Cherry Blossom's Dreams

Indonesian. Muslim. Dreamer. Cat Lover. Books addict. Music listener Language, History & Culture admirer .

[heartlessmatterss]

What you are going through, how you are feeling, where you are currently at is all temporary. The only thing that can change your fortune is the qadr of Allah, and you have to believe in His timing, you have to have faith. I believe that everything will come together at the right time. I believe that if you do good, Allah will reward you with good. So I try my best to be sincere, to be helpful, to be kind and to be patient. I hope that in return I will be rewarded for my struggles. But still I can’t help but worry sometimes.

[makhluktuhan]

it just a matter of time..

[reminder-afterreminder]

[iheartallah]

On the authority of Abdullah ibn Umar (رضي الله عنه), who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ took me by the shoulder and said, “Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer.” And Ibn Umar (رضي الله عنه) used to say, “In the evening do not expect [to live until] the morning, and in the morning do not expect [to live until] the evening. Take [advantage of] your health before times of sickness, and [take advantage of] your life before your death.” [Al-Bukhari]

[islam-reflections]

You and I are not Muslim, because we are born in a Muslim family. You and I are not Muslim, because you read a book about Islam, or saw a YouTube video and decided to become Muslim. We are Muslim, because Allah chose us. Allah chose us.

Nouman Ali Khan (via islamic-living)

[stephany-310]

【SATO TAKERU／Model Press Dec 1】 ~translation~

Sato Takeru appears in NHK BS Premium ‘The Premium Series: Unknown Ancient Civilization’, which approach the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Now ancient civilizations long masked in mystery have been being unraveled. Sato visited the sites and tracked the findings.  Model Press interviewed him and he talked about what he found through the grand tour and his changes as an actor. 

(Photo1)

In the first part to be broadcasted on Dec 3, it approaches the mysteries of Andean Civilization famous for Nazca Lines, which prospered around Peru in South America, and in the second part to be broadcasted on Dec 10, those of Mayan Civilization, which prospered around Guatemala in Central America. Japanese researchers are contributing greatly to unraveling ancient civilizations. Sato visited their research site, saw their findings with his own naked eyes, and traveled around the antiquities depending on his feelings. 

(Photo2 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

(Photo3 from the second part: provided by NHK)

Mystery-Unraveling Trip: a little dangerous experience 

Sato says he has had a vague interest in ancient civilizations since his childhood. When he accepted the offer to appear in this program, he thought, ‘I got very interested because I thought getting to know the primary civilization, which had developed out of nothing, would lead me to profound understanding of human essence’, and visited the site excitedly.

(Photo4 from the first part: provided by NHK)

He stayed in Peru for a week this January, and in Mayan district for a week this July. During the trip to a new place, ‘I suffered from altitude sickness for the first time because it was in high altitude. Only that part was a little dangerous. So I was careful not to frolic too much. (lol)’ ‘It was an unexpected experience’, he said looking back with a pleased look, ‘But everything taught me something. I had a good trip’.

(Approaching the mystery with Japanese researchers / Photo5 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

He seemed impressed not only with unfinished roman of ancient civilization but with the scholars who are reviving it with a new technology. ‘Japanese researchers are in the front line in the world. It makes me happy and proud of them. They are proceeding with a project that might turn out to be a breakthrough, so I can’t take my eyes off,’ he said excitedly.

His First Challenge Shows ‘quite my natural self’

(Photo 6)

This program highlights his fresh sensitivity and his incisive comments and remarks surprised the professionals. But he himself was nervous about taking the role of a reporter for the first time. ‘What is my role? What I am? I was worried about it. (lol) But I thought my simple questions must come from the same viewpoint as the viewers’. So I didn’t think, ‘I have to make it!’ but I kept being my natural self. So I’m still wondering if it was all right. (lol)’

(Photo7 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

What ‘Maniac’ Sato Takeru is Hooked on Now

Sato was driven by his interest in understanding of human essence this time, but he is originally type of guy to really pursue anything. He even says, ‘Once I started something, I become so caught up in it that it will affect this and that. So I’m always trying not to dabble.’ About his interest these days is his diet. He says, ‘I’m trying diet restriction for the first time in my life. I’ve made it a rule to check for the amount of protein or carbohydrate it has first when I pick up some food. It is unexpectedly fun.’

(Photo 8)

But what he is curious about most is ‘human beings’. ‘Basically I keep it a secret (lol), but I’m studying mentalism. It sometimes affects my acting, and I’m simply interested in it. Your facial expressions, movements, the way you make a voice, or its tone could show your real thought. To learn such things is fun.’

Discovering Hints as an Actor

(Photo9 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

This trip made him realize how interesting human beings are for the first time. ‘We often look down on ancient people, I think. For example, “Wow, even ancient people were able to do such a thing! Great!” or something like that. But it is contrary. I realized that we sing and dance for granted now just because ancient people created the civilization. Ancient world and modern world are not two different things but people in the past have passed a baton on to generation after generation, and we are here now. I really felt so.’

This trip changed his way of thinking toward the people who created history and culture. ‘These days, many works are set in the modern world, but if I play a role as a person who lived in the ancient times from now on, I will have a different feeling about him. Not the feeling that ‘a person in a different world’ but the feeling that ‘these people made us what we are now’. He seems to have been inspired as an actor.

What Has Changed After Ten Years from his Debut―?

(Photo 10)

This is the milestone of 10th anniversary of his debut. We asked what he thinks of his next stage. ‘As for an actor, whether I can encounter good works and how effectively I can work in them is important. The basic hasn’t changed.’ His answer was very characteristic of him. His style of pursuing a high ideal never wavers.

