Interview with Ishimori Rika - BUBKA June 2023 edition

Interview with Ishimori Rika: Mind trained by reading

―Ishimori-san, what kind of childhood did you have?
Ishimori: I used to sing a lot at home. The song I sang with my friends in kindergarten, when I got home, I sang it again by myself. I especially remember the "Jab-Jab Ondo" that I practiced for the summer festival. I have a video of that time.

ーI heard that you were often alone.
Ishimori: I used to play with everyone until the lower grades of elementary school, but from around the 3rd grade I became mostly alone.

ーIs there a reason?
Ishimori: I don't think there was any particular reason. When I became a junior high school student, it became easy to be alone, and it became a matter of course.
I was in an environment where there were only girls, so I was worried about what others would think of me and worried that what I was saying might hurt someone else, and I became afraid to speak out in front of a lot of people. In the end, I quit the basketball club. My father was a minibus coach, and my older sister also had basketball experience, so I grew up in an environment with basketball nearby. But when I started playing basketball, there were a lot of contact plays, and I started to feel that I wasn't good at it. I became frightened of both the "girls only environment" and the "competition of basketball", and I got used to it and became weak.

ーDid you feel calm when you were cooking your favorite food? Yes.
After cooking for home economics class in junior high school, I started helping out at home. I'm the type of person who always thinks in my head, but when I'm cooking, I can focus on what's in front of me, like, "Cut the ingredients" and "Let's make something delicious." .

- It seems that you wanted to change your weak self.
Ishimori: I wanted to become stronger, so I made an effort to change. The reason why I like reading is because I want to change my weak self. My parents recommended me self-development books and non-fiction books about people who have become stronger, and through those books I changed my way of thinking. When I was in high school, I came to think that being alone is not a bad thing. In the past, he used to be afraid of that, but now I think he's become able to accept it.

-Please tell us how you met Sakurazaka46 or Keyakizaka46 and which songs influenced you.
Ishimori: I think it was when I was in the first year of junior high school, but I couldn't sleep, so I went down from my room to the living room, and my mother and sister were watching "Keyakitte, Kakenai?" (TV Tokyo). At that time, I didn't know that it was a sister group of Nogizaka46, and I was talking to her, "Which group is it?" When the debut song "Silent Majority" was released, I was able to sympathize with the adolescent Don Pisha. When I was worried about what I wanted to do in the future, "Seifuku to Taiyo" helped me.

-Please tell us why you decided to audition for Sakurazaka46.
Ishimori: The only idols I like are Keyakizaka46 and Sakurazaka46. I couldn't imagine myself auditioning for them because it's a group that I've followed since my debut. I thought, "I want to meet the members of Keyakizaka46," and participated in the Sakamichi joint audition seminar. I didn't apply for the audition. After that, there was also the corona epidemic, so I thought, "Sakurazaka46 auditions won't be held for a while," but the recruiting for the 3rd generation started. When I read the eligibility requirements, I was at the limit of my age, and if I hadn't been born prematurely, I wouldn't have been able to apply. I thought, "If I don't apply, I'll regret it," so I auditioned for them while looking for a job.

- Did your mother approve of you becoming an idol?
Ishimori: My mother affirmed, saying, "Not just anyone can become one, so it should be a life experience." However, I'm worried because I'm like this, and they support me on the condition that "if it gets tough, don't overdo it."

―Did your mother take care of you during your difficult times?
Ishimori: At home, we don't talk much, but a few times a year, I talk to mother for a long time, and she accepts my feelings at that time.

-How did you feel when you stood in front of your fans at the "hospitality party" held on March 4th and 5th?
Ishimori: At the online meet & greet, I was talking to Buddies over the screen, but I was happy to meet them in person for the first time. More than I imagined, I came to see everyone's faces. However, I didn't feel like I was on stage at a big venue, and it was a strange feeling. At the "hospitality party", we performed "BAN" at the center, just like at the training camp.
Ishimori: The protagonist of “BAN” overlaps with my lazy self. I've always liked Sakurazaka46, but it may be one of my laziness that I was late to apply for audition. I was nervous and scared and cried. Buddies often complimented me on the part of the line that said, "Isn't that time for her?" She didn't say any lines in rehearsals, just to let the emotions in her mind at the time.

-Ishimori-san, what kind of idol do you want to be?
 Ishimori: After joining Sakurazaka46, I'm still lacking confidence in myself. “I want to give my fans energy” and “I want to support them”, but I haven’t reached the level of an idol that can do that yet. If you don't like yourself, the viewers won't think "this girl is good". I like strong women, so first of all I want to do my best so that I can have confidence in myself.