Natsume Mito: I want to continue to cherish my individuality and share it with my fans.

■ Profile

Born on February 20, 1990 in Nara Prefecture.
In 2015, she made her artist debut with "Maegami Kirisugi" produced by Yasutaka Nakata.
In 2018, she began working as an actress in earnest, appearing in the TV drama and film "Kakegurui." She is also set to appear in many more dramas and films, including the role of a mother in the NHK morning drama "Ochoyan." She is active in a wide range of genres as a model, TV personality, and actress.

Actress Natsume Mito has become a hot topic thanks to her trademark short bangs, appearing in the new Krewrap commercial. What are her thoughts as she works in various fields, including as a model and actress? We also asked her about her work and her fans.

■ During his student days, he began working as a magazine model while studying fashion

I've loved clothes since I was little, and I was inspired by the campus life depicted in a manga I read at the time called "Neighborhood Story," so I decided to attend a fashion school. I majored in children's clothing, learning how to make clothes from scratch, from designing clothes to choosing fabrics and sewing them on a sewing machine. School life was tough, with lots of assignments, but those were irreplaceable days, like staying up all night making clothes with friends, or working as a team to make clothes for the school festival.
While leading such busy days, I also worked as a reader model. My motivation for becoming a reader model came from having my snaps taken for the Kansai magazine "Girls Style." I've always loved reading magazines and dreamed of having my snaps taken, so I was very happy when I was photographed. To be honest, it was difficult to balance modeling work with my studies, but thanks to my teachers at school who were understanding of my work as a reader model and the help of my friends around me, I managed to get through my student days.

■From modeling to acting and collaborative design. Her journey to a wide range of activities

What led me to enter the entertainment industry was when I was approached at a joint event between the magazine I was a reader model for and Asobi System. At the time, while I was continuing to work as a reader model and salon model, I began to feel like I wanted to try various activities outside of fashion, and I thought that entertainment would be the way to make that happen, so I accepted the offer and jumped into the entertainment industry.
She made her debut in 2015 with the song "Bangami Kirisugi" produced by Yasutaka Nakata.
As for my hairstyle at the time, bangs, I've had bangs since I was in middle school and I thought it was cute, so I was happy that they used it in the song and that people knew it as part of my personality. Currently, I work as an actress and have collaborated with a brand to create loungewear for an underwear brand called Unnanacool. I also do a lot of other things, such as modeling for online fashion magazines and being active on YouTube.
Basically, I try not to say no to any work that I'm offered. The reason for this is that I want to be involved in a variety of activities, and I want to respond to the feelings of the people who take the time to look at me and propose work to me. I would like to continue to accept all work that comes my way as Mito Natsume.

■ I can work harder for someone else than for myself

During my acting lessons, my teacher often asked me, "What do you want to convey, Mito Natsume?" I had a lot of free time during the COVID-19 pandemic, so I often thought about what I could do. Meanwhile, I received negative messages from fans, like, "I can't find the motivation to live" and "I can't eat." I wondered what I could do, and started cooking, which I'm not very good at, and shared it on social media. Honestly, it didn't look good, but fans responded with comments like, "Watching Natsume cook makes me realize I don't have to try so hard" and "It gives me courage." My work load has decreased due to COVID-19, but seeing the reactions on social media made me realize, "It's because of my fans that I'm able to keep working hard." I began to think that I can work harder for others than for myself. I'm taking on many new challenges in my future activities, and I hope to do my best to inspire everyone.

■It's okay to be different. Share what you love.

Broadly speaking, I have two things I want to say to all university students. The first is that I want you to cherish what you like even more. Even if you don't know what you like, I think there are times when you feel excited. I want you to be sensitive to such things. These are personal emotions, so I want you to cherish such individuality. Also, there is a trend in the world where what everyone thinks is good is considered good, and I think there are people who feel resistant to doing things differently from others. To those people, I want to say, "It's really okay, so I want you to share what you like."
Secondly, I want you to have your own will and work hard at what you're doing without giving up. Especially in a professional career, I think it's a world where you can't get by on just the feelings of "it's fun" or "I like it." You'll probably stumble sometimes, but if you keep trying, I don't think the experience will be wasted, and you'll be able to achieve something. Even if you fail, I think you'll be able to think of it as a good experience depending on how you think about it, so I want you to keep going and not give up on anything.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on March 16, 2021 by Taichi Saotome, second-year student at Bunkyo University