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Yoshiki Biography Tidbits

Beauty/Broken · 10343

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Offline Beauty/Broken

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on: June 10, 2011, 07:54:50 PM
I know a lot of the forum haven't read this yet, and would like to, given that it is full of juicy and previously untold/unknown information from the history of X and Yoshiki. As such I'm going to post a couple of the more interesting things (or at least things which I found to be interesting) for you all to read. I'm not going to go into massive detail on each factoid, but just enough to get the point across. There is much I have yet to cover, but for now this is a start:

X Major Debut – Taiji being  fired  1988 - 1992

Yoshiki wrote much of “Art of life” whilst recovering from injuries he sustained on a tour supporting “Blue Blood”

Jealousy was intended to be a double album, and feature much more music and end with “Art of Life”, but the record label deadline meant that the recording had to be hurried up and the album put together and released unfinished. Yoshiki was angry that the album was not to his standards and refused to go to Japan for the press launch and locked himself in his LA apartment. Record label staff had to break down his door and force him to return to Japan, and eventually granted him 24 hours to re-record vocal parts he was not happy with.

Taiji being fired was eventually brought about by Hide. He told Yoshiki “not one more day can I work with Taiji”. Yoshiki claims to have attempted to keep the band together but eventually found Taiji’s “difficult and reckless behaviour” too much, and fired him.

Renaming to X Japan - The Breakup  1993 - 1997

Yoshiki recorded Art of Life mostly on his own, because the other members were busy with solo work. He had to fight with medical opinion and pay a large sum to have the MRI photo of his skull taken for the Art of Life cover image, as every hospital he went to refused to do the MRI scan when he had no health issue, as the radiation blast required is potentially detrimental to health.

Tension in the band started in 1993 when Toshi took part in the Hamlet rock opera. Hide reacted angrily and demanded that Toshi not take part and that Yoshiki force him to break his participation, thinking that Toshi was making the band look stupid. Yoshiki refused to tell Toshi what to do and he and Hide became on bad terms for a while

After partaking in Hamlet Toshi met his future wife, Kaori, who began to influence his life. Toshi would act different around the band, sometimes not even speaking to the other members at all before shows and spending a lot of his time in his own private dressing room.
The band would only meet up with each other to partake in recording sessions, promotion material or concerts. Yoshiki and Hide had a large argument where Yoshiki claimed that Hide was more interested in his solo work than with X, and if he cared about X he would stop prioritising his solo material. He also had similar arguments with Toshi.

When Toshi quit the band Yoshiki agreed immediately, feeling that Toshi’s mind could not be changed. He forced Toshi to explain his decision to the rest of the band, who Yoshiki summoned to LA for a meeting. Pata and Heath were calm and asked few questions, but Hide was angry and volatile, and argued long with Toshi over the decision.

Before The Last Live Hide locked Toshi in a room for 3 hours and again attempted to change his mind over leaving, but emerged angrily at the end declaring “To hell with him” after failing to be successful.

Death of Hide

Yoshiki received the news from his American secretary whilst driving to the recording studio to begin the evening recording. He believed it to be a sick joke and did not accept it until he received confirmation from X Japan’s manager.

Hide and Yoshiki had spoken less than a month before on the phone where Hide seemed happy and care-free, and Yoshiki complimented Hide on the recording of Ja Zoo.

Hide was very committed to starting the second X, but did not want to wait for the year 2000 to arrive so kept himself overly busy. He compiled detailed reports on other singers for Yoshiki to look into hiring.

Hide had been on his computer on the internet replying to fan messages on his website minutes before he died. His computer was left on and his website still open when he was found hung.

Hide had plans to build a new house with a recording studio in the basement approved by the local authorities in Tokyo and had bought a plot of land several weeks before his death.

Rebirth of X Japan 2007 – Present

Yoshiki found the work on “REPO! The Genetic Opera” very difficult and had many arguments with Producer Mark Berg, who he found to be annoying and constantly interfering with his work. At one point Yoshiki erupted angrily and shouted “One more word from you and I will fire you”, to which Mark Berg replied “Under your contract you work for me, you cannot fire me”. Yoshiki then retorted “I will fire you nonetheless”.

Yoshiki wrote 2 songs for S.K.I.N that were not played in LA due to lack of time. "Killing you softly" was written by Sugizo. Gackt wrote "Gei-sha"

Toshi called Yoshiki’s studio spontaneously after 8 years of the two having not spoken a word. It was such a shock that when Yoshiki’s assistant told him Toshi was calling him, Yoshiki replied “Who is Toshi? Which Toshi? Do I know this person?” thinking it may have been someone else.

