TRANSLATION - KAT-TUN 15TH ANNIVERSARY PAMPHLET

 Hello, guys!
Finally, after ages I completed this translation! I'm sorry for taking so long, but real life responsibilities and exams just slowed me down @@
Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it!

1st section – Passage of Time

KAMENASHI KAZUYA - SOLO INTERVIEW

Personally, the 15th anniversary was the one target of these several years of activities. For this reason, frankly speaking, I’m glad I could properly stand here for the anniversary, doing things this way.

This 15th anniversary was... fast, but, it’s been a long time. Looking back, it happened in the blink of an eye, however, I don’t really think I would want to do it again one more time.

That alone, this moment, I think I’ve got this moment. While there were so many waves other than my own, it’s been 15 years during which we had to make choices while finding my own balance, from the smallest things to the biggest.

Right in time for the group’s 15th anniversary, I got the chance to act in a Nihon TV drama for the first time after 4 years (“Red Eyes”), and KAT-TUN were in charge of its theme song; personally, I think that the group, too, were happy about it.

We had to wait almost 3 years for a single too, but I think that you get to view it as a substantial mass, something really amazing that you get to hold. Among this, the most important part of it is “ROAR’s” intro. There was a version more fierce and more climax-like, however, I thought that it was definitely different from the work’s world view, so I got to give my opinion about it.

My solo song, “Pure Ice”, is a song written by the rapper AK-69-san. I’ve previously listened to AK-69-san’s song, so from before this, I’ve thought that it would be good if we could get to do something together.

In the group’s solo songs I’ve always been aware of the fact that I had to “stick to only a theme.”

So, that was like “Try to exist in a place which is not only your own thoughts”; but in KAT-TUN’s music, predominantly each member has their own way of doing things and their own compositions into it. So, wherein I play “Kamenashi” to the fullest, doing my solo songs, I don’t really have the feeling of acting like “Kamenashi the artist”. If so, since I’ve been given this kind of environment, I want to give a somehow different kind of nourishment.

And I think that this time too I was given a good challenge. Both for the performance in the MV and the live I’ve thought to add something that could please the fans, adding a bit of Japanese elements into it, for example. We want it to be a year both we and our fans can enjoy, and while we are at it, we are really happy to be able to share March 22nd together with everyone.

The situation we are in is what it is, and, as we go on with the preparation, we have to be making various decisions, but as for my personal feelings, I want to come up with something which will be able to connect us both with the people who are at the venue, of course, and also with those who are watching via live streaming. I think it would be good if we could create an environment in which everyone can comfortably celebrate it.

As for my current approach to the group, it has now reached a point of normal movement like-like point, I think.

For the past 10 years since our debut, I felt this sense of responsibility of how to fulfill my role as Kamenashi Kazuya in KAT-TUN, while wondering to myself whether “this way of doing some stuff is right or not?” In the past 3, 4 years, I’ve had various approaches, thinking of the group’s balance. It’s been 5 years of looking for a solution and challenging, while we tested and worried about the possibilities we felt in the course of these 10 years. But now I feel like we have come full circle, and I think that because this year is our 15th anniversary, so it is something big of course.

Personally, I want this 15th anniversary to be a proper juncture for me, and that’s the same for KAT-TUN as well, and that’s the same for my own activities too.

This year I also turned 35 so I’ve reached a turning point year.

Especially during the past 1 or 2 years, I’ve been spending time thinking of this, ...forming new basis as I got to this point, and making it a juncture to what I’ve done so far.

Saying that it can be a juncture might sound like an ending, but I don’t mean it in a negative way, of course, I mean it as a juncture to move on. It’s about marking it with a dot, or taking a breath once. I think I have to reset for a moment and go back to the basic, and as myself, I should listen carefully to the feelings gushing forth. I want to do more challenges in the future.

Now, I can’t really state that I want to make a big change, but I have something I want to change inside of me.

As for the group’s activities too, rather than what’s ahead, I want to cherish this year I have in front of me.

First of all, for this year, I’ll be standing as KAT-TUN for the 15th anniversary.

Being able to be like this, to reach the anniversary as a group, it’s nothing but thanks to the fans, and we are really grateful.

I think that willfully cherishing this moment is to be facing the fans who are here now and the people who have been supporting us so far.

UEDA TATSUYA - SOLO INTERVIEW

I think that, during these 15 years, many things have happened.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the past like, “10 years ago it was like this” and such; there are many things to look back to. As for the 15th anniversary, I’ve been aware of it ever since we entered the charging period.

At that time, of course it wasn’t just the three of us talking. Even myself, I didn’t concretely decide on what to do; but I vaguely thought that “with the 15th anniversary getting close, it’s better to work hard,” because we couldn’t properly celebrate neither our 5th anniversary nor our 10th anniversary with our fans. And, in the end... there’s this situation, but we’ve reached the stage where we can celebrate our anniversary. It’s something I’m grateful for.

The situation with Corona is common all over the world so there is nothing that we can do about it. Even with the current situation, there should certainly be some ways we can do, so, while thinking of this, we’re preparing many things.

Since we haven’t released any single for about 3 years, I believe that -this- it’s the first thing that makes people think, “Ah, the 15th anniversary celebrations are starting!”

The songs we were recording, in their whole, aren’t as overly rock as what we’ve done so far. I feel like it’s a mixture of various components. The staff suggested the songs, but we selected songs which are a little different from what we’ve done up till now, so that will be a new challenge for the three of us. I think it’s a satisfactory work on various aspects. So, make sure to get it.

My solo, “Yankee Kata Omoi Chuu” is a cheerful song I did 13 years ago for my solo concert (“Mouse Peace”, 2008). I could have chosen a new song and show something cool, but this time, it’s “the 15th anniversary”, so, it’s something enormous. Thus, I thought to choose a song that everyone knows and which they can get excited with.

