#matumoto hideto

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KUMA: Never Ending Bond, Chapter 1, Part 1 & 2 (Translation)

Preface & Prologue

Note: See this post regarding the update speed.

Chapter 1: The depth of our bond, the reason why I was a beloved disciple Why I called him Shishô, why our bond was like family

The reason why KUMA calls HIDE Shishô

I am going to touch on my meeting with Shishô, and also X, in detail in chapter 2, so for now, please let me spell out the affection I always had for Shishô in my heart.

I call HIDE-san Shishô, but in the beginning, I called him “HIDE-san”.

This is how it came that I call him “Shishô”…

I think it’s because along the way, HIDE-san became like a member of my family to me.

I, being from Kumamoto, was always freeloading at HIDE-san’s apartment whenever I came to Tokyo.

It also happened that he left his house key with me when he went to the USA  for recording.

Since he was someone who was incredibly close to me, it wasn’t long before calling him “HIDE-san” felt so formal that I was embarrassed to do so.

And so, before you know it, I came to call him “Shishô”.

Actually, for a long time, I didn’t understand what a relationship between master and apprentice even was. Therefore, I wasn’t certain if me calling HIDE-san “Shishô” was even appropriate… But, that was the word that seemed the most fitting to me.

Not Teacher, not Older Brother, “Shishô”.

In the stories to come, the names HIDE-an and Shishô will both be used depending on the episode’s historical context, so I hope that will not be confusing.

My bond with X, and HIDE, guided by fate

I wonder if it was really destined for me to meet X… I will give the details in a later chapter, but the moment I first got to know the band called X, my entire heart moved.

I was so thoroughly charmed by them that even though I was just a 3rd year middle school student, I would chase them around from Kumamoto to every concert I could get to.

Later, I helped out as if I were staff, and came to call HIDE-san, who had most taken to me among the members, “Shishô”, but… That I was that hooked on X and Shishô was, at the end of the day, because of music.

Also, X just had that power. I believe it’s because of this that that virtually impossible encounter and communication came to be.

After all, X was the coolest in the world. When I first saw them, it overwhelmed me so much it made me shiver… I believe it’s an incredible asset that I got to see up close this band that caused a craze and created legends all over Japan.

At the same time, I wonder… about the mystery of fate, and encounters that seem more and more strange the more time passes.

There were probably many who were just as affected by X as I was. But not everyone could stay with the band members all the time.

Regarding HIDE-san, what started out as simple admiration and fondness grew into all sorts of feelings along the way.

There was HIDE of X, hide the solo artist, as well as the private person Matsumoto Hideto. Regardless, seeing him carry them all on his back, my feelings were the same.

Reflecting back on it now, the affection inside me was very complicated. I did not understand it myself… it’s incredibly hard to put it into words.

What I can say is that even if Shishô no longer is X’s HIDE, no longer hide the solo artist, my love for him never changed.

Shishô had only one body, only one personality. But even when I saw him use those different characters of his for different purposes, the familial bond I had with him did not change.

Therefore, whenever I was face-to-face with him, the only thing on my mind was, “For this person, I want to do whatever I can to help.” Without fail.

When I was with Shishô, and even now that we are apart, there was something between us that cannot be expressed with words. Something that will never end…

Chapter 1, Part 3

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KUMA: Never Ending Bond, Chapter 1, Part 4 (Translation)

Preface & Prologue Chapter 1, Part 1 & 2 Chapter 1, Part 3

An episode with HIDE and KUMA, always together

The red mohair sweater HIDE-san was wearing, among other times, at the live at Tokyo Dome, had actually been my own sweater than I had been wearing… When HIDE-san saw me in it, he said, “That’s great, KUMA, lend it to me,” and spontaneously wore it when he went out for the event’s encore.

After that, the fan club made special HIDE-san mohairs, because all the fans wanted them. I still have the various mohairs that I used to wear in partner-look with HIDE-san long ago. The red-and-black striped one that he liked to wear a lot, the same one in black-and-violet, and so on.

And while we’re on the topic of clothes, there was the sari that he wore for encores and advertisements. It tore easily, so I stitched it often. When he wore it for a concert, I always had to have safety pins ready for when it tore. I was always careful with it.

Come to think of it, HIDE-san was wearing the sari for the artist-photos when they debuted, so of course it left a deep impression.

Because there hadn’t been a visual artist that original before him, they said.

Also, we painted his guitars together.

Like the guitar with the psychedelic colors and the paisley pattern that Shishô used as his main guitar. We painted that backstage, and I still think it is so cool.

Shishô asked me, “Do you have anything round?” and I passed him the cap of a spray can. I drew as well, imitating the things Shishô had started with.

Aside from that… most of my memories of Shishô are about music.

Thanks to him, I got to hear a lot of different music when we were together.

Shishô had liked Nirvana since their indies debut in ’89, and there was a period when he was constantly holding Nirvana CDs or photos.

When they came to Japan for the first time in ’92, he invited me: “KUMA, let’s go see them live,” and we went to Nakano Sun Plaza together.

I remember that concert very often. The concert itself lasted only an hour – and there wasn’t really anything like a set on stage.

But instead of being lacking for it, it was overflowing with energy and we were extremely satisfied with it. In regard to this, Shishô observed, “Turns out, something doesn’t need to be long in order to be good.”

There were a lot of bands like Nirvana that Shishô was interested in before their popular break out, and another one that he liked to listen to a lot was Jane’s Addiction.

When I think about it, Shishô was a hard-working person who learned a lot about anything he was interested in. Oh well, I think he really loved music.

Speaking of learning, HIDE-san often told me, “KUMA, you should read more books.”

