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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
    I wished Memi a happy birthday bilingually on Twitter, but I should do it here, too: Memi turned 18 on Monday, December 2nd. Happy Birthday, Memi! Here are two photos from her family celebration when she turned 16:

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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  2. otabe

    otabe Member

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    USA
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    soranyan
    I am 18 years old :(
     
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  3. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    As Memi embarks on her new life, her father is very ill. He has posted to twitter and facebook that he is in hospital in Helsinki, Finland, about to undergo heart surgery, and with the prospect of kidney surgery ahead. He has had stents put in several times before, and this overseas hospital stay was planned in advance, but his condition is apparently worse than he expected. I apologize to anyone who thinks this information does not belong here, but I have come to admire the man's art, as well as his daughter. I even admire these photos from his hospital room:

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    "The snow seen from the hospital room sometimes turns into rain," he writes. (That's his English. His Japanese is: 病室から眺める雪は時々雨に変わります。)
     
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  4. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    In Katoshi's blog about the first night of the Christmas live, she says that when they sang Yakusoku no Tamago, the first thing she thought of was Memi. She also thought of the time when they really didn't know what was going to happen to them, and how desperately they worked to move forward during the Hashiridasu Shunkan tour. And now they will actually perform in the Dome, as the song declared they would, at next year's Christmas concert.

    At the difficult time when the search for new members was announced, and the original members of Hiragana felt they had failed, they thought of quitting altogether, or of some of them joining Keyaki, but Memi declared that she wanted to keep working hard as a member of Hiragana, and led them in that direction.

    [​IMG]

    Love these outfits, as much as I have seen of them (there were also red ones):

    [​IMG]

    Kono-chan has continued alone on the NHK school program that she and Memi began as a team.

    I wonder if Memi was there watching.... I kind of doubt it. People have posted here and there saying they hoped Memi would just show up for one number on stage, preferably Yakusoku no Tamago. No, I think she has totally moved on and is living in some other world. I have no evidence for that, it's just what I feel.

    Hiyo-tan and Kage-chan were in the audience...but no Memi or Mao:

    [​IMG]

    To be honest, I've been watching Hinatazaka and thinking how good they are, and even thinking that they are better without Memi, who was by far my favorite member, but so different in style from the very idoly style they all do so well now. The smiling front was not easy for her.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2019
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  5. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi fans are happy to see a few glimpses of Memi again in a rebroadcast on NHK last weekend of the Numa ni Hamatte Kiite Mita show from last March. Here is the original broadcast from the Chinese site bilibili. The series title means something like: "Here's something I've really come to love," and features a different group or act on each show. This show was part of the big push for Hinatazaka at the time Kyun was being released.

    The episode includes a little sample of the Memi-Manamo burikko competition. Here are some screencaps. Not their finest version, but some nice moments:

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    The best of the burikko competition was in Hiragana Oshi #46 (190303), which you can see with English subs here. It's the burikko bum-sumo episode where both Memi and Manamo do well, but Memi has a couple of subtly(?) hilarious moves, and both members of Audrey work well with them.
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2019
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  6. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi's father's operation seems to have been successful, and he is now back home in Nagano prefecture, in hospital there as of 29 December, but writing to thank everyone for being concerned about him. "I'm still feeling vague, but it seems I have to express my embarrassment at feeling more alive than ever." This feeling of health and energy is apparently not unusual when people have their arteries cleaned out.

    A striking thing in the latest, 31 December post: it was by his elder daughter Myu, whom Memi once said was the real artist between them, and whom Memi succeeded as president of the art club at their middle school. The post was about the "Skull Tea Ceremony" exhibition at the Tokyo University of Art gallery (a gallery I've been to, on the campus at the northwest corner of Ueno Park). The photo shows what seems like a six-foot tall brilliant white plaster skull, open at the back.

