Samurai guitarist MIYAVI: A look at his encounter with the guitar, and the MIYAVI-ness he achieved through setbacks and hardships

Discovering my role and my way of being as an artist after setbacks and hardships

First setback in my life

As we know, you're known as the "Samurai Guitarist." What was the trigger that made you start playing the guitar?

MIYAVI: Originally, I wanted to be a soccer player.

The J-League had just started when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, and Japanese soccer was starting to take off. I spent every day kicking a soccer ball, inspired by star players like Baggio, Zico, and Japanese player Kazu Miura.

When I entered middle school, I joined the junior youth team, which is a sub-team of a Japanese professional team, but I got injured there and had to give up on my dream.

Until then, I had been chasing a soccer ball literally day and night, so the setback and loss of my dream was a big shock.

To begin with, I was the only one from my local team who was able to join the junior youth team, and I was originally the team captain, so that alone put a lot of pressure on me, and in those days there were no smartphones or calling apps like there are today, so I ended up distancing myself from my friends who had been my teammates.

After school, I would run to the station, change on the train, and head to practice. The training ground was far away, so no matter how hard I hurried to get there, I would always be late for practice.

And after practice, I would have to ride the crowded train home. I didn't even have time to do my homework. The next day, I would wake up and go to school, but I was so tired that I would nap until recess.

I became estranged from my teammates, who I'd been close to, and I felt increasingly isolated. Once school was over, I would run to the station again.

"Why am I kicking a soccer ball?" I started to wonder, and soccer, which I loved so much, was no longer fun.

Rather, I felt like I was being chased by a soccer ball. Up until then, I'd enjoyed chasing the ball so much, but before I knew it, it had become painful.

After that, I got injured and had to leave the team, and it was the first time I felt relieved. I wanted to be a soccer player, I loved soccer, and I'd continued to do it, but I felt relieved that I could no longer do it.

Looking back, I think I must have been super overwhelmed, but at the same time I was crashed by and shocked by what had happened.

Having lost the dream I had been chasing for so long, I began to wonder, "What am I living for?" and lost sight of the meaning of life. This was the first failure I had experienced at the age of 14 or 15.