Moreover, his passion has been increasing year by year. ‘I have a stronger sense that if I’m going to do it, I have to make it successful at any cost,’ he says.

On the other hand, his style of carefully selecting his projects and dedicating himself to one project has been changing. ‘So far, I have been devoted to only one project at a time.  So I decreased rather than increased the projects. But in the latter half of my twenties, I’m thinking to do daringly more works. It’s the time to try many different projects now.’ He smiled, indicating new Sato Takeru.

The first part ‘Discovered! Nazca, unknown lines hidden on the earth’ starts at 9:00 on Dec. 3.

The second part ‘Discovered! Maya, mysterious stone stage hidden in the jungle starts at 9:00 on Dec 10.

[stephany-310]

【SATO TAKERU／Model Press Dec 1】 ~translation~

Sato Takeru appears in NHK BS Premium ‘The Premium Series: Unknown Ancient Civilization’, which approach the mysteries of ancient civilizations. Now ancient civilizations long masked in mystery have been being unraveled. Sato visited the sites and tracked the findings.  Model Press interviewed him and he talked about what he found through the grand tour and his changes as an actor. 

(Photo1)

In the first part to be broadcasted on Dec 3, it approaches the mysteries of Andean Civilization famous for Nazca Lines, which prospered around Peru in South America, and in the second part to be broadcasted on Dec 10, those of Mayan Civilization, which prospered around Guatemala in Central America. Japanese researchers are contributing greatly to unraveling ancient civilizations. Sato visited their research site, saw their findings with his own naked eyes, and traveled around the antiquities depending on his feelings. 

(Photo2 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

(Photo3 from the second part: provided by NHK)

Mystery-Unraveling Trip: a little dangerous experience 

Sato says he has had a vague interest in ancient civilizations since his childhood. When he accepted the offer to appear in this program, he thought, ‘I got very interested because I thought getting to know the primary civilization, which had developed out of nothing, would lead me to profound understanding of human essence’, and visited the site excitedly.

(Photo4 from the first part: provided by NHK)

He stayed in Peru for a week this January, and in Mayan district for a week this July. During the trip to a new place, ‘I suffered from altitude sickness for the first time because it was in high altitude. Only that part was a little dangerous. So I was careful not to frolic too much. (lol)’ ‘It was an unexpected experience’, he said looking back with a pleased look, ‘But everything taught me something. I had a good trip’.

(Approaching the mystery with Japanese researchers / Photo5 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

He seemed impressed not only with unfinished roman of ancient civilization but with the scholars who are reviving it with a new technology. ‘Japanese researchers are in the front line in the world. It makes me happy and proud of them. They are proceeding with a project that might turn out to be a breakthrough, so I can’t take my eyes off,’ he said excitedly.

His First Challenge Shows ‘quite my natural self’

(Photo 6)

This program highlights his fresh sensitivity and his incisive comments and remarks surprised the professionals. But he himself was nervous about taking the role of a reporter for the first time. ‘What is my role? What I am? I was worried about it. (lol) But I thought my simple questions must come from the same viewpoint as the viewers’. So I didn’t think, ‘I have to make it!’ but I kept being my natural self. So I’m still wondering if it was all right. (lol)’

(Photo7 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

What ‘Maniac’ Sato Takeru is Hooked on Now

Sato was driven by his interest in understanding of human essence this time, but he is originally type of guy to really pursue anything. He even says, ‘Once I started something, I become so caught up in it that it will affect this and that. So I’m always trying not to dabble.’ About his interest these days is his diet. He says, ‘I’m trying diet restriction for the first time in my life. I’ve made it a rule to check for the amount of protein or carbohydrate it has first when I pick up some food. It is unexpectedly fun.’

(Photo 8)

But what he is curious about most is ‘human beings’. ‘Basically I keep it a secret (lol), but I’m studying mentalism. It sometimes affects my acting, and I’m simply interested in it. Your facial expressions, movements, the way you make a voice, or its tone could show your real thought. To learn such things is fun.’

Discovering Hints as an Actor

(Photo9 from the first part: provided by Amuse)

This trip made him realize how interesting human beings are for the first time. ‘We often look down on ancient people, I think. For example, “Wow, even ancient people were able to do such a thing! Great!” or something like that. But it is contrary. I realized that we sing and dance for granted now just because ancient people created the civilization. Ancient world and modern world are not two different things but people in the past have passed a baton on to generation after generation, and we are here now. I really felt so.’

This trip changed his way of thinking toward the people who created history and culture. ‘These days, many works are set in the modern world, but if I play a role as a person who lived in the ancient times from now on, I will have a different feeling about him. Not the feeling that ‘a person in a different world’ but the feeling that ‘these people made us what we are now’. He seems to have been inspired as an actor.

What Has Changed After Ten Years from his Debut―?

(Photo 10)

This is the milestone of 10th anniversary of his debut. We asked what he thinks of his next stage. ‘As for an actor, whether I can encounter good works and how effectively I can work in them is important. The basic hasn’t changed.’ His answer was very characteristic of him. His style of pursuing a high ideal never wavers.

Moreover, his passion has been increasing year by year. ‘I have a stronger sense that if I’m going to do it, I have to make it successful at any cost,’ he says.

On the other hand, his style of carefully selecting his projects and dedicating himself to one project has been changing. ‘So far, I have been devoted to only one project at a time.  So I decreased rather than increased the projects. But in the latter half of my twenties, I’m thinking to do daringly more works. It’s the time to try many different projects now.’ He smiled, indicating new Sato Takeru.

