Anan Ohno June 2012 - A Man's Body
Jun. 22nd, 2012 02:28 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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Just when I thought Ohno couldn't get any cooler, he goes ahead and gives an interview like this.


There isn’t a particular part of my body which I like. (laughs)
It was slightly before twilight, in the suite of the upper floors in a luxury hotel which overlooked the Tokyo Bay. It was in such a romantic setting whereby the photo session, with the theme, “A Day with Ohno Satoshi-san”, took place. Clad in a pair of casual jeans and leather jacket, “he” appeared. With that benign smile of his, he gently toned down the atmosphere of the set.
“A special edition on a Man’s Body? Body, body… What is it that I like about my body? Hmm… Nothing in particular. (laughs)”
Ohno-san smiles, or gives an embarrassed grin. We tried to draw some more out of him, saying, “Enomoto Kei, whom you are portraying in the current drama, ‘Kagi no Kakatta Heya’, his hands are reeeaaally pretty, aren’t they?”
Finally he replies, “I did get complimented on my hands, but I don’t really understand it myself. I’m not THAT interested in my hands…”
Even in a superficial conversation, “he” doesn’t embellish himself. Even so, he ponders while searching for the answers to the special edition of “A Man’s Body”.
If you do the things you ought to do, your body will be built up.
“Ah, my abs will show immediately. It seems like that’s how my body was made. There was a period where I was excessively into sit-ups, so when that happened I was doing [sit-ups] every day for about 3 months. It was like, I won’t feel good if I don’t do my sit-ups. I don’t do that many, actually. About 50 each time.
You can do 50 sit-ups smoothly!?
“Nah, it’s not that proper. (Moves his head slightly) It’s about this much. I don’t lift my entire body, so I can finish 50 sit-ups in a flash. There are times when I want to do sit-ups, and times when I don’t do it; by the way, recently I’ve not been doing it at all. And in the current drama, the role isn’t one where I have to do sit-ups for. If I do a bit of sit-ups before a live performance, I feel somewhat at ease. I do think it’s a matter of my state of mind, though.”
And anyone would give a nod of approval at the sharp dance moves which he showed us.
“Although I don’t think dance has changed my body in any way, it did lay the foundation, or rather, it might have made it easier for me to gain muscle. When I was in my teens and did acrobatics, muscles naturally formed on my arms. And when I had scenes which involved nitou-ryuu [style of sword fighting with a sword in each hand] in my stage play, my whole body pretty much firmed up. When I did something which I had to do, my body just responded to that accordingly, I think.”

If I like something, I’d do anything for it.
The relationship between dance and his body. We posed him the question on how he managed to dance so magnificently.
“When I first began to dance in my teens, I had an ideal, which was, ‘I wanted to become like this.’ I kept watching my favorite dancers, and tried it on my own. Whenever I thought, “Okay, I’ve managed to do this,” I’ll go, “Alright, what’s next?” So it was really just me repeating that cycle, until I’ve become what I am today. But if it’s something which I like, I’d do anything for it, I think.”
By keeping to the things he liked, Ohno-san’s body was made. However, he also mentioned something surprising.
“My body is super stiff. And I don’t do calisthenics either.”
And why’s that?
“Because I tend to overdo it. I’m quite extreme, so there’s a part of me which will attempt everything at one shot… When I was younger and acted in a musical, there was an incident when I overexerted myself during the warm-up exercises and injured a leg muscle. Ever since then, I’ve stopped doing it.”
Even though Ohno-san talks about this nonchalantly with a smile, you wonder how much regret and vexation it has caused him for a performer to end up in that state. For once, he encountered the limitations of his body, and he made the choice to “stop doing it”.
I’ve never thought of stuff like taking pride in my body.
The ideal male body, as conceived by Ohno-san. And that would be…
“I looked up to Bruce Lee’s body as a child. He hasn’t an ounce of unnecessary fat; “That’s amazing,” I thought. So I imitated him and spun my nunchaku around. As for why a man trains his body, I think it really depends on the person; there are people who desire to be more popular, or have to take their clothes off for work, or simply need to be more physically fit, stuff like that, right? And I feel that a lot of them do it for self satisfaction. People who wish to take pride in their bodies will persist until they can take their clothes off, right? (laughs) Um hmm, I can actually understand how they feel. Although I can empathize with them, I can’t bring myself to do it. (laughs) That’s because I’ve never thought that my body is cool, or that I wish to take pride in my body…”
Says a modest Ohno-san who cast his eyes downwards. This too, is a statement that is typical of Ohno-san, who does things his own way.
Alright then, please tell us a weakness about your body!
“I wonder what it could be? A weakness? Aah, I can’t stand being tickled. I pretty much can’t take it. Once I become conscious that someone’s about to tickle me, as long as they stand near me… Nino knows that, so he does it often. (laughs)”
And how about the bodily weaknesses of the other Arashi members?
“Matsujun can’t take someone abruptly and softly coming up to him from behind. Previously, when I happened to touch him from the back, he turned around suddenly and went, “Uwah!” I too, was shocked. (laughs)”
There have been too many times when one is sucked into the laidback “Ohno World”. Ohno-san, in accordance to the orders by the staff, leapt on the bed, immersed himself in a bathtub fully clothed (!), without showing discomfort on his face. He accepts every [order], and performs it.
I’ve had physical strength from the start, and I don’t really catch the cold. If I were to do push-ups, it would be because it’s useful for fishing. Unless I have a goal like that, basically, I don’t do anything. I feel that the best muscles are the ones which form naturally. If I want to move my body, I put some music on the player at home and dance at my own discretion. I use quite a lot of physical strength in fishing too. Because you have to balance yourself on a boat, when I first started out I had muscle aches all over my entire body!”
We can only express our admiration at Ohno-san’s physical and emotional strength, with a smile on our faces!
scansL little winds