I thought that with this song I could make the concert a little fun. So, from the start, since there was a talk for the making of the MV, I thought I could make a worldview easy to understand, and even in the MV. Now, the recording is over and we’re in the midst of balancing the various sounds with rave reviews, it’s a trial and error process. I thought it would be good to add the guitar or joke around more. It originally is a catchy song, depending on the balance of the sound, it can become a bit harsh.

When I listened to the recording, I felt uncomfortable for a moment because the “Yankee Kata Omoi Chuu” I’m used to listen to was about 10 years old, so I felt like, “My voice is so high! So thin!” (laugh)

Also about the MV, I thought to film it with adding a little touch of comedy in it. I’ve thought of everything, the contents and the flow, almost all by myself.

I wonder what to think of the day of the debut, on March 22. I can’t really know about that until we practically approach it, but I think we’ll surely climb onto many feelings on that day. We haven’t decided yet the way we’ll broadcast it on the 22nd. In case there will be a live broadcast, even if you’ll call the encore across the screen, we won’t be able to hear the voices. At that moment, be it with a comment or with likes for example I hope that we can feel connected with people telling that to us. Because of this, we’re talking about how nice it would be to have something which can be enjoyed through a live distribution, not only one-sidedly. Of course, we’re also thinking about giving a proper service to the audience at the venue.

We’re starting various preparations for the 15th anniversary, lately I’m having a lot of meetings with the members. However, last year I almost haven’t been able to see their faces. Compared to the other groups, our group activities might not be that much, but it’s true that each member has his own thoughts, that the group has various opinions, and that it’s also about moving while picking a balance.

What kind of road the group will pursue in the future will be decided after achieving our 15th anniversary this year, by what fans will think, what the members will think, what the staff will think, what I will think.

I’m sure there will be various things in my head on the 15th anniversary, but first, I want to focus on giving a satisfying show to the fans.

About my personal work... If needed, of course I’ll do something like “Endless Shock – Eternal”, but honestly, I don’t think about what I personally want to do as an individual, like “I want something like this.” This year will be “fan first” ‘till the end. Because we really want it to feel like “sorry for making you wait for so long.”

We will do all of what we can as a group in order to make our fans happy and to make KAT-TUN’s 15th anniversary exciting, so please look forward to it.

NAKAMARU YUICHI - SOLO INTERVIEW

Looking back at it, these 15 years have gone by fast! But I think it was a deep time. As for the turning point the 15th anniversary is, I wasn’t really aware of -having reached- it in the first place, however, ever since around 2 or 3 years, I did have something going on in my mind, like: “What to do for the 15th anniversary”. In the end, it’s a basic anniversary, but I’m kind of excited as I’ll celebrate it with positive feelings, a different mindset than the 5th and 10th anniversaries.

The new song we’ve recorded for our new single “ROAR” is, overall, a song which gives a great importance to the medium tune, I believe. There are both calmer and more mature songs, I think we’re making them being a little more conscious of our age. It’s not much of a song selection to show for a live, but it’s a total mix of different genres, so I like it. Personally, I’m working on the single’s production with the usual feelings, but, since it’s our 15th anniversary, and, on top of all, since it’s been a long time there’s also this feeling of going on. However, I was surprised -when I realized- it’s been about 3 years since last time we’ve released a single (laugh). It’s indeed a lot of time. It’s even more time than the charging period (laugh).

My solo song is “change your mind”, the theme song I used last year for my solo stage “Nakamaru-kun no tanoshii jikan 4”. I chose this song because I liked it on the first place, and because I thought that I wouldn’t have had any other chance to turn it into a sound source if not at this moment. The staff also collected other candidates, but there was nothing that surpassed it. I wrote the lyrics myself, I also did the recording during the stage play and recorded the arrangement too as it is. I thought it would be good if it was a song which people who came to see the stage play remember. I also did “ASMR” at the stage play, where I had the sound going around above people’s heads, or flowing from right to left, I did a three-dimensional sound production, but I also put a playful element to the music. Maybe, you can hear the three-dimensional sounds in the interlude. It might be better to listen to it with earphones on.

On the day of our debut, March 22nd, there’s going to be a live, I’m thankful and happy about it. We don’t know what it will be like with Corona, but I want to do something that day in a way or another; if we can, I hope we can get to spend some time with many people like an event. For the live on the 22nd, I hope we can do something with the live broadcast. Since it’s the long-awaited day of the debut, I hope we can do something special.

In regards of the group in future… talking about the current situation, the three of us only have the program “KAT-TUN no sekaiichi tame ni naru tabi! +”. Personally, as long as it’s with the group, I want to do activities with music and live concerts on an annual basis. During these 3 years, I think each of us was enriched with also individual activities, so I think it can be good to keep going this way too in future. Give the age and also the changes of the group, KAT-TUN doesn’t have the kind of atmosphere such as “all or nothing, concentrate everything into the group activities”. I believe it would be good if each of us could work on what we are good at and interested in, and then return those results back to the group. As for my personal view of the future… this year, in addition to videos, I want to learn the basis to become a mangaka. I wonder where I could publish a manga. Right now, I’m working to forge my drawing skills, but I’m also drawing a story based on my own experience in the entertainment industry so far.

Like it is at any point of time, you can’t really think too much about the future. For this reason, I’m not really thinking about the 20th anniversary and such at the moment. Once the 15th anniversary is over, we might have more consciousness about the future, more next year or the year after that. Right now, we want to focus properly on making the 15th anniversary as fun as possible. Given the time, we are grateful that we could put together the plans for the live, I’m happy and grateful that we could celebrate the 15th anniversary like this on the first place. That wouldn’t be possible without people who support us, we are really grateful towards our fans, but… what to say? To start with, supporting somebody for 15 years is difficult, isn’t it? The environment changes, tastes change. Not to mention, it’s a group where various things happened. Based on this, I want to say the following words of gratitude, however… there aren’t words for that, so I’ll just say “I’m grateful”.

Anyway, to grant everyone’s wishes, we are properly preparing things and we want to spend the best 15th anniversary. Right now, that’s all I feel.