The first part ‘Discovered! Nazca, unknown lines hidden on the earth’ starts at 9:00 on Dec. 3.

The second part ‘Discovered! Maya, mysterious stone stage hidden in the jungle starts at 9:00 on Dec 10.

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <1>

~translation~

-Since when have you wanted to visit Salar de Uyuni?

I don’t remember for sure, but since I was over twenty, I guess. Since the first time I saw a picture, I’ve wanted to go there. As I recall, it was a mirrored photo of a blue sky taken in the daytime. It was so pretty that I looked into it in various ways. I learned that the scenery is totally different in dry season and rainy season and that the stars are awesomely beautiful at night, and the knowledge made me all the more eager to go.

-Before the boom?

It seems so. I thought it was already a boom and asked people around me about it, but unexpectedly they didn’t know. Probably, it had just started to attract attention.

-Your dream has come true.

Yep. I have visited many places and more than once I found the photos were better. But Uyuni was different. It was just the same as the photos. It is exceptional, isn’t it? When I went into the salt lake by car I felt that it was the place that wouldn’t betray my expectation.

-You were murmuring, ‘I think I can stay here forever’ when you got off the car, looking around at the scenery.

I don’t remember the words themselves, but it means ‘I love this place’.

-Do you like the place surrounded by nothing but nature?

Probably human beings all love such a place. There is no one who isn’t moved by visiting Salar de Uyuni, right? But, say, if you see a model of Salar de Uyuni, none of you will be attracted to it. When I thought why, I found it’s because it is vast and extensive. Nothing shuts out the view. That’s the only reason why you’re moved, I think.

-Do you think those who have grown up there will feel like that?

I don’t know. I’d like to ask them. But when I saw Monet’s large painting of water lilies, I was impressed with its awesomeness, too! I wouldn’t have felt like that when I had seen the picture of a smaller size, like a postcard.

-Along this line of thinking, Uyuni’s scale is extravagant.

That’s right. Besides, when you search for information before visiting some place, you are often given too good information to be real, right? Such traps. (lol) This time, there were no such things. I usually find myself disappointed to see the real place because the photos had been too nice. But Salar de Uyuni was great because it approached me as it was. In that sense, I’d like to recommend this place to my friends and this is my favorite place now.

-How will you recommend it?

I’d say you should go there.

-lol

It may seem so far but it’s really worth visiting, I’d say. It is wonderful not because there is something nice there but because there is nothing there infinitely, and it attracts me. Probably you may be also impressed to see vast grassland that spreads as far as the eye can reach, I think. Above all, the water and the sky is especially beautiful, right?

-But don’t you get bored with such a situation?

Well, someday. (lol) But it will take some time, I mean. Since the place is an unrealistic and extraordinary, I won’t get bored for several days.

-When you go on a trip, do you usually head to a vast and large place?

No. I seldom go on a trip at all. In the first place, I don’t take a trip for a change of air, or in order to meditate. It’s like I’d like to do such a thing after I get married all at one time. Now, if I had time to do such things, I would prefer to do something specific to enhance my ability. When I have settled down, married and having children, and feel like saying, ‘Whew!’ I want to travel a lot. (lol) Then I’ll have someone to travel with and enjoy leisure, well, I just want to enjoy being comforted.

-You have such impression of ‘travel’?

Yep. I don’t think that just because you travel, your ability as a human will improve. It may allow you to reset yourself when you’re driven to the extremity, though.

-Did you think about your job while standing in Salar de Uyuni?

Simply, I thought I’d like to make a film in such a place.

-What kind of film?

I don’t know yet. But films have great power now, don’t they? For example, once photographers other professionals are involved, the scenery will look more beautiful than it really is, right? If you try that for Uyuni, what will happen, I wonder? How much more wonderful will it be?

-And that on a large screen, right?

Exactly! I thought so.

-You got interested in this place through photos, actually went there, and now you’re seeing the photos of you that were taken there. What do you think of it?

Well, it isn’t the matter of the scenery of Uyuni, but I start to think from a business point of view at once. I’m curious about whether it is properly good as a photo book.

-You’re cool-headed from the start.

And at a glance, I thought it’s all right. It was nicely done, I thought.

-You want people to know the nature in Uyuni, right? By the way, I hear that you’re interested in nature, wild lives, and the universe itself.

It means my way of thinking comes from an aptitude for science. I like science, such as biology.

-Thinking in the cosmic scale, human life is nothing but a short-lived glow, right? Do you sometimes think like that?

I like to think like that.

-When do you think like that?

Basically, I’m always thinking like that. Everybody likes to do so, don’t they?

To be continued to <2> :)

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <2>

*continued from <1>

~translation~

-It’s different from … say … that you have a concrete vision for your activity each year, right?

I don’t do it at all. I like to think about ‘to live’ in an ideological sense. It is difficult to reach an answer, but sometimes I have a moment when I feel I’m close to the answer. However, it isn’t linked to the idea that ‘I will live on in this way’.

-It seems to be different.

Yes. For example, can you easily answer the question: Why are human beings living?’

-Because I was given birth? Hmm …

I haven’t found the answer to ‘why I’m living’, but I noticed that there’s no such thing as ‘an answer’. Moreover, I noticed that if there’s no answer, I can make a decision. I can decide the reason why I’m living by myself. And when you get down to it, nobody has his own heart beat by thinking ‘I will make my heart beat!’ nor did he/she start his/her life thinking ‘Now, I will live!’ right? In other words, we are ‘made to live’ by some mysterious power. Then it can be said that one is truly living his/her life only when one has a clear thought that ‘This is what I’m living for’ in his/her own way … Thinking about such a thing is my favorite.

