Yoshikawa: “I applied for the audition with the determination that it would be my last.

For the past year, the 17 members who were not selected in the final audition for the “IDOL 3.0 PROJECT Audition” produced by Yasushi Akimoto have been performing under the name “FINALIST”. Now they are starting a new group under the new name “Rain Tree” and will make their major debut with their first digital single “ILU” on January 29, 2025.

In this 8th and final installment, we present interviews with Hiiragi Kato, Miki Nakamata, and Umi Yoshikawa!

(Left) Miki Nakamata was born on December 22, 2000 in Tokyo. (Middle) Umi Yoshikawa was born on February 22, 2001 in Fukuoka Prefecture. (Right) Hiiragi Kato was born on July 13, 2005 in Hokkaido.

─ First of all, please introduce yourself.

Miki Nakamata: ” I am Miki Nakamata from Tokyo!　I like to communicate and my special skills are singing and playing kendama. I can improvise dub songs, and I always carry a kendama with me so that I can perform them at any time (laughs). Since I’m here today, I’d like to introduce myself and my impressions of the day’s shooting and my enthusiasm for future activities while playing kendama at …… (and performing an impromptu dubbed song from “The Rabbit and the Tortoise,” with improvised lyrics).”

Hiiragi Kato: ” Amazing! 　 The lyrics sound as if they had been prepared (laughs).

Nakamata: ” I just put them together in my head (laughs).

─ ─ That was a wonderful skill, but could you please continue with your self-introduction?

Kato: ” I’m Hiiragi Kato, a 19-year-old from Hokkaido. If I were to describe myself in a few words, I would say that I am a calm person with a passionate heart. My favorite things are dancing, reading and studying!

Umi Yoshikawa ” I am 23 years old, born in Fukuoka and raised in Kanagawa, the youngest of three sisters. I was working as an esthetician until halfway through the audition.

Shirt with tie ¥3,289 / Spinz, earrings ¥1,540 / Paris Kids Harajuku, socks ¥1,100 / Antirosa (SHAGGIE), others / stylist’s personal effects

─ ─ What is your impression of each of them?

KATO: ” Speaking of Miki, she is “Miki on the edge” (laughs). When we meet her at the station, she makes a 100-point dash to the station one minute before the train is due to arrive (laughs).

Nakamata: ” I admit that I’m always on time, but in the end I’m always on time (laughs).

Yoshikawa: ” Miki is dependable because of her talk ability, but her reactions are funny in a “Showa” way (laugh).

Nakamata: ” I wasn’t born in the Showa era (laughs).

Knit with tank top ¥8,800 / ACLENT Skirt ¥3,299, Cap ¥2,199 / WEGO Bandana ¥550 / Spinz Boots ¥16,280 / EMODA Lumine Est Shinjuku

Yoshikawa: ” I think Hiiragi is really a hardworking, steady type of person.

Nakamata: ” She is a girl who is able to make steady and steady efforts in her physical development, as well as in this activity while working hard on her schoolwork. Also, as she said herself earlier, she is always calm. She is able to look at the group objectively, and when the time comes, she expresses her opinions clearly. I think that’s great.

Yoshikawa: ” But the other day, I looked at Hiiragi’s backpack and was surprised to see a hair iron in his side pocket. I was surprised to see her hair iron in her side pocket. So she has that side to her too.

Nakamata: ” Umi is very patient and takes good care of me! 　 She helped the youngest member, Mio (Suzuno), with her summer vacation homework and is already a mother figure in the group.

Long T shirt ¥3,299 / Figments Shirt ¥2,199, necklace ¥1,299 / WEGO Pants ¥14,080 / ACLENT Others / Stylist’s personal effects

Yoshikawa: ” If someone is in trouble, I want to support them. There may be a sense that because I am older, I have to act like an older sister. But in reality, I am the youngest of three sisters, so I think of myself as an older sister character that I can’t fully become (laughs).

─ Could you tell us how the three of you became interested in the world of entertainment and why you decided to become idols?