2nd section – “15” KEYWORDS KAT-TUN TALKS

"15" KEYWORDS - UEDA TALKS

1. WORD/ What is something somebody has told you that you will never forget?

I remember Johnny-san telling me: “YOU are good for theatre.” Time ago, when I was rehearsing for “SHOCK”, there was a time when I was Kazama (Shunsuke)-san’s substitute, and they told me so after watching that performance. And, so, I got to be the one saying the first line in “Le ciel ~ Kimi no shiawase inoru kotoba ~”

2. ENTERTAINMENT/ What you think about entertainment.

Right now, compliance is getting stricter. I think it’s getting more difficult, especially with Tv, as there are more restrictions compared to the internet. Even Nakamaru-kun is always saying “I wanna become a YouTuber!” (laugh). However, after you use YouTube once, you should always update, so it’s hard to search contents, I think. Isn’t it good that he still wants to do it despite that? I’ve heard some of the ideas Nakamaru thought and I think they sound interesting.

3. TIME/ Looking back to these 15 years, what do you think of as “why did this thing happen?”

Why, in the past, did I make a hole in the wall of a certain TV station’s dressing room… When I was making the song “Butterfly” with Akanishi we had a fight. I was writing the lyrics, but when I wasn’t there Akanishi complained about me a lot and I said: “Don’t talk behind my back!”

That didn’t hit him. I hit a wall nearby with a punch and it made a hole of my fist’s size. After that, the staff took me away to the toilets (laugh). I’m really sorry to that TV station.

4. SCENE/ What is a scene you can’t forget of these 15 years?

The moment when Nakamaru cried at the end of “10ks” tour. Somehow, I can’t forget it. While Kame was doing his greetings, somebody came there wandering around, when I thought: “A suspicious person just arrived”, -I realised- it was Nakamaru (laugh); he was seeking for a hug while he was crying. Usually, he’s such a calm person, so I thought he’d show that much feelings. It made my eyes teary too. I tried to hold back the tears, but I don’t know if I could.

5. MUSIC/ About KAT-TUN’s music

My favourite songs are “DON’T U EVER STOP” and “Keep the faith”. When I listen to the intro I get so pumped up. They’re classic songs which also give the feeling of “We’re having a live!”

6. LIVE/ What are lives for you?

This has been my principal occupation ever since the time I was a Johnny’s jr., it’s something I absolutely cannot let go. I’ve always been told that “KAT-TUN is live concerts”, that’s why. Even among our kouhai, there are lots of them who use KAT-TUN’s songs. The other day, one of my kouhai from “SHOCK” told me: “So, you’re having a live, huh? I’ll go to steal it.” I told them: “Don’t steal!” (laugh).

7. GOODS/ Which item left an impression on you among KAT-TUN’s goods?

I remember well having a tattoo on my face on 2014’s countdown concert’s uchiwa. Up until then, there were only two choices for the uchiwa: either a serious face or smiling. But, in that situation, we’ve been told that “It’s okay to do what we want.” I said: “If I were a foreigner, I’d have a tattoo on the face”, so that’s what I took (laugh).

This year’s uchiwa (with the “making a 15 with fingers” thing), Kame took a pic with that pose first, so I said “Shall we match?” and did it.

8. MEMBER/ What are the members for you?

It’s changed over the years, hasn’t it? At the time of our debut, it felt like they were like friends from a boys’ high school. There also were lots of fights, and that’s why we could say what we wanted. But, then, we started to lose members, thus I think we changed our way of thinking into “that’s work”, so now they’re like work partners. People I work with.

9. KAZUYA KAMENASHI/ About Kamenashi Kazuya

Somebody who’s unshakable about the way things should be. He won’t crumble, in a good way, he makes clear judgements about how “this is what you should do, this is what you shouldn’t do”, he can make various choices without wavering. When it comes to work, he’s a man of principle. He’s also the one who raises the brand of the group itself. I think that Kame makes KAT-TUN high brand.

10.  YUICHI NAKAMARU/ About Nakamaru Yuichi

He’s the owner of a creative power that the two of us don’t have, a person who brings a new style to KAT-TUN. In the past, I used to walk my way home with Nakamaru… So, I said that the members are “work partners” before, but I don’t say it in a dispassionate way. Honestly, I also want to say “they’re friends, they’re family”. But, since that isn’t with work, I won’t say it.

11.  FUTURE/ Some new challenges you would like to try that you’ve never done until now

I’ve already started it, but… Israel practical army martial arts. I’ve doing boxing as a sport until now, but don’t we have all the ranks? I’ve been thinking about how to beat big guys, and I think about doing something real. I don’t really know what’s there at this time (laugh).

12.  BEST/ Ueda’s top 3

2021’s favourite foods.

1st: Sushi, 2nd: Meat, 3rd: tantan nabe (hotpot).

Lately, the sake when I eat sushi is good… The second place is yakiniku. I like lean beef. The third place is for tantan nabe. I’ve been eating noodle soup at home adding vegetables in it, then I like to add instant ramen at the end. It’s really yummy.

13.  JOHNNY’S/ About senpai and kouhai

In terms of senpai, aniki (Sakurai Sho) is the person I’m grateful to. I think that for him it was just a normal act of kindness, but for me it was a period where I was piled up with hopelessness, when so many things came together, and he was the one who reached out to me. It’s nothing but gratefulness. As for kouhai… I got affectionate to (7MEN samurai’s) Sugita Rinne, in particular. He’s got a pure white heart. I ended up teaching him various bad things (laugh).

14.  HYPHEN/ A wish you have for Hyphens

I don’t wish for anything. I want all of you -Hyphens- to be healthy more than anything.

15.  KAT-TUN/ What are KAT-TUN for you?

Aren’t they all of what I live for? I’ve normally grew with them from before high schools and junior high, almost all of it is filled with KAT-TUN. When I look back to my life, I think there’s only KAT-TUN.

