[Blog] A Sousenkyo Without Yukirin

A personal blog about the 2017 AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo without Yukirin taking part.

4/2 Yukirin Blog 「Regarding General Election」 (Eng Trans)

English translation of Yukirin’s blog post from April 2, 2017 regarding her decision not to take part in the election.

[NEWS] Yukirin Not Taking Part in AKB48 Election (Eng Trans)

English translation of Yukirin’s tweet regarding AKB48 Election

My Thoughts on Yukirin & AKB48 Sousenkyo 2015

With the Sousenkyo behind us, I wanted to write down my thoughts. Kashiwagi Yuki. I have been her fan for 5 years now. I have watched her grow and mature into a wonderful woman. Yet, through it all, she still remains that same girl that I fell in love with in 2010. At the Tokyo Dome concert last year, Yukirin said she doesn’t want to graduate till she gets 1st. I thought, ‘wow, she finally said it’. There were also various other things including the AKB Newspaper photo of her with her placard declaring her desire for #1. It made me smile. Yukirin reiterated her desire again in her first blog of 2015. With that declaration, it really united Yukirin World. The Japanese committee started work early, earliest that I can recall as an AKB fan. They made the website available in English (I was honoured to be asked to help out in that regard) and in Chinese. Of course, there is always extra attention on the votes coming from the Chinese side after last year’s Sousenkyo, but in reality, those are not just from fans from China, but fans living in other countries too (Canada, US, Australia, Germany, etc.). The Chinese Team put in a lot of effort this year. There were also other fan campaigns in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand etc. Yukirin fans around the World were really fired up. It was nice to see everyone with a common goal. A goal that is shared with Yukirin. Prior to the announcement, I wondered to myself how disappointed I would be if Yukirin was 2nd. I, similar to many fans, spent a lot on votes for Yukirin. In retrospect, it’s like, ‘can’t believe I spent this much money on this’. As the announcement for the top came closer and closer, I got more and more nervous. I was even cold sweating at one point (lol). And finally, the 3rd place announcement. ‘AKB48 Team B, Wata….’ OMG, Yukirin beat Mayu, it’s just Yukirin vs Sasshi, could it be? Could it be possible? 2nd Place… ‘AKB48…’ “Nooooooooooooooooooo” I slammed on the table really hard in frustration. But then I saw Yukirin flash a very bright smile. She walked down the path, down the stairs, almost skipping (lol). She gave a great speech. Disappointment somehow never came, it was weird. It was like, we all did our absolute best that we could. I’m sure the fact that it was Sasshi that Yukirin lost to was part of the reason for me too....

6/6 Yukirin at 2015 AKB48 Sousenkyo News Roundup

News Roundup of Yukirin at the AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo 2015 as well as English Translation of Yukirin’s speech and tweets.

6/6 Yukirin at 2015 AKB48 Pre-Sousenkyo Concert Roundup

The 7th Annual AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo for the 41st Single took place at Fukuoka Yahoo Dome on June 6th. Prior to the results announcement, AKB48 Group had a concert and performed quite a few songs.   Yukirin took part in the follow songs: 01. Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai 02. UZA 03. First Rabbit 04. After Rain 05. Oogoe Diamond 06. Heavy Rotation 18. Barebare Bushi (Wonda song) 19. Flying Get 20. Kokoro no Placard 21. Ponytail no Shushu 22. Everyday Kachuusha 23. Iiwake Maybe 24. Kibouteki Refrain   Photoset: 2015 06 06 Pre-Sousenkyo Concert   Source: http://7gogo.jp/lp/CDFf35N9R1oWkVIvojdMdG== http://www.cinematoday.jp/gallery/E0007626/_T5X0488.JPG.html...

6/2 Yukirin at Sousenkyo Museum Press Conf News Roundup

News Roundup of Yukirin at the press conference for the opening of 2015 AKB48 Sousenkyo Museum

5/20 Yukirin at Senbatsu Sousenkyo 2015 Prelim Results

Yukirin sits at 2nd place following the announcement of the preliminary sousenky results on May 20th.

Vote for Yukirin at the 2015 AKB48 Sousenkyo

Kashiwagi Yuki- The idol of the idols By Rihaveinn Kashiwagi Yuki, also popularly known as Yukirin, joined AKB48 as a 3rd generation team B member, and is also in NGT48’s Team NIII, as well a member of French Kiss. Yukirin has an amazing stage aura and is well known for her big reactions on AKBINGO!, hence one of her nicknames “Reaction Queen”.   Yukirin has always loved idols,and therefore wanted to be one,and has worked extremely hard to close the gap to become an ideal idol.  Look at her many years ago as compared to now.   “And it might be selfish to say this but I would want everyone to tell their future children and grandchildren ‘There was an idol back then named Kashiwagi Yuki and she was really amazing’.” – Kashiwagi Yuki @ Senbatsu Sousenkyo 2013   Sousenkyo has always meant a lot to Yukirin,it has been her dream to get first place ever since it started.Yukirin has mentioned this year that it might be her last Sousenkyo. And now, it is our chance to help her achieve that dream, and repay her for all her effort. Every vote counts, be it 1 vote or 10 votes. Yukirin has not given up time and time again,because of her fans,because of YOU.Yukirin believes in us. She has put her faith in us,would you be able to fulfill the the faith she has in us? 1 vote only costs 1500Yen, maybe a little more with shipping.  It’s not hard to save up and vote. Even if there is a chance that the outcome may not be satisfactory , are you able to look back at the end of the day and say “I have no regrets. I did what i could and tried my best.”. One idol, one unfulfilled dream. And YOU have the power to help fulfill that dream. Please try to save up and vote for Yukirin! 2015 Senbatsu Sousenkyo. One final chance. Let’s do our part in helping our beloved idol to achieve her dream spot, let Yukirin see the scenery never seen before and avoid the bitter feeling of disappointment. Protect Yukirin’s smile to the end. Donation & Sousenkyo campaign @ http://2015.yuki-election.com/sp/en/ and http://kashiwagiyukirin.com/2015/03/15/3083/   ************************************************** A wonderful article written by Rihaveninn~...