Yoshikawa: “I fell in love with Fairies when I was in the 6th grade of elementary school, and from there I also fell in love with Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, Nogizaka 46, and Keyakizaka 46, and I started going to their live performances. At the time, I just admired them as a fan. Of course, I wanted to wear cute costumes and stand on a sparkling stage, but I wasn’t particularly confident in myself, so I never auditioned.

───Where did your feelings change?

Yoshikawa: ” When I had to make a life choice between high school and college, I thought about what I wanted to do most, and I knew somewhere in my heart that I wanted to be an idol. When I was in college, I started auditioning for idol shows, but all of them were unsuccessful. When I was running out of auditions that I could go to due to my age, I found the “IDOL3.0 PROJECT,” which had an age limit of 25, and I decided that this would be the last time I would ever have to do it, so I applied.

Rain Tree members Hiiragi Kato (left), Miki Nakamata (middle), and Umi Yoshikawa (right)

Kato: ” The movie ‘BIRIGAL’ that I saw when I was in the 5th grade of elementary school is what made me want to be in the entertainment industry. I thought it was wonderful to see such a sparkling world. But when I became a junior high school student, I became a “study character” and thought that I would live my life as a study student. It was a good thing that I entered an advanced school, but I was surrounded by people who were very good at studying. I thought it might be difficult to continue on the path of study. “

───What made you decide to become an idol?

Kato: ” I realized that I still had a longing in my heart for the glittering world, and when I performed as a member of the dance club at my high school’s school festival, I knew for the first time the feeling of being united with the audience, and I wanted to experience this feeling more. From there, I started auditioning for idol shows. But I didn’t get very good results, and when I was in my junior year of high school, I thought there was no future for me even if I continued on to college in my hometown in Hokkaido, I found the “IDOL3.0 PROJECT.

Fans helped me find my place in the world.

Nakamata: ” I always had a longing to be in the entertainment industry; my parents allowed me to be a baby model when I was 0 years old, and after that I appeared in a Sekisui House commercial and in a drama called “OL Visualkei” starring Sarina Suzuki as a baby. However, I did not have the courage to take the first step into the entertainment industry on my own volition, so after graduating from high school, I became a civil servant and worked at a ward office. Since my parents were civil servants, I wanted to become a civil servant myself and raise a happy family, and my co-workers were kind to me.

─ ─ Why did you quit the civil service?

Nakamata: ” I became a civil servant because I wanted to help people, but from now on I want to do a job where I can help someone by expressing something, not by working as a civil servant. So, at the recommendation of an acquaintance, I started live-streaming on Pococha, and after three months I reached the highest rank, and from there I maintained that rank for about a year and a half. I thought I had already achieved my goal in live streaming, so I decided to move on.

Nakamata : “My next step is to repay the people who have supported me through the live streaming by showing them how I have grown and become famous. The people who supported me during my live-streaming days are still my fans, and I really feel like they saved my life. They helped me find my place in the world when I was lost at times, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

─ ─ Was the “IDOL3.0 PROJECT Audition” the first audition that you took?

Nakamata: ” Before that, I took Season 1 and Season 3 of “The Day I Become an Actress,” for which Mr. Yasushi Akimoto is the producer. The results were not good, and I was thinking that I would not be able to continue as a performer forever, when I heard about the “IDOL3.0 PROJECT” through an advertisement on TikTok. I decided to give it a shot.

─ ─ After going through three different twists and turns, you will make your major debut as Rain Tree on January 29, 2025.

Nakamata: ” I auditioned with no dance experience, so I really couldn’t dance at first. But now, I have had fans tell me, “Your dance was great.

Kato: ” During the audition camp, you practiced without sleeping, even cutting down on bath time.

Nakamata: ” I really wanted to pass the audition. I wanted to be able to do something that I was not good at from the bottom of my heart, so I practiced hard. I also learned that if I gave it my all, I would be able to do it properly. I think this will be a great source of energy for me when I have new experiences in the future.

