Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.04.2007

A golden oldie here. This is the FULL broadcast of the second ever 'Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta' from back in April 2007. It was a ten minute show so it wasn't incredibly long to translate. I guess it took me about two hours....or is that a long time? ^^;; embarrassing! Anyway, there's some nice little bits in it so enjoy!

Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta - 14.04.2007

Waa, it’s the second program! Please look out for me because I’m still a novice at this. Weeelll, I’ve calmed down a little bit now (laugh) from today and onwards I entrust it all to you.

By the way, today the 14th of April is called ‘Orange Day’ – did you know? I had no idea. And why is it called Orange Day? Well, February 14th is Valentine’s Day – confessing love. March 14th is White Day – returning that love. And Orange Day April 14th is the day when a couple confirms their love. Apparently. It seems you have to give a present of something that is orange….Really? How far has this custom become popular? Kind of ‘Er, well what do we do on May 14th?!’ (laugh) I really want to know now…Well, anyway, there are many different occasions in the world.

Did everyone listening do something today to show their feelings? It’s been a week since I’ve met all of you listening in front of the radio, people who are starting a new life from April, people who’ve entered a new environment, I’m sure there’s a lot of you. Spring is the season of ‘Encounters’. Well, there are also seasons of ‘Goodbye’ as well. Many different kinds of meetings and goodbyes, April: a month of comings and goings.

This program began in April and I met all of you, an ‘encounter’. Through doing this program some people first found me, Maaya Sakamoto. Like tree climbing, learning about me, my music, my writings – I’d feel really happy if this happened.

‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ – on this program we decide a theme of a word and about this theme we’ll introduce various episodes and stories on this topic. That’s what this program is about. And this month’s theme is ‘Thank you’ and we’re collecting lots of different mails from you. Straight away we were receiving mails and I’d like to introduce a few. What sort of ‘Thank you’s are they I wonder?

First up is this one, radio name from Abby Michijie-san in Tokyo.

Maaya – congratulations on the start of your new program! Your new album 30 Minutes Night Flight is the best! Right now I’m listening to it in heavy rotation every day. Setting that aside, because you’re collecting things about ‘Thank you’ I’ll tell you about one of my ‘thank you’s. After passing various exams somehow, from this April I’ll be a university student. Studying for the exams didn’t go very well and it came about that I’ll enter my second best choice, a state university. Right now I’m still in the process of soaking up the university atmosphere and I’m worrying about which university society to join. I really want to make a lot of new friends and make the most of campus life. However, I can’t stop thinking about the fact it’s a state university. The fees are a little bit expensive and when my first choice private university couldn’t be done I was really worried. When my exam results came out and I was troubled by dad came into my room and said “Don’t worry about school fees! You worked really hard for your results! So go and study without worrying!”. I decided to enrol but at the time I was really embarrassed so all I could say was “Oh ok”. As I felt I couldn’t say anything directly to my father I didn’t say it but I was really happy and just want to say ‘THANK YOU’. With that I think I can work hard at University life. Even though I can’t say it directly, but please say it on the radio for me.

What a good son, that’s really great. Abby Michijie-san’s father…but definitely thanking your parents is the probably the most difficult thing to say. But I think when something gets past a certain level you can say it to them. Compared to a long time ago I think I can say it more easily. However, from the parent’s perspective as well I think it’s hard for them to say as well. I think so at least.

Really, like this mail says, a dad who says “Don’t worry about it, just go!” – you certainly would want to make your university life meaningful. Being relieved at your father’s words and wanting to do well.

Right! I’d like to introduce one more mail!

Gunma Prefecture! Radio name Purachina-san.

I’ve waited for Maaya’s new radio program!! I’m praying that your program will go on for a long time yet. Well, you asked for mails concerning ‘thank you’. At the moment I’m working at a certain Tokyo company as an office lady. At the start of April three people went on strike and then yesterday a company personnel reshuffle was announced. My senior who has looked after me since I joined the company has been transferred to the countryside. Even though there’s two years difference between us it’s always felt like we are friends but thanks to this prosecution against my senior co-worker I’ve had to learn that work has a lot of difficulties involved in it. That person was a truly good senior to me and I think that meant I was able to do my work well up until now. When I spoke to my senior about this they said “If you think like that then try to make sure that you can do the same with your new junior employees”. I was really happy. M-sempai, for everything up until now – thank you very much! Please introduce this on the radio.

And that’s it. M-sempai! Well, I’m sure there are quite a lot of M-listeners listening to this show but it may be you. Well, transfers and such, things you can’t fight against at certain times happen. There’s nothing you can do but at the place where you’re going there will also be wonderful relationships with people to be had.

I don’t really have anyone who I was raised to have a sempai-kouhai (junior-senior) relationship with. That’s quite rare, but the closest I have to it I think is from when I worked on the musical Les Miserables, it’s been 5 years now but in my first year and passed the audition by a whisker, I was only 22 years old. I’m 27 years old now. In the company there were 70, 80 people and I was rather on the younger side so nearly everyone was my sempai. In within that, and I was taught a lot of different things and it was the first time I’d personally appeared in such a large production. I really thought I’d succumb to the pressure of it all and in rehearsals and stuff I’d be crying etc. (laugh) there was a lot to take in. At those times there was always the other actors from the show who comforted me and supported me.

It’s a battle, a stage show is raw and as soon as one is finished there’s another. The audience would be different and in the show there was a double, triple cast – every time it would change. Every time was new. At that time it was whether I could release the power inside of me, whether I could communicate something to the audience, could I act without losing to the pressure right until the end, I was always thinking about these things. I thought ‘that’s what an artist does’. My sempai’s sincerity really taught me that.

This year’s Les Miserables will have a new cast, more than half will be new. There will be many goodbyes; it’s like the atmosphere of a school at the moment and the balance of the cast has suddenly spun around. And now I’m being treated like an older sister by the cast who are younger than me, there’s a lot of them. This time I will be the one to teach the younger cast members something. If there’s something to be worried about is there anything I can do, can I encourage them, if there’s anything at all to be done I will have to do it! I’ve assume that position, I thought ‘I’m getting old’. Anyway, the stage show will begin from September this year and we’re in the middle of rehearsals.

This program will continue on like this using the theme ‘thank you’ during April. Today I introduced two but please everyone participate in the show! Please send in your messages. What sort of thank you happened to you recently? Perhaps at some point in your life you wanted to say it but couldn’t, or you want to say thank you to someone now, a wonderful memory of thank you. Everything is fine so please send something! Well, the second Maaya Sakamoto ‘Chizu to Tegami to Koi no Uta’ is over. In a flash! It’s now time to say goodbye. Well, your mails are the life of this program so please take part and send them in.

The place to send letters is [address] and the email address of the show is maaya@tbs.co.jp Maaya is M A A Y A. It’s now time to part for today and until next time – bye bye!!