"15" KEYWORDS - KAMENASHI TALKS

1. WORD/ What is something somebody has told you that you will never forget?

It will always be unforgettable when Johnny-san told me: “YOU will have to carry responsibilities.” When he told me, I thought: “Ehh, I don’t want to~” (laugh). At that time, I was a kid, so it sounded like “Why just me?”

I don’t know if it’s KAT-TUN, or Johnny’s, or my family that I carried responsibility for, but, after that, there were many moments where I thought: “Is it so?”

I’m always regularly reminding myself of Johnny-san’s words to help myself face it when things are at their lowest.

2. ENTERTAINMENT/ What you think about entertainment.

At the end, I think it’s something I like. I enjoy it both as a receiver and as the player. While being in various situations, there often are moments where I think: “I like it, after all,” in particular, I really felt it during my solo concert. It simply made me realise that “I like fun works”, and that’s what became my energy to get back and restart.

3. TIME/ Looking back to these 15 years, what do you think of as “why did this thing happen?”

I don’t think there’s anything? Basically, my thinking hasn’t changed. Before I even noticed, I’ve become much more conscious of not making waves in situations I’m in, so I don’t have moments like “I’ve ended up doing this.” I don’t know if this way of living is fortunate or unfortunate, though.

4. SCENE/ What is a scene you can’t forget of these 15 years?

The first time at Tokyo Dome is what I can’t forget on top of everything; but also “10ks” has left a deep memory inside of me. Then, also “Union” was impressive. Like, when the three of us walked and gathered at the opening. That kind of was deeply moving. I remember myself feeling that I had to put on a gear again and take on the stage.

5. MUSIC/ About KAT-TUN’s music

Which song left a deep memory. If I had to dare say, “Bokura no machi de” might have left a deep impression. I asked Oda (Kazumasa)-san to write it. At that time, it was the first tie-up song for one of the group’s singles, and as kids there were lots of conflicts. And “YOU” was the same. It was a new move for me, it’s a song of a time when I was 20 and I was doing things while talking to many people, so of course it left a deep impression.

6. LIVE/ What are lives for you?

An absolute happy time. Because I really like to meet the audience and have a fun time just like that, after all. Of course, I want to meet fans personally. It’s difficult given the current situation, but if there’s a way we can do it, I want to meet everyone and make noise with the crowd.

7. GOODS/ Which item left an impression on you among KAT-TUN’s goods?

Since we put a lot of effort when it comes to the goods, I like them all. Basically, I have them at home. I also bring home the t-shirts I used during the live tours, I have the uchiwa too. Right now, in particular, I use the coaster from “come Here” tour, at home.

8. MEMBER/ What are the members for you?

I think that it’s because of these members that the group called KAT-TUN was born, and I think that they certainly influenced me. I think there will always be a special consciousness about this. If I look back to the past, I’ve always thought about the members’ balance and the group’s construction. Be it with 6, 5, 4 or 3 people, I’ve always been thinking about how to put together KAT-TUN during each era.

9. TATSUYA UEDA/ About Ueda Tatsuya

Since I don’t know about his private life, there’s still a certain number of unknown things. Looking back, he’s a person who’s changed a lot, he really has a sense of “that’s the channel he is in now.” It’s nearly ten years he’s settled into his current character? But if I had to tell about his character in the past, he was super pissed (laugh). I hope with his channel and tension he can be flexible and present as KAT-TUN.

10. YUICHI NAKAMARU/ About Nakamaru Yuichi

Nakamaru-kun too doesn’t know about my life. His character hasn’t changed a lot, has it? Ah, but as years pass, he got more stubborn (laugh). He’s become particularly picky during the years. He’s the one who mostly says: “I want to do this this way” or “I don’t want to do this” among us members. I think it’s about his awareness of “how to be independent” as the members decreased. I think that all those changes have put together what KAT-TUN is now.

11. FUTURE/ Some new challenges you would like to try that you’ve never done until now

“I want to do new challenges” and make this and next year about finding what I can think of.

12. BEST/ Kamenashi’s top 3

1st We became 3!

2nd We became 4!

3rd We became 5!

These are KAT-TUN’s three special events (laugh). No other event can exceed this (laugh).

13. JOHNNY’S/ About senpai and kouhai

It’s difficult to choose who to talk about, as there are many senpai, but I’m really grateful to Kimura (Takuya)-kun. Kimura-kun was the first senpai whose house I visited. Since I saw Kimura-senpai’s house first, I set a high goal: “If I work hard, will I be able to live in a house like this?” (laugh).

About kouhai… Yokoo Wataru, or Kawai Fumito, or Snowman, or SixTONES, those kouhai who come to my house. If I see them on TV I want them to work hard. Now, I’m on spot with Matsumura (Hokuto) for a drama, so we’re comrades. I hope we can dig deeper into our relationship like this.

14. HYPHEN/ A wish you have for Hyphens

I don’t have any wish. I myself have been able to stand as part of this group for all this time thanks to you guys’ existence. For this we are able to celebrate our 15th anniversary. I’m really grateful to you all.

15. KAT-TUN/ What are KAT-TUN for you?

Myself. I’ve always been KAT-TUN and moved as KAT-TUN, and it’s so even now. I think it’s the same also for the members who quit. It doesn’t matter the age, as a fact, KAT-TUN won’t change. For this, even now, I’m aware that KAT-TUN isn’t just 3. Of course, I’m aware of the balance there is now among the members, and that I myself can make it a cool existence for the group with my strength, but it’s also as the members who quit… I want them to think “Wow, I was part of that group!” when they look back to it; I always want it to be a group people won’t think negatively of. Because it’s also my pride, I believe.

"15" KEYWORDS - NAKAMARU TALKS

1. WORD/ What is something somebody has told you that you will never forget?

“YOUR beatbox is the best in Japan.” These words from Johnny-san made me happy. He was exaggerating. I was like “the best in Japan” (laugh). If I remember well, he told me during the “Dream Boys” before our debut. However, the first time I performed it (beatbox), Johnny-san laughed at me. He said “What are you doing?”

