15. ledna 2024

TETSUGAKU 13 : TEARS

 


 tetsu-san, you’re really a crybaby, aren’t you?
[I am. I even cry when I watch movies and dramas.]
– Which dramas have made you cry recently?
[Lately……”Ai nante iranee yo, Natsu” (1) wasn’t it? (laughs) I’m watching the late-night reruns, and since they play every day, it feels like more of a series. I get home around 2 or 3 am, so I usually just watch whatever’s on when I come in. “Ai nante iranee yo, Natsu” drew me in. The last one’s already out on video, too (laughs). Now, I keep wanting to imitate Reiji (Watabe Atsurou). A little while ago, I went to a year-end party full of musicians, and everyone was doing it. We had a room full of Watabe Atsurou (laughs)]
– Wow, now I want to see that show (laughs).
[It’s at a time slot when musicians are awake. Everyone who watches it wonders “Does tetsu-san watch this, too?” (<- said in mimicry tone) or something (laughs).]
– But then the contents must be pretty complete. It’s an overachieving program.
[Right. There are parts in the show where I don’t see Hirosue Ryouko anymore and just think “She’s dirty!” instead. I’d call it a tearjerker. Also, when it was first playing, I saw the ads for it once in a while. I was captivated by that voice. I wished I could speak with a voice like that.]
– Is that what made you want to watch?
[It made me want to imitate it.]
– Ahahaha! And imitating gives you more empathy.
[It made me cry. I cried at the last episode. I cried throughout the series.]
– I kind of want to see that (laughs).
[(laughs) No way! I cry way too easily, even at movies. I cried at “Hachikou Monogatari” (2) for sure. After that, Tamori-san told me “It really wasn’t such an emotional story.” I forced myself to say “Yeah, you’re right……”]
– Ahaha! That’s another shock.
[But lately, I haven’t cried at any movies. Unexpectedly, I don’t cry at things everyone says made them cry. There’s a bit of a gap between me and most people.]
– tetsu-san, did you cry a lot when you were a kid?
[I cried a ton when I saw “Nihyakusan Kouchi” (3) during elementary school. Barking dogs made me want to cry. It did make me cry. But when you’re a kid, there isn’t the same emotion behind it. Kids cry when they’re angry, right? And if the parents say things like “It’s ok to cry,” the kid will cry without really thinking about it, right? I really regret that. “Don’t cry just because it’s ok to cry!”]
– You regret crying so much, but you still cry, don’t you?
[Yeah, I still cry. I cry whenever I’m sad.]
– Mmhmm. And tears of joy?
[I don’t have many of those. Things that make me happy enough to cry haven’t happened too often in my life. That’s why I can’t think of any.]
– How about tearful memories? Perhaps a situation where you cried after parting with a friend? When you were in school?
[No way~ I’m a man (laughs). Graduation wasn’t that sad a time, was it? Only the girls cry, right?]
– Really? But there were boys saying things like “We’ll always be friends, right?” and crying.
[None of my friends were like that (laughs). Besides, I didn’t like school that much. I got to graduate. What’s sad about that? Then again, I didn’t go “Fuck school!” or anything like that (laughs), around high school. A bit before high school graduation, I was told to get a haircut. I didn’t cut it. My school didn’t have any actual rules about hair length. I didn’t ride motorcycles and I didn’t smoke, in fact I still don’t. “I’m not doing anything wrong, so why should I cut my hair!?” I didn’t feel anything special about graduation.]
– That could certainly all be related.
[One time I did cry out loud was at my friend’s funeral.]
– That incident might be what led you to do things the way you do them now.
[That’s saying too much (laughs). I remember thinking “People can die so simply.” He died without doing everything he wanted to do…… I don’t know when I’m going to die, but I want it to be after I’ve done everything I want. That’s what it made me think about.]
– It was a turning point, then.
[Well, as far as going for what I want goes.]
– So, then, you really don’t have any more memories of crying when you were a child?
[I guess I had tears of anger? And later, “Nihyakusan Kouchi” (laughs). And when I saw “Ginga Tetsudou 999” (4). The movie version. Maetre, Maetre, Maetre, I called out for Maetre so many times. It really made me cry.]
– Hearing that these things made you cry makes them more interesting.
[I didn’t cry because I wanted to. It made me cry. I think crying easily or not is a question of predisposition. It’s the same as sweating easily or not, it just means your tears have an easier time getting out. I don’t think it’s a matter of “They cry because they’re sensitive” or “They don’t cry because they’re cold” or anything like that. I really think it’s a matter of predispositition.]
– That’s a simple way of putting it. Desperately plain (laughs).
[But it’s true. That’s why I can say “I’m a crybaby” the same way I can say “I sweat.” It’s sweat from the heart.]
