No Sleep Before the Deadline: An F-Cup Gravure Idol Discusses Her Writing Process for a Viral Essay

Born in Saitama, raised in the Philippines.

“22 years old, single, raised in a general household in Saitama Prefecture, with a hobby of searching for delicious restaurants, currently living in Tokyo.

I may seem like an ordinary person, but I was a former idol of SKE48.

I graduated from SKE48 in 2022 and am now active as a talent. (Omitted)

However, I have a slightly unusual past. I grew up in the Philippines, making me what is known as a returnee student. I carry the intimidating title of ‘Born in Saitama, raised in the Philippines.'”

This is how the essay series begins, gaining attention in Modern Business by Sayaka Igarashi. In the currently released Friday magazine, she showcases her proud F-cup and shares the behind-the-scenes stories of her shooting and writing.

ー How long has it been since your last gravure shoot?

It has been about a year since my last one. I was really nervous because it had been a while, but I was also very excited. I did a lot of preparation, including dietary restrictions, so I feel satisfied with how my body turned out.

ー Your essay series is also gaining attention, isn’t it?

It’s different from the casual writing I was doing before, so I struggled with it a bit. However, it has been a good experience, and people around me have told me that my writing has improved.

Honestly, I was most afraid of how people would react before it was published. Given my position as a talent, I think there are times when it’s better not to be too honest, but in writing, it’s easy to become overly candid.

After the article came out, I gathered the courage to check out the feedback, and I was really surprised. I thought people would only read about 200 characters at most, but there were comments like, “I didn’t know this before, but I ended up reading it all.” That gave me confidence in my writing. Sometimes I get comments like, “It feels like someone else is writing this” (laughs).

Digital photo collection ” Soka Igarashi has an F-cup! 　 vol. 1: Too Cute Part-Time Work at a Beach House” is now on sale!

Challenging my first stage performance!

– During the shoot, there was a cut themed around a writer holed up before a deadline.

That was a funny concept (laughs). I usually shut myself in my room before deadlines, but I actually found a great way to write. If I pull an all-nighter and go to a café in the morning without sleeping at all, the words just flow. So before deadlines, I don’t sleep much and head out to family restaurants or cafés.

– What kind of work do you want to do in the future?

Until now, I’ve been a bit vague about what I want to do, and I felt a sense of accomplishment from doing gravure for the first time last year. Then I started writing essays, and actually writing them made me strongly desire to engage in writing activities while being talented. Even though I had been writing for many years since my idol days (through blogs and such), I often disliked writing. But through writing again, I realized that I actually love it.

I also want to focus on acting work. I feel it shares similarities with writing in terms of expressing emotions. From October 31 to November 3, I’ll be participating in two works: “Yubi” and “The D-Saka Murder Case”!

In the October 4 issue of Friday, Igarashi showcases beautiful gravure. Keep an eye on her diverse future endeavors!

In ” Forming a 7-member group in the Philippines… The ‘surprising life’ of a ‘former idol’ in Nagoya “, Ms. Igarashi’s life to date is traced based on her essay.