That’s because he didn’t really know about beatbox’s existence. At that time he made fun of me, but years later he approved it. Including these memories, I can’t forget those words.

2. ENTERTAINMENT/ What you think about entertainment.

I can live without the entertainment, but I think it’s definitely better of it’s there. Because, compared to the past, now it’s more connected to the internet, so I feel that the entertainment is quite fragmented.

3. TIME/ Looking back to these 15 years, what do you think of as “why did this thing happen?”

My hairstyle, maybe… (laugh). I kept it long till the nape and had it blonde, I was full of myself. KAT-TUN was like this too, and everyone had that kind of hairstyle. It’s the surroundings’ fault, isn’t it (laugh). Since I entered Johnny’s, I wondered what style would have been good, so I imitated Takki’s hairstyle and hair colour at that time.

4. SCENE/ What is a scene you can’t forget of these 15 years?

My earliest memory of 15 years ago is our debut live. I can’t forget that. After that, when we announced our restart of activities at the countdown concert (2017-2018). There were fans from various groups at the venue, I was surprised to see that the response we had was warmer and more welcoming than we’d expected. It was really happy.

5. MUSIC/ About KAT-TUN’s music

I quite like some of our coupling songs. Old songs like “Your side” (from “Yorokobi no uta”). There are many catchy songs among KAT-TUN’s A-tracks, but I personally also like those tunes with a little pathos in them.

6. LIVE/ What are lives for you?

If I have to exaggerate it, they’re one of my reasons to live. The years where there weren’t concerts are different, after all. Thinking of and coming up with many ideas, giving them shape, looking forward to display them, the sense of accomplishment after it’s over, I like all of that.

7. GOODS/ Which item left an impression on you among KAT-TUN’s goods?

The charger from “10ks” tour. We were in the middle of a lot of talks about suspending the group’s activities for a while, and thanks to this item we could relieve the atmosphere a little, like “It’s okay to joke about it”. But, the idea came late. We suddenly thought of it days after we decided everything to make, and we asked to give it a try.

8. MEMBER/ What are the members for you?

It’s conventional, but they feel like family, right? In addition to that, to say it, we’ve shared both the pain and the tension of work. So… It’s a little difficult to compare to anything. During the time we debuted, there was a feeling like “If they’re here then I’m reassured”, but lately it feels yet differently… it’s really difficult to explain. It’s like an existence which goes beyond a family.

9. KAZUYA KAMENASHI/ About Kamenashi Kazuya

It’s been like this even in the past, but he’s somebody who influences the group’s image and shapes abstractions. I’m grateful to him, he’s somebody to rely on. I believe this fundamental relationship doesn’t change.

Speaking of which, the other day, when he came to “Shuuichi”, he mailed me. I was about to send him one and was typing it, then I received his mail saying: “Thank you for today” and I replied: “I was thinking of sending you a message too.” It was telepathy.

10.  TATSUYA UEDA/ About Ueda Tatsuya

If I look at the group objectively, his role and character changed. I don’t know how he feels about it, however… I’m sorry if he’s got any burden. I can’t clearly say if his current character is part of his real personality. He’s often “changing character”. However, if I were to tell him he does he would get angry (laughs). Even our relationship has never changed.

11.  FUTURE/ Some new challenges you would like to try that you’ve never done until now

There’s nothing in particular. Except for manga and videos, I don’t think I would want to get involved in other things. In order to increase my drawing skills, I’m drawing lots of manga, as and “for the video editing: I make an image of what I want to do, and if I don’t know how to do it I search on the net and learn it.

12.  BEST/ Nakamaru’s top 3

1st “quarter” tour’s shot glass. I put earrings in it.

2nd “CAST” “dishes you can use with no esitation” (T/N: the name is a pun, since in Japanese “dish” is “sara” and “without hesitation” is “saratto”, hence the Japanese name for the good is “saratto tsukaeru sara”). I put soy sauce in them, or umeboshi. I use the three of them equally.

3rd “IGNITE” fan. I used it in my room during summer.

13.  JOHNNY’S/ About senpai and kouhai

A senpai I respect is Nagase (Tomoya)-kun. Simply, he’s really cool. We’ve hung out a few times and he was very kind to me. As for kouhai… I don’t really have time to check (laugh). However, on a side note, some time ago there was a question on a magazine asking: “If you were to make a football team, who would you choose?” and even there I brought up Nagase-kun. When I said something like: “He’s really cool, he’s good at playing football and he’d be the leader of the team”, apparently the writer misunderstood it for King&Prince’s Nagase (Ren), so it became an article where Nagase (Ren) was highly praised (laugh). Apparently, also Nagase (Ren) is good at playing football, so that made sense. I didn’t have the chance to correct it, so I feel kind of sorry… Nagase (Ren) is also a good kid, but my real answer was TOKIO’s Nagase-kun (laugh).

14.  HYPHEN/ A wish you have for Hyphens

What can it be… I want you to have fun. I want you to enjoy KAT-TUN, including the concerts and watch over us. Also, I’d be happy if we could enliven things up along with KAT-TUN. We couldn’t do this without fans’ help.

15. KAT-TUN/ What are KAT-TUN for you?

I feel like they are a part of me. I’ve been doing this ever since high schools until now, so I mean that they are something natural and that I cannot be without. I feel like there’s a part in my body called KAT-TUN.

3rd section – KAT-TUN 15TH CROSSTALK

Since their formation, KAT-TUN has held a great number of their own lives and tours, together, they’re recognized as a group who “grew up with lives”. The three of them have accumulated various experiences through live concerts and are looking back from their first solo live in 2002 till the present days.

Kamenashi: Looking back from the start… I was really happy when I heard we’d have our own very first live in 2002 (Okyaku-sama wa kami sama – concert- granting the love request of 55000 people!!). But, at that time, we still couldn’t use special effects like our senpai did, right?

