[170901] Kstyle: “Unvailing behind-the-scenes photos of the festival scene from Kai’s first Japanese drama ‘Spring Has Come’!”

Kai is starring in his very first Japanese drama, the much anticipated ‘Spring Has Come’. The main image featuring Kai smiling against a backdrop of cherry blossoms in full bloom was previously released, and now, images from the shooting location have been revealed.

Even though the main image connected with the word ‘spring’ from the title, the behind-the-scenes images released feature the Tanabata Festival1, which takes place in summer. Kai plays the photographer, Jiwon, alongside the heroine Naoko (Kurashina Kana). The scene of the two enjoying a festival together with Naoko’s family had a lot of extras involved, creating a large-scale scene.

When the staff was decorating the set, the actresses were getting ready. The atmosphere became brighter when the actresses, Kurashina (Naoko), Takahata Atsuko (Naoko’s mother), and Furuhata Seika arrived on set in their yukata2. ‘Beautiful!’ Kai complimented the actresses when he saw them in their outfits. The scene was actually shot in the evening, during the first part of April, so it was too cold to be wearing a yukata. It was so cold, in fact, that the staff were wearing coats, but even during the scene set-up, the cast and staff were overflowing with smiles.

When Kai saw the set that day he said, ‘Amazing!’, getting more excited. He kept repeating the phrase, ‘Osaka Takoyaki3, what the heck!4’ and also asked the actor playing the Takoyaki stand salesperson in Japanese, ‘It looks delicious. I will have one please’. Kai tried scooping Takoyaki balls and seemed to enjoy his simulated Japanese festival experience between takes. For his role, Kai had to hold a camera, and naturally he began taking photos of his costars and the staff. When his skill at taking still shots was praised, Kai jokingly said, ‘It’s because I’m the photographer, Jiwon (hehe)’, and continued collecting memories with his camera.

When the shooting came to an end, Kai shared his impressions of that day. ‘We have things like fireworks in Korea, but we don’t have anything like town festivals, so this was a first time, it was fun,’ he said with a smile. ‘I wish we had festivals like this in Korea, this is a good part of culture. When the women came on set, I couldn’t help admiring them,’ he said, feeling happy with the festival scene. Kai also wrote a wish on a piece of paper for the festival. On the paper he wrote, ‘May spring come for everyone’.

The summer festival scene in the story symbolises the happiness of the family. The scene is cheerful and fun so do look forward to it.

Notes:

1Tanabata (七夕) is a Japanese holiday that occurs on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. The exact date varies by region, but the festival is commonly celebrated on 7th July.

2Yukata (浴衣) is a casual summer kimono typically made from cooler fabrics, with only two layers.

3Takoyaki (たこ焼き) is a Japanese street food snack consisting of seasoned dough around minced or diced octopus (tako). The food is a staple of the Osaka region of Japan.

4‘Osaka Takoyaki nandeyanen’ (大阪 たこ焼き なんでやねん) is a comedic chatchphrase in the style of Japanese manzai stand-up comedy often employed by EXO when visiting Osaka.

Source: Kstyle

Translation by: Kstyle