-You’ve said that before, I know. But it seems, depending on each one’s view point, kind of cruel, or too cool way of thinking. Don’t you think so?

Absolutely. Knowing that, still, I see things around me like that and I think it’s natural.

-Have you always been like that? Or after you were disappointed at something?

Not disappointed or something like that, but by simply getting to the core it, I’ve become like this. Basically this has always been my way of thinking, I feel.

-As for me, I often said to others, ‘Why am I myself and not able to know others as I know myself?’ …

I understand! It’s a familiar story but people ask: Does the world exist because I am here, or do I happen to be in the world that exists first? You understand only yourself and you’re not sure if the world spreading in front of you actually exists there or not. It might be that you’re looking at what is going on just in your brain … I’ve been thinking that kind of thing since I was an elementary student.

-I see. (lol) Then, usually people can’t find the answer and come to agonize. So I think you are great because you’ve reached an answer after thinking thoroughly about the reason to live.

In my teens, I was rather agonizing because I couldn’t have the answer. But now, I’ve reached an obscure answer that ‘I can decide it’, so I feel kind of settled.

-By the way, how about ‘death’?

Naturally, when you are asleep, you lose consciousness, right? I think ‘death’ means you don’t wake up after that. ‘Nothing’, I should say. I don’t believe in the afterworld.

-Are you afraid of ‘death’?

At this moment, I’m not afraid. But if death becomes factual, say, if I had a gun shoved at me, I’d get scared, I suppose.

-That answer is characteristic of Takeru-kun.

That reminds me that though it was not that I was in despair or disappointed about anything, when I was an elementary school student, I thought I would answer ‘I want the earth to disappear all at the same time, bam!’ if I was asked, ‘What if one of your dreams should come true?’ If I should die alone, everyone around me would be sad. If my friends should die, I would be sad. So it was definitely the best way that all of us, without even knowing or feeling pain, disappear at the same time, I was convinced.

-When you were an elementary school student?

Yes. (lol) I don’t think so now. If someone tells me one of my dreams will come true, I will say something much happier. I often tell this story to my friends and they say, ‘Well, that’s what you say.’

-Do you think something like ‘I can die here and now’ after you’ve come to have a more realistic image of ‘death’ than those days?

Honestly, I sometimes feel I can die now because I’m so happy. And even now, I wish everything could vanish, bam!

*to be continued to <3> :)

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <3>

*continued from <2>

~translation~

-Are you interested in yourself?

I don’t say no, but including this question, I like to think about various things, I suppose. I like the activity to work out my own answer though it is very hard, I think.

-Do you have the answer that ‘I am this kind of person’? Some people make a definitive statement.

I’m not interested in such a thing, but I know about 80% of myself, roughly estimated though. It seems that my close friends can feel my sense and sometimes say, ‘We can see some parts of you that you cannot see.’ So I can’t say I know 100% of myself.

-What is that 80% like?

Eh, you’re going to make me answer an awkward question. (lol) OK, first of all, I like to think. Next, I’m not such an attention seeker. I think much of duty and humanity, and I’m conscious of ‘good old’ things. Well, plus, I’m relatively considerate. (lol)

-I think you are quite considerate. (lol) Anything else?

Um, I don’t know. I’m interested in human beings in a biological sense, but probably I’m indifferent to most people, I think.

-Can you pretend not to be indifferent to others?

If I try, I’ll be able to do it, but I seldom do it.

-Indifferent but considerate. As a general rule, it causes a feeling of strangeness, but in Takeru-kun’s case, it makes sense, I feel.

It’s true it sounds paradoxical. (lol) But I want you to understand me somehow, or like that.

-What’s your weak point that you’re aware of?

There’s no end to the list, but I really respect those who can do what I can’t do. One of the things is ‘to forgive others’. When I can’t forgive someone, they say, ‘It happens. You care too much’, but I cannot help it easily.

-Did that person do such a grave thing, you mean?

To me, yes. Some people can forget or forgive such a person. They say it will cool down in a week, but it never happens to me.

-In a year?

I don’t know, but probably I won’t change my mind …. I wonder it will be OK in five years. (lol)

-It doesn’t happen so often, right?

Of course, it doesn’t happen so many times in my life. It won’t happen so often. It’s troublesome, but it can’t be helped. It’s not like I have a choice. It’s a matter of emotion.

-When you get down to it, it means you ‘never forget’, right?

Yes, I’ll never forget. To put it simply, I’m type to carry a grudge. (lol)

-So you feel grateful for favors.

Yes, to the contrary. It makes sense.

-But it can be said that you won’t forget someone you dislike.

Absolutely.

-From the start, I thought you are indifferent to human beings, right?

Paradoxical again. (lol)

-I hear that you’re often told that your way of thinking is queer.

I’ve lived that I am ordinary, but I’ve been told I’m not ordinary so often that I’ve noticed one thing: I am not ordinary in that I am different from others. But it is a matter of ways of thinking, so I’m ordinary in my mind. But probably I’m in a minority. In this world I’m in a very tiny minority.

-A very tiny minority?

In my junior and senior high school days, I had no one that was on the same wavelength as me.

-To tell the truth, I heard an episode that shows Sato Takeru very well. Your Kohai (younger) actor made sushi with bread for Takeru-kun. When you eat it, you said, ‘Now I understand why there are sushi chefs in the world’, right?

I said so, I said so, because I really thought so.

