BJ exclusive interview

In July of 1997, a cute bucktoothed girl by the name of Kurumi Kubo made her photographic debut. Bloomers... school swimsuit... sailor suit... icons of a schoolgirl. One day, she decided to throw off the stereotypes of a schoolgirl and show her true self.

: To all who have cheered me on up to now: I want to show my true feelings. So, thank you... and good-bye. Now I can tell the me that nobody knows.

I first met her in March. It was a swimsuit photo shoot and she was getting her makeup done in the editorial department. It was her first time there and she had just met everyone for the first time. The other girls were withdrawn, but we could hear her talking in a loud voice about "her true self."

It was then that I knew it was that girl Mai Hagiwara. Her presence was overwhelming. She was saying, "I won't settle for just this much." But it wasn't like she was saying it with malice towards the other models. She was expressing her "discomfort" in a positive way. In reality, she loved the work and especially the photo takes.

: I was scouted by Kaori Shimizu and had her be my manager too. My first job was a cover shoot in Omotesando in Harajuku. It was just the two of us. There was no makeup person or stylist. I was really nervous. People would turn back to look at me. It was like I was a celebrity. If it weren't fun, I don't think I would have made it through four years.

Even working for a small studio, with the right stuff and a good attitude, she had work coming in right from the start. There was always a call coming in from Cream or some other maniac-type magazine. Before we knew it, she was a "candy-style idol." The work was fun, but she always had things in her head she found unforgivable. That was common sense when it came to time and money.

: When I started to do magazine work, I was surprised to find out how many adults don't keep to schedules. My mother taught me that was the least a person could do... I was surrounded by adults from the start in this work at fifteen. But came to find them despicable. Even as a kid, I thought that if I didn't keep things in line, we would never get through things.

Lies, excuses, exploitation... The trials and tribulations of adolescence brought out her character and that was reflected in the photos taken of her. Her being thrown into an adult-dominated world gave her a sense of values different than those of the same age as her. She learned an extravagance that did not suit her age.

: Just before I started modelling nude, I decided I wanted to get my own place to live. I got the president of the studio to loan me the money. Deposit and key money alone were 1.5 million yen. I wanted to return the money as soon as possible, so I went to work at a cabaret in Roppongi. I got home at 4 am, took a bath and tried to get two hours of sleep. I had to leave for photo shoots at 7 am.

: I got sick, and I thought I was gonna die of exhaustion. I could never do that now (laughs). That is why I was thrilled when I got an exclusive contract with Eichi. I thought it was all downhill from there.... But the first payments in my contract went to repaying the loan. So I couldn't quit the cabaret right away.

: After I started doing nudes, it was the exact opposite. I was even able to save some money. I was really on the ball then. I had steady work, and I was able to relax a bit mentally. I got a computer and my own digital camera too. It was after I entered Eichi that I really learned the Internet. I could chat with fans. It became a real support to me. Net surfing is so much fun!

There are a lot of Mai Hagiwara sites on the net. Fans go wild over her and get into deep discussions online. They put up stuff like "that pose was no good," or "that bikini was really cute." Opinions were split when she started to do nudes. The message boards were overflowing. Mai's existence on the net was mostly not of her own doing. But she knows most of the sites that are done without authorization. She even responded to some of the comments herself. "Oh, did you have to go nude, Mai?"

: Why, for the money (laughs). I just thought it was about time. I calculated that it would be good for me to go nude.

But last October, she suddenly announced she was quitting. Was this all part of her calculation?

: It turned out that after going nude, the only good thing was the money. I don't feel like doing adult videos now. I had nothing further to shoot for. Some may think I will be back soon. But I don't have any desire to do this work any more.

Her "graduation" came so quick. Her words when I first met her, 'I won't settle for just this much,' had come true.

: I am not thinking about the future at all. Just recently, I could only think about today and the next day. I may want to get married. I think to a guy in his thirties would be best. A cool guy, honest, who doesn't lie, and is nice to me. Just an ordinary man (laughs).

Finally, I asked her, "What was Mai Hagiwara?"

