No Smoking (2019) Movie Script
1
Summer of 1945
World War II ended, leaving the world
and Japan with deep wounds.
Two years later, in the summer of 1947
Tokyo's Shirokane
still smelled of the war.
It was then that
Haruomi Hosono was born.
Before going to sleep
I'd think about how happy
I was to be born after the war.
I was so happy about that.
That I did not have to go to war.
I still cherish that I was born
in a time of peace.
Of course there were many
marks of the war still present.
The house next-door was gone.
It had burned.
It was that kind of time.
I think I was about three.
My mother would often go to Ginza
with me on her back.
We would get on a tram
at Shirokanedai.
It started in Meguro
and went to Hibiya.
We'd get off at Hibiya
and it would be filled
with soldiers.
I was on my mother's back
when people I did not know
came up to us.
They said words I couldn't
understand to my mother.
I remember two American G.I.s
giving me something.
Probably chocolate.
"Good Times Music, Again"
My heart is filled with music
I've listened to and seen
since I was a child.
My musical experiences in my youth
were bountiful.
The records I listened to
have made me who I am today.
It's true that my mother loved music.
She made me learn piano.
She liked music enough
to do things like that.
It wasn't unusual.
It was part of the culture.
People listened to more
western music then.
They put on SP records at home.
Those spinning records
were fun to watch.
I kept watching them.
It's even more fun that sounds
would come out of them.
At first, I couldn't put them on
and I'd nag my mother.
I think it was, "Sing Sing Sing."
I called it the drum record.
"Put it on!" I said.
Eventually I learned to
put it on myself.
I did this everyday.
We're a matriarchal family
so my grandmother
loomed the largest.
She was my maternal grandmother.
She would sit with her big bottom.
She would groan
as she got up.
There were many aunts.
One that lived across from me
was a secretary at Paramount.
A real career woman.
She would bring home soundtracks
from Paramount movies.
I would go there every day
to listen.
People like Bob Hope.
They were music that would later
enter my repertoire.
Like "Good Morning Mr. Echo."
A photo of the Hosono family.
They lived with his maternal grandfather
who was a piano tuner.
The paternal grandfather
was the only Japanese on the Titanic.
The child he had after his return
was Hosono's father.
It was my father
who taught me jokes.
There's a gag I do.
A laughing person who turns angry.
He taught me all of that.
They were so funny.
He used to do things like this.
He also taught me things like this.
They all came from the U.S.
Probably...
This too.
My father would sometimes admit quietly
that he wanted to be a dancer
like Fred Astaire.
He probably dreamt of things like that.
In the sixth grade,
music in the charts began to change.
The Ventures were a big hit.
They were so lively.
Suddenly, my classmates
began buying electric guitars.
Everyone had it then.
But I didn't.
Around 1961 or 1962...
The Beach Boys started to appear.
I thought they were great.
They had some instrumentals
so I would copy them.
Hosono entered
Rikkyo High School in 1963.
He began covering modern folk bands like
Peter, Paul and Mary and The Kingston Trio
who were popular then.
He was especially influenced by Bob Dylan.
He then entered Rikkyo University
and began his college life.
Music was really all I was doing.
My university band
was not very interesting.
But they did have the ability to produce.
They would gather people and do a show.
That was a very stimulating
and important scene for me.
A lot of important encounters with
with people I still hang out with.
For example, Tatsuo Hayashi
and Shigeru Suzuki.
One day, this guy came to visit
my house in Shirokane.
That was Eiichi Ohtaki.
I will never forget that day.
I had absent-mindly, left the record of
"Get Together" by The Youngbloods
who I liked and were popular at the time.
Then Ohtaki who came in without
any pleasantries
walked into my room and said,
"Oh, Get Together!"
I thought, "Amazing."
"He gets it."
The music he encountered then
was Buffalo Springfield.
He also continued to make more friends.
I'm not a very forward person.
I live quite idly but
people seem to gather around me.
Once, Takashi Matsumoto called.
He somehow had my number.
Whenever he had a moment,
he'd read a book.
When I saw what he was reading
they were often poetry books.
I thought, "Oh, Matsumoto is a literary type."
I gradually began to understand his talent.
In 1969, as a senior in college
he was invited by friends like
Hiro Yanagida and Chu Kosaka
to join THE APRYL FOOL
with Takashi Matsumoto.
They debuted professionally
but broke up after releasing one album.
Later, he attempted to create a new group
with Chu, Takashi and others.
But when Chu was cast
in the musical "Hair"
that project fell through too.