Toshi asked Yoshiki to reunite X Japan several times after they agreed to meet but Yoshiki refused each time. Then, Toshi wrote on his blog and website that he and Yoshiki had met at Yoshiki’s studio and that “their new project would start soon” despite this having not been agreed. Yoshiki felt the pressure of the media and the fans who were speculating on X Japan’s reunion and thought about it long and hard before agreeing and contacting Heath and Pata.

I.V. was written in two weeks, the demo being produced in a hastily arranged recording session in Tokyo over 3 days. Yoshiki wrote 24 songs over the two weeks after being asked to put forward a song for the film Saw I.V. and in the end chose I.V. The chorus line “Can’t you see me standing right here?” is a deliberate reference to Kurenai, and is an English translation of one of its lyrics. Out of 200 songs which were put forward to be the ending theme of the film I.V. was selected.

The I.V. music video cost 350 thousand dollars.

Yoshiki fainting during the first Tokyo Dome concert of 2008 was apparently real. He claims he did not sleep for two days before, and a Tokyo Dome concert could not run longer than at 9:30 by curfew laws. The time was past 10pm and the Dome staff were threatening to switch off the electricity and the pressure and fatigue caught up with Yoshiki causing him to collapse.



Offline Sander

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Reply #1 on: June 10, 2011, 09:11:21 PM
Nice, thanks for all this. I'd love to hold a full English translation in my hands one day :)

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Offline mC

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Reply #2 on: June 10, 2011, 10:25:03 PM
Thanks so much! That is really really really interesting! :D Hopefully there will be a english release but until then...you got more? :P



Offline cherrybeary520x

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Reply #3 on: June 10, 2011, 11:17:03 PM
I can't help but laugh at the part where hide locked Toshi a the room for 3 hours to get him to change his path.



Offline XVikyX

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Reply #4 on: June 10, 2011, 11:17:30 PM
the following surprised\shocked me the most:
'Record label staff had to break down his door and force him to return to Japan' -- x_X wow
'Yoshiki recorded Art of Life mostly on his own,[..] He had to fight with medical opinion and pay a large sum to have the MRI photo of his skull..' -- OMG that's just like him... *unwise, but devoted*
'Toshi took part in the Hamlet rock opera.' -- WHAT? I've missed smth....
'. .you work for me, you cannot fire me”. Yoshiki then retorted “I will fire you nonetheless”.' --Lol, way to go, Yoshiki! ^^

@Beauty/Broken: thank you so much, I just cannot wait till we are able to see the whole English translation, so it's very nice of you to share this material ^_^

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. (c)


Offline elanor

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Reply #5 on: June 10, 2011, 11:25:00 PM
@ XVikyX: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXjog-Vi6EE
here we go, enjoy it, if possible ::)

Humans need to believe in things that aren´t true. How else can they  become? (Terry Pratchett -Hogfather)


Offline XVikyX

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Reply #6 on: June 11, 2011, 12:32:26 AM
@elanor: lol, thanks! Now I'd probably agree with Hide Roll Eyes I could stand to listen to it though, but without watchin the video.. I mean, Toshi's look confused me a bit ^^

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. (c)


Offline Brandon

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Reply #7 on: June 11, 2011, 05:41:15 AM
Thanks for the tidbits! Lots of new stuff for me! I would love to get my hands on a copy of Yoshiki's biography in english.

Interesting how Yoshiki refused the reunion of X several times, and the fact it was Toshi pushing Yoshiki towards an X reunion. I also find it kinda funny how when it was realized that X was breaking up, Pata and Heath asked few questions, were calm, and simply excepted it. They don't seem to have emotions, lol.

>~X~<


Offline CreepyKlutz

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Reply #8 on: June 11, 2011, 06:24:58 AM
They don't seem to have emotions, lol.

That's why whenever one of them smiles the world stands still for several minutes.



Offline Beauty/Broken

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Reply #9 on: June 11, 2011, 01:19:29 PM
Early life:

Yoshiki was a very sick child and suffered badly with asthma, as a young boy he missed a lot of school with illness and had several episodes where doctors did not think he would survive to adulthood.

Yoshiki’s parents were very well off, and as a child he would get whatever he wanted. At elementary school he brought a toaster to school so that he could make toast for himself as a snack, but was told by his teachers that he could not do this as it would be unfair on the other students who could not have toast – so he responded by having his mother by him 4 more toasters, which he brought into school so that all of his class could have toast.

Learning to play the drums is credited as giving Yoshiki much of the physical strength which he lacked as a child, and he personally feels that having not learnt to play the drums he may have always been sick and feeble.

