hitsujibungaku Share Thoughts on Longevity in Music: Billboard Japan Women in Music Interview

Billboard Japan spoke with Japanese alternative rock band hitsujibungaku for their Women in Music series of interviews with female players in the Japanese entertainment industry. The WIM initiative in Japan was launched last year to honor artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and inspired other women through their work. The first 30 interviews in this series were published in Japan as a compilation “Billboard Japan Presents” by writer Rio Hirai, who continues to speak with women to highlight their stories.

hitsujibungaku consists of two female members Moeka Shiotsuka (vocals & guitar) and Yurika Kasai (bass) and one male member, Hiroa Fukuda (drums). The trio's recent achievements include the hit song “more than words” featured as the ending of the popular anime series Jujutsu KaisenThe story of the Shibuya incident and records an outstanding turnout at this year's FUJI ROCK festival '23 for a one-day show on the Green Stage.

The band released their third studio album on a major label called 12 hugs (like butterflies) on December 6. The members talked about this latest release and shared their thoughts on some of the gender imbalances in the Japanese music industry from their perspective as a mixed gender group.

Congratulations on the release of your new album 12 hugs (like butterflies). He has a jacket that leaves a lasting impression with Ms. Moeka Shiotsuka in a pose known as a butterfly hug. The album itself opens with an acoustic number that gives a personal vibe. Could you say a little bit about why the composition of the album turned out the way it did?

Moeka Shiotsuka: We were thinking of ending the album with an acoustic type song at first. That's how the song “Hug.m4a” came about, but when we put it on at the end, it gave a really elegant impression and we said, “That's not it.” So we decided to end the album on a strong note with the song “FOOL”. And when we placed “Hug.m4a” as the first track, the lyrics seemed to symbolize the whole album and felt like a great introduction to it. That's why we decided to go with this structure.

Hiroa Fukuda: When Shiotsuka shared the idea of ​​titles and structure with me, I thought her word choices were brilliant. I learned the term “butterfly hug” for the first time with this album and thought it was perfect because I had felt that “hug yourself” kind of feeling in each of the 12 songs in the set. There are a lot of songs that I personally like, and I think this album is an updated version of our first ones.

Yurika Kasai: “Butterfly Hug” is a nice feeling, isn't it? I have many problems, but I have accepted that I am who I am, even the part about having problems. Now I'm thinking about how to continue to live based on this. I also like how it focuses on the number 12 because each of the 12 songs is a different color.

This album is your first full length album in a year and a half. It seems that hitsujibungaku expanded its reach dramatically during this time period.

Shiotsuka: I'm glad we have more opportunities, such as performances on TV and at music festivals, to reach people who haven't been exposed to the kind of music we make. For example, at festivals where many artists are playing, if I see someone in the audience who doesn't seem to be into our show, I feel like “I really want to make that person smile.” I don't mean that I want everyone to like every one of our songs, it would just make me happy if even a small number of people think, “Maybe I like this,” and the number of people like that grows.

Fukuda: Having popular appeal has been our goal since we started the band. Balancing mainstream and underground. Our music is influenced by various genres such as alternative rock, shoegazer and post rock, and we want people who are not familiar with these genres to learn about them. The Jujutsu Kaisen The final track, “more than words”, is on our new album and we're glad that people who discovered us through this song will hear our other stuff as well.

Kasai: Since we've had more opportunities to appear in the media, we've been able to meet artists of various genres. There is much we can take in from the outside world, and we are now more aware of reaching the “outside”. This is reflected in our stage performances, I think.

Shiotsuka: We purposely intended to do pop for our previous record, but this time we tried to do whatever we wanted. I didn't want to render anything until I got to a quality I thought was good.

Fukuda: I also felt like I was going back to my roots. Like, be cynical, don't play my instrument in a normal way, and freely do edgy things.

It sounds like you're in a healthy place to make an album with that mindset at a time when your appeal is growing. By the way, this interview series started in part because of the gender imbalance we noticed in the Billboard Japan charts. Ms. Shiotsuka and Ms. Kasai, do you think being a woman has had any impact on your daily life and musical activities?

Shiotsuka: Although this isn't about any of our recent concerts, I think there's a trend where it's pretty obvious that projects with female bands or artists are mostly supported by male fans, especially in small capacity “live houses” (nightclubs). Of course there shouldn't be any gender restrictions on liking a certain band's music, but I question the intent of men, like, “Do they really appreciate the music?”

Kasai: I really understand what Moeka is saying. We want people to really enjoy our music, but we start to wonder what fans of the opposite sex are looking for and worry more than we should about how we look in their eyes.

Shiotsuka: Also, this isn't really about the music, but I feel like the world is flooded with images of women being sexually consumed. Even posters warning people to watch out for traffic accidents depict characters in police uniforms with their chests highlighted and it makes me wonder why.

Being a woman in a band, I don't like having the concept of “female modesty” imposed on me from the outside. I've worn dresses on stage in the past, but this year I decided to go with pants and it really suits what I want to express in this band. He's sitting right next to me.

Kasai: Also, the staff at concerts and other events are mostly men. It may be inevitable in part because there is a lot of heavy lifting, but there are very few women when we tour around the country.

Shiotsuka: It's so true. And boxed lunches (for catering) tend to be calorie bombs. [Laughs] When we have to eat fried food for many days, we say, “God, I want to eat vegetables.”

Other people in this interview series also made this point about how women are a minority on the staff side of the (Japanese) music industry. One problem is that there are so few women in the senior ranks of organizations and this affects the entire industry.

On a different note, Mr. Shiotsuka, I read something you said in a previous interview about the things you've been “thinking about continuing to make music for a long time.” At the time, you talked mostly about songwriting and wanting to “make music you can continue to love.” I would like to ask you if there is anything you would like to be different so that female artists can continue to make music for a long time.

Shiotsuka: If a woman wants to continue doing music, it is difficult to avoid the impact of major changes in her life, for example if she chooses to become a mother. I am 27 years old now and such choices are starting to feel real to me. Like if I was thinking about having kids, but I had a full schedule for the next year, I would definitely think about how my pregnancy could cancel the tour. But I know other female musicians who bring their kids to work and also that they'll all support me, so maybe it's not really something I need to worry about that much.

Kasai: Fukuda would probably take care of our kids if we asked him to watch them while we record.

Fukuda: [Laughs]

Shiotsuka: He probably would! [Laughs] Regardless of gender, I want to appreciate being a human before being a musician. It's okay when work and life are in alignment, but I often put my personal life on the back burner when the balance is off. I want to remember to prioritize my life.

–This Rio Hirai interview first appeared on Billboard Japan