Nakamaru: It’s nostalgic that we couldn’t use special effects (laugh). Somebody used to say “Do~n!”

Ueda: Nope, we didn’t say it, did we?

Nakamaru: Eh~, nobody did? With the mic.

Kamenashi: In the end we had the sound added. Actually, since it was a concert, we said “some thing~” and wanted to add the “do~n” after that, but since we didn’t have it, we added that sound.

Ueda: Right, right, we had sounds added (laugh). Honestly, I thought we could at least have special effects.

Kamenashi: We learnt quite something, budget-wise. I learnt that there are also stages for costumes with senpai (laugh). The happiness to be able to have a concert was amazing, but there are a lot of circumstances. Also, Nakamaru-kun got hurt, right? Before the show.

Nakamaru: Ah, indeed I got hurt. The day before, during rehearsals… I think it was when the stage was dark, I was going out the stage and bumped into a section of the set, so I got cut under my eyebrow. However, we managed to hold the live smoothly.

Kamenashi: I fell off the stage during 2003’s concert “Kotoshi mo, Ah Taihen Thank U Natsu”.

Ueda: “The three butts”? (When Kamenashi did the backflip and fell off the stage he hit his butt and the newspapers reported it as the “three butts”).

Nakamaru: For real, if you got one step wrong there, you could have died.

Kamenashi: I used a wheelchair, indeed. After that, I did the 2003 concert “Odaiba Bouken Ou” while injecting medicine.

Ueda: During the Odaiba Bouken Ou the lights fell off and I cut my brow and had to be taken to the hospital.

Nakamaru: Something like that happened (laugh).

Kamenashi: Then, always during Odaiba Bouken Ou, when I was high-fiveing Ueda-kun, the sharp charms of his bracelet cut my finger… (laugh).

Ueda: That’s nostalgic!

Nakamaru: It was a weapon! (laugh).

Kamenashi: I had blood dripping, and when I thought “What, what, what?” it started flowing out.

Ueda: Even my bracelet was tainted fully red (laugh).

Nakamaru: There was blood falling on the stage too. I thought “Whose blood is it?”

Kamenashi: It was Ueda Tatsuya’s sharp (the charms on his bracelet) period. To think of it, at that time everyone got lots of injuries.

Nakamaru: Wasn’t that desperate? And we still didn’t even have the special effects.

Kamenashi: To say the contrary, if we had special effects from the beginning, we might not have had such a flashy show later at Tokyo Dome. The lack of special effects complex led us to our debut concert in 2006 and “Break the Records” in 2009.

Nakamaru: Speaking of which, when we did Odaiba Bouken Ou, the hotel where we held the meeting said: “Let us make a statue” of all the six KAT-TUN.

Kamenashi: Amazing (laugh).

Ueda: Certainly, it was rejected.

Nakamaru: “As you’d imagine, a statue…”, then I said no (laugh).

Kamenashi: In 2004 there was “SUMMARY”?

Ueda: We did “SUMMARY” at that time.

Kamenashi: Wasn’t that the first time Johnny-san packed together all the things we wanted to do? This then led to “DREAM BOYS” and so on. Johnny-san had a fever, right?

Nakamaru: Wasn’t Johnny-san always there at the venue?

Ueda: I have some memories about a flying accident during “SUMMARY”. Didn’t it always stop at the top?

Nakamaru: It did, it did! I couldn’t go down, being hang up like that. That truly was a messy show (laugh).

Kamenashi: On the contrary, U was hanging up about 10cms from the ground.

Ueda: Right, right. The feet were barely raised (laugh).

Kamenashi: The situation had us either hanging from a really big height or merely floating a bit up the ground. Even if you’re cool, that wasn’t cool. I thought that humans are powerless.

Both: Ahahah (laugh).

Nakamaru: By the way, despite the tiresome physical conditions, during “SUMMARY”, Johnny-san said: “When this is over, I’ll take you to Hawaii.”

Ueda: Didn’t we go right after it ended?

Nakamaru: Right. We brought our suitcase at the venue on the last day and went to the airport straight away. It was fun.

Kamenashi: But, when we went, there was also an interview. I gradually came to understand adults’ situations and plans (laugh).

Ueda: They had us work pretending it was a reward (laugh).

Nakamaru: Well, that’s true. One way to say it (laugh).

Both: Ahahah (laugh).

Ueda: Next is “Kaizokuban” in 2004-2005. That already looked like a KAT-TUN live prototype.

Kamenashi: For me, “Kaizokuban” overlapped with “Gokusen” shooting. From these circumstances, I felt like both the group and I myself were being recognized by the world. We were still Johnny’s jr., but I remember doing it while having this feeling on my skin, like “The situation has quite changed”.

Nakamaru: Each time we had a live the number of shows increased, and the venue’s structure got bigger. I had the impression that the group had an easy-to-understand step-up.

Ueda: But we weren’t allowed to get carried away. It was always concerts, concerts.

Nakamaru: What was the tour after “Kaizokuban”? I feel like there were many shows. Like, supplementary shows and such. I think we had been doing a lot of concerts at that time.

Kamenashi: In 2005 we did “Kaizokuban” until January, then we had “Spring 05 Looking KAT-TUN” on March, and “Looking KAT-TUN” from May. I feel like we went around all the country for the first time, there. If we think of it, we had been continuously having concerts all the time from “SUMMARY”, isn’t it so? It’s like this during jr. time, huh?

Ueda: Then, next one is out debut live at the Dome, right? (2006’s KAT-TUN SPECIAL TOKYO DOME CONCERT Debut “Real Face”). I remember that I thought how amazing the cheers were at Tokyo Dome. The moment when there was that first “Wa~!”

Kamenashi: On March 17th, right? At first, I couldn’t hear the cheering in the ear monitors at all, at the Dome. That was a rare experience.

Nakamaru: That was a strange atmosphere.

Ueda: Also, we didn’t have the audience in the arena, so that was a really tough and tiring concert (laugh).