Yukirin Election 2015 Donation Drive for Oversea Fans (5/7)

As mentioned before, the Japanese Yukirin Election Committee has made it available for oversea fans to donate money to the “Yukirin for #1 Cause”  (hehe) To make it easier for oversea fans (and to save a bit on the bank transfer fee), I will accept money via Paypal and pool all the money together and send it to the Japanese Yukirin Election committee. Japanese Yukirin Election committee website: http://2015.yuki-election.com/     If you want to donate, send an email to () I will confirm and send you Paypal details. No amount is too small (or too big) Thanks!!! You can also contact me via twitter: https://twitter.com/sillythings48 Period to Send Money: March 21st to May 6th  Please check out other fan campaigns in links below. All donators will be provided with information such as total collected, amounted transferred, etc. Bonus gifts.  I will have a draw for donators and give away various Yukirin official photos (mostly doubles of photos that I intentionally or unintentionally got lol) and cds. Details to come on the actual gifts. For any donators that are interested, I will have a draw and give away the following two photos (one to each person): This is a Thank You from me to you all Yukirin fans!!!   To answer some questions… 1. Why not just collect money and buy the tickets? Given past experience, buying tickets is difficult when you are not living in Japan. Last year, Yukirin World did a great job securing 200 tickets but that was the limit.  Timing is also tight when the seller has to send us the tickets physically.   2. Can we trust you? I think my online presence as an AKB fan is sufficient enough (I hope), usually went by the username of Sillythings. I used to be very active on Stage48, since 2010. I was a timer/translator/QA for SUB48. I’m most active now on twitter (sillythings48) and for this website. For anyone that does donate, I will provide proof of money transfer to the Japanese Yukirin Committee bank account. I initially had planned this year to just donate and vote where I can because I wasn’t sure if I can commit to anything. But, several people have asked me to do something so here it is. haha   3. Can we trust the Japanese Committee? That is something for you to decide.   Cheers, Maddie   Other Yukirin Fangroup Campaigns Indonesian Yukirin Fangroup Ticket Drive: http://arupyon1290.tumblr.com/post/115557911896/vote-for-yukirin-fundraising Chinese Yukirin Fangroup: http://yuyuyukirin11.5150.cnaaa7.com/read.php?tid=3165 YumeNoRui on Stage48: Yumenorui on...

Yukirin Election 2015 (Updated 3/4)

I’m happy to announce that the Japanese Yukirin Election Committee is now accepting donations from overseas!!!! The Japanese committee’s headquarter website : http://2015.yuki-election.com Also available in English and Chinese. I would like to start a donation drive. There is a bank transfer fee involved so I was thinking to we could do it in batches where I can accept money via Paypal and then send to the Japanese Committee directly. What do Yukirin fans think? From last year’s experience, only a limited number of tickets that can be bought without physically being in Japan. There was a lot of interest by everyone to donate more but we could not accept it. By donating to the Japanese committee, it makes it a lot easier. If you’re interested, let me know. Yukirin World Unite!!!! Maddie   Last year’s support video (a new one is coming…)...

Yukirin Election 2015

This is it, the year where all Yukirin fans around the world will join together and put our efforts for one end goal, see Yukirin finish 1st at the 2015 AKB48 General Election. While nothing has been announced regarding the election this year but various Yukirin fan groups have been working hard getting things started already. You may notice on twitter that the following hashtag #柏木由紀総選挙2015 is being used for Yukirin posts.   The Japanese committee’s headquarter website is now open: http://2015.yuki-election.com   While I do not have things worked out on how fans oversea who may not have access to tickets can help with monetary donation, I will update when I do.  A more detailed post or page will be up on here when ready…   For any artistic Yukirin fans, please create Yukirin Election 2015 posters and share. Feel free to send them to me as well.   Time to get Serious. Yukirin Election 2015. To the Top.   Maddie   P.S. This post is to get Yukirin fans started on thinking about the election. Yukirin has mentioned a few times now that she would like to be No.1. Now it’s our job to make it happen....

6/7 Yukirin Blog (Eng Trans)

Yukirin expresses her gratitude to the fans for the 3rd Place ranking.

2014 Senbatsu Election – Kashiwagi Yuki at 3rd Place!

The 37th single senbatsu election was held at Ajinomoto Stadium on June 7th. The rain did not let up the whole day so the concert was shortened prior to the election. Yukirin ranked in at #3 with 104,364 votes! TOP 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was really proud of Yukirin’s speech when she talked about the importance of handshake events and that she does not want to lose the interactions with fans. She wants to continue to build a warm place with the fans.   The official election website was quickly updated:     Speech:   After the election, in studio with Yuko, Mayu & Takamina   Photoset:   Source: http://mdpr.jp/news/detail/1372386 http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2038350/full/ http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/20140608/akb14060805010020-n1.html http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2014/06/07/kiji/K20140607008319340.html http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/akb48/news/f-et-tp0-20140607-1314162.html http://www.musicvoice.jp/news/20140607015001/...

5/29 Yukirin at Sousenkyo Museum Opening Ceremony

Yukirin along with Takamina, Naachan and Miki-chan were at the Sousenkyo Museum for the taping cutting open ceremony.