-Average people would say, after eating, ‘Um, I’m not sure but …’ or ‘A little different from what I expected’, or use a little more direct expression. I think your way of talking is great because you are not telling a lie but won’t hurt the other person.

I said so without the consciousness that I must be nice to him or mustn’t hurt him. Since I love sushi, I once was shocked when I ate sushi made by a non-professional. I felt just the same as that time. I learned a lot.

-I know. That’s what interests me about you. Your way of interpretation or explanation. Your unintentional response can lead to the consciousness, I mean.

Well, even my close friends say I’m strange, so probably I’m actually strange, I suppose. And as I like thinking, I tend to see things from a step back objectively. For example, I may be sensitive to my words, thinking, ‘If I say it, certain people must think this and that.’ Recently there was a line in ‘If cats disappear from the world’: Parsley is not necessary in the world. I thought it might shock parsley growers.

-I see.

Then I wondered how many parsley growers were in Japan now; Less than one thousand? Would it be OK … ? My idea expands like this.

-You have a lot to think about. (lol)

But I’m thinking unconsciously. It’s just my daily affairs.

-If so, it seems that you have few quarrels where you hurt others by words.

Maybe so.

*to be continued to <4> :)

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <4>

*continued from <3>

~translation~

-Seeing Takeru-kun, you seem to be able to precisely spot who you should have around.

You may be right. I have confident about an eye for people. My friends use me as a judge.

-A judge?

I’m told ‘Could you meet a girl who I’ve just started to go out with?’ and I go to see her, then say, ‘Oh, oh, OK’. After meeting her, I say, ‘You’d better off just giving up’, and my friend say, ‘Really!?’ or something like that. (lol)

-And vice versa?

Well, what I see is not whether my friend and his girl friend will get along well or not, but how the girl is as a human.

-The fact that your friends ask you for judgment means that you have shown them your discerning eye so often, I guess.

I don’t know. But originally, females should be better at such ‘sixth sense’. Probably, females pretend to be unaware though they are aware in fact, I wonder. Females may tend to rush straight in a subjective manner, I guess. Some have themselves misunderstood at times.

-You are likely to have a point there.

Once I meet a person and talk with him/her properly, I know pretty much what he/she is like. An interview can make it at one blow. (lol) I could make myself clear about the reasons if I break my thought into elements, but it causes headaches to explain, so I just call it ‘sense’.

-Your ‘sense’ has effect on your choice of your work?

It is difficult. Our work is composed through the combination of different people. So even if one part is good, when another part collapses, it affects the whole result.

-What will you do in such a case?

I’ll keep doing what I can do. All we actors can do is to play, to live as the character. I’ll devote myself to that point.

-You said in the last interview for the photo book ‘Deep Breath (深呼吸。)’ that you can feel acting is fun because you are concentrating, right?

I remember that. I said you feel satisfied when you are concentrating on something. That interview was done just when I found it. But I think so even now.

-I’ll ask this again, but don’t you still consider acing from ‘arts or sciences’ points of view?

No, but my way of constructing my play might be that of the science course.

-The way you approach things is so?

You’re right. My train of thought is really that of the science field. I’ve loved arithmetic and science since my elementary school days. I’ve never told it to anyone, though.

-Why didn’t you tell?

Because, somehow, when I was an elementary school student, it was regarded as cool to pretend ‘I am not studying at all. I love PE’. Actually I also loved PE, though. I loved arithmetic and science as much.

-Few love them.

At that age, no one seemed to have interest in studying. Frankly speaking, classes in the elementary school were very easy. So I understood everything, but I used to say, ‘Sir, I have no idea’ or something like that. Then teachers tried to teach me, you know. I already knew all of that, but I still pretended that I hadn’t got it. As a result, I got bad grades.

-What’s that?

Now I think it didn’t make any sense at all. (lol) But I remember one scene quite well. My teacher thought of me as a really poor student and got a stamp saying ‘Do Your Best’. I thought, ‘Aaah, he doesn’t know anything at all ~.’

-I feel sorry for your teacher.

Hahaha. It happened when I was in the fourth or fifth grade, I remember, but I regretted a bit because I got poor grades. ‘I never expected this ~. I just said I had no idea instantly ~. I did my very best at the tests ~.’ (lol)

-I’ve never heard of such a person before. (lol)

Told you.

-Did you sometimes make mistakes on purpose?

Never. I just pretended to be ignorant in the class. … I wonder if I was lonely at that time.

-A look-at-me boy? (lol)

Yeah, possibly. He was a fine young man, ikemen just like Ito Hideaki-san (lol), and had quick reflexes. He was my favorite teacher. I might have wanted him to look at me.

-Considering it, you were cute.

It is possible that I was lovable. Kawaii (cute) ~ ♥

-I didn’t know you had it in you. And after that?

I’ve never done such a thing since then. In junior high school days, it was regarded as better to be good at studies, so I tried to be so. I kept being good at studies normally.

*to be continued to <5>  :) 

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <5>

*continued from <4>

~translation~

-You’re smart by nature, I suppose.

Hmm, I don’t know. I’m not ultra-smart without doubt. I’ve met people that I couldn’t beat no matter how hard I tried and studied.

-But you passed quite a high-ranked high school, didn’t you?

