I'm not sure whether his father using the term "alien" means "totally unlike me", or "a citizen of a larger world."
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2020
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  9. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
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    Wonderful post @ukifune
    I enjoyed reading about Kakizakì senior and his father and I can't help but think their way of living, following their dreams and interests, is also a big part of who Memi is.
    She may looked like the perfect idols (to me) but she also always had this strong will that simply couldn't be bend nor broken.

    Hopefully we'll hear about her art work soon
     
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  10. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    @Dill -- She sometimes seemed to reject the things she was praised for. When everyone loved her twintails, she started refusing to wear them. She was contrary, and had trouble doing things she didn't really want to do. I thought she lacked one big ingredient for being an idol: she wasn't dependent enough on the fans' approval. She was not a very regular poster either to her blog or to Message. But she did read and watch dramas and do bits of art and other things she wanted to do. Being an idol wasn't the be-all and end-all of her life, it seemed to me at the time. For instance, she made the earrings she's wearing in my current avatar.

    Reports of her handshake sessions sounded good, but she was never that popular in handshake. I think the reason was that she didn't try very hard to please, she just related and enjoyed herself. Sometimes she was cold to people who seemed disrespectful, particularly one time when she was paired with Miho not long after the 2gens joined and some guy tried to get Miho to do some normal thing that I think seemed to Memi demeaning. He was proud to have got her to glare at him.

    The most contrary thing of all was to quit just when the group was about to really break out. There was a little video of the moment when HinaBINGO2 was announced to the group, around a year ago. Memi's reaction seemed to be despair, maybe over the amount of work it meant, taking her away from things she would rather do. At least that's how it looked to me. Her "Memi-Cho" performance on HinaBINGO, and her "ghost burikko" on HinaAi were both probably recorded a year ago next week. For me, they were superlative, a cut above. But they seemed like her own things, not really her as part of the group.

    It is coming up to a year from the time she suddenly did not appear on the group's first appearance on Music Station. That was the first big indication that something serious was happening.
     
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  11. Vulpix nao

    Vulpix nao Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2020
    Twitter:
    NaoVulpix
    I think Memi was not present during the announcement of HINABINGO!2 (On the last episode of HINABINGO! in music studio)

    If you say it's true about her not wanting too much work or don't want to be forced on anything, I don't think she will keep up with the current Hinatazaka for both activities and the group pacing. It also reminds me, during the 2nd single Hit prayer, Suzuka said that a place where people can grow without any changes doesn't exist, the way to overcome those changes is to work together.

    Seeing the drastic changes since the start of Hinatazaka era, many of their dreams have come to realize. But on the other side, those things also made some members feel too much pressure and worried about fans and everyone's expectations for them. As they said in the interview, they desperately looking for the group's charm until now and they couldn't always rely on their seniors.

    Most fans said that the road of Hinatazaka is much harder than Hiragana since they have so much exposure, they have to maintain their behavior on public, and fight for their names recognition. Even with the current immovable center and the money spent by management on their promotion, they are still rather unknown to the general public. I really think some of them have already thought about graduating from the group, but their upcoming Tokyo Dome performance kept them to stay and do their best until the end.

    Even I sometimes miss the feeling of peace and comfort in Hiragana era. But we can't stay the same in this world, the change is needed to bring the group better whether they want it or not, they have to adapt to those changes in order to grow.

    I really hope Memi is happy with what she chose, and bless her with anything she wants to do in the future. May their paths cross with each other so we can see them together again.

    btw @ukifune amazing info that you can collect from Memi's father
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2020
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  12. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    @Vulpix nao -- Thanks for the interesting post. Lots of good points. I definitely remember another little video of an announcement, which I thought was for Hinabingo2, where Memi's reaction was to drape herself over Katoshi with a frustrated and complaining expression. But haven't found it yet in my voluminous collection, lol. It was not on a show, but looked like at a practice. Either it was for something else, or else they really did (as they are said to do) practice their reactions to the announcement.

    My impression of Memi was always that she was a hard worker: she had to be, to improve her dancing to the extent she did. But it also seemed that she had other parts of her life that were as important to her as being an idol. She spent time on those rather than on catering to her fans with lots of Messages and blog posts. It seems to me that most other members were more focused on fans and career. To use her grandfather's expression, she could be like an alien, living on her own wavelength.

    I don't think she was interested in the kind of professionalism required for the Hinatazaka enterprise. She was always what I called "natural," letting what she really felt come out, unable to hide her natural feelings. Like at the announcement of the name-change. I don't think her problem there was so much the name-change as it was the confirmation that the group was heading in a new direction, which Hiragana had already begun to do, with Nao's professionalism in the lead. Aki-P once said, I think in 2016, that Nogizaka were like high-class French schoolgirls, while Keyakizaka were like normal schoolgirls trying to put on a play. That was their charm, to him. And I think that Memi's charm was more in that Keyaki line. Hinatazaka operates at a higher level, in a way, a level Memi was not so comfortable with or good at. At least that was my impression. I should add that I saw her as being at a higher level than the other members in her own ways, but those were not the group's ways.

    NOTE: A friend of her father's (a Westerner) commented on that previous post that he hoped Kakizaki-san remembered to praise his daughters. Junichi replied that he probably did forget to do that and should do it more. To be honest, I'm not sure that's true: I think of him praising Memi all the time, lol. I remember that first KeyaKake where she complained that he kept touching her face and saying her name for no reason.
     