    Now both of Kakizaki-sensei's daughters have been mentioned in his Facebook. The post says Myu was with a well-known exhibit designer from the Tokyo National Museum, Kinoshita Shisei. He was the artist who created the exhibition. Myu is probably attending an art university or art college herself. A family living in art. It was Myu who took that great series of photos of Memi in the snow last January, of which these are some:

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    EDIT: I doubt we are going to get any kind of New Year's message from Memi, but we do have one from Kakizaki Jun'ichi: "謹賀新年 With the best wishes for a happy New Year" and two photos, one apparently in and one from his hospital room in Nagano.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I wonder if any of the little figures on top of the electronic unit are from his daughters. The pre-Hiragana Memi could have imagined that dark figure: she was a fan of the macabre, I believe. And the (edible?) figure has echoes of her childhood stuffy and of the Easter Island figure to which she once compared Audrey's Kasuga. Maybe she and her sister were both at that art exhibit featuring a skull. She told Kyonko on Showroom last February that when she wanted to watch a horror film, she could call on her sister to watch it with her.

    Japanese fans keep hoping for Memi to show up in some performance. Personally, I imagine her free and happy and hard at work on her new life -- not looking back, despite Hinatazaka being on Kouhaku.

    EDIT: Now he says the decorations in his room are by his daughters. And the message heading says he's with Myu. And he adds this photo:

    [​IMG]

    (Click/tap all photos to enlarge)
     
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2020
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  7. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Memi's father, artist Kakizaki Junichi, has published more of her photographs in his Facebook and Twitter.

    A famous modern dancer -- Oono Yoshito -- has passed away, and Kakizaki-sensei says he should have gone to the funeral, and desperately wanted to, but was unable to, since he can barely stand or sit up in bed. He apologizes for sending his "second daughter, Memi" to represent him.

    Memi took a suite of photos at the funeral. In my opinion she sees people, and helps us see them. I like the way she shoots through a screen of some kind: other people, the withered plants, the fences. Make you feel present. The wide photo is full of personalities, and gives a feeling of being at the event, and of the many people who were there. The man on the right seems to recognize her, if no-one else does.

    I especially like that photo, the photo through the withered plants, and the photo with everyone seeming to be in jail. I hope the guests don't mind having their images posted...but I suspect Memi didn't worry about that. She’s an artist, lol. The ceremony was at a Christian church near Yokohama. (Click images to enlarge.)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Kakizaki Junichi calls Oono Yoshito his "great benefactor": Oono-san was a famous dancer, son of another famous dancer, and was known for offering free workshops to let people imitate his movements and learn about movement and dance. He died last Wednesday at 81. Here is a video about him, with Chinese subtitles. Kakizaki-sensei has a great interest in modern dance, which is often part of his art events. He probably learned from Oono-san. Here’s the Oono dance studio’s obituary message.

    Kakizaki-sensei, in a previous tweet, quotes from (the Keyakizaka46 song) "Eccentric, lyrics by Yasushi Akihito": "I'd never want to swim in a river as dirty as that." (そんな汚い川なら僕は絶対泳ぎたくはない)

    From the lyrics: "Affirming, denying, lying -- people just say whatever suits them at the time. I've had enough of that! It's all just fiction, childish illusions. This world is overflowing with lies and deceit. 'There are no fish in a clean river,' says someone with a smirk. I don’t want to swim in a river as dirty as that."

    I wonder if that's how Kakizaki-sensei feels, or even if perhaps it's how he believes Memi feels. Possibly both. Here's the photo from that tweet (photo by Kakizaki Junichi):

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2020
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  8. piduai

    piduai Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 16, 2019
    I find interesting how he used this song and that particular line
    I wish for his fast recovery
     
  9. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    The Japanese national university entrance examination for 2020 is taking place this weekend. If Memi is taking it, here's my wish that she does well, and gets into her first-choice university.