The death of Yoshiki’s father was an inspiration for him to take up the drums, as his dad had always had the dream of being a rock drummer when he was younger.

When Yoshiki was in middle school he did not have many friends, and would get in trouble repeatedly for his attitude at school. He grew his hair long, which was against the school rules, and refused to cut it. One day a teacher beat him for the breaking of these rules and shaved his head forcefully. Yoshiki did not want to conform and took every chance he could to take revenge on his teachers, continuing to grow his hair and dye it wild colours at every opportunity.

Despite his attitude, lack of discipline and rebellion, Yoshiki’s grades were always good at this point – much to the disdain of his teachers, who wanted to kick him out, but could not do this easily as long as Yoshiki continued to do well academically.

When Yoshiki joined high school he started to become extremely popular. Whereas his rebellion drew derision in middle school and people did not want to be associated with him, in high school people saw him as a leader and trend setter, and he made lots of friends.
Yoshiki was so popular at this point that occasionally when he would return home on a night there would be as many as 20 of his friends and associates already hanging around in his bedroom waiting for him.

Yoshiki made lots of enemies from rival schools, and sometimes when he came out of school there would be gangs of people waiting for him at the gates who would beat him.

In his later high school years he spent a lot of time hanging around with motorbike gangs and had no direction or goal in life. His teachers believed he would not graduate due to his attitude and how much school he was skipping. One day Yoshiki invited out a friend from school to hang around with the motorbike gang he was associated with, and the friend was involved in an accident that night which caused his death. Yoshiki blamed himself for the situation, as had he never invited him out he would not have died. He felt that this situation changed his life and made him drop his social life and focus on his studies to graduate from high school and go to a prestigious music academy.

Early X
It was Toshi’s idea to become professional musicians and move to Tokyo, he put the idea forward and Yoshiki agreed. They both vowed to make it, and moved to Tokyo after school with the then line up of X.

The members of X changed constantly, when X hired a new guitarist who was very technically skilled he said he would only join if X kicked out their current guitarist and replaced him with one of his friends. Yoshiki agreed and kicked out his high school friend who followed him to Tokyo and quit his education for X. The new guitarist did not last for long, and Yoshiki went back to his old friend to apologise and beg for forgiveness, but his old friend would not forgive Yoshiki and left Tokyo.

Yoshiki asked for numerous loans from his wealthy mother to fund his lifestyle and X in Tokyo, as well as working as a waiter. Toshi took a job as a piano tuner apprentice to supplement their income.

When X toured they would always have enough money for hotels each night, but instead always spent the money on alcohol, partying and repaying bills for damage caused by their antics. They would often sleep in the park or on the streets.

Yoshiki clashed with music journalists repeatedly. Everyone hated X and refused to give them a favourable word. Often when people would arrange for Yoshiki to meet journalists and critics who would advise Yoshiki in how to achieve favour he would leave the meetings angrily and refuse to agree to any conditions or demands.



Offline blur

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Reply #10 on: June 11, 2011, 02:42:38 PM
sorry to say,but I hope he rewrite his bio someday...



Offline XVikyX

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Reply #11 on: June 11, 2011, 03:00:36 PM
It always wonders me that teachers, who supposed to be helpful and supportive for kids *haha*, are mostly like that - biassed, angry and indisposed against personal freedom -_- Times change, but they stay the same.

Looks like the situations relating to death chased him x_X That's so bad.
And it's really sad to break off with old friends x(

BTW I wish I could know what those journalists who hated X think about the band nowadays ^^ I bet they've realized their advices were kinda.. unnecessary :p

Thanx a lot, Beauty/Broken!

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. (c)


Offline Ulquiorra

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Reply #12 on: June 11, 2011, 03:28:35 PM
Wow, it was hide who wanted Yoshiki to fire Taiji, I was not expecting that, after all those reports about how hide hanged around with Taiji the most and apparently cried the day he left after the last concert, Taiji's attitude must've been getting rediculous.



Offline Beauty/Broken

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Reply #13 on: June 11, 2011, 05:45:50 PM
Wow, it was hide who wanted Yoshiki to fire Taiji, I was not expecting that, after all those reports about how hide hanged around with Taiji the most and apparently cried the day he left after the last concert, Taiji's attitude must've been getting rediculous.

Bear in mind that these are Yoshiki's versions of events, the book doesn't really dwell on Yoshiki's failings such as album/single delays and concert postponements - it pretty much blames everything on something else.