That was when Ohtaki called me
and all he said was,
"I understand Buffalo Springfield."
That was enough.
I thought to start a band.
Hosono, Matsumoto and Ohtaki
and others went on a trip
to the Tohoku region
to figure out the band.
They brought in Shigeru Suzuki on guitar
and on August 5, 1970,
HAPPY END debuted.
We were all raised on records.
Rather, records gave birth to us.
So to be recording...
was like a dream for us.
With our first album, we had no idea
what we were doing.
HAPPY END
Matsumoto wrote lyrics for the song
"Happy End."
I think, I suggested making it
our band name.
I was driving and the others
were in the car.
It was in a car when I suggested
we use "Happy End."
It was the same with THE APRYL FOOL.
A lot of ideas occur in cars.
Oh, it's five o'clock.
I'm going to exercise.
It's been a while.
We'll do it on stage too.
This is to wake up...
Maybe I'll go pee.
"A Message"
Neither Buffalo Springfield nor Moby Grape
made it commercially
but they are important teachers
of music to me.
They were a model to not only me
but to rock music as a whole in the 1970s.
HAPPY END was also squirming
on the opposite spectrum to business
but the two years we were active
are still an influence on today.
Commercialism plants a feeling of loss
through lack of sales.
Music-ism is not the same.
It says, "Hey you. You might be great."
"Even if you're not selling."
The dissatisfaction from the first album
became a motivation.
There was still a lot to do.
But with Kazemachi Roman
I believe we overcame a lot of it.
I thought it was better than our first work.
Especially my singing.
I was projecting my voice better.
It was a kind of experiment.
To combine Japanese words
with West Coast Sound.
We weren't thinking about sales
or trying to become famous.
It was an experiment based on
just wanting to create.
That experiment resulted
in the creation of HAPPY END.
After the members of HAPPY END
created Kazemachi Roman,
they each began their own paths.
That was when a recording trip to LA
was brought up.
Recently, I went to LA
and was surprised to find
Sunset Sound Recorders.
It still existed similar to
when we were there.
All the bands we liked
had worked there.
The fruits that we reaped there
were huge.
Van Dyke Parks appeared.
It's Van Dyke.
Amazing!
- That was great.
- Really?
Thank you.
Other way around.
I didn't really know him at first.
I knew about his work on
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys.
He suddenly appeared and began lecturing.
He was lecturing about Japan's Imperialism
in English.
I thought, "This is what he's like."
As soon as recording began...
he was fantastic.
He told Takashi Matsumoto
to hit the hi-hat at 16 beats.
And add a dotted beat in the kick.
Then play the guitar to the beat.
That was how he gave direction.
It was a process of building upwards.
Learning how they put it together
was a fresh discovery.
As we began overdubbing
Lowell George appeared.
Van Dyke brought him.
It was a great time.
A miraculous experience.
After returning from LA in 1972,
Hosono and his family moved to
America Village in Sayama
where artists had started to gather.
He began working on
his first solo album, HOSONO HOUSE.
CARAMEL MAMA...
that was the band with Tatsuo Hayashi,
Shigeru Suzuki and Masataka Matsutoya.
Yoshino who was the engineer for
Kazemachi Roman
had bought a multi-channel recorder.
We thought we'd try it out.
We had it carried to us
and we recorded at home.
We were young.
We rented a house and all slept there.
It didn't feel like work.
Rent was cheap and the house was big.
It was very desirable.
I was living at my parents' until then.
I had no set address and no job.
I had never written all the songs
in an album.
There was pressure to do well.
I was barely a professional then.
I was in my twenties.
23 or 24.
I still had a strong
instrumentalist mentality.
I didn't know much
about world-building yet.
I wasn't looking to prove
anything.
That's why I re-made it recently.
This first solo album
that he put together
was being listened to
across borders and generations.
There is a comic
that is a good example.
"Green's Song"
by Taiwanese artist Gao Yan.
- This is the Taiwanese version.
- Oh yeah.
- Can I see it?
- Yes. Here.
I read the Japanese version.
- My heart was beating hard.
- Thank you.
It makes me very happy.
The story was a big surprise for me.
"Green's Song" is about
a woman in Taiwan
who is moved after her discovery
of Hosono's music.
After that, my feelings towards
being an instrumentalist increased.
Physically too, playing the bass was fun.
That was when I got
a letter from Okinawa.
Makoto Kubota told me that he heard
amazing music.
He said that "Haisai Ojisan"
was a huge hit there.