Actually, I had a mental conflict about it, too. I really couldn’t choose a high school facing my future. When I was a third year student in junior high school, I was not sure what I want to do. I had some interest in acting … or show business, but I had no idea what to do with it. So I wondered what the point was in going on to a high-ranked high school after studying hard. Then seriously, I couldn’t make a choice between a high-ranked high school rather far away from my house and another one which was more than 10 points lower in deviation value. I told my parents sincerely, ‘I can’t decide. When I enter high school, I’ll never study and only dance, I think. If so, it would be better to go to high school close to my house and continue to dance if I think about my life as a whole.’ Then they said, ‘You may be right.’ But I went to the high ranked high school after all … I don’t know why. Probably it was because of expectation from my teachers in cram school. The teachers in cram school made efforts to send me to high-ranked high school. I couldn’t ruin their efforts.

-I think I got a glimpse of Takeru-kun’s personality.

Consequently, I didn’t study at all and did nothing but dance as I had expected. (lol) But I think it was good I entered the high school.

-A high school student, around seventeen years old, is most sensitive, right?

Well, in that sense, I was not aware of many things. How should I say, a late bloomer? (lol) I’ve never thought that teachers can make mistakes because they are also humans, or that adults are such and such. I was interested only in dancing. In school, I was in the habit of saying, ‘I’m bored’. Looking back, it was really a waste. There are too many blanks in my memory.

-And its rebound?

No rebound, I think. It is not rebound but what I felt when I entered this business was the joy that there were quite a few who talked the same language as me! Not so many, though. About three.

-Three. (lol)

There may be less than three. Rather few. (lol)

-They are absolutely invaluable, I guess. By the way, do you get lonely easily?

Just like other people. Sometimes I feel lonely, but sometimes I prefer to be alone. I’m not the kind of person who can’t tolerate being alone.

-When do you feel lonely?

When I open the door, coming home after my job. At that moment, I wish someone were there at times.

-Constantly?

At the current moment, I don’t have a packed work schedule, so I seldom think so. But when I’m busy with work, I want someone to be with me especially when I’m busy with work, I think. Since I started to work, I’ve never opened the door and found somebody there. I’ve never lived with anybody. So I’m seriously thinking of sharing rooms with my friend.

-For someone’s warmth?

Yup. In addition, it seems simply fun. I’ve never lived with anybody, so I’d like to try. With one of my friends, or if I had a loved one …

-Would you like to be spoiled by her? (lol)

Yup, I’d love to. (lol) I’m not a type of guy that pretends to be strong. Basically, I’m always my natural self and I think it important to let the stress out. So I sometimes depend on one who I can let my guard down to and find a way out of the stress by showing weakness in order to adjust myself properly. It is absolutely bad to tolerate anything and everything, right?

-Does it go with your aesthetic of a cool guy?

It may not to some extent, but it is definitely more important to restore a mental balance. If you get sick by pursuing your aesthetic, you’ll lose everything. It is uncool, I think.

-But you consider aesthetic of a cool guy all the same, right?

I’m always aware of it. And basically I don’t waver. Something is added to me, or I sometimes make progress or grow in some degree, but my standard … such as ‘Don’t complain’ and ‘My ideal is a man like Kenshin (in Rurouni Kenshin).

-Listening to you, I feel that you never change at the root.

Isn’t it a matter of whether you need to change or not? I’m not trying not to waver as a human but I’ve just believed what I have always had in mind. I don’t think I’m wrong, so I have no mind to change.

*to be continued to <6> :)

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <6>

*continued from <5>

~translation~

-When do you feel worried about your work?

Fortunately, I’ve never had the period when I have no project to do, so I’ve never felt ‘worried’. Since I always have the next work, I can clearly see what to do now. So I do my best for that. I’m living in this way.

-Are you going to be an actor forever?

I’m not sure. I’ll quit when I want to quit, but there’s no telling what will happen in the future. If I must say, I may be waver when I get bored. But in that sense, this is a kind of job that is unlikely to let me get tired because I’m doing something new each time.

-Then when you get older, say, to be an old man, what would you want to be like?

I don’t think something like that at all. But I can vaguely say that, for example, it is knowledge that I lack, now. When I get older, I will…

-What is the ‘knowledge’?

About everything. (tapping the wall) ‘Ah, this is cypress’ or something like that. (lol)

- (lol) To know a wide range of things, you mean?

Exactly. About everything. My ultimate goal is to be a person who can answer whatever questions I’m asked. I want to answer all the questions.

-From the question ‘Why am I living?’ to the kind of wood used for the wall?

Yup! All! When asked ‘Why do I have to study?’ by my child, I want to answer it easily. To be able to deal with all the question marks. It is my ultimate.

-You’re the first person I’ve ever met that makes a definite statement about such a thing so happily.

Just as I expected. (lol) I want to know everything I don’t know and find answers somehow.

-You’re quite greedy.

It is difficult, but I want to be like that. I want to be a Grandpa like that. (broad smile) I want to be Google. I want to be a walking Google.

-Eh? You’re making me confused to the contrary

Hahaha. You know what? In the United States, there is ‘pick up lines’ and I used to be hooked on them. (lol) You ask a girl, ‘Are you Google?’ Naturally, she says, ‘Huh, why?’ Your answer is ‘Because you have everything I’ve been looking for’.

-Geez!

(lol) I heard such an analogy, and I seriously want to be Google-san.

-You have kind of boyish dream in you, right?

Is this boyish? Oh, from a realistic point of view?

-It may come from the way you talk, but you said before in the interview about ‘Rurouni Kenshin’, ‘I want to be able to dash on the wall’ and ‘If I were not an actor, I’d like to be on a TV show like “Kinniku Banzuke (Muscle Ranking)” at any cost’.

Ah, if you mean that, a man is a boy forever.

-From young girls, women have motherliness … or they are somewhat mature, in contrast. Don’t you think so?