– When did you first start being conscious of your own face? Did you like it or hate it?
[No, I’ve never really liked my own face. I don’t really look in the mirror and go “Ugh,” or anything though (laughs). I wonder if anyone says “I like my own face!”]
-There are quite a few people who look at glass just to see their own reflections, though.
[But it’s not something they say in public (laughs). “I love it enough to stare at the mirror every day,” or something like that.]
– Well, no one says that (laughs). So then, do you not like to look at mirrors, tetsu-san?
[Just a little. I’ve talked about it wih Chako-san (hair and make-up artist, Ms. Araki Chako) She said I’m probably the one who looks at mirrors the least during work. It’s like I just let them stick garbage on my face then go stand in front of the cameras without caring.]
– Wow, you don’t seem like it. That’s a bit unexpected. You might be a bit too indifferent.
[I think I come across as a bit of a narcissist, in my public image. But I’m nothing like that.]
– So, for example, if it weren’t for work, the only time you’d see your face in the mirror would be when you wash it first thing in the morning.
[No, if I don’t have work, I don’t wash my face (laughs). I really stay the way I woke up (laughs). The way I slept. If I don’t think I’ll be going out that day, I won’t bother washing my face, or even changing clothes. Really.]
– Seriously? How…… unexpected. People who don’t care about their appearance really do exist.
[Right? Oh, but I look in the mirror when I brush my teeth. But some days I’ll brush my teeth and still not wash my face. I hate doing it. It’s such a pain. I hate washing only my face. Why not just take a bath instead? (laughs)]
– Why is that? Why do you dislike getting your face wet so much?
[It just feels wrong. For example, when we finish a photo shoot, everyone washes off their make up and goes home, but I’d rather get completely drenched, even if it’s just in the studio’s bathroom or something. It’s not easy. It’s pretty bad. So yeah, it’s difficult to get a chance to soak every time, so I at least use a towel. That’s why my bathroom at home is incredibly clean. The mirror and floor, too. Even the faucet handles sparkle. I mean, I soak there all the time, so I wipe it clean every time. So it always stays clean.]
– Ahahahaha. But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?
[But when I wash my face, I need to wipe things off, and it’s another little round of cleaning. That makes it a bother, so I don’t wash it.]
– I see. But you have such lovely skin, tetsu-san.
[I’m told that a lot, and I answer “How!?” I don’t think I have especially nice skin. It makes me think “If you’re going to give me compliments, I want them to be about something else,” or “Maybe there’s nothing else about me to compliment,” or something like that.]
– That’s not true. It’s so nice it seems like you must take extra good care of it.
[But I don’t. Except, maybe it helps that I don’t smoke.]
– That could be. But, considering you’re a man in your thirties, I think it’s ok to be proud of your beautiful skin.
[Eh? I’m not going to take that from you. You liar. (both crack up laughing)]
– I’m not lying! (laughs) Let’s look at the “face of the band” now. What’s your interpretation of that?
[The face is hyde. Don’t people say “I know who hyde is, but who is tetsu?” a lot?]
– Ah, is that so? I think you’re the face too, tetsu-san.
[A lot of people only know hyde……and tetsu (laughs). But you’re only saying that because you’re dealing with me right now. I bet if you were talking to yukkie, you’d say “People know hyde and yukkie,” wouldn’t you? But, you know, people ask “tetsu, that’s the guitar player, right?”]
– (laughs) That certainly goes back to knowing the “face”.
[Well, really, normally people only know hyde, don’t they? His name and his face. Isn’t that part of being a band? I think that’s ok. Well, ideally, I think it would be great if everyone knew all our names and faces, like SMAP (1), but in the end, we’re a rock band so of course that won’t happen. That’s how it is. It’s kinda cold. It’s as if the vocalist has to be the face of the band, and it’s wrong to have it be any other way. When I was looking for members to start up the band, I didn’t want the guy on vocals to stand out less than I did. I really wanted to start a band with a vocalist who had more shine than I did. The vocalist spends more time in the spotlight, so I had to (pained laugh). It’s like with Amuro and Shinji (2), just because the main character has the best position.]
– Indeed. Well, this might seem like a strange question, but is there any face you’ve seen that made you wish you had been born with that face instead?
[Lessee……… I can’t think of any, cause they all turn into me (laughs)]
– Good point! You already have it, too! (laughs)
[But, doesn’t everyone think that? Think sort of like this. “Well, mine’s good,” or something.]
-Interviewer : Honma Yuuko
Translated by Natalie Arnold.

Žádné komentáře:

Okomentovat