When I listened to it,
it was so interesting.
I think that's where it began.
Even though I was more of
an instrumentalist
I began wanting to create.
It was the right moment
when Kubota called me "tropical."
He said "Hosono, you're a tropical dandy!"
I thought, "That's it!"
In the places where different cultures meet
strange things grow.
I became very curious.
Tropicalism has that kind of quality.
I thought I could make a solo album.
I quickly made TROPICAL DANDY.
I listened to a lot of quirky music
and feeling good, I made TROPICAL DANDY
and Bon Voyage co.
But that didn't last long.
When I returned back to normalcy
I made PARAISO.
That one feels different.
I was a little depressed.
Searching for some kind of answer
I read Tadanori Yokoo's India.
I thought, "If I go to India,
I can get diarrhea."
"Diarrhea is a cleanse!
I can reset myself."
INDIA
BY YOKOO TADANORI
INDIA
BY YOKOO TADANORI
For some reason, I went to Yokoo's studio.
Then he asked me if I wanted to go to India.
For a second, I hesitated.
- When I said we should go?
- Yes.
No, you didn't hesitate.
You said, "Let's go"
as soon as I invited you.
There was no time for hesitation.
It wasn't hesitation.
I was just struck.
Ah, you were struck.
- Looking back, it was good.
- I didn't think that would actually happen.
Only the two of us fell ill.
Hosono had it worse.
I had been ill like this before
so I knew what was up.
It was Hosono's first time
so he thought he was dying.
- More like he became very flat.
- Yes.
He was sleeping on the bed
but he's not much higher than the bed.
So flat.
Yes! I became flat and flimsy.
He was no longer a 3D human
but a flat person.
A sheet of paper.
Now, I'm wondering
whatever happened to that couple.
The wife had a psychic quality to her.
Super psychic.
The wife saw Hosono and said,
"You are like Buddha."
Yes, as everything came out.
Diarrhea didn't matter to you.
You're Buddha.
Buddha died from diarrhea too.
The wife said, "Let's eat together."
I think it was salmon and congee.
Was it congee?
- It was white rice.
- It was rice.
She said I'll be better
if I eat this.
So Yokoo and I ate it.
And when we did,
we were both cured.
You and I have done
so many talks together.
There's nobody I've done
as many talks with.
Sorry.
How long has it been?
40 or 50 years?
It's over a long period.
We've talked about the same things.
That's what's funny.
That's because we always end up
talking about the past.
"Hosono's Dream Diary"
"The Soft-Biting Frog"
I had a dream.
I am being chased.
I end up at a rural harbor
I do not recognize.
Perhaps today is a holiday.
The big building is unpopulated
and seafood is strewn across the floor.
What is that? Something strange.
One large shellfish is attacking.
It spins towards
the direction I walk.
It's a very alert shellfish.
Once I enter an even bigger space,
I see one small tree frog
wandering about.
It's disgruntled and muttering something
in a low voice.
When it saw me,
it jumped from 10 meters away
and bit onto my wrist.
But it didn't hurt.
That was because
it was a soft bite.
Chomp, chomp.
It was the press conference
announcing the start of Alfa Records.
I was sitting and someone
told me to say something.
We had nothing decided.
But the words "Yellow Magic Orchestra"
suddenly came to me.
I said that's what I'm doing.
But I had nothing.
No members either.
I don't remember why
but I tapped Yukihiro Takahashi.
Yukihiro and I were friends
from way back.
He was in a band called
sadistics.
He came running straight at me
like an arrow.
His eyes were shining.
From there, I tapped Ryuichi Sakamoto.
I used to see Sakamoto at the studio.
I knew him as an arranger.
He came begrudgingly.
He said he's never been in a band.
I said, "Use me as your footstool
to the world."
The notebook that Hosono used at his house
to explain the concept behind YMO
included the musical direction
and sales goals.
They were written in concrete terms.
GOAL: 4 MILLION COPIES.
Empty promises.
It was because there was
one unenthused person.
I was thinking
that I have to convince him.
So I did a presentation
of what was possible
and what we were aiming for.
I drew pictures like this.
It was partly a joke.
When I showed them this, it was a go.
What I knew for sure was to do
"Firecracker" using a computer.
But at first, we thought to try it
with live instruments...
without a computer.
It wasn't interesting.
Nothing new came out of it.
I thought the computer
was the right way to go.
So we tried a computer
straight away.
It was music
that didn't exist before.
There are things
that a human can't do
like a perfectly even rhythm.
I didn't have to play the bass.