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  13. MasToppu

    MasToppu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2016
    Location:
    Nusantara
    Oshimen:
    Kosaka Nao
    Do you miss Memi?

    if the video does not show watch the video here
    credit to uploader
     
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  14. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    Someone posted a Techi video and now a Memi video... you guys want me never stop crying lol

    Great video though! Funny and touching and precious exactly like Memi has been as idol.
    In many segments the immediate following camera time when Memi did something went on Miho, and I think this is something I'll keep sadly wishing for, wondering what could have been. The potential a Memi-Miho pair would bring is unknown... and in my opinion we truly missed out on that.
     
  15. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    @MasToppu -- Great, great collection. My own biased opinion is that Memi's "ghost burikko" performance was the most outstanding performance by any member of Hiragana/Hinata ever. Brilliant. That kind of inventiveness and taste is what I hope for in her future art. The way she pushed out her hand, smiling, to reject the danger of what Miho said at the end of the first story ("next time I won't let you get away," I think) just threw other members for a loop (e.g., Hinano, Miku)...and me. It was also Memi's last performance to be recorded and broadcast -- broadcast in early June but probably recorded in early April.

    I'm no longer subscribed to any Message accounts, but it appears that Manafi has posted a message mentioning that Memi is still her shinyuu ("close friend," "best friend") and saying that, with work shut down, they are talking on the telephone all the time and playing online games together. She posted this photo of herself, which people say makes her look like a girlfriend:

    [​IMG]

    NOTE: The collection only included the first part of the full "ghost burikko" performance. Waka-chan got Memi and Miho to sit next to each other for a second story. But the first story, with Memi seeming to gradually realize what was possible, with the cameras, etc., made me think of one of her nicknames: "Memi-pro."
     
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  16. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    There was a series of earthquakes in the Nagano area last Thursday, and Memi fans expressed concern that she might have been affected, since that is where she's from. But (a) there was little or no damage, and (b) she may not even have been there at the time. So I didn't mention it.

    But now in her 5channel thread, the discussion has produced a post I think indicates the attitude of a real Memi fan. Someone said she had guts, so a Memi fan would think she probably wasn't scared. Then came the reply: "There were 50 earthquakes in Nagano. Maybe it was Memi getting angry." Not so much a cute little girl, as some people seem to think, but more like a Shinto goddess, lol.

    In a discussion of how natural she was, someone said that her ability to use her naturalness appropriately in different situations made her the "queen". Another post said it came without thinking. I think of the moment in the cooking relay show when she was trying to figure out what to do and Kasuga asked her a question, to which she replied with an absent "meow," not taking her attention off her task.
     
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  17. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    I hadn't noticed this until it was pointed out just now on 5channel, but Memi still has the largest number of posts in her 5ch thread of any member of Hinatazaka. She has over 40,000 posts. Nibu is second at 36,000+, followed by Kono-chan and Iguchi at 24,000+, Miho at 23,000+, and Tomita and Nao-chan at 22,000+. You can see that interest on 5channel is not exactly the same as general popularity.

    Nibu will definitely catch up, since she is running at 3 posts an hour, compared to Memi's 10 posts a day. Kono-chan is also doing 3 posts an hour. Nao-chan is getting 38 posts a day. The only members moving more slowly than Memi at this point are 3gens Takahashi and Morimoto, as well as Hiyo-tan and Ayaka.

    Memi hasn't performed for a year now, and graduated eight months ago, but still leads the pack. She stopped performing at the beginning of the school year last year, starting in April, and had an entire year to devote to study. I hope she made good use of it and is starting in the university of her choice now -- probably via online classes, due to COVID. Her father recently wrote that she has decided to enter the Art World.
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2020
  18. Five By Five

    Five By Five Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2019
    Location:
    Slovakia
    Oshimen:
    Koike Minami
    I noticed that some members - for example Nanako-chan from Keyakizaka after graduation started her own IG, Twitter and also streaming on Youtube...
    Is Memi doing something? Youtube, showroom, twitter, instagram, ... or something?
     
  19. MasToppu

    MasToppu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2016
    Location:
    Nusantara
    Oshimen:
    Kosaka Nao
    I believe she has twitter or instagram for personal use, not for sharing it with fans, as she said before, she is retired from ent world.
    So, as her fans, we should respect that, and stop looking for her whereabout and stalk her.
     
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  20. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi has left the entertainment world and is preparing to enter the art world. Maybe we will see her work sometime, if she makes progress there. She probably does message with her friends, but as far as we know she is not on Instagram or twitter, and I do not expect her to be, unless and until she becomes enough of an artist to use such things for commercial purposes, as her father does.

    Meanwhile, we can watch what she did as an idol, if we have it recorded. And some of it is still being shown on TV. For instance, today (Thursday) at 2pm NHK will replay episode 2 of the educational TV program she did last spring with Kono-chan and seiyuu Midorikawa Hikaru, called "Society and Information." This episode is about how far to trust what you see on the Net. You can see the video now on the NHK website: https://www.nhk.or.jp/kokokoza/tv/syakaijouhou/archive/chapter002.html

    She only did two or three episodes of that show before she suddenly stopped performing with Hinatazaka in April of last year. She announced her graduation in June and actually graduated in August, saying she was leaving the entertainment world. Only recently did her father reveal in a newspaper interview that he posted on his social media that she was entering the art world. That's all I know. Except that she is now a young woman of 18, not a girl of 14, and I wish her health, happiness and success, on her own terms, not ours or Sony's.
     
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