[JO1] Tokyo Calendar 220421

“It is an unusual space where order and chaos coexist. It is surprisingly cosy once you get used to it.”

Scene 03 / A shining guy‘s time. / in the case of Shiroiwa Ruki (JO1)

A night spent in a hotel filled with all elements of contemporariness

A bedroom with an unusual illumination and separated by wire mesh. Shiroiwa Ruki from the global boys group JO1, who have become a symbol of the current and new era, checks into a popular art hotel where the guests are mercilessly pulled into its artistic worldview through the experimental room constructions. With his radiant looks fitting to his nickname “prince” he resonates with the shining space.

On this day Shiroiwa-san stayed in the suite “ZEN GARDEN”. A foreigner’s distorted interpretation of the world view of ‘Zen’ is created in daring artificial way in a collaboration of the curator Sato and the young artist unit ‘51.G-WAVE’. A one night stay starts at 33.000¥ (TN: about 240€/260$)

Talking at an art hotel in Akihabara
Shiroiwa Ruki’s room studies

He seems to be interested in interior designs. When Shiroiwa-san stepped into BnA STUDIO Akihabara, he muttered, while not addressing anyone “It is unconventional. I might learn something.”, which was the starting point of the talk.

“At important places there is always ‘white’. My room at my current home is fatefully also like this. “

Shiroiwa-san wrapped up the shooting in a hotel room with a distinct worldview. After looking around in the room with renewed interest, Shiroiwa-san said “I like to watch videos of hotel rooms or room tours in model houses. I admire hotel-like rooms that do not seem to be lived in.” He was born and raised in Tokyo. He started to live alone after starting to work and kept expanding his interest in interior design.

“My room is mainly made of the three colours, white, black and grey and I try to add colours that I like. Because it makes the room look neat. By the way, some days ago I bought flowers and adjusted the colours in my room. Also, the colour of my wall and of the furniture close to it is white if it is possible. So that there will not be an oppressive feeling.”

Speaking of this, the member colours are essential in his group. Naturally Shiroiwa-san’s colour in JO1 is ‘white’.

“In my case, it is also in my family name and fatefully both the walls or the floor in my current home are white, too. When there is this colour at important places for me, I will naturally feel at ease.” JO1 is one of the most popular acts right now. It’s not hard to imagine how busy they are. Shiroiwa-san’s words suggest that through a trivial idea your feelings can change.

“I remove the lived-in feeling as much as I can for my ideal to live in a hotel-like room.”

Shiroiwa-san settled in the bedroom that was bathed in purple neon light. “It is something cool to produce a new kind of values. Like this room. I feel some sympathy for the unthought of novelty.”, he said, being truly impressed.

After reflecting the last two years, I think now that those years were not smooth ones.

“Shining is not as easy as it seems, is it? Even if you stand out, it has no meaning if you are on your own. You have to be earnestly emphatic. Isn‘t it necessary for this at first to get a lot of people to be aware of you and to be interested in you?”

This is what Shiroiwa-san replied when he was told the theme of this issue. It seems to be a realistic statement.

“In your life you will hit some wall. There is no need to deny this.”

JO1, the group he is a part of, made their debut on 4th March 2020. It all started with a survival audition program that involved its audience. Through their contemporary digital contents and SNS, they continuously spread their recognition and they made the brilliant achievement of having all their songs released in 2020 place first in Oricon chart. They also took the triple crown of ‘the most tweeted of celebrity’, ‘most mentioned account’ in the music category and ‘most tweeted #’ at the ‘#Twitter Trend Awards 2021’, which chose the hottest topics on Twitter in 2021. Needless to say, they rose besides the headwinds they faced due to the Corona pandemic.

However, one of them, Shirowa-san, did not take this situation positively.

“Actually I was caught up in a huge vortex of uneasiness. People in our field gain confidence and a sense of achievement, as well as a self awareness of improvement, from live performances, Yet, we were barely able to feel this.”

Indeed, this unprecedented situation forced artists to change their activities. For JO1 who adorned their debut with creating a story together with their fans, it was surely tough not to be able to interact with them directly.

Shiroiwa-san took a short pause before continuing the story, staring into the air as if he was reflecting on his path up to now.

