Japan local idol group shows women it's never too late to shine
Today I looked at an article about a local idol group made up of women over 55 years old. A very colourful and vibrant group of ladies indeed! One thing I found interesting was their motto:
‘Don’t overdo it’
It seems like you can interpret that in a few different ways. And it differs greatly from the typical kind of motto such a group might have. A little less positive, but certainly sensible advice.
Take a listen to the podcast, read through the transcript, and I’ll see you next time!
Jamie
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Full Transcript with Timestamps
00:00:00 - Hello, this is Jamie, back with you for another episode of Wake Up To English. This time from Wednesday the 10th of June.
00:00:07 - And today I spoke about a group of ladies in their 50s, an idol group who are showing women that it's not too late to shine. It looks like they're having a lot of fun.
00:00:18 - I'm going to dive into the story on Mainichi again, so head over to the description, click the link and try to read along.
00:00:27 - OK, let's get into it. Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode and whatever you are doing, whether you are just waking up or you're commuting to work, relaxing in the evening, whatever you're doing, thank you for joining me for the next 10 minutes where we will talk about a news article.
00:00:55 - We're back to the Mainichi. Check out the link in the description and try to read along.
00:01:02 - Also on my website I put a podcast blog which has a full transcript of what I said. I also, this was for the last episode, I put a couple of observations, positive, negative, whatever. So some more content is there.
00:01:19 - So if you go to veryenglishclub.com and click on the podcast blog, you'll see that there's some more content there. Hopefully I can get this one up later today and you can see the transcript anyway.
00:01:37 - But now we are on this one. It says with an average age of 55, Japan local idol group shows women it's never too late to shine. So this is a very upbeat article. OK, let's take a look.
00:01:54 - Fujisawa, Kanagawa. That's where our story comes from today.
00:02:00 - OK, let me read a little bit and then we'll analyze. An idol group in this eastern Japanese city... I think I just put in Japanese bags there for a second.
00:02:16 - But Eastern Japan can still make sense. Eastern England. Eastern English. OK, now let's not worry too much.
00:02:24 - Consisting of female members with an average age of 55 are encouraging women to pursue new passions later in life through their song and dance performances.
00:02:35 - Now, knowing a certain amount about Japan and Japanese lifestyle, 55 doesn't actually seem that late in life to me. There are plenty of people at least a few decades older who seem very vibrant and full of life.
00:02:52 - Yukyoji Zaka Gogo — sounding more like a question than a statement. I wasn't sure whether or not to say 55, but of course this is a Japanese name.
00:03:02 - Was formed in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, and continues to actively perform popular songs, mainly from the Showa era 1926 to 1989.
00:03:15 - It was named after the local Yugioji Slope, playfully adopting the same naming convention as other Sakamichi style idol groups.
00:03:29 - OK, so the songs are from a different era. I mean, of course it makes sense. If the musicians are from that era, then of course their songs would be, and indeed perhaps many of their fans would be too.
00:03:49 - You can see a picture at the top left. They look very colourful. The first thing they remind me of is some kind of like... what's it called, Power Rangers?
00:03:59 - I'm not sure if you've ever heard of or seen that TV show, but the very, very colourful characters in that — literally colourful yellow, blue, etcetera. OK, so they've got a bright, shiny appearance.
00:04:16 - Through their activities, the group embodies a sense of purpose for women who have finished raising children, reached a new stage in life.
00:04:28 - The next section says "Don't overdo it" is their motto. That would be an interesting thing to say. Don't overdo it, OK?
00:04:41 - Ugurji Zakhar Gogo consists of five members, most of whom live in Fujisawa.
00:04:44 - The group's formation grew out of their participation in the Fujisawa Citizens Musical. Oh wow, they have a little musical. All five women appeared as cast members in the musical.
00:04:56 - After the August 2024 performance concluded, about 100 participants gathered for a celebration party in November. During the event, the five agreed that they should form a group.
00:05:07 - Wow. It sounds like one of these biopics, these films, you know, Queen or some band — they get together at some important event.
00:05:19 - They then approached Uchiyomi 47, who had been involved in directing the musical. So the director's involved as well.
00:05:29 - OK, so the next paragraph has something about their songs, a bit more about the members. I'm going to skip that one. I'm interested in this section.
00:05:41 - Their repertoire consists of about 10 songs. Now, repertoire — let's look at that word.
00:05:47 - Repertoire is a kind of group of plays or pieces of music, could be anything like that, that a performer can perform or is ready to perform. It's like your collection, your range.
00:06:07 - So their repertoire, the songs that they can perform, consists of about 10 songs, mainly Showa era hits and 1980's pop music.
00:06:26 - Uchiyomi is responsible for selecting the songs and creating the choreography. So they've even got dance moves to go with it.
00:06:36 - Each of the five members has an assigned colour and the costumes match those colours. Company workers Yoko and Zai and Maki Suguri wear yellow and green respectively.
00:07:02 - Daycare worker Shino Iba dons blue. Daycare centre director Emiko Miyajima wears red and homemaker Karl Rishimura sports pink.
00:07:48 - Again, another verb to describe wearing something — "sport". If someone is sporting something, it almost sounds like they are displaying it in a noticeable way.
00:08:07 - The costumes are apparently purchased through mail order retailers and then customized, with different outfits chosen depending on the performance.
00:08:25 - The group practices twice a month for about two hours per session. Twice a month isn't very much, is it?
00:08:41 - But twice a month, and here is the motto: "Don't Overdo It" remains one of their guiding principles when it comes to rehearsals and performances.
00:08:56 - I wonder where that line is between "don't overdo it" and then "give it your all. Try your best."
00:09:05 - Encouraging other women is the last section according to the members. Women around the same age have given them feedback such as "You've given me energy and you showed me a fun way to live."
00:09:18 - I wonder what their fans look like.
00:09:22 - It makes us very happy when people come to our performances and sing along with us. We also want to share the message that people should love themselves.
00:09:50 - Which Yumi added: Words of encouragement for fellow women, saying "I hope everyday women will find places where they can shine." What a great expression that is.
00:10:00 - Shine — what things might shine? Sun, stars, things that give off light. And that's what these women hope to do.
00:10:12 - I think it adds greater richness and fulfillment to life. Certainly it seems like a worthwhile... I was going to say hobby, but for these people I'm sure they are.
00:10:30 - But they're bringing joy in some way. That's a good thing.
00:10:34 - This sing along... I heard an interview with Paul McCartney, Sir Paul McCartney recently, still going of course. And he said that when he does his concerts, there are lots of people who are there just for the old stuff, for The Beatles songs.
00:11:03 - But he said he still enjoys singing those songs, which is quite lucky after this many decades. But it just shows the power of the sing along.
00:11:14 - And I guess that connects to your karaoke, which is now a worldwide phenomenon emanating from Japan. People enjoy singing in groups.
00:11:52 - I think I've gone on enough. And as the motto in the group says, don't overdo it. So I shall not overdo this, OK?
00:12:00 - Thank you for joining me today and I'll next be with you on Friday. Until then, please enjoy the rest of what remains of your day. Take care. See you next time. Bye bye.
(Mainichi/Keiichiro Sawa)