Kamenashi: It always felt like we were out of breath (laugh). Though, we had rehearsals for the live on March 17th, but after that there was the “Spring tour ’06 Live of KAT-TUN “Real Face” and the tour after the debut. We were so busy, I remember we mostly didn’t rehearse. I feel like I was doing things while being instructed through the ear monitors. What else did we do in 2006?

Nakamaru: “DREAM BOYS”.

Ueda: Amazing. Thinking of the “Spring tour ’06 Live of KAT-TUN “Real Face” now, we did 40 shows, right? It’s surprising, to think of it.

Kamenashi: 2005, 2006, 2007, it felt like it was me but it wasn’t me. During those three years so many things happened that I think that everything was packed in those years. Personally, I think it was in 2009 that we, as a group, had the awareness of “want to do something in a row one more time, again”. I told that to Johnny-san a lot, “I want to do something big at Tokyo Dome.” That, then, led to “Break the Records”… For me, “Break the Records” was a restart concert for the group.

Ueda: Looking back to each live from 2007 to 2009, “Break the Records” is the one leaving a deep memory, after all. Both the stage and the performances were minutely made. Like, the usage of water was also beautiful. Like, “Water will come out like this in here and also here”, so if one did it the wrong way then he’d get soaked, thus everyone rehearsed. But, even during rehearsals we’d get so soaked, and it was so noisy and cheerful, it really felt like “youth”.

Nakamaru: I also liked the “Jungle gym” performances. Because it’s something you don’t always see.

Kamenashi: With the crane-thing, right?

Nakamaru: It’s amazing. To be raised for the Jungle gym? Above the audience? (laugh). One of my worst memories is when I had to do the bungee.

Kamenashi: Aah! (laugh)

Ueda: You jumped on the last day?

Nakamaru: No, I jumped some times. Somehow, the choreographers were encouraging me a lot through the ear monitors. It was like: “It’s okay, it’s okay. You can jump, you can jump.” One time, I was told: “A big senpai came!” (laugh).

Ueda: Was it when Nakamaru couldn’t jump? I remember jumping instead of him.

Nakamaru: Ah, if I’m not wrong there was a “Help ticket” about two times.

Ueda: Yeah, there was something like that! (laugh)

Kamenashi: Though, after “Break the Records” ended many things happened… But, thinking back on it, when we became 5, we had to gear once again, I thought we really had to prepare again. Like in the world tour in 2010. It was a time where we thought: “Let’s focus all our strength into the concert.” That’s because we’re a group that started with live concerts.

Nakamaru: If I’m not wrong, we only didn’t get to do the World tour in Thailand, with the demo and all. Then, after that, in 2011, our 5th anniversary tour through the 5 big domes and complex’s live was cancelled… I wanted to do it.

Ueda: We couldn’t help that, though. But I really wanted to do the complex’s live

Nakamaru: We even went to see the venue. I really liked the balloons we used during “CHAIN” in 2012.

Ueda: Those things that looked like ballons?

Kamenashi: Johnny-san was quick copying them in other places.

Nakamaru: For real? (laugh)

Kamenashi: He used them at the Imperial Theatre right after (laugh). Surprisingly, Johnny-san used some of the things we used. Like in “Jr. mansion”. We might often be returning things back to Johnny’s (laugh). As for 2013’s countdown, that was our first time by ourselves, we did it in Osaka.

Nakamaru: After the countdown, there was “come Here” in 2014, and “quarter” in 2015?

Kamenashi: At that time, we were 4, so we used “quarter” as a theme.

Ueda: That’s nostalgic. Looking back to those concerts, the same feelings as back then are resurrecting.

Kamenashi: KAT-TUN’s live concerts are basically linked to the state of the group whenever they’re displayed. As a related party of that, the feelings of that period are resurrecting. Of course, it’s fun every time we do it, but it’s been a year that it’s difficult to stand on the stage with simple emotions.

Nakamaru: Rather than simple feelings, isn’t it since before the debut that we had these “Let’s give our best at the live” feelings?

Ueda: Yup. We purely enjoyed the concerts.

Kamenashi: But if you follow the lives doing it this way, there’s a change in the state of the group before a performance where we do something that’s a little different. It was a chance for us to do something new. It was a chance for us to soften our hearts, I believe.

Ueda: How many times did we soften them, though? (laugh). They’re squeezed too much.

Nakamaru: Ahahah

Kamenashi: Well, we did it quite a lot. But we managed to get to our 15th anniversary.

Nakamaru: Talking about production memories rather than feeling (laugh), I liked the production we did in 2016 for “10ks”, like the moving lifter with the water fountain at the back. That production with water was so beautiful.

Kamenashi: Talking about productions with fire, the one where there was fire at the centre of the stage’s grid left an impression to me. Normally, one would stock the fountain at the front of the stage with fire, but there was fire at the centre.

Nakamaru: It was a risky performance. If one got his position wrong, he would have burnt himself.

Kamenashi: True. It’s quite tricky, we got to do various things we haven’t done till now. Even during “Break the Records”, at first we were told we couldn’t fly at the dome, but since we wanted to do it at any cost, when I went to the dome for a coverage during baseball, I heard a lot about the dome’s structure and thought how I could do it. As for the performance’s surface, I was allowed to do it extravagant in terms of content. But… I think that, during the last years, there have been a lot of tours where we were like: “We’ve planned so much for it, it’s already over?”

Nakamaru: Like “quarter”, we only did 2 days.

Kamenashi: “quarter”, “10ks”, “UNION” were all in a row; we did 2 shows, 5 shows and 3 shows, then they were over. It doesn’t matter how many shows we do, it’s always the same to do it from scratch. It would be the best if we could do it the whole year. The consumption in this KAT-TUN era is the worst (laugh).

Ueda: That’s true (laugh). After that we had “CAST” and “IGNITE” tours, so the number of our shows came back again.

Nakamaru: But, after having done some tours as three, I wonder… What’s the -right- rest time for three people?