I was upset at first.
I think the most upsetting part was
that I didn't have anything to do.
It meant that I was able to
put my efforts into producing.
YMO was after all a project.
I was going to quit
if it didn't work out.
But once we began, it became play.
At the end of the day...
it's fun to play.
And then...
like a roll of a die,
things kept rolling in a good direction.
The three of us were
in the studio watching TV.
Seiji Ozawa in Beijing was big news
because he was conducting
the symphony orchestra.
You could see the joy from
the Chinese orchestra members
for being able to play music
that had been taboo.
The joy was infectious.
They had great postures
and they kept smiling.
And they had techno haircuts.
All three of us said, "That's it!"
We liked their innocent attitudes
and their haircuts.
Then came our second album.
Things began to change
because of "Rydeen."
The popularity of "Rydeen"
was a phenomenon that we witnessed
after our return from
our first world tour.
Our world tour was also
feeding back to Japan.
There was a boy who followed me
when I walked the streets.
The schoolboy
had a baseball cap on.
When I turned around he hid
behind a pole and still followed.
I was puzzled.
"Rydeen" really was at our height.
The record company of course
asked for another "Rydeen."
But we couldn't.
We couldn't do the same thing.
I don't know if it was out of spite
but we made BGM
which was an extremely avant-garde album.
Kids still listened to it.
We were caught in a whirlpool
we couldn't predict.
We were all over the media
and treated as musicians
and cultural figures.
We have a tendency to please
and did a lot.
But we did too much
and we were getting tired.
Sakamoto was depressed.
I was depressed too.
Yukihiro was getting tired
of going between us.
Through all this we were gradually
starting to feel its end.
YMO who did not do much in 1992
put out "Kimi ni Mune Kyun"
in March of 1983.
They appeared in public again.
They continued to work hard
until their final concert in December.
We all became close again
when we started doing pop songs.
We felt free to do whatever after this.
Once we get to the house,
we'll do this dance.
What exactly are you pulling?
You grab something here.
Like making mochi.
You have light steps!
When was the last time
you were all together?
I see Yukihiro often.
It's been a while since I saw Sakamoto.
Two years?
I always hear about him
so I feel like I see him more.
I was expecting a long night
since it had been a while for you all.
But everyone seemed anxious
to get home.
- People were tired.
- That's true.
Sakamoto is busy too.
But you spent a lot of time together.
A lot happened but it was fun.
I can guess that a lot happened.
Bands are difficult.
Did you fight?
We never threw punches or anything.
Doing a session together after a few years...
did you feel a difference in your worldviews?
Depends.
The thing with musicians is that
even if it's been a while...
you can play like you saw them
just yesterday.
Yukihiro Takahashi.
Oyamada from Cornelius.
Is Sakamoto around too?
I was surprised.
I was worried I'm being rude.
Don't worry.
No hierarchy.
Why don't you go bow?
I'd feel bad since there's the next one.
I'm exhausted.
- Thank you.
- It was truly great.
We messed up the end.
I guess it's been about 10 years
since we've done a show together.
Time doesn't matter though.
This is all very mysterious.
I didn't plan for it.
We happened to gather here.
I don't know why.
There's probably a reason.
We were meant to
come together.
It was improvised.
In a real sense.
The way people around the world
listen to music these days
is different from 10 years ago.
No matter the country,
music-lovers are listening
to good music in the same way.
They can listen to music today
and 40 years ago side-by-side.
It made me think that that's
how they're listening to my work too.
I want to do fun things.
It'll be fine as long as
there are music lovers.
We're Hosono's groupies.
"TENGOKU NO KISS"
SEIKO MATSUDA
It was around the time
that Hosono was in YMO
that he began to provide songs
to pop artists like Seiko Matsuda.
"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"
"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"
During this period, he worked on many hits.
In 1982, he started a label called YEN.
Using the most advanced
sampling machine of the time,
He released his solo album PHILHARMONY
4 years after COCHIN MOON.
Two years after that,
he started another label
called NON-STANDARD.
Campanella!
His first soundtrack was for
Night on the Galactic Railroad in 1985.
After the mid-80s, he worked on
ambient, world and electronic music
and various genres depending on the times.
It could only be done then.
If I want to, I can just
gather old equipment.
But I can't say that.
I have to do what is of its time.
That's why it's interesting.
The works are evidence
that I did my best in that time.
Those works are interesting
to listen to today.
They're fresh.
If we did what others did
and we were bored by it...
we wouldn't be able to listen to it now.