    EXTaishuu magazine did a survey of 300 men from their 20s to their 40s, asking which graduated Sakamichi member they would most like to have as a friend: Memi tied for fourth, Neru for 9th, and all the rest were former Nogizaka members:
    1位 生駒里奈 Ikoma Rina
    2位 西野七瀬 Nishino Nanase
    3位 若月佑美 Wakatsuki Yumi
    4位 橋本奈々未 Hashimoto Nanami
    4位 伊藤寧々 Itou Nene
    4位 伊藤かりん Itou Karin
    4位 柿崎芽実 Kakizaki Memi
    8位 市來玲奈 Ichiki Rena
    9位 長濱ねる Nagahama Neru
    9位 斉藤優里 Saitou Yuuri
     
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  10. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Almost exactly a year ago, on 5 February 2019, Memi and Kyouko did their hilarious SHOWROOM together. Here's a subbed reprise:


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    This was before they learned that Hiragana Keyaki was to become Hinatazaka46 -- that came six days later -- but they may already have known that the group was going to get a single.
    _______________________

    For anyone who's interested, Memi's dad is back home from hospital and well enough to go out to an art show and a nearby hot spring.

    On 2channel, an extraneous thread called "Memories of Kakizaki Memi" has filled up and someone has started a new thread of the normal kind for popular graduates, a support thread for "Kakizaki Memi (former Hinatazaka46)," following directly from the threads used when she was active. People are happily expecting to see her in the Hinatazaka history documentary film that will be released nationwide 27 March.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2020
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  11. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    It was exactly a year ago, on 11 February 2019, that the group's name changed from Hiragana Keyaki to Hinatazaka46. This was done on a SHOWROOM broadcast that announced the group would finally get a single. The show was a happy one...until the surprise announcement. When the announcement was made, most members were a bit confused, then happy; Kyouko was immediately over the moon with joy; but Memi looked devastated. In following days, she said it felt as if all she had worked so hard to create in Hiragana over the years was suddenly being destroyed, but added that she came to realize that wasn't true.

    I'm afraid I think that, like most things, it was both true and not true. The group turned toward a lighter, more energetic kind of single, in Kyun and Doremisolatido. To my way of thinking, it became a more Nogi- or even AKB-like idol group. Nao, with her widely-recognized beauty and skilled dancing and singing, became the face of the group, and Memi's time as centre receded even further into the past. She was centre when it was a more Keyaki-like group, in the sense that it was like "a group of ordinary high school girls trying to put on a play" as Aki-P once described the nature of Keyaki (as opposed to the art-college students of AKB or the high-class French schoolgirls of Nogi). Despite the way she recovered for the post-announcement press conference, I think Memi's first shocked impression may have been the initial big push that ended with her deciding to graduate (the stalking being the last straw). Her Hiragana was gone, and the new Hinatazaka was born. It has grown and grown and become better and better, but not in a way Memi could have led it. The new MVs and performances are fantastically good, and Memi could have kept up, but they aren't really her thing, it seems to me. In fact, to my eye Nao and Memi were the only two dancers that did every bit of every move exactly, like Suzumoto in Keyaki (I might have missed someone further back, but that's what I saw).

    Here is the Hiragana Oshi summary video of the announcement, showing Memi -- and Miho -- as the most obvious weepers:


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    And here is the full video of that SHOWROOM. At 26:52, Kumi begins to read out the announcement letter, which directs them to watch a screen, which gives the announcement. As the other members laugh and are happy, Memi looks deeply sad. She eventually recovers somewhat:


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    Finally, a couple of images of Memi's moment of devastation, and then three more as she gradually recovers (all photos can be clicked to enlarge):

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2020
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  12. NogiOver9k

    NogiOver9k Kenkyuusei

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    Dec 1, 2017
    Can they get her back. Im rooting for her from the beginning. Hey ukifune you dont have oshi's left.
     
  13. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    @NogiOver9k -- It doesn't seem as if graduated members ever come back. I once saw a post saying that she would have to join a new incoming class again if she wanted to come back. Manafi has said that Memi had long talked about the things she wanted to do that she could only do if she graduated, so she wasn't totally surprised by her graduation. And I'm not sure Memi was fitting in happily: Katoshi said in 2018-19 that she was surprised to find that Memi had turned into a teased little sister character.

