Nikkei Entertainment! March 2021 - Riho Sayashi interview Pt. 2

 Riho Sayashi who graduated to see the world (that was "bigger" than she thought)

Riho Sayashi graduated from Morning Musume in 2015 and restarted her entertainment activities in 2020.  What she thinks has changed significantly in the last 5 years is that diversity is more accepted now.  Her ability to recognize these changes seems to have been greatly influenced by the experiences she gained after graduating from Morning Musume, such as moving to New York by herself to study English and dance.  Why did she decide to study abroad?

- "When I was 17, I went to New York for a Morning Musume concert, and that made me think about my future.  When I told the local coordinator that I want to study English, they said, very light-heartedly "It won't be too late if you go now!" (laughs)

Until then, I had often been unable to try things, so I wanted to improve in doing that, even if it was a minor improvement.  The United States I saw with my own eyes were very different than what I had imagined, and I realized the world was a bigger place than I thought it was, which made me graduate with a positive attitude.

In New York, I took 4 well-known dance classes.  I spent a lot of time in the street jazz class.  Depending on the teacher, the dance style was different than, say, hip hop or rock, and it was interesting to see how close it is to creative dance (note: a style where the dancer dances without being bound by a fixed choreography).

I had a teacher from Puerto Rico that left a strong impression on me.  I would ask "which joints do you use when you dance?" when he danced like a mollusk because I couldn't understand anything (laughs).

Also, the students were not copying the teacher, but used the moves taught as material to make their own dances.  And no matter what they did, the teacher would say "Amazing!"  That was a cultural shock to me because in Japan, I thought the coolest way to dance was by matching the rhythm.  When I wasn't learning English or dance, I tried to experience different things, and Japanese people who lived in the city had recommended to me different things, such as vintage clothing stores, museums, and theater plays."

 How studying abroad changed her values

- "As I did all this, my way of thinking and my values changed significantly.  Before, I used to worry too much about what people thought of me, and I tried to be like people I admired.  But living alone in New York, I was able to gradually be able to face myself, and I began to realize that life is meaningless if I am not myself.

At the same time I realized I really liked performing.  I began to feel strongly that I wanted to perform on stage, regardless of whether I was in the entertainment industry or not.  Thankfully, after my return to Japan, I was approached by some people, and I am really grateful I was able to come back."

Her new agency is Japan Music Entertainment, where Ryoko Shinohara and others belong, and she has focused on acting since her restart.  She says that there are many similarities to singing.

- "I was acting in theater productions, even when I was in Morning Musume, but I wasn't very good at it.  However, in an attempt to expand my activities, I decided to start acting, and to improve through trial and error.  Recently, I have been feeling that acting is similar to singing and dancing, and I really enjoy interacting with my co-stars during my performances.  It's somewhat similar to interacting with the audience when performing as a singer or dancer.  Under the current conditions it is not easy to do so, but in the future I would like to audition for international productions.

My live show in May will be the first time I will be involved in song selection, choreography, and direction.  So I want to do something different than when I was 17.  Nowadays we watch a lot of videos, so I want to do something that will make people say "It is so much better live!".

In the future, I would like to continue doing different things, but ideally, I would like people to think "she's a singer" when I'm doing music, and "she's an actress" when I am acting.  I want to do everything properly.

I also want to challenge myself and do something that will surprise my fans in a good way, such as opening a Youtube channel, and posting videos of me street dancing in different places.  I also think it would be interesting if I, all of a sudden, decided to do pottery (laughs).

https://style.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO70984370U1A410C2000000?channel=DF280120166614