Work made with a lot of effort
is still interesting today.
This includes ideas and processes.
They're full of trials and errors.
Excuse me.
If only I could smoke.
That's besides the point.
- Are cigarettes a necessity?
- Yes.
- Do you feel it's needed for your music?
- Yes.
May I ask why?
A puff of smoke is very musical.
I do it like I'm creating a puff of music.
When you're smoking?
I mean that they're similar.
To go back to Dylan for example...
he sticks a cigarette in the neck
of his guitar when he records.
Keith Richards did too.
I was influenced by that.
I did it too.
I feel relaxed when I see smoke.
I can't do this.
They're reacting to my songs.
They've really been listening.
The first foreigner who appeared
in front of me was Jim O'Rourke.
I had never met an American
who knew HAPPY END.
Mac DeMarco...
has a similar sensibility to O'Rourke.
They're not nerds but
they like music in a universal way.
This is Gen Hoshino.
Let me introduce our guest.
- Haruomi Hosono!
- Good evening!
Thank you for coming.
You work hard at a late hour.
- Sorry it's so late.
- Oh no, I'll do my best.
Yes, please.
How old were you when we first met?
In my twenties... maybe 26?
- Right.
- It was around then.
Back when you did shows at China Town
you had a beard.
- You wore a white suit.
- As Harry Hosono.
Yes, we first met when I had my
Harry Hosono costume on.
Yes...
I thought you might be taken aback
but you were kind to me.
I thought you were
a funny person.
I've known Hoshino
since his SAKEROCK days.
Since then,
he's found a different style
to call his own.
Generationally speaking...
I do feel that things are
getting passed on.
When we played
in Yokohama's China Town...
I was MC-ing and said,
"I'm leaving it to you, Hoshino."
"I'll leave the rest to you."
I say that a lot these days.
That's all true.
"I'll leave the rest to you all."
What was it?
"Pom Pom Jyoki"
It'll be over quickly.
Let's do it.
Here is my question
for the Fourth IGA WATARU SHOW.
Is there anything you're good at
other than music?
That I'm good at?
Nothing.
How about dance?
I was very good
in middle school.
Did you study it?
Study... no.
I'm very good at silly walks.
- There's one called the Mars Walk.
- Mars Walk?
Mars like the planet.
- Walking on Mars?
- Yeah, like walking on Mars.
It's very childish.
That's all I have.
Nothing I can do.
I'm useless.
What else? I stopped drawing too.
You used to draw?
I liked to draw
especially during class.
- You weren't listening in class?
- No.
So maybe if I take a class
I can do something.
You'll be better at drawing
if you enroll in a class?
DOOR OF THE TIMES
Every time your talk about a film
it becomes the talk of the town.
Every time your talk about a film
it becomes the talk of the town.
Yeah?
Any recommendations from
some recent viewings?
My favorite films are ones
I'm looking forward to seeing.
Once I see them,
I'm always disappointed.
Thank you.
Oh, that's it?
On a final note, what music are you
listening to these days?
I like music before
I listen to them.
Amazing.
Thank you.
I'm glad the rain has stopped.
I'm sure it was a difficult wait.
Thank you.
I lived here 30 years ago
a little south from here.
The house no longer exists
but it had an American vibe to it.
I suddenly received an offer.
I had a connection with Sayama
where I made HOSONO HOUSE.
It was supposed to be
an one-off live event.
But it rained a lot that day
and the crowd
went to the station.
When it was my turn
the rain stopped
and people came back.
Steam seemed to rise from them.
It was an inexplicably
mysterious view.
It left a very strong impression on me.
I don't like singing.
So I refused doing shows.
There's a limit to how many songs
I can enjoy singing.
But as I began doing more shows
I found that I was able to sing more.
It became more fun for me.
I also realized that singing songs
by others was even more fun.
I thought, "That's good.
I can cover songs I like."
I used to hate singing
but it started to become fun.
Oh? I didn't know.
I'm embarrassed.
"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"
is a difficult boogie.
It's fun for me to sing, right now.
It's a famous boogie.
I didn't think I could sing it.
But I just liked it so much...
so I started practicing.
I had the band play it
during rehearsals.
I was able to sing it
after doing it over and over.
Now, I can sing it from memory.
That's fun.
When my desire to sing
becomes intense, I'm able to do it.
It's working!
I've turned into a comedian.
The thing that I want to do most
right now...
For example, there's the boogie-woogie
and there are many bands
that are doing the same songs I am.
But when I tried
checking them out...