……..

-To such a question, you…

I want to be able to have an answer. (lol) As an answer to the question, I should say it’s probably for some physiological reason. Is it a bit of a stretch? (lol) I may go off the track a bit but I told you about ‘minority’ a little while ago. Such a viewpoint depends on the times and even correct answers can vary across the ages, right? I’m not interested in such a thing but want to know why so from the view point of the inner nature of human beings.

-Takeru-kun’s way of answering and the direction of the content of your answer always aim at the essence, I think.

I often hear it said that this is the commonsense of this age or that it can’t be helped in such an age. That’s not the point.

-You must feel many different things in acting roles that lived in ancient times.

In an extreme case, even your values of human life can change.

-It reminds me that when the drama ‘Ryomaden’ finished shooting, Takeru-kun, who played Okada Izo, said, ‘Even now some people tend to doubt if it is OK to say directly what is on their mind. But I think they should say what they like in this modern world because, unlike in the old days, they won’t be killed.’

Exactly. And my words came out because I lived in that age.

-At that time I thought the character was great who had brought the idea to Sato Takeru, a modern person.

I see. So in fact, there is no doubt that playing a role teaches you a lot. By living a life of another person, you feel a lot of things, but especially when you live as the person in a different age, you’ll sometimes feel uncertain what is right. It makes you think a lot. Both Izo and Kenshin assassinated people with conviction. It was justice in their mind. I understand that point from the bottom of my heart. If I go further, the law is justice. I regard the law as a thing that exists not to lead people to right behavior but for all the people to live peacefully and happily; for don’t you want to punish the criminal saying ‘What the heck!’, for example, when a random murder occurs? Thinking along this line, I reach the interest in ‘the essence’ as I told you.

-Listening to you, I’ve come to think ‘conviction’ is another key word.

Yeah, right. I respect a person very much who has conviction as the first step. For, can anyone stop him/her? No one can stop a person who is rushing straight seriously, believing, ‘I will live in this way’. It is his/her life after all and I’d like to respect his/her strong determination in the first place. I seldom find such a person, though. But if it does damage to me as a result, I will stop the person for the sake of our own lives. It doesn’t mean ‘denial’, though.

-As for this kind of story, it is difficult to express your true intentions, I feel.

It seldom happens that you can convey your true intention properly. But a few people understand me, so I talk a lot with them. Well, normally, just living your life is difficult. Even just earning your living is hard. I really understand that you have to work with a situation in order to do so. But at the same time, I also think, ‘Hang in there and live a rock’n’roll way of life’.

-Actor is a job that makes people feel such things, right?

I hope so. But it is really difficult to change other people. You can change in the true sense only when you fail. It is not until you reflect at the bottom of your heart, ‘As I recall, he said something like that’ or ‘Ah, he meant this …‘ I had that experience myself. It was not until I failed that I thought, ‘Ah ~!’

*to be continued to <7>

[stephany-310]

Interview in Sato Takeru Photo Book X (ten) <7>

*continued from <6>

~translation~

-You celebrate tenth anniversary of the debut this year, but I decided, without asking, that this milestone is not essential for you and allowed myself to interview you about what you have in mind. So far, I’ve come to understand why a lot of people say, ‘Sato Takeru is clever’, I suppose.

What? Did anyone say such a thing?

-Certainly. I heard it said by many people.

I’m very grateful that some people said so and I don’t feel bad at all, but I never think of myself as such. Well, I think I may be more reflective than others. I don’t evade thinking. A clever person can solve a problem in three minutes. I can’t solve it in three minutes but I keep trying for thirty minutes. I don’t give up until I solve it. It leads me to the answer. It is the case, I think.

-I feel impressed even with that interpretation. Don’t you give up at times?

Seldom. Once I have interest in one thing, it keeps raising questions for quite a while.

-Doesn’t that style make your words unable to keep up with your thought?

I understand what you mean very well. Actually, yesterday, I watched a talk show television where Furutachi Ichiro-san appeared as a guest. Since he is a professional live commentator, pretty words came out along with his thought without getting stuck. Such a person is clever indeed, I think. A genius.

-Live commentators have to put what’s going on into their own words, so they ‘think’ at a terrific speed.

Yes, yes. But in my case, I take relatively long time in thinking without giving up. Perhaps, there are more people who don’t think so much now. … It must be difficult to play the role of a live commentator. I won’t be able to be like Furutachi-san, but I may be able to copy Furutachi-san’s phrase.

-By copying his phrase, you may be able to find something, ‘Aha, I see!’

Exactly. The work we’re doing is that. We copy professionals and make ourselves look like them properly.

-You think of your job as such.

Yes, without doubt. We can never be equal to professionals, can we?

-Then what professional is an actor?

Professional of play. Creating a work by becoming a part of it. Otherwise, it would be better to film a documentary, right?

-Then how will you answer if you’re asked ‘What is a play?’

If you use the word ‘copy’ in that vein, there are two answers: imitation and imagination. To play by imitating what you’ve seen or experienced, and by imagining something totally unknown to you.

-As expected, you can give me a definite response, Takeru-kun.

Well, I’m trying very hard. (lol)

-You’ve done a pretty good job.

That’s why the interview is interesting. Really. As I told you before, I have no chance to talk about myself except for in the interview. I’m thinking day by day because I want to be able to answer a variety of questions I will be asked. What if I had no chance … you know (lol). So I’m having a great time now.

-It reminds me an interesting episode. During the period of ‘Kamen Rider Den-O’, adults waited in a queue to talk about their worries to Takeru-kun, I heard. You were as young as seventeen or eighteen years old, right? You were more than ‘a judge of your friends’, weren’t you?

