Myojo Feburary '86 Interview

My eternal gratitude to Sabuyan for transcribing this insightful interview with Yukiko Okada. You can find the original text here. This interview was published in the Feburary 1986 edition of Myojo.

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- How’s your health been?

(Yukiko was hospitalised for overwork between 29^th Nov to 2^nd Dec)

I know I’ve worried a lot of people, but I’m fine now. I was trying to be careful because I’ve always been a little anaemic…

- Wait? Have you dyed your hair?

People have been saying that a lot recently, but I’ve not. It’s just become a bit damaged and dried out. It’s a shame, when I started out, people used to say “You look like you have a halo when you’re lit, because your hair is pitch black.” I wanted to grow it out over winter, but I’ve just been getting split ends that look like dried squid.

- Is it because filming Kinjirareta Mariko was so demanding?

It wasn’t demanding. Well, it was hard filming on location from early morning until late at night, but I enjoyed it so I didn’t feel tired. I’ve wanted to be in a TV drama ever since I debuted, after all!

- Are you taking any special lessons to prepare for TV dramas?

There’s a lot I want to do, but my hands are full with vocal practice every week. People who’ve been trained in acting for a long time are completely different. There’s a real difference in the size of their voice and their enunciation. There’s so much I want to try out!

- So you don’t have time for hobbies?
Nope, not at all! It’s always the hardest when an interviewer asks me what my hobbies are because I really don’t have time for anything. It makes me want to respond with “Well, give me time for sports and hobbies.”

- On that topic, are there any hobbies you’d like to try?

Yes, so many! I want to learn how to play piano, I want to take lessons on English conversation and I want to learn tennis, and I want to take swimming lessons!

- Woah, that’s a lot.

In any case, I want to do something outside of work. My hands are so full with work at the moment, and perfecting it is taking up all my effort. I hate that when I’m with my friends, all I can talk about is work. I want to learn so many more things! Otherwise, I feel like I’ll be left behind.

- Woah, are you moments away from throwing away your job to immerse yourself in hobbies?

No, no. All of the hobbies I want to try out, they all link back to work. If I learned piano, it would be helpful in TV drama scenes. If I learned English, I could sing songs in English and use it when I’m acting. If you look at Kazue Itou, she plays the drums in Pony Tail wa Furimukanai (TBS drama). She didn’t actually know how to play drums at first. She spent one months learning, and got so good. I’d like to devote myself to a single drama like that.

- So everything starts and ends with work?

I want to build up stamina first. At a hotel pool, I ran completely out of breath swimming 25 metres recently.

- You really put your heart and soul into everything you do.

It causes me lots of problems. I take things seriously even if I don’t have to. It’s a bad personality trait. If I think about it objectively, I don’t actually need to try so hard when it comes to singing. When I debuted, I fixated on being No. 1 a lot, but I don’t think that any more. Now I prefer to sing in a way I’m satisfied with.

- You’re taking things your own pace now.

This might be a cold way of thinking about it, but I’ve realised idols don’t sell only on whether they sing well or not. That’s why songs you think are good, and everyone else thinks is good, don’t necessarily sell well. I don’t want to force myself to sell something.

- Is this something that’s made you suffer in the past?

Not personally, but I’ve seen other people doing things they were forced to do. When I was starting out, and there were parts of my job I didn’t want to do, I’d tell myself it was Yukiko Okada doing it, not Kayo Satou. I have a separation like that. I’m Yukiko Okada most of the time now, so I’ve become attached to her, and things Yukiko doesn’t want to do, I don’t want to do either.

- Well, what makes Yukiko Okada happy then?

When she’s doing work, and she’s satisfied with the outcome, even if it’s one part of one song. And she’s on top of the world when her fans are happy for her.

- But you must get all sorts of fans.

I do. When I’m walking on the street, people will say “Wow, it’s Yukiko-chan. Can I have your autograph?” It makes me so happy, I end up doing so many autographs. And sometimes, I’ll hear someone say “Oh, that’s Yukiko Okada...” from far away. It makes me sad when people say mean things. Even celebrities are normal human beings with blood running through them. It used to be that only fans would recognise me, but two years later, a lot more people recognise me. I should probably be glad. When I debuted, I thought I was prepared, but having it happen in reality is… it’s kinda difficult.

- Maybe it’s time we switched to a lighter topic! How are things going in your love life?

Um, things are looking a little gloomy there too. It’s because I’m timid. I get worried that I’ll get myself hurt, so I end up giving up. It’s a form of self-defence that comes from my strange sense of pride. Even though I recognise I’m like this, I can’t fix it.

- Hmm, and because you think about things so seriously, you can’t forget about them either.

Not necessarily. I think about so many things, I can forget things easily. When I worry, I get less sleep, which makes me zone out. I fell asleep in the bath recently, while thinking. I thought I was going to drown.

- Depressing! Are you OK?

I’m OK. When I’m feeling down, I think of myself as the heroine as a tragedy and end up enjoying myself. In the end, I’m having a fun youth.

- You’re one of those Harlequin Romance readers, I see. That’s a relief. Then, can you tell me how school’s going?

I only have one more semester of high school left. To be honest, I never really attended school in the true sense. I didn’t have much contact with friends, and I wish I’d been able to prepare more for tests… Because of that, when I graduate I want to go to college or vocational school if possible. I want to study properly, and focus on learning singing and acting. I want to become properly talented, and be someone that can sell even without the label ‘Idol.’