Regarding Taiji being fired, the book makes no comment at all about problems in the band before then. When it starts to talk about the preperation for the Tokyo Dome concerts the tone of the chapter suddenly changes by mentioning that Hide told Yoshiki that he could not work with Taiji anymore. Then it goes into vague detail explaining that the behaviour of Taiji was not acceptable and that he had broke some undefined oath that the band took, which Yoshiki could not forgive. He claims that he wanted to keep the band together and tried to talk things over with Hide at first but in the end decided that Taiji could not be forgiven and called a band meeting. No one disagreed with the decision to fire Taiji, so Yoshiki called him into a meeting in a room with X Japan's manager and asked him to leave the band and went over formalities regarding song royalties.



Offline elanor

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Reply #14 on: June 11, 2011, 06:17:37 PM
@ Beauty/Broken. Thanx much for your translation, it´s fresh, short,sober, I do like it, there is on a different forum an other translation, what I can read to the end, because it was very schmaltzy and tearjerking, in your way it is much easier to get the facts out
and yes, it´s like you said, we do have only Yoshikis word for how it has been, in Taijis book it sounds totally different, but he also mentioned that he has broken some oaths and that he expected to get fired, but he was always talking about hide with so much love and lot of respekt, and we won´t ever have hides version and so we never know. It´s the same with Toshi asking for a reunion, he said in an interview that he was asked several times to do a reunion... We all know a bit of Yochan and it his biography he has wrote, he shows us the things from his angle;
 true is, what you take it for, I guess

Humans need to believe in things that aren´t true. How else can they  become? (Terry Pratchett -Hogfather)


Offline rafaelo

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Reply #15 on: June 11, 2011, 08:13:46 PM
Beauty/Broken
thank you for your translation
We are X



Offline Kurenai_Akari

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Reply #16 on: June 12, 2011, 01:24:48 AM
Oh wow. . . That was great! I hope that the English version of the book can be released someday.



Offline matsumoto

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Reply #17 on: September 26, 2017, 03:28:50 PM
Thanks a lot for this cool summary!
I really wish a translation would come up, even a fan one. Must be an interesting read. A few things I learned from these excerpts:

1. Yoshiki has the temperament of a lil' biatch.
2. Hide was probably not a lot better.
3. Toshi, Pata and Heath are wallflowers.
4. If I has been his mom, I wouldn't have sent him a penny.

 :P

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Teemeah

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Reply #18 on: September 26, 2017, 04:02:26 PM
Yoshiki's bio has a fan translation. Albeit a very poorly written one grammar-wise. https://www.wattpad.com/58438434-yoshiki-autobiography/page/60



Offline nb

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Reply #19 on: September 27, 2017, 07:52:43 PM
Thanks a lot for this cool summary!
I really wish a translation would come up, even a fan one. Must be an interesting read. A few things I learned from these excerpts:

1. Yoshiki has the temperament of a lil' biatch.
2. Hide was probably not a lot better.
3. Toshi, Pata and Heath are wallflowers.
4. If I has been his mom, I wouldn't have sent him a penny.

 :P

You had the wrong thread :P

On our Japan trip I was able to find a copy of the book in a used things store in Shimokitazawa. Unfortunatellly my japanese isn't that good  ;)

On the interwebz I found a complete translation. I think this is the version from xwonderland because of the "credit" anouncements. It's not 100% correct, for example the favourite Manga from PATA is Patalliro (Patariro) not Patarico, but it's really worth to read

https://www.wattpad.com/58438434

Here it is:

http://www.x-freaks.com/forum/index.php?topic=3357


positively unsure。


Offline matsumoto

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Reply #20 on: September 28, 2017, 08:46:56 AM
Thanks a million guys! I'm having a blast reading it. It's written in a really kitch fashion, though. It was probably written by a ghost writer but Yoshiki most definitely had a say.  8)

And what's that WTF paragraph about Hide throwing up after eating because he didn't want to get fat and Yoshiki doing the same because he felt bad for him? Those guys were into some really weird barf parties.  ::)

And ROFL at Pata working at Blockbuster. And Toshi eating peanut butter cups.

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Teemeah

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Reply #21 on: September 28, 2017, 09:00:23 AM
Yeah, the book is not written by Yoshiki, it's written by a woman named Narumi Komatsu 小松成美, who is Yoshiki's biographer. She also appears in the We Are X documentary.



Offline matsumoto

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Reply #22 on: September 28, 2017, 09:34:51 AM
Riiiiight. It's very Yoshiki-style, though. Kleenex should consider sponsoring him, he cries once every two lines.
It's otherwise an interesting read. He never talks about this stuff in interviews. Learnt plenty of new things. It's quite heartbreaking though. This guy sure feels things intensely and life wasn't always easy on him, even if he never lacked anything, materially.

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