It seldom happens. It is that kind of thing, so-called, say, ‘an urban legend’. (lol) I don’t remember. It is a good story, though.

-Your manager now was not in charge of you those days, but to hear that, he thought it was possible, he said. It indicates something.

(lol) Probably I’m always looking for the right answer.

-And I think you have personal warmth.

Nah, I don’t think I have warmth. For I think aside from consulters.

-I think you are warm-hearted just because you give a helping hand in a calm manner without being lazy.

Oh, really? If so, I think I’m warm-hearted in that sense. (lol) ‘Talking about worries’ reminds me. Just recently, I read Kawakami (Nobuo)-san’s word in ‘Rikei ni Manabu (Learn from Science and Math)’ written by Kawamura Genki-san. Kawakami-san is the president of DWANGO. He said, ‘We have relationships online, such as via LINE, in the hope of connecting with someone, but if so, the day will come when we communicate with artificial intelligence that will give us the best model answer’. I like a story like that very much, so I thought about it thoroughly, thinking that it might well be possible. And I’ve got curious to know what the artificial intelligence would answer in the future if we talked to it about our problems, say, a problem that is regarded as a taboo in today’s world. Now, what do you expect to happen?

-I didn’t see that one coming.

It’s quite off-topic, though. I now have one more thing to look forward to. (lol)

-As you talked about connection and LINE, I’d like to ask you. What do fans mean to you?

First of all, I can’t easily say that fans are such and such in the lump. Every fan is different.

-It’s nice words.

And I feel really grateful to them. It is not an exaggeration but my true senses. Recently I started official LINE and I read their comments. So I can see their response in a visible manner. I don’t have a fan club, so, to be honest, they are unknown, or I can’t get a full picture of my fans. But I’ve kept working, believing that they are happy with what I have chosen after all, including my choice of works.

-I think now is the time to ask you: Do you recognize that your image has changed now compared with the time of Kamen Rider Den-O?

Well, I’m sometimes told so, but it’s really hard to say. I haven’t changed in that I’m doing what I think is good.

-How should I say … You once gave me a very strong impression of … ‘a cute boy’.

Oh, I think I’m still cute. (lol)

- (lol)

You’re laughing but I’m working on the basis that I’m still cute now. Of course I’m getting older and I may have changed a bit in appearance, but I’ve scarcely changed as a human. Using my cuteness as a weapon …

-Hey!

(lol) In those days, my impression depended largely on the role I played. So some people were surprised. They said, ‘You’re totally different from the character you’re playing’. I remember that.

-You were pretty cute in the photos on the magazines, weren’t you?

I’d be willing to do it now if I’m offered. (lol) … Seriously speaking, not in a bad sense, I didn’t really know what I was doing at that time. I just went with the flow and it resulted in such an image. I did so out of sheer desire to achieve what I was asked for. I may not have considered what my own personality was.

-It seems that some people see you from perspective of ‘changing from Ikemen to a powerful actor’.

I see. That may be so. In that sense, I had no interest in that point because it’s non-essential. I think the essential thing is how I can do my best at the given task, mainly about the play and the character I play. For example, there are some set expressions, you know, such as ‘Because he is an idol’ or ‘Only powerful actor could have done it’ … Even if someone is an idol, a serious one has a tremendous power. There may be non-serious ones among powerful actors. I call it the essence. I don’t care so-called genre or categorized viewpoint. On the other hand, it is not that I hate it. I don’t mind being called ‘Ikemen’, or even being called ‘idol’. I’ve always been thinking like that. Rather, I feel somewhat sad that I’m called ‘idol’ a little less often these days. (lol) What is important is essence.

-I’m looking forward to seeing an actor Sato Takeru with never-changing conviction after the 10th anniversary.

Thank you very much. Anyway, I hope those who see this photo book will travel to Salar de Uyuni!

The End

*Thank you for reading this looooong interview to the end! I’m happy to share what Takeru has in mind ^^

[nuraci]

a Syrian rescue volunteer breaks down in tears after pulling a Syrian baby girl from the rubble - her entire family was killed in the air strike.

رجل انقاذ سوري ينهار في البكاء بعد انقاذ طفله سوريه من تحت الانقاض وقد اضاف رجال الانقاذ ان جميع افراد عائلتها قد استشهدوا.

[zoomine]

[myonlyphenomenon]

I’ve been staring at this for 5 minutes

[dont-kill-the-kennedys]

That’s what it looks like. That’s really what it looks like

[avesatanaa]

Being out in the ocean is actually so scary because when you look really far out you can kind of see how the Earth is rounded out. It looks like a few miles ahead you’re just gonna fall off or something. Also fun trick: if ur on mobile, double tap zoom in and slide the picture side to side. It looks like you’re actually there looking left to right

[norulesnobras]

DO THAT DO IT RIGHT NOW

[dunyatraveler]

I did that. It’s so cool!

[itshobohere]

Shaykh Bander Baleela was leading prayer when rain started pouring down in Makkah so he recited the ayah from Surah Ash-Shura:

“And it is He who sends down the rain after they had despaired  and spreads His mercy. And He is the Protector, the Praiseworthy.”

-[Ash-Shura 42:28] 

[amatullaah-deactivated20161126]

Allahu Akbar

[dunyatraveler]

MasyaAllah!

[moonmist03-deactivated20190820]

[islamic-quotes]

More islamic quotes HERE

[wonderfullysaved]

When God calls you out of your comfort zone, He is building you up for even greater things.