– tetsu-san, are you the type that prefers solitude or communication?
[I like solitude. I love being alone. Even when I’m alone I don’t get lonely.]

– That’s a bit unexpected. Then, what about meals? It’s lonely to eat alone.
[That’s true. Eating alone doesn’t taste as good. It’s like, I wanna have a conversation to enjoy while I eat. Eating alone, it ends up feeling like I’m just feeding myself. To be honest, going to eat with someone and then saying goodbye right after would be the most fun. But, inviting someone just to eat is kinda bad, somehow. Cause, after that you’re supposed to date, right? Really, it’s better to just eat. That’s a very selfish thing to say, though.]

– I see. Now, these days, there are various forms of communication. Talking in person, or on the phone, or emailing, or writing letters. tetsu-san, which method do you use the most?
[I don’t write letters. I barely even email. I only receive them. I’ll answer one out of every two or three. It’s cause I’m busy. Even just checking email takes a few minutes. Don’t steal my time, I say. The phone too, since I’ll only answer when I’m in a really good mood. If I’m in kind of a bad spot when the phone rings, I won’t answer it. I’ll check who it is and leave it, that’s good enough. Oh, and I don’t like making calls, either. It might not be a good time for me to call, they might be busy, I think of all sorts of things like that and don’t call. So I’m passive about calls, too.]

– Ooh. But, tetsu-san, your image makes you seem as if you’ve always got lots of friends around to have fun with, though.
[Seriously!? Do I look like such a happy person? Well, I’m the type you should call with your voice. That’s why I’ll say things like “She won’t look me in the eye,” or “She doesn’t talk at all,” to a girl’s friends. And then they answer “I guess she’s not good with words,” or “I guess she’s nervous so she’s trying not to talk too much,” and stuff (laughs). I don’t start talking on my own. But if someone talks to me, I’ll talk a lot. I’m a little shy, you see.]

– For example, many people are very clever when it comes to finding things to say at a first meeting, right? Do you ever feel envious of those people?
[No, I never do. I don’t really like talkative people. Though even I think I talk too much sometimes. I basically prefer quieter types of people. You know how some people will walk right into a person’s heart with shoes on at a first meeting(1)? I don’t like those people. Then again some people don’t talk at all, even if you go over to them, and they won’t ever go over to you, I can’t communicate with those people either. It’s a difficult balance. Also, I’m very careful about what I say, myself, since after all, I need to use the proper, polite way of speaking(2). I can’t stand people who go straight to speaking roughly. It’s like, the moment they do that the door to my heart closes halfway, all on its own. Probably, since the 69 in TETSU69 is the year I was born, lots of people look down at me now that they know my real age. In L’Arc~en~Ciel we didn’t make our ages publicly known, so people who were clearly younger than us sucked up to us a lot. So, they strongly resisted the urge to speak roughly. I only forgive that sort of talk among my close friends. Oh, and if someone older speaks to me like that? That’s not a problem at all.]

– I see. That was the hidden meaning of the 69 in TETSU69. This is a very interesting topic. When did this sort of thing start to bother you?
[A long time ago, it didn’t bother me as much. Even if someone was older, I wouldn’t call them ‘san’ (laughs)(3). When I was in high school, I had friends who were two, three years older, so they did the same to me. But when you’re really friends, when you’re truly close enough to have a honest, open communication, age doesn’t matter and you can talk rudely if you want. It doesn’t matter if they’re above or below me. It’s kind of a timing thing, if I see that person as part of my inner circle then it’s OK. But that takes a long time. On the other hand, if it’s someone I want to get to know well in a short time, I’ll work up the courage to talk roughly with them right from the start. It was like that with yukkie (yukihiro). yukkie’s been in this business longer, right? He’s a school year above me too, so I really should have started out speaking politely, but I figured “We’re gonna be in a band together now, so politeness is no good,” and spoke roughly to yukkie. It took courage though, as if I were asking him on a grown-up date.]

– Now, how about communication with fans? I suppose the time you communicate with the fans most is during lives.
[I’m not sure when I started being this way, but I honestly can’t tell how the fans who come to a concert are reacting. In the past, I could judge the audience’s reaction, tell if it was good or bad. But, around the time I went pro, I think I started losing that. Even though it’s our responsibility to give the crowd a good ride. When we do a bad job, we don’t recognize the importance of being told “You guys give a bad ride,” it’s professional negligence. If we’re giving a bad ride and we’re not having a good time playing either, it’s inexcusable to the people who were looking forward to coming to see us. Of course, the fun varies from person to person, I think some people stand up regardless of how much fun they’re having. Lives are where I want to give 100%, present the best of myself.]

– Interviewer : Kikuchi Keisuke
Translated by Natalie Arnold

1. In Japan, one removes one’s shoes before entering a home. Walking in with shoes on is very rude.Go back.

2. The Japanese language has distinct levels of politeness used for addressing different types of people, depending on your position relative to the speaker. For instance, you can’t address a stranger the same way you would a good friend, since that would be rude. Also, you are supposed to be polite to anyone superior to you, in age or in social rank or in anything else.Go back.

3. Calling someone by name, without -san or any other suffix, is exceptionally rude unless you are close friends or family with reason to be so casual. Go back.
– Interviewer : Kikuchi Keisuke
Translated by Natalie Arnold

1. In Japan, one removes one’s shoes before entering a home. Walking in with shoes on is very rude.Go back.

2. The Japanese language has distinct levels of politeness used for addressing different types of people, depending on your position relative to the speaker. For instance, you can’t address a stranger the same way you would a good friend, since that would be rude. Also, you are supposed to be polite to anyone superior to you, in age or in social rank or in anything else.Go back.

3. Calling someone by name, without -san or any other suffix, is exceptionally rude unless you are close friends or family with reason to be so casual. Go back.