Since last Saturday, I've been translating Tatsuro Yamashita's（山下達郎）interview by Yahoo Japan News page by page everyday, and happily, following Page 6 yesterday, we've come to the final page.
If You Can't Do Things Happily, Why Bother?
Interviewer: Yamashita's music has reached listeners in a straightforward way. This year, he will be touring through halls all over the country, doing 47 performances in 24 cities. On "Tatsuro Yamashita's Sunday Songbook" which will soon be celebrating its 30th anniversary as a radio program, he handles everything from selecting songs from his own personal collection to organizing the program.
Yamashita: There haven't been too many artists who sing the hits, saying stuff like "That wasn't something I wanted to do", eh? Y'know, the best hits don't necessarily mean one's best songs. Even if the concertgoers want to hear the hits, the singers won't deign to sing them. On the other hand, those folks who can be called music freaks hate the hits. But no matter what anyone says, I won't ever quit on "Christmas Eve". I sing it even in summer. After all, there are folks who come to hear it.
My business partners have pushed me to do concerts overseas over and over again, but I've kept turning them down. In the beginning of the 1990s, they gave me various proposals on whether I wouldn't consider collaborating with Brian Wilson, but I wasn't interested. I'm a domestic kind of guy, so if I have the time to head over to Hawaii, Hong Kong or Malaysia, then I would rather go to Yamagata and Akita Prefectures instead. Because I came to write my music for the hard-working people there.
Interviewer: In his concerts, Yamashita exhorts his guests this way, "Let's grow old together in style!". His newest album has the title of "SOFTLY". Although he jokes that he came up with the title because as he will be turning 70 next year, he's getting kind of round, he also states that he wants to gently wrap up this age of upheaval with music.
Yamashita: It's said that there are three factors which have changed the history of humanity: pandemics, natural disasters and wars. Right now, they're all happening at the same time. Although people in their twenties and thirties do things a little differently, there is something like a 47-year-old policy. During the global financial crisis back in 2007 and 2008, I could see the sense of unease within the people who came to my concerts, and following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, there was this enormous tension. This time, I've tried to not include anything that was negative because pop culture is something that contributes to people's happiness. Agitation and antithesis are only possible if the world is in a state of peace.
What is important is presence of mind. Me, I'm someone who doesn't go into a huge panic though I do go nuts about the little things like having a leg cramp (LOL). As Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, who wrote "Man's Search for Meaning", once put it, those who wake up, make jokes and sing are those who will survive. Even with all that's going on in the world, the flowers still blossom in spring. The rain falls and the sky doesn't change. If you can't do things happily, why bother?
Tatsuro Yamashita (1953~). Born in Tokyo. His new album "SOFTLY" will be released on June 22. His first tour in three years is underway. https://tatsurosoftly.com
Interviewer: Yuko Nohji Composition: Saya Tsukahara
Well, I'm glad that I got this article all done and though there are parts that had me scratching my head as to how to translate them, it was still fascinating to finally read Tats' thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, he does get rather philosophical especially in that second-last paragraph of his. I'm not sure what he's talking about when he's referring to that 47-year-old policy (which is why I put that statement in italics...if anyone has some insight, I'd be really happy). For that matter, there is that referral to Viktor Frankl in the final paragraph. I don't know whether Tats' paraphrase actually exists in "Man's Search for Meaning" (though there are many quotes from the book) or elsewhere.
Thanks for translating all 7 pages. This is not easy to read, let alone translating it. I had to rely on my Japanese-English dictionary from time to time to get through.
ReplyDeleteHello, Larry. Thanks for letting me know. It wasn't easy and the results aren't perfect, but it was interesting going through the interview.
Delete