But that story is tied to the episode of HIDE-san teaching me how to write song lyrics…

What he often said about it was:

“I start by writing what I want to say down like a journal entry. Then I adapt these words to the melody, but when there are words I want to convey, I replace them with better words and phrases. If I were to put down the original version, it would just be a diary entry. That’s why I write it over and over, as if looking for the right puzzle piece.”

“It is important to distinguish between images that can be interpreted in any way, and those that conjure up realistic scenarios. There is no right or wrong way to interpret a song, so what I value is description. It is important to have at least one realistic scene that invokes the same feeling in everyone and allows them to instantly get a sense of the scenery, the world.”  That’s what he told me many times.

Regarding HIDE-san, he was someone who read a lot of books. He simply loved writing… That’s why he put such an emphasis on words… He read a lot of books by authors like Mishima Norio. While he was writing the lyrics for “Miscast”, HIDE-san asked me, “Do you understand what this means?” When we were talking about the lyrics, he said, “You should read more books. Start with these authors,” and recommended me Mishima Norio and Hoshi Shinichi.

I still remember how HIDE-san wrote the names of those two into my notebook right there.

Aside from that, Shishô didn’t just read novels but also looked at fashion magazines a lot.

While aboard, he also ran around in search of various issues and made the concept for his own clothes. I said it before, but he was not someone to slack off in his efforts.

Chapter 1, Part 5

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KUMA: Never Ending Bond, Chapter 1, Part 3 (Translation)

Preface & Prologue Chapter 1, Part 1 & 2

HIDE and little KUMA’s youth, burning for X

When I met X, I was still in the third grade of middle school. Later, after entering high school, I went to any place X was at whenever there was no school and soon got to be an assistant to the members.

That time, when I vigorously risked my life to move around the entire country with X, was the irreplaceable springtime of my life.

Frankly, X at that time had an image of being wild boys, and they were actually famous for creating such a harsh work environment that roadies didn’t want to stay with them for long.

I remember doing the best I could to keep up with the members of the band so I would not be a burden to them.

In any case, it was my whole heart. I was running around with nothing on my mind except that I wanted to be with the people from my favorite band.

Nowadays, when kids with the ambition of becoming musicians work as roadies, they ask stuff like “How much do I get in one day?” or “Will travel expenses be covered?”

When I was with X, I had no awareness of such matters.

I put everything in it, for no other purpose than that I wanted to be of help to those people.

Of course, the times probably changed between then and now, but I didn’t do it because I wanted any kind of reward. Just because I liked it. That was all I had in mind.

So I guess, even though from the perspective of a fan it was a harsh environment, I simply did my best.

Towards me, who was like that, HIDE-San was always considerate.

When X were still amateurs and the stops during a tour were at business hotels where even the members had to share a room, I, of course, didn’t have anywhere to stay either.

In that case, HIDE-san always said, “KUMA, you don’t have anywhere to sleep again, do you?” and let me have a spot in their own room.

He may not have been a talkative person, but he was always full of casual kindness and consideration like that.

It was the same when I came from Kumamoto to the capital.

I said this before, but until I got my own room, he let me stay in his for free, bought me bentos as well, and although he didn’t have a lot of money, he’d pay for my share without saying anything.

The time I went to Fukuoka for a concert and classmates of mine came from Kumamoto to meet me there, he took care of them as well. I had just moved to Tokyo and did not have the free time to return to Kumamoto, so my friends came to see me in Fukuoka. When I said after the concert that I was going to meet my friends, HIDe-san said the following:

“KUMA, since everyone came specifically for you, I’ll quickly prepare some food and then call you over.”

He called my friends to the party after the concernt and encouraged them to eat.

Even now, all of those friends still remember that.

“HIDE-san was so kind to us.”

That’s how everyone always remembers him.

That’s how HIDE-san became like indispensable family to me… Really, we were always together, whether during concerts or in private.

The people around us just called me “HIDE-chan’s KUMA” or “Little HIDE”.

Be that as it may, when I started to follow HIDE-san in earnest, I was still a high school student. Of course, we weren’t together all the time. When there was no school, I went wherever X was, when it resumed, I returned to Kumamoto… My life was like that. Changing out of my school uniform on the train, or on the plane, and all that. It cost a lot of time and money, yet it was so fun that I wondered if I could continue like that forever.

I remember it vividly even now…

That story where the equipment van went down the highway during a tour and the amps and the equipment and the promotional stickers all fell out through the back door, and upon HIDE-san’s order to “Just pick of the stickers!” everyone was running in the middle of the highway doing just that – HIDE-san was desperately trying to help me.

When it came to the fanclub bulletin that came out after their debut, HIDE-san also designed the cover as editor-in-chief and always checked over the details.

When he came to the fan club’s office after briefings and the phone rang while the staff was on break, HIDE-san would answer the call with, “Hi, this is the X fan club!”

The real HIDE-san would pick up the phone. What a superb fan club this was!

One time, several calls came in at once, so I picked one up as well, and the girl calling entrusted me with, “I love HIDE-san. I will support him. Please tell him that I will follow him forever!”

So I turned to HIDE-san who was standing next to me and told him, “This is a girl who loves you and means to follow you forever.” Then, I passed the receiver to the grinning HIDE-san who cheerfully said, “Hi, this is HIDE. Thank you so much!” and talked to the girl. Things like that happened a lot.

Aside from things like that, we did a lot of unglamorous work.

But as the scope of the band grew and more and more people became involved, the number of tasks we would all put our efforts into together gradually decreased as circumstances were rapidly changing… To me, that period had been truly wonderful.

In my memory, that time stands out as something dear and precious.

Chapter 1, Part 4