    I myself think and hope she's happy to be out of show business and living a life less under scrutiny. What can a non-idol do that an idol can't? Going out with a guy and studying overseas are the two that come to mind. I once saw a tweet suggesting she would go to Australia (nothing about guys). But another possibility is being able to devote enough time to studying that she gets into the best possible university in Japan. I think she's actually a fairly good student: not Kage-chan level, but serious about it. She has mentioned liking math and being addicted to sudoku. And she spent the whole day studying before her Showroom with Kyouko last February.

    Yes, my oshis are all gone now. I really know how to pick them, lol. But I still support all of them, in whatever new life they are leading.
     
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  14. theobserver

    theobserver Next Girls

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    Nov 28, 2016
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    After watching the first (subbed) self documentary, I kinda get what you mean
    In some ways, are they getting too big too soon? But in some ways, they are not exactly a brand new group either. The foundations were set in the Hiragana days albeit in Kanji's shadow
     
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  15. MondyofAus

    MondyofAus Kenkyuusei

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    yokoyamayuiteam8
    So was the stalker the only reason she graduated or were there others?
     
  16. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

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    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    In general, I don't think there's ever only one reason for girls to graduate.
    In Memi case I think that has been the bigger and most worring factor (both for herself and her family) put on already existing reasons and thoughts, while her father was living a difficult situation.

    Despite her doll-like looks, Memi has never been conventional, never fully bent to fans requests and never fully bent to mngmnt decisions, but that hasn't been enough to make her graduate.
    She may won't have done it for a long time if not for the stalker
     
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  17. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    I agree with what @Dill writes. There's probably never only one reason to graduate, and I think there were a number of factors in Memi's case.

    Manafi has said a couple of times that Memi was always talking about things she wanted to do but could only do if she graduated. And Memi does not seem to have been that close with the other members, except for Manafi. She admitted on her Showroom with Kyouko that in fact she was always with Manafi during Hiragana/Hinata activities. She was clearly upset at the time of the name-change and wrote in following days that she planned to become a proud member of Hinatazaka, implying that it would take time.

    Japanese fans suggest -- and I agree -- that she was a bit downcast at the group changing to feature Nao-chan and the 2gens more. As one commented, she "had a surprising amount of pride" that made losing her early prominence hard to take. And I think she may have thought that her greatest skills lay outside idol activities, more in art and maybe other things. Personally, I think she could be a good actress, if she wanted to devote herself to that. But I also like the bits of jewelry she has made and shown on Keyaki Message, and her cartoons. And she has said that she likes math, and actually prefers sciences to arts, in school.

    So when her dad was ill, and she and he were both being stalked, it may have finally pushed her toward the exit. She said when she first announced her graduation, in June, that her "mind and body had been out of balance" since the spring.

    It was in April that the first big signs came: in a show broadcast late-night 14 April (Premium Melodix), I noticed immediately that Nao-chan was featured as the group's winker (and she is definitely good at it), whereas up to then Memi had been the featured winker. The other members there were shown trying to wink, but Memi was there and was not called on. I knew something was up then. She posted her last real Keyaki Message on that day. On April 19, she was absent for the groups first M-Station appearance. That's when the word "graduation" shockingly first came to mind.

    Her father posted about meeting his daughter in Tokyo that week. And according to her and Neru's Keyaki Message posts, she had spent the night at Neru's place around March 11, and then spent a day with her around April 7. Her friend and mentor Neru -- who was already in the process of graduating -- probably helped her make the decision. And I have no doubt her father was involved, too, in one way or another.

    Just to add something: I have never been able to see a video of her revelation about the stalker, at her graduation event, but the way I see it reported, it could be interpreted as saying she decided to graduate, and then the stalking made her decide to leave show business altogether.

    One more thing: the Nagano Broadcasting announcer who has made videos of himself doing Hinatazaka singles, now has one out for Sonna Koto Nai yo, and it features a number of references to Memi, which I detail in this post.