I just didn't get excited.
But when I listen to the originals
from the 1940s...
my heart dances whenever I do.
These current bands
are lacking something.
I don't want to lose
that something.
There's something
very special there...
a secret...
It's a secret?
Yeah, or something
hard to communicate.
Like a secret recipe?
Yeah, without that secret sauce
it just becomes boring.
Without that, I wouldn't do it.
It wouldn't be fun.
The key for me is freedom.
When I touch what's free,
my heart dances.
Thank you very much.
Wonderful.
Haruomi Hosono
Van Dyke Parks
Yukihiro Takahashi
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Rie Miyazawa
Kiko Mizuhara
Yuka Mizuhara
Keigo Oyamada
Mac DeMarco
Gen Hoshino
Narration: Gen Hoshino
Producer: Masahiro Handa
Music: Haruomi Hosono
Directed by Taketoshi Sado
Summer of 1945
World War II ended, leaving the world
and Japan with deep wounds.
Two years later, in the summer of 1947
Tokyo's Shirokane
still smelled of the war.
It was then that
Haruomi Hosono was born.
Before going to sleep
I'd think about how happy
I was to be born after the war.
I was so happy about that.
That I did not have to go to war.
I still cherish that I was born
in a time of peace.
Of course there were many
marks of the war still present.
The house next-door was gone.
It had burned.
It was that kind of time.
I think I was about three.
My mother would often go to Ginza
with me on her back.
We would get on a tram
at Shirokanedai.
It started in Meguro
and went to Hibiya.
We'd get off at Hibiya
and it would be filled
with soldiers.
I was on my mother's back
when people I did not know
came up to us.
They said words I couldn't
understand to my mother.
I remember two American G.I.s
giving me something.
Probably chocolate.
"Good Times Music, Again"
My heart is filled with music
I've listened to and seen
since I was a child.
My musical experiences in my youth
were bountiful.
The records I listened to
have made me who I am today.
It's true that my mother loved music.
She made me learn piano.
She liked music enough
to do things like that.
It wasn't unusual.
It was part of the culture.
People listened to more
western music then.
They put on SP records at home.
Those spinning records
were fun to watch.
I kept watching them.
It's even more fun that sounds
would come out of them.
At first, I couldn't put them on
and I'd nag my mother.
I think it was, "Sing Sing Sing."
I called it the drum record.
"Put it on!" I said.
Eventually I learned to
put it on myself.
I did this everyday.
We're a matriarchal family
so my grandmother
loomed the largest.
She was my maternal grandmother.
She would sit with her big bottom.
She would groan
as she got up.
There were many aunts.
One that lived across from me
was a secretary at Paramount.
A real career woman.
She would bring home soundtracks
from Paramount movies.
I would go there every day
to listen.
People like Bob Hope.
They were music that would later
enter my repertoire.
Like "Good Morning Mr. Echo."
A photo of the Hosono family.
They lived with his maternal grandfather
who was a piano tuner.
The paternal grandfather
was the only Japanese on the Titanic.
The child he had after his return
was Hosono's father.
It was my father
who taught me jokes.
There's a gag I do.
A laughing person who turns angry.
He taught me all of that.
They were so funny.
He used to do things like this.
He also taught me things like this.
They all came from the U.S.
Probably...
This too.
My father would sometimes admit quietly
that he wanted to be a dancer
like Fred Astaire.
He probably dreamt of things like that.
In the sixth grade,
music in the charts began to change.
The Ventures were a big hit.
They were so lively.
Suddenly, my classmates
began buying electric guitars.
Everyone had it then.
But I didn't.
Around 1961 or 1962...
The Beach Boys started to appear.
I thought they were great.
They had some instrumentals
so I would copy them.
Hosono entered
Rikkyo High School in 1963.
He began covering modern folk bands like
Peter, Paul and Mary and The Kingston Trio
who were popular then.
He was especially influenced by Bob Dylan.
He then entered Rikkyo University
and began his college life.
Music was really all I was doing.
My university band
was not very interesting.
But they did have the ability to produce.
They would gather people and do a show.
That was a very stimulating
and important scene for me.
A lot of important encounters with
with people I still hang out with.
For example, Tatsuo Hayashi
and Shigeru Suzuki.
One day, this guy came to visit
my house in Shirokane.
That was Eiichi Ohtaki.
I will never forget that day.
I had absent-mindly, left the record of
"Get Together" by The Youngbloods
who I liked and were popular at the time.
Then Ohtaki who came in without
any pleasantries
walked into my room and said,
"Oh, Get Together!"
