Masaharu Fukuyama, who celebrated his 30th anniversary, felt "emotionally unstable" along the way. He originally wanted to become a musician, but his debut as an actor gained idol-level popularity, which also became a knot. Still, behind the choice to make a living, there was also a "job" experience that betrayed the expectations of parents in Nagasaki.
Even when interviewed until now, Fukuyama has not spoken well about his father. Why? Because I want to make a good parting with my father into a work. After talking to someone about my past and present pain, my mood will get better. Once the mood is better, when that sense of parting is created, the concentration and purity will decrease. In addition, if it is a person with an open personality, it is estimated that he will not be able to write lyrics. Speaking of which, I'm still a person who is not open (on the inside). It is precisely because I do not say my inner thoughts in my daily life that I can write lyrics, compose music, prepare performances, and confess to the audience for the first time. The 30th anniversary album released this month is a profound work for Fukuyama in that state. The title "AKIRA" is the name of Fukuyama's father, who died of cancer at the age of 17. Fukuyama's father died about a year after discovering the disease.
"During Dad's hospitalization, Mom was admitted to the ward and accompanied Dad all the time. She would come back in the morning, cook for my brother and me, go to work, come back in the evening to cook for us, and go to her father's hospital room in the evening to sleep. "Even though the surgery was done several times, my father didn't get better, and my mother gradually couldn't support it." But I couldn't do anything, and I was tormented by powerlessness all the time. All I had to do was go to school and get to school, but I couldn't accept the reality at all. I took a motorcycle driver's license in violation of school rules, and after being found out by the school, I was punished with caution, and my mother was called to school... (Wryly). Now that I think about it, I said that I was an unfilial son!
Underpinning this nowhere-to-sustenance is a guitar. "I simply like music, but thanks to a guitar, I was saved. Because I played a band with friends, my mood stabilized. ...... Dad used to play mahjong. He also drank heavily and often did not come home at night. Therefore, he at least wants his sons to graduate from school and join the work!
On the day of the funeral, dad's mahjong friends also included a burly man with a mahjong card to attend the funeral. While crying, he lined up the nine lotus treasure lamps on the coffin and said, 'AKIRA, only this time the service is full of paste' Tears fell down. Seeing that scene, although I felt that my father was doing nothing, I still felt that his life was not bad. It is enough to have friends in life" Why is it that missing my father has now been composed into a song for the first time?
First of all, I was about the same age as when my father left, and I thought I had to write it down at this time. I didn't feel like I was doing homework piled up until the last day of summer vacation, but I still felt that it was a deadline. In fact, from the beginning of singing, I have always thought of a work about being separated from my father. The pain that happens to you can only be written by yourself. No matter how good the lyricist is, tell him this mood and let him write the lyrics, it is estimated that the subtle feelings in it will be biased. Then there is the pain that only you can experience... It's not so much pain as it is about Dad himself and Mom (who supported Dad in his struggle with the disease), who are more miserable than I am. I'm just blindly escaping the harsh reality. Then again, at that time, the only one who could save his mental state was himself, and there was no other way but music...
I would like to take the opportunity of this 30th anniversary to sort out the pillars and motivations of my songwriting. If we don't write down the painful thoughts of the 17-year-old and the 'concept of life and death' that was engraved in the bones at that time, won't the works up to now become positive music and be consumed? As the core of songwriting, I have always felt the need to write my own 'view of life and death'.
My parents wanted me to be in this society, even if I graduated from high school. I understand that, so there was a time when I worked at a local company. But he resigned five months later and left Nagasaki. Although my parents were relieved to see me go to work, I was only 18 years old at the time, and I felt that my life was my own, so I went to Tokyo in spite of their expectations. The person who ignores his parents' mood, no matter what he is, is absolutely unpopular, and that belief has always been strong.
A band that has been playing since middle school. He himself wants to be a "guitarist". "I had naïve ideas, thinking that I might be able to seize the opportunity to make music", participated in the actor evaluation of the current firm, who knew that there was an accident. As soon as I became an actor, because of my natural appearance, I began to be sought after by women, and I unexpectedly gained a lot of popularity in advance than "I really want to do it".
Deviated from their own expectations. Originally, I longed for a rock band similar to Kyushu, ARB and THE MODS, guitarist Makoto Kakegawa. Western sex pistols and the kind of punk and rock singers like Clash formed bands. Although I made my debut successfully, I still wanted to be different from things like 'This is Fukuyama's weapon' that the firm had considered for me. Now that I think about it, although I am grateful for the various plans introduced by me as a newcomer at that time, I am anxious that I am 'all wrong' and want to correct it quickly.
But sometimes it comes to mind. "I started asking myself if my performances and performances were established so much that I could hold my chest up and say, 'I want you to hear this, I hope you can see here.'" And then there's the mind saying, 'It's not okay at all, isn't it?' ''s answer. That's the truth, and there's actually no confidence.
