Yamashita Tatsuro Interview (2016)

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This is a translated interview with Yamashita Tatsuro, conducted in 2016.

Topics covered in the interview include early musical influences, the current music scene, playing live, childhood memories, thoughts about getting older, and future ambitions. Enjoy!

Interview & text: Ooyama Takuya (Japanese text)
Photography: Kikuchi Eiji, Hamada Shino, Kugino Takahiro
English translation: Henkka
Yamashita Tatsuro on the web: Official Website

Yamashita Tatsuro has just finished his 40th anniversary tour, “Yamashita Tatsuro PERFORMANCE 2015-2016.” Spanning six months beginning from the autumn of 2015, the tour was planned to consist of 64 performances in 35 cities. However, an additional performance in Kanagawa due to a ticket sales issue as well as a substitute performance for the interrupted Iwate concert ultimately brought the total to 66 performances.

Even today, 40 years since his debut in SUGAR BABE, Yamashita Tatsuro continues vigorously to pursue his career. Where lies the source of that vitality? What are the convictions that have kept him going throughout all these years? We hope to find out the answers to these questions in this long, 6000-word interview which includes live photos published on the web for the first time ever.

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Kaede – Sepiairo no Kugatsu (English Lyrics)

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セピア色の九月
Sepia September

Summer ends as though nothing had happened
Opening the window, watching the clear skies

It passed, never once looking back
Leaving only the swimsuit lines on my suntanned skin

My tears blur into sepia
Sweet, slightly languid September

Surely I’ll get to see the blue coastline again
Thinking that, I feel better

Autumn begins as though nothing had happened
A trench coat enveloping my dress

So now within this ambiguous season
I wish to be alone, as if on a journey by myself

My tears are sepia-colored syrup
Sweet, slightly bitter memories

Blue coastline so far away; summer forever gone
Thinking that, I feel lonely

I cried — In September
I cried — Sepia tears

Lamp – Tsumetai Yoru no Hikari (English Lyrics)

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冷たい夜の光
Cold Night Light

Conversationless passenger car headed nowhere
Memories of days past hang in the air like wings
It’s just as always, this enveloping world
Stealing up on me without a word or sound

Suspended neon signs; lies by the window
Holding my breath at the bottom of the universe

I have heard the sound of unending sorrow
The gentle embrace of this cold night light is all I need
Who would think of this town as it floats past unnoticed
Illuminated only by the cold night light?

Coffee stains remain on the letter
With words left unsaid, simply abandoned
Is it the same as always, the life you’re living?
A gentle kiss before drifting off to sleep

Winter illusion of a distant spring
Now-forgotten songs of days gone by

An endless silence fills the sky
My heart shaken by the cold night light
Quietly take with you these rusted feelings
Oh, cold night light, just like this…

Alone, humming an unending song of youth
Singing it to the cold night light for all eternity
Smells in the wind of this unknown land
Reminding me of times past

Shin Rizumu – Houninshugi (English Lyrics)

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放人主義
Leave-Them-Be-Ism

Rainy day, establishment full of people
Every one of them only thinking about themselves

Look at those people fighting over a chair
And they call themselves adults?

People who know no shame — leave them be
Play it cool, keep it calm

Irritating day, table’s all wobbly
Stomach feels like it’s going to explode

Look at those children not behaving themselves
Should I shout at them?

People ignorant to the ways of the world — tell them off
Be stern, without reserve

Everyone around staring
Their cold gazes piercing me

People who know no shame — leave them be
Play it cool, keep calm

Every member of society — leave them be
Be free, never mind them

Nakadai Tatsuya on the Golden Age of Japanese Film: Conclusion

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Conclusion

The decline of film, the rise of television, and the transition to an internet society—the world has seen a tremendous amount of change in the past half century or so. While the Golden Age of Japanese Film has long since passed, many of the works from that time have found their way onto formats like VHS and DVD, still surviving today. “Revival houses” and similar movie theaters are still going strong, featuring unique films in their showings, and you can easily find plenty of video rental stores in town.

I admit, I do miss the big screen of times past, and so I like to go to the movies to see those works whenever I can. But regardless of whether or not it’s a film that I myself appeared in, whenever I’m watching those old movies, the thing I find the most moving is the realization of how so many of those actors have passed away. I often find myself counting them on my fingers. “Ah, that actor just passed last month…” “Oh, he’s not here anymore either…”

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