I thought, "Amazing."
"He gets it."
The music he encountered then
was Buffalo Springfield.
He also continued to make more friends.
I'm not a very forward person.
I live quite idly but
people seem to gather around me.
Once, Takashi Matsumoto called.
He somehow had my number.
Whenever he had a moment,
he'd read a book.
When I saw what he was reading
they were often poetry books.
I thought, "Oh, Matsumoto is a literary type."
I gradually began to understand his talent.
In 1969, as a senior in college
he was invited by friends like
Hiro Yanagida and Chu Kosaka
to join THE APRYL FOOL
with Takashi Matsumoto.
They debuted professionally
but broke up after releasing one album.
Later, he attempted to create a new group
with Chu, Takashi and others.
But when Chu was cast
in the musical "Hair"
that project fell through too.
That was when Ohtaki called me
and all he said was,
"I understand Buffalo Springfield."
That was enough.
I thought to start a band.
Hosono, Matsumoto and Ohtaki
and others went on a trip
to the Tohoku region
to figure out the band.
They brought in Shigeru Suzuki on guitar
and on August 5, 1970,
HAPPY END debuted.
We were all raised on records.
Rather, records gave birth to us.
So to be recording...
was like a dream for us.
With our first album, we had no idea
what we were doing.
HAPPY END
Matsumoto wrote lyrics for the song
"Happy End."
I think, I suggested making it
our band name.
I was driving and the others
were in the car.
It was in a car when I suggested
we use "Happy End."
It was the same with THE APRYL FOOL.
A lot of ideas occur in cars.
Oh, it's five o'clock.
I'm going to exercise.
It's been a while.
We'll do it on stage too.
This is to wake up...
Maybe I'll go pee.
"A Message"
Neither Buffalo Springfield nor Moby Grape
made it commercially
but they are important teachers
of music to me.
They were a model to not only me
but to rock music as a whole in the 1970s.
HAPPY END was also squirming
on the opposite spectrum to business
but the two years we were active
are still an influence on today.
Commercialism plants a feeling of loss
through lack of sales.
Music-ism is not the same.
It says, "Hey you. You might be great."
"Even if you're not selling."
The dissatisfaction from the first album
became a motivation.
There was still a lot to do.
But with Kazemachi Roman
I believe we overcame a lot of it.
I thought it was better than our first work.
Especially my singing.
I was projecting my voice better.
It was a kind of experiment.
To combine Japanese words
with West Coast Sound.
We weren't thinking about sales
or trying to become famous.
It was an experiment based on
just wanting to create.
That experiment resulted
in the creation of HAPPY END.
After the members of HAPPY END
created Kazemachi Roman,
they each began their own paths.
That was when a recording trip to LA
was brought up.
Recently, I went to LA
and was surprised to find
Sunset Sound Recorders.
It still existed similar to
when we were there.
All the bands we liked
had worked there.
The fruits that we reaped there
were huge.
Van Dyke Parks appeared.
It's Van Dyke.
Amazing!
- That was great.
- Really?
Thank you.
Other way around.
I didn't really know him at first.
I knew about his work on
"Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys.
He suddenly appeared and began lecturing.
He was lecturing about Japan's Imperialism
in English.
I thought, "This is what he's like."
As soon as recording began...
he was fantastic.
He told Takashi Matsumoto
to hit the hi-hat at 16 beats.
And add a dotted beat in the kick.
Then play the guitar to the beat.
That was how he gave direction.
It was a process of building upwards.
Learning how they put it together
was a fresh discovery.
As we began overdubbing
Lowell George appeared.
Van Dyke brought him.
It was a great time.
A miraculous experience.
After returning from LA in 1972,
Hosono and his family moved to
America Village in Sayama
where artists had started to gather.
He began working on
his first solo album, HOSONO HOUSE.
CARAMEL MAMA...
that was the band with Tatsuo Hayashi,
Shigeru Suzuki and Masataka Matsutoya.
Yoshino who was the engineer for
Kazemachi Roman
had bought a multi-channel recorder.
We thought we'd try it out.
We had it carried to us
and we recorded at home.
We were young.
We rented a house and all slept there.
It didn't feel like work.
Rent was cheap and the house was big.
It was very desirable.
I was living at my parents' until then.
I had no set address and no job.
I had never written all the songs
in an album.
There was pressure to do well.
I was barely a professional then.
I was in my twenties.
23 or 24.
I still had a strong
instrumentalist mentality.
I didn't know much
about world-building yet.
