The "Arashi" in the title of this book refers to the national idol group "Arashi" belonging to Johnny's Entertainment, which suspended its activities after 21 years at the end of last year. This book was originally published as a hardcover in June 2014, just before Arashi's 15th anniversary live concert in Hawaii in September. As the first full-scale critique of "Arashi" in Japan, it sold nearly 30,000 copies thanks to your support. Now that Arashi has suspended its activities, I have written a new comprehensive chapter and have made it into a paperback. It has been my long-held dream as a writer to publish a paperback, so I am honestly happy. In addition, I have already published a paperback book, "Six Keywords to Understand Handsome Hosts," from Rokusaisha in 2018, so all that remains is a selection of books and a series of books.
As the cover of the book proclaims, "Popular lectures at Meiji University have been made into a book," the book was based on a lecture on Arashi that I had given in a liberal arts course at the Faculty of Law called "Liberal Lectures." I started giving this lecture in 1994, when I was an assistant professor in the philosophy department at Toyo University, and was asked to teach "social psychology." The request was for me to lecture on sexuality, but if I had tackled it head-on, it would have become a very staid political topic like the current trend of "sexual harassment" and "feminism," so I talked about how the idea that "men need courage and women need charm" is now outdated, and that from now on, it will be appearance that matters for boys, too, and that they need to be "handsome." And so, in 1996, I published the book "An Introduction to Handsome Men."
In fact, at that time, there was a bit of a "gay" boom, and now macho role model Takeda Shinji was very popular with Ishida Issei as a "feminist man," and male sexuality was becoming more diverse and fuzzy. And in the lecture, the author placed importance on "SMAP." When they made their CD debut in 1991, they were a group of six, including Mori. He even wrote a paper titled "The sensibility of SMAPPING," saying that the time of SMAP was coming . He said that without standardization, each member was able to express their own individuality, and yet, perhaps because of this, they were able to express the charm of the group as a whole, and that this way of being would be a model of "beautiful men" that was not manualized.
After that, Johnny's became one of the main pillars of my lectures. I covered TOKIO, V6, Johnny's Jr., and Arashi. However, when I listened to "truth" in 2008 , I was convinced that the times definitely called for "Arashi". And then, by chance, I got the opportunity to write a book about "Arashi". In fact, I was initially asked if I could write about "TVXQ" just as the second Korean wave boom was happening. Of course, I also kept an eye on K-POP, and in particular, I covered the 2009 Korean drama "You're Beautiful" extensively in my lectures, given its title. However, my interest was in band-like Korean wave groups such as "FTIsland", whose vocalist was Lee Hong-gi, who appeared in the drama, and "CNBLUE", whose leader was Jung Yong-hwa . So I declined to write about "TVXQ". Then, when I was asked "What can you write about?", I answered that I could write about "Arashi". The publisher must have thought that "Arashi" would sell, so they gave the go-ahead.
So why did the era shift from SMAP to Arashi? The hint is given in the subtitle of the book. Although each member of SMAP is unique, Kimutaku among them still maintains an overwhelming charisma. On the other hand, does Arashi have charisma? The author realized in 2008's "truth" that Aiba's presence was the "key" of "Arashi". At that time, Aiba was the only member who had not starred in a drama. Nowadays, many people think of Aiba when they think of Arashi, but that was not the case at the time. In other words, if members such as Aiba and Ohno were treated equally to the other members, then Arashi would surely create a new era as an idol group without charisma. And that is exactly what happened.
My preference for Aiba-kun is the same as my preference for Masuda-kun, aka Massu, from the Johnny's band "NEWS." I don't like actors who are "leading role level," but rather the type who can easily handle both leading and supporting roles, like Odagiri Joe. No, this is also a trend of the times, and I think Suda Masaki is part of that lineage. Going back even further, I had my eye on Troussier's Japan team, and even before the 2000 Sydney Olympics, I continued to teach my classes that Inamoto Junichi was the "key" player in the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup. His position is "defensive midfielder."
I have been talking about "handsome men" for over a quarter century, but I think it is possible to read "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" as one of the "main theories" of my "handsome men theory," which ended as an "introduction." If you have the opportunity, I would be very happy if you would pick up a copy.
This month's recommended wine: "Quality Bordeaux made by the prestigious Thienpont family"
"Chateau Haut Plantés Saint - Emilion Grand Cru 2015 Jacques Thienpont" 6,160 yen
The twin greats of French red wine are Burgundy and Bordeaux. Bordeaux is also divided into two types: Medoc on the left bank, which is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, and Libourne on the right bank, which is dominated by Merlot. The five great chateaux are from Medoc. Château Petrus, famous as the world's best wine using Merlot, is from Pomerol on the right bank. And Le Pin, also from Pomerol, is famous as an expensive wine that surpasses Petrus. This Le Pin is made by the Thienpont family, owners of the famous wine Vieux Château Certan. The Thienpont family purchased Haut - Plantés in Saint - Emilion, another important appellation in Libourne, in order to make a rare and expensive garage wine like Le Pin. They kept the name of this chateau as their second wine and launched the brand Rif in 2011 . 2015 is a great vintage, so a "Rif" will cost over 40,000 yen. The varietal composition is 80 % Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. It's a lot of Merlot for Saint - Emilion, but this is where the skill of the Pomerol winemaker shines. This second wine is rarely seen on the market anymore, so this may be your last chance. Don't miss it.
For inquiries about the wines featured,
To AVICO Co., Ltd.
Biography
Osamu Seki Born in Tokyo in 1961. Currently a part-time lecturer at Meiji University and other institutions.
He specializes in contemporary French thought and cultural theory, and is a director of the Reefer Wine Association.
His books include "An Introduction to Beautiful Men" (Natsume Shobo) and "My Neighbor is Arashi-kun" (Cyzo), and his translations include "How Should We Read Foucault?" by Oksara (Shinsensha) and "Mr. Pydrow, What Use Is a Gastronomic Critic?" by Pydrowski (Shinsensha).
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