It was then that Fukuyama stumbled upon an interview with music critic Reiko Yukawa and walked out of his confusion. "The Beatles, or Elvis Presley, they don't want to be idols. But they became idols. She says that idols can only be made by those who can be. So if I have the traits of an idol in me and have something to look forward to, I think in a way, accepting that is one of the tasks for myself and should give it my all as a job. After that, I felt that the first thing to do was to abandon the "construction" of 'self-style'. I found that once I pursued it excessively there, I would in turn suffer myself.
Moments full of grace, right? From then on, Fukuyama began composing lyrics as a singer and lyricist. "When I first asked other writers for songs and lyrics, I wanted to write things that came out of my heart when I wrote them myself. Although it is still in the period of creative zero capacity and zero technology. Slowly, the number of music fans also increased widely, and soon he took a big step forward as an actor.
Since I was a child, I have loved to sweep graves
Fukuyama tells us why, leaving aside the death of his father, he was a child who "often thinks about survival and death" from an early age. "Perhaps because of the large number of relatives, I have often participated in ceremonies since I was a child. To paradoxically, I've loved sweeping graves since I was a kid. I often went with my grandmother. Because Nagasaki is a city with many steps. When Grandma was older, she bent down and climbed the steps. We cleaned the cemetery, then laid flowers and incense, and folded our hands. After that, I felt very relieved. Maybe it's because I'm in a good mood, and I like the feeling of being refreshed.
Masaharu Fukuyama's music is popular, light, and musically extensive. However, in the life of Nagasaki, who was born and raised, there is also something "emotional" lurking in the dark. "From the beginning of my musical debut, there were often things like the 'concept of life and death' in the corners of my head. It supports it like a pillar in my music. In the song "Family になろうよ", as well as "Happiness" and "Kasaka", there is a shadow of 'life is merciless' between the lines of the lyrics. "In this album, from the songs led by the title song to the end of "The Other Side", some of the songs have reached the heart. Beautiful words such as "farther away than the stars" appear in the lyrics.
"I like the mood expressed in the lyrics 'Farther away than the stars'. Could it be that it has become a star? But I felt that the dead were farther away than the stars. But on the other hand, this is because the way he looked and remembered when he was alive will always exist in the hearts of those who are still alive. I just want to make that incredible dream into a song."
Because it is not easy to give up, so I came here
Even today, the 30th anniversary of his debut, Fukuyama, as a pop star, leads the country's music trend. Whether it is the temperament that emanates from the body or the look that gives people a sense of ambition, it has not changed since the age of 20. "What does it feel like to have succeeded? No, I've always felt that this stuff depends on the person himself. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't expect to do this work for 30 years. Rather, I was often uneasy in my heart, and I often thought, 'Can I do it?'
Unexpectedly, I heard "uneasiness" coming from FukuyamaGuchi, which seemed to be smooth sailing. "No, no, that feeling has always been there, and it's there now. The first is when the job can be done, or whether it will be able to get an offer for the next job, and so on. Because fans don't always exist, they don't go to concerts very often, they don't buy my CDs very often. But it is also true that while embracing that uneasiness and fear, it is also exciting. People who regard music as a career, the above two feelings will have, living in the gap between these two feelings, in order to make the best music, in order to harvest the purest touch, I think it is that sense of crisis that supports the creation.
After several twists and turns, Fukuyama has now stood at a new starting point. "Because it's not good to give up, I've come to the present." Really thank you very much to the fans who have supported me for 30 years. There are also fans who write to the radio station saying, "Compared to distant relatives, I am still Masaharu Fukuyama" (laughs). So I often feel that neither coddler nor pride can be done. 'Will they be happy to have done this?' When you want to take shortcuts, you immediately think of doing it and the fans leave. The fans are not only upright, but also have a very keen sense of smell. I myself, if I feel 'slow' about liking the singer's music and some kind of performance, I will stop listening to it," he said as if he suddenly remembered something, and his eyes relaxed.
There is a movie called "The Story of The Rothsmots". It tells the story of Les Couder who meets an elderly band while traveling in Cuba. Directed by Wim Wenders, it is a work shot in the style of documentary. The band's lead singer, Conbay Segundo, smoked a cigar and sang. That gesture is life itself, the music itself, the song itself. Maybe that feeling is my ideal" From now on, as I get older, Fukuyama will play the original guitar and sing with his hands, and the way he sings must be as handsome as ever.
Masaharu Fukuyama (ふくやま・まさはる) was born in Nagasaki Prefecture on February 6, 1969. In 1990, he debuted as the singer and lyricist of "Chasing the Rain". Since then, he has been active in many fields such as music events, actors, photographers, radio hosts, etc. As an actor, he has performed in Hiroshi Nishitani's マチネの終わりに (released in November 2019) and Shunji Iwai's ラストレター (released in January 2020). In March 2020, the 30th anniversary of the music debut was celebrated, and on December 8, the original album "AKIRA" was released after a gap of six years and eight months. In addition, on December 27, it was decided that the first live stream of "FUKUYAMAMASAHARU 30th Anniv. ALBUM LIVE", all the songs included in the album will be sung.