“I’m clumsy but I try to seek perfection, hence I often end up pondering. So even if I was shining brightly in the eyes of others, the reality was that it was tough. But then I suddenly understood. Sooner or later in your life, everyone will come across some wall. It doesn’t have to be something negative. Feeling a wall is proof of moving forward towards your goal. Then, I suddenly felt lighter. After all, it might be useless to think too much of the future. No one will understand it anyway. It is much healthier to focus on the present, without any remorse. This is what I learnt.”

After a short pause, Shiroiwa-san got ahold of himself and said, “Is it okay to talk like this? Please don’t hesitate to tell me if you want me to joke around more.”, he laughed while seeming embarrassed.

He is someone who firmly states his opinion while paying attention to the other one’s feelings. We have heard of him as someone shy, but at the same time he can precisely keep the words rolling.

Speaking of this, JO1 are the personalities of ‘All Night Nippon X’ on Wednesday starting this April. Shiroiwa-san main personality of this - which is oddly convincing.

“It was my dream to do a radio program. The stars of my parent’s generation generally had their own radio programs, which served as a proof of their stardom. I had listened to those since I was young, hence I wanted to be able to do it myself one day. I was overjoyed when it was decided and for a short time I could not realise it. Now I am working hard to live up to everyone’s expectations. Anyway, I intend to express in words what I felt at that moment. I feel that this resonates more with the other one than words that have been thought thoroughly. This also applies to my answers in interviews like this one or during the MC of a concert.”

“I want to directly express what I feel in this very moment rather than words that I have thought thoroughly”

He got a point. It is important to prepare in advance, but while it tends to a pre-established harmony, it also leads to a loss in freshness. Shiroiwa-san’s talking is not pushy, instead it has the power to draw people into it, but this might be because he honestly responds to the things and events in front of him without being bound to the framework of ‘it has to be like this’.

Thinking of this, JO1 itself is an unconventional group. Depending on the concept of the song the member in charge of the center changes. They also wear make-up. Their appointment as the first male brand ambassador of ‘Yves Saint Laurent Beauté’ came quite the talk.

“It takes quite some courage and determination to start something new, something different than anyone else. Naturally, the criticism is also strong. However, if we don’t let us pull down and stick to our weapons, someone will turn their heads back to us. And, there is a sense that it will be a huge momentum. No matter what, people will compare themselves to others, but it’s okay to be who you are, and that others are others. I want to be a part of a team which evolves according to this idea. And, I truly think that I want to bring a new wind to Japan.”

If you listen to Shiroiwa’s talking, you will believe that it is like this. In other words, people who pursue their own individuality without worrying about being judged by others are cool, and as a result they become someone who attracts attention. This might be what it means to ‘shine’ in the upcoming era.

Their second album ‘KIZUNA’ will be released on 25th May. The catch phrase is ‘Let’s enjoy our bonds together.’. There is the message of ‘Let’s cherish the connection with you who at our side and let this moment shine!’ included.

This interview took place in the middle of the recording for this album, and besides spending about 6 hours in the studio the day before, there was no sign of fatigue in his face, rather he looked refreshed.

“Because there are also a lot of new songs, it’s harder than hard, but every day is exciting and I am motivated for it. Last year in November we had our first lives with an audience since our debut and being able to meet all our fans became a relief and a driving force. That is for sure. Through this album, I want all of us to get excited together again. And, I want to express our gratitude to them for their continuous support even in those difficult times.“

Shiroiwa-san’s words directly resonated with one’s heart until the very end. This might be also in relation to him walking on a not so smooth path. This sincerity was very pleasant.

“This shooting has been fun!”

“Courage is necessary to start something new. If you stick to it, people will turn their heads to you.”

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Born on 1997.11.19. From the prefecture of Tokyo. Became a member of JO1 after participating in the audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN” in 2019. Made his debut with “PROTOSTAR” in 2020. In charge of “All Night Nippon X” at Nippon Housou every Wednesday from 24:00~24:58. His field of activity keeps on widening such as by him staring in the Amazon Prime Video drama “Short Program”.

“I think it is my first time sitting in front of a go-board. Could you please take a look…?”

In the hotel room where the shooting took place, there was a go-board placed as an interior decoration and Shiroiwa-san suddenly sat down in front of it and began to arrange the go pieces. All the staff attentively watched over him whose face gradually relaxed.

“I came here because there was a lot of support. But more than anything it is because of JAM being there.”

The arranged stones spelled out 「JAM (the name of JO1’s fans)」. In the two years where they could not be as active as they hoped to be, his pillar of support was surely the love of ‘JAM’ with their continuous passionate support.