Yoshikawa: ” During the audition process, I was allowed to participate in Insta-live and SHOWROOM distribution, and I feel that this helped me to improve my “speaking ability. I was originally not good at speaking and worried about communicating with fans, but now I am receiving more and more compliments on my talks from fans, and I think I am gradually becoming able to speak my mind.

Kato: ” I think I have gained the strength to take the first step. Before I auditioned, I had only been seriously going along a fixed rail. I was afraid of going off the rails, and I didn’t have the confidence to speak my mind. But through auditions, I am gradually gaining the experience of carving out a future for myself.

Kato: ” By having the courage to take the first step, I was given the opportunity to make my debut and meet the members. Now I am able to open up to everyone and lean on them. It’ s hard to imagine what it was like for me before, when I was so bad at socializing.

I want to increase the number of fans of my generation.

─ Before your major label debut, please tell us what kind of idol you want to become in the future.

Nakamata: ” I want to improve my talk ability even more, and in the future I want to be an idol who appears on various TV programs so that I can be called Rain Tree’s variety person. I love singing, so I also want to be someone who can cheer up various people with my songs.

Kato: ” I want to be an idol who can relate to people’s feelings and understand their thoughts. In terms of performance, I want to not only improve my technique, but also to be able to express myself in a way that moves the emotions of my fans, such as encouraging them or bringing them to tears at times.

Yoshikawa: ” I like watching idols because I am moved by their performances in live shows and music videos. So I want to become an idol who can move people’s hearts with their performances. I want to improve my dancing and singing, and I want to be able to show various expressions depending on the song. I want to be able to be conscious of even the movement of my hair and use it in my performances!

Rain Tree members Miki Nakamata (left), Umami Yoshikawa (center), and Hiiragi Kato (right)

─ What are your goals as a group and your dreams as individuals?

Nakamata: ” As a group, our goals are to sing in the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen and to perform at the Tokyo Dome. As an individual, I want to be an MC on a variety show. To make all of this come true, I will always be grateful for the environment I am in, and no matter how successful I am, I will always be humble and considerate in my entertainment activities.”

Yoshikawa: ” My big goal is also to stand on the Tokyo Dome stage with everyone. I would like to continue to pursue my career as an idol as Rain Tree without missing anyone from the current 17 members. Personally, I am interested in acting, so I would be happy to try my hand at acting someday. Also, although it is a personal complex, I believe that my thinness is also a weapon, so I would like to make use of it and try my hand at modeling.

Kato: ” My goal as a group is to be loved by people of all ages. To achieve this, I would like to increase the number of fans in my age group. As an individual, I would like to perform in music videos for artists. I would also like to make use of my knowledge of the SDGs and international relations, which I am studying at university, and try my hand at disseminating information about them.

─ I know that your days are getting busier and busier in preparation for your major debut, but are you able to take a break?

Yoshikawa: ” I relax by watching Eiko Kano’s video games on YouTube, which I have been addicted to for a long time now (laughs).

Kato: ” Whenever I have time, I call my family who live far away from me to relax. I get energy from video calls with my mother and seeing my younger sister.

Nakamata: ” I am addicted to a board game called ‘Catan,’ which is played by two to four people and is one of the world’s top three board games. Right now, my brother and I are playing it together, but I would like to play it with the other members, and when I get better at it, I would like to participate in tournaments so that people can get to know Rain Tree!

Rain Tree members Hiiragi Kato (front), Kaimi Yoshikawa (middle), and Miki Nakamata (back)

PROFILE
Hiiragi Kato (Shu Katou)
Born on July 13, 2005 in Hokkaido
Special skills/hobbies: Cooking, dancing, choreography, study (SDGs, languages, sign language)

Miki Nakamata
Born on December 22, 2000 in Tokyo
Special skills/hobbies: Sauna, Molok, Karaoke, Kendama shimame, Japanese drumming, Doublespeak

Umi Yoshikawa
Born on February 22, 2001 in Fukuoka Prefecture
Special ability/Hobby/Listening to music, watching anime

Rain Tree Serialization [Final] Hiiragi Kato, Miki Nakamata, and Umi Yoshikawa “All 17 members aim for Tokyo Dome!

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