    EDIT: I should also say that there is evidence against my theory that she was ready to graduate anyway: she seemed very happy in the Showroom announcing Kyun, where they sat in practice outfits and did bits of the song. She was bouncing, and had a big smile. And she looked happy in many performances. I see all that as her making a determined effort to do the right thing, but it could be simple joy. She was certainly happy they were getting a single, at last.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2020
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  18. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Another example of Memi's photographic art (of her father's flower art) has appeared in her father's facebook:

    [​IMG]

    Her father set up flower arrangements in a room in a local hotel where he was to be interviewed by the major financial newspaper Nihon Keizai Shinbun. And then he did it again, after the interview, with this flower, a Camellia sasanqua. In both cases, the blooms would only last a day. Camellias are blooming now among the earliest flowers in late winter in the Northern Hemisphere, in Japan as well as where I live. Kakizaki-sensei did his own quick phone photos of the first set of flowers, but called in Memi with a better camera for this one.

    Memi seems to have a style, with the subject emerging from darkness, and a sharp glint of colour on the subject itself. Similar to her previous photos. Another stylistic theme shows up in her pics of her father's installation last fall, and of the funeral he sent her to, with a dark foreground separating the viewer from a brighter subject. In all cases, there is a feeling of the subject being obscured, but also of it leaping out from dark surroundings.

    Her father added a link to Sekai no Owari's song Sazanka, the MV of which shows a young man at home, working at drawing, being served food by his elder brother. His art is rejected by a teacher or buyer and he becomes very upset, even to the extent of sweeping the food his brother made onto the floor. Later, we see him proudly talking to people at an art show where a work of his is being shown: a drawing of the meal he trashed, with the title "Guilt." One can't help wondering if any of this relates to Memi's experiences in art. It certainly may relate to some of her father's past experiences. But likely it is just the chance of a title using the name of the flower.

    Hirate Yurina danced in one of the MVs of Sekai no Owari's Stargazer. Could this even be a distant hint that Techi and Memi are still good friends?

    The part of the hotel where the art was set up was designed by famous architect Endou Arata, who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright.
     
  19. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    Thanks @ukifune for the post, I didn't had the time to watch the video so I just liked Kakizaki sensei tweet and kept wondering why would he post it lol
    But I noticed too the use Memi does of shadows and lights and since she likes art, I think it's possible she is in her Rembrandt/Caravaggio period. They still are the most important artists who used shadows to bring out the subjects of their paintings and I can be wrong, but especially in the last pic, it seems to me she experimented with Rembrandt lighting, even if the style is mostly used on studio portraits.
    I think she's learning and experimenting both with photography and art in general.
    As art student I'm truly curious to see her work evolve, and I'm also quite sad all of this didn't came out when we had the chance to question her about her creations through SR or such... but life makes weird paths and we may will have the chance to see her own expositions soon.

    Wikipedia page about Rembrandt lighting , if someone is interested
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt_lighting
     
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  20. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
    @Dill -- She mentioned about a year ago that she liked the idea of studying the history of "overseas" art. I thought she was either referring to an art course she was taking in high school or to wanting to enter an art university/college. Her first dark shot was of her father's piece "Mountain of Suffering," and I thought it brought out the suffering. I also liked her shot of her father talking to a group in dim light, with a long red piece bright and clear on the wall behind them. I have always thought she was looking at things. I loved how she seemed to be looking straight at the viewer through the camera lens, as if she was more interested in seeing what lay outside her than in showing herself to other people.

    Thanks for the link about Rembrandt lighting. I remember being in the Horyuji temple near Nara and watching a photographer setting up shots with a light and an assistant holding a reflector. I think Memi may be particularly interested in lighting because she herself was lit so badly in most professional photos: she needed to be lit from the side, and/or seen from a slight angle, to avoid seeming moon-faced, as she did under strong direct stage lighting. Her own selfies and shots by other members seemed to me the best photos of her we got.

    Memi said early on that she just became head of her middle-school art club because her sister had been, and that her sister was the real artist. I picture her sister going to an art college, and Memi wanting to join her there. I'm so glad her father is giving her these opportunities to create things and show them to people. The various cartoons she did as a member of Hiragana/Hinata all delighted me, starting with the quick portrait of Kumi she did during their first live. The more detailed self-portrait she did in a later DVD extra was much less impressive...although she looked great doing it, intent and real.
     
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