: Well... A real hard worker. A girl with her own opinions, and who is very spellbinding. I played that "Mai Hagiwara."

: I don't know what I will do next. I may just take it easy for a while (laughs). But meeting so many people is something I will always treasure.

: I am sure we will meet somewhere again...

My footprints

May 28, 1997 Gal Paget!

First photo shoot. With Kaori Shimizu on the cover.

June 2, 1997 Cream

Went by 'Kurumi Kubo.' Sailor suit and bloomers.

July 25, 1997 Crepu

Really scary perm. Blow drying covered it up.

Sept. 1, 1997 Apple Shashin-kan

First with Shiro-hori studio. Felt just like an entertainer. But I was really tense.

Oct. 14, 1997 Scora

After the perm, it was a mesh-bleach. The makeup person put mascara on for me.

Oct. 26, 1997 Nihon Television "Super Jockey"

Challenged the "Hot-water commercial".

Nov. 8, 1997 First photo book "White breast color after school"

Went to Okinawa with Hikaru Yoshino of the same production company as me.

March 2, 1998 FLASH EXITING

"Black-haired Angels" spread. With Misao Aikawa.

Dec. 17, 1998 CUPPA!

Cover was taken on the street in Shinjuku. The jeans jacket was my own.

Feb. 19, 1999 Video "Heisei Jogakuen High school"

Had a great time with all ten girls in the shoot.

April 27, 1999 Deka-Cream

When I was at my fattest. It is really embarrassing to look at it now.

Oct. 28, 1999 Magazine Wooo!

It was cold and the weather awful, but I was in a wet school bathing suit.

Jan. 15, 2000 Street Sugar

My bangs were really long. Just like a modern girl in Harajuku.

Feb. 24, 2000 Super Shashin-juku

Some of my most dangerous poses were at this time. Lots of panties in the crack shots.

March 4, 2000 Deka Beppin

Bikini shots. Met the makeup artist on my first photo book for the first time in three years.

March 6, 2000 Photobook TENNY02

First overseas shoot in Saipan. I still love Saipan.

March 24, 2000 Bejean

Bathing suit for the fist time in a while was fun. But the weather was poor, and I was really shivering.

April 6, 2000 Dela Beppin

Semi-nude. Shot under the cherry blossoms, but was still cold.

May 9, 2000 Video "Young girl Mirukuru"

Image video. My first video of only me. In Saipan, which I love!

June 27, 2000 Photobook "maichiy"

Third photo book. I was really satisfied with the cover photo.

July 10, 2000 GOKUH

Eating and drinking from morning and going bowling. Was this really a photo shoot?

Aut. 1, 2000 Video Boy

I was in a video, even though I don't do adult videos. One of the privilages of contracting with Eichi.

Sept. 14, 2000 Beppin School

Did two issues and a special in one shoot. I was beat. That shoot was too long.

Sept. 17, 2000 WEB eichi "Kaori Shimizu"

Interviewed by Kaori Shimizu in the Mai corner. That was hard.

Sept. 22, 2000 Bejean

Almost life-size poster. Bunny girl and net stockings. I liked that one.

Oct. 3, 2000 ThRiLL

Heavy makeup, not like ususal. I liked the cute costume.

Nov. 14, 2000 PhotoSHot DX2001

A variety of costumes. Mai must be "M" because I like bondage.

Nov. 16, 2000 Weekly Post

Raining from early morning. Photo shoot was over fast.

Dec. 1, 2000 FLASH

Taken in a Santa suit in the Roppongi studio. I took it home!

Dec. 6, 2000 Scora

Taken by a famous photographer. It was really fast.

Dec. 8, 2000 Vacca!

Taken in a hotel in Shinjuku. I got to eat blowfish after the photo session.

Jan. 21, 2001 Photo book "I Mai Me"

Taken on a Pacific island. Really beautiful place. But the food wasn't that hot.

Feb. 13, 2001 Photo book "I Mai Me"

Yamanashi Prefecture in the snow. A pure white world. It was like "you want me to lie down here?!"