On 13 September, I was photographed and interviewed for the November issue. I wanted to get the emotion down into a manuscript, so I'm writing this manuscript in the heat of the moment on the night of the event.
As you know, guitarist MIYAVI graced the cover of this issue.
I had been imagining the interview for a few days and reading the book he wrote. The first impression I had when I read the book was that his face as an artist and his face as the artist's manager seem to coexist within him. I also wanted to dig deeper through the interview into the keyword ‘freedom’, which appeared multiple times in his book and left a strong impression on me.
When I actually met him, my impression was that he has a presence like a ‘sword that shrivels like bamboo’. I felt a sense of strength within a supple flexibility. When he was on stage, when he held his guitar, there was an energy that seemed to erupt from the power hidden within him. Immediately after the interview began, I fearlessly asked him to play the guitar that was propped up nearby.
In the week leading up to the interview, I was exposed to his music all the time I was on the move, on my way to and from work and on my evening runs. I now think to myself that the interviewer facing him was like a boy meeting a big star, despite being the editor-in-chief of Iolite.
I was happy in that space and there was nothing discursive about it. I think he was responding to my innocence. He strummed his guitar while saying, ‘Oh, now (laughs).’ His slap technique is more like strumming than playing.
In his interview, he also used traditional Japanese objects such as sumo wrestling and shamisen as examples, and said that the unique Japanese timing and rhythmic approach, which is different from overseas, would be a weapon even if he were to work in the world.
The music played in front of me looked completely different from the music I heard every day. The first notes were more like vibrations than sounds. The sensation of being shocked and then gradually moved by the music was very natural, like the relationship between light and sound.
He had experienced live performances on the Metaverse. When asked, ‘How does it feel to experience a live performance on the Metaverse?’ He replied, ‘You can listen to music through earphones or videos, but I thought that the kind of vibrations that go directly to the senses can only be conveyed at this point in time by an actual live performance.’ He replied.
Having witnessed his music from a distance where I could reach out and touch him, I found his words to be intensely persuasive. He added, ‘I am sure that I can do things that I can't do in the real world’. In his mind, he is trying to grasp the good qualities of both the real world and the virtual world, and seems to envision a ‘harmony’ between the real and virtual worlds that will happen in the future.
He also spoke about freedom. In response to my abstract question, he smiled and said, ‘Freedom? He said, ‘It means that I am allowed to exist as myself. But being free doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, it includes relationships with others as a prerequisite.’ He also said, ‘I am not a free person, but I can do whatever I want.
The figure of the samurai guitarist who confronts the world in front of him with ‘harmony’ is a fragile and precious existence, and the way he showed us how to face things was a valuable encounter that lifted the lid off our sensibilities in a positive sense.
Related articles
Samurai guitarist MIYAVI - his encounter with the guitar and the MIYAVI-ness he has grasped beyond his setbacks and struggles.
Determination ‘Strength of heart to believe and bet’ - Iolite vol.4 Editor's Postscript