Ueda: Rest time?

Nakamaru: Weren’t the intermissions longer when we were six? Since there were 6 solos.

Ueda: Ah, that (laugh).

Nakamaru: It gets cold. But three of us can rest without it getting cold, also with three of us it’s easier to have a conversation, I think. When there are six people, there will be people who won’t do the MC.

Kamenashi: There’s not such a thing (laugh).

Ueda: You mean, like, people who won’t work during the MC?

Nakamaru: Ah, right. Depending on the topics, there are people who may not be able to join the talk.

Ueda: In the past, I was the one who didn’t work hard (during the MCs), so I understand (laugh). Normally, I used to chat with Akanishi during the MC. When we were five, Koki was in charge, so I left it to him; then, when we became four, I started to think I should work harder and finally talk.

Nakamaru: That’s why, conversation-wise, three people are the best (laugh).

Kamenashi: There was always some kind of minor positioning change.

Ueda: But, the basis of a “KAT-TUN’s live making”… I feel like neither the way of doing it nor the direction has changed. However, the formation’s making and the small details have changed. It’s about showing that there are three people physically.

Kamenashi: Yeah. It’s always the same: if it’s five, then it’s 5; if it’s four, then it’s four; if it’s three then it’s three. Every time I thought of “What to do in this situation.” Since the feelings of having a concert won’t change, whatever era it feels like “KAT-TUN’s live concert”. The songs belong to KAT-TUN.

Nakamaru: For this 15th anniversary live I want to do something like a medley where we look back to all the eras till now.

Kamenashi: During 2013’s countdown didn’t we go back to the past too? I want to do something different from that.

Nakamaru: Maybe it could be easier to understand if we took the logos and DVD packages.

Ueda: We’ll work out the details about what it has to be like later, anyway I want it to be a live where everyone can celebrate. I think that the audience, too, has the feeling of “wanting to celebrate”.

Nakamaru: Because we couldn’t genuinely celebrate our anniversaries so far. I want to share something we can genuinely enjoy with those people who have supported us despite all the things we went through.

Ueda: It would be the best if we looked back to these 15 years and have fun while akso feeling nostalgic about all the weird things that happened, all included, and think “So many things happened, huh?”

Kamenashi: Yeah. Something for everyone to enjoy. I want to think how we can make this 15th anniversary’s festival more exciting.

4th section – ABOUT KAT-TUN 15TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE

ABOUT KAT-TUN 15TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE - Nakamaru Yuichi

At long last, the 15th anniversary live. Something which can make you also feel the shows from the past.

The live is still at the preparatory meetings stage, but now we’ll make it a content to display songs while going also back to the past. We got to our 15th anniversary live at long last, so we want to give a taste of our shows of the past too. We want to do something which people who came to our old concerts, or those who know a bit after watching the DVDs can be reminded of the past when they see it.

As for the ideas I came with... Normally, the organisation for a live concert is like “I think this song after this song will be good”, and we can make it a flow connecting the melodies, but I said it would be good to prioritise the flow of time, this time, as, doing so, the chronological order would scatter.

For my solo song “change your mind” I still haven’t decided its production, but I’m thinking to use blue neon lasers or something like this. I don’t know whether it’s going to be illuminations or videos, but I want to include this kind of image. I wonder about this time’s fun corner... if I think that “we’re short-handed’ I might do it but if there will be that corner, it would effectively work as a good intermezzo during the concert. Since we haven’t decided the main thread yet, we’ll keep an eye on the situation and think of it, if there’s the necessity.

ABOUT KAT-TUN 15TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE - Ueda Tatsuya

A live which can be enjoyed by everyone to celebrate KAT-TUN’s 15th anniversary

I want to make this live with the awareness that it is the group’s 15th anniversary. This means that we want to show this 15th anniversary as KAT-TUN and also keep thinking about the time we were six. We aim to make the songs selection as “audience first”, so that the deep fans ehi have been supporting us from the past, and also those who came and go for a while, can enjoy it. We’ve already started the preparatory meetings, and we, KAT-TUN, are also asking people from the staff “What do you want to listen?”. We are from the “sending side”, so there also are things we don’t know. Honestly, there also are some things for which I think “do we need this song?” (laugh), but as long as there are people who want to listen to them, then this feeling is probably correct, so we’re working on the songs and the ideas based on what people around us think.

As for my personal opinion, I said “I want water”. I love performances with water. Of course, I like fire too, and since I love the combination of fire and water, I want to use them this time too.

I haven’t thought yet of my solo corner, but I plan to do something which keeps the song’s worldview alive. During “IGNITE”, somebody told me that my solo became a hot topic in the news (the rap battle with the audience), but I don’t really think I want it to make such a buzz this time too. I’ll just do what I think could be interesting. I want to make it a live everyone can enjoy.

ABOUT KAT-TUN 15TH ANNIVERSARY LIVE - Kamenashi Kazuya

It’s time to savour these 15 years again, and something for us KAT-TUN too to enjoy

The main stem of our concert is to make it something both our fans and the members can enjoy together. We, too, being KAT-TUN now are talking about wanting to make it something where also we can enjoy KAT-TUN as well. It’s not about the number of people, I want to think about how to be able to express it when we face the group itself, as “KAT-TUN’s 15th anniversary”.

Regarding the contents we’ll do something like “if it weren’t 15 years, we wouldn’t do it”. It’s like a general review of what we’ve done so far, even about the shows. We’ve been through a lot during these 15 years of history, and I think each of us has various feelings about this group, and I hope we can include them all in a good way, so we can share them and make it a good time. The current “3” will be the base, but as the player, I want to properly expand my capabilities in regards to that. I still don’t know what level I’d do it, but... for some songs, we’ll be doing something we haven’t done till now, we plan to do something which will give chills. We want to do something which people who have been supporting KAT-TUN till now, and even those who have been moved by KAT-TUN even a little before their debut, can enjoy. I hope it can be something where we can savour these 15 years again while having our hearts open.