[I like it when spring flows into summer. The weather is so light, too, and I feel a bit more open, myself.]

– Do you prefer heat or cold?
[Hmm, I guess I’d rather have heat. I don’t do well with cold. But, I’ve never been the type to spend much time outdoors, throughout the year. So I don’t really feel the seasons. You know, as soon as I get outside I just get into my car. Then, I move around, go into a building somewhere, so really, unless its for a shoot or something, I have no idea what the outside temperature is. And so, even though I know summer is hot and winter is cold, I don’t really feel it. It’s because I only ever go out for short distances.]

– Japan has four wonderful seasons, but you don’t really take notice of them, do you?
[That’s right, since way back. But I do think it’s a good thing to have four seasons. Sometimes I hate being cold and sometimes I hate being hot, but it’s not really summer if it isn’t hot. When winter comes, I know spring is on the way, and that doubles the joy.]

– Then, how about I ask you about each of the seasons in turn? What does spring mean to you, tetsu-san?
[Spring? Spring… in Japan, spring is the time for new school years and graduations, so its the back to school season. But, why do we do that in April, in Japan? If you look around internationally, not many others do that. So why? Because the sakura are in bloom(1)? But, doesn’t it make you feel like something is going to happen soon?]

– Certainly. Tied to having four seasons, once winter passes, more than the start of a new lifestyle, there’s an amazing, exciting, warm feeling as the new season begins. tetsu-san, do you have any memories of spring?
[Memories of spring…… Let’s see. My elementary school entrance ceremony? I’m not sure it was the ceremony itself, but on the way home, my mother was riding a bike and I was skipping down the road next to her, heading home. Down a straight road that went a bit past home. I was sort of skipping, keeping up with my mother’s bike, and we both went all the way home like that.]

– That’s a nice story. A lovely episode with spring as its backdrop; so wonderful. Now, how about summer?
[Summer is dangerous, as in “hito Natsu no Keiken” (2) (laughs). After all, a lot of kids change a bit when summer vacation comes around. By September, they’ve got different hair colours or something. I never did anything like that though. Because I thought it was “summer vacation-like” (laughs). To me, there was no point in changing just because it was summer vacation. Besides, it’s only one month, how much can you really change? If you’re going to change, you could just as easily do it gradually while you were still going to school. Does school really hold you down that much?]

– Now, tetsu-san, do you have a particular summer memory to share?
[A summer memory? If you mention summer, I think of “1999 GRAND CROSS TOUR”. It was hot. It’s a summer that remained in my memories. Actually, I don’t remember anything else about that summer. Anyway, it was extreme. We had a live every Saturday during that period. On most of the Fridays before, we had rehearsal. No same-day rehearsals. We had cover bands do the opening act, right? At that point I’d think that if the audience didn’t start coming in soon, it wouldn’t work. It takes a while to let that many people in. So yeah, Friday rehearsals. And Saturday lives, right. On Monday we’d head back to Tokyo. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday were normal work days in Tokyo, but Friday we’d go to the next venue and have rehearsal, that was the cycle.]

– The set’s construction was impressive, too.
[Put it up, break it down, move it, put it up again. It was like putting up a building every week. Must have been awful for the staff though.]

– Let’s go on to autumn. What’s autumn like for you?
[I don’t like autumn. It’s kinda sad, you know? Gradually getting colder. And it means my birthday is coming, too.]

– What, you don’t like your birthday?!
[I hate it. I’ve always been like that. I never once thought “I want to grow up quick”. Growing old one year at a time, it’s not exactly depressing, but it is sad.]

– Autumn is the sad season. Do you have any memories of it?
[Bunkasai and sports day(3), I don’t have any memories of those. I just goofed off (laughs). Hmm, let me think. I kinda regret that there’s a spring break, a summer break, and a winter break, but there’s no autumn break.]

– (laughs) But, autumn is probably the season with the most colourful scenery.
[Yeah, the autumn colours. I like watching the falling leaves dance in the wind while I drive around. Was it Hakone? Where they danced.]

– Lastly, winter. Your impressions and memories?
[Winter is, well, I like how cities light up before Christmas. I wish it could be like that all year. The atmosphere, the cold, the cool, it’s all so pretty. At night, too, it looks pretty. That lasts until the new year, but then it’s cold and I start hoping spring will come soon. By the way, some years ago we got a pretty big snowfall in Tokyo, you know? That time, I bought a remote-controlled hovercraft and played with it on the snow! It didn’t have much power so it couldn’t go very far, but it was fun. That was right during L’Arc’s remote-controlled toy boom, when I bought that. The snow came down, so I thought “Snow! Hovercraft!” (laughs)]

– Interviewer : Kikuchi Keisuke
Translated by Natalie Arnold

1. Sakura are cherry blossoms. The sakura flower is Japan’s national flower, and there certainly are tons of cherry trees there. The first day where the sakura bloom is usually a day off because everyone goes off to do some hanami : picnics while watching the flowers.Go back.

2. This is a song title that translates to “One summer experience.” The song is by GO!GO!7188 and came out in 2002. Read the lyrics here. Go back.

3. Two special days that typify Japanese school life. The first is centred on cultural activities, the second on sports and physical fitness. Go back.