I wasn't looking to prove
anything.
That's why I re-made it recently.
This first solo album
that he put together
was being listened to
across borders and generations.
There is a comic
that is a good example.
"Green's Song"
by Taiwanese artist Gao Yan.
- This is the Taiwanese version.
- Oh yeah.
- Can I see it?
- Yes. Here.
I read the Japanese version.
- My heart was beating hard.
- Thank you.
It makes me very happy.
The story was a big surprise for me.
"Green's Song" is about
a woman in Taiwan
who is moved after her discovery
of Hosono's music.
After that, my feelings towards
being an instrumentalist increased.
Physically too, playing the bass was fun.
That was when I got
a letter from Okinawa.
Makoto Kubota told me that he heard
amazing music.
He said that "Haisai Ojisan"
was a huge hit there.
When I listened to it,
it was so interesting.
I think that's where it began.
Even though I was more of
an instrumentalist
I began wanting to create.
It was the right moment
when Kubota called me "tropical."
He said "Hosono, you're a tropical dandy!"
I thought, "That's it!"
In the places where different cultures meet
strange things grow.
I became very curious.
Tropicalism has that kind of quality.
I thought I could make a solo album.
I quickly made TROPICAL DANDY.
I listened to a lot of quirky music
and feeling good, I made TROPICAL DANDY
and Bon Voyage co.
But that didn't last long.
When I returned back to normalcy
I made PARAISO.
That one feels different.
I was a little depressed.
Searching for some kind of answer
I read Tadanori Yokoo's India.
I thought, "If I go to India,
I can get diarrhea."
"Diarrhea is a cleanse!
I can reset myself."
INDIA
BY YOKOO TADANORI
INDIA
BY YOKOO TADANORI
For some reason, I went to Yokoo's studio.
Then he asked me if I wanted to go to India.
For a second, I hesitated.
- When I said we should go?
- Yes.
No, you didn't hesitate.
You said, "Let's go"
as soon as I invited you.
There was no time for hesitation.
It wasn't hesitation.
I was just struck.
Ah, you were struck.
- Looking back, it was good.
- I didn't think that would actually happen.
Only the two of us fell ill.
Hosono had it worse.
I had been ill like this before
so I knew what was up.
It was Hosono's first time
so he thought he was dying.
- More like he became very flat.
- Yes.
He was sleeping on the bed
but he's not much higher than the bed.
So flat.
Yes! I became flat and flimsy.
He was no longer a 3D human
but a flat person.
A sheet of paper.
Now, I'm wondering
whatever happened to that couple.
The wife had a psychic quality to her.
Super psychic.
The wife saw Hosono and said,
"You are like Buddha."
Yes, as everything came out.
Diarrhea didn't matter to you.
You're Buddha.
Buddha died from diarrhea too.
The wife said, "Let's eat together."
I think it was salmon and congee.
Was it congee?
- It was white rice.
- It was rice.
She said I'll be better
if I eat this.
So Yokoo and I ate it.
And when we did,
we were both cured.
You and I have done
so many talks together.
There's nobody I've done
as many talks with.
Sorry.
How long has it been?
40 or 50 years?
It's over a long period.
We've talked about the same things.
That's what's funny.
That's because we always end up
talking about the past.
"Hosono's Dream Diary"
"The Soft-Biting Frog"
I had a dream.
I am being chased.
I end up at a rural harbor
I do not recognize.
Perhaps today is a holiday.
The big building is unpopulated
and seafood is strewn across the floor.
What is that? Something strange.
One large shellfish is attacking.
It spins towards
the direction I walk.
It's a very alert shellfish.
Once I enter an even bigger space,
I see one small tree frog
wandering about.
It's disgruntled and muttering something
in a low voice.
When it saw me,
it jumped from 10 meters away
and bit onto my wrist.
But it didn't hurt.
That was because
it was a soft bite.
Chomp, chomp.
It was the press conference
announcing the start of Alfa Records.
I was sitting and someone
told me to say something.
We had nothing decided.
But the words "Yellow Magic Orchestra"
suddenly came to me.
I said that's what I'm doing.
But I had nothing.
No members either.
I don't remember why
but I tapped Yukihiro Takahashi.
Yukihiro and I were friends
from way back.
He was in a band called
sadistics.
He came running straight at me
like an arrow.
His eyes were shining.
From there, I tapped Ryuichi Sakamoto.
I used to see Sakamoto at the studio.
I knew him as an arranger.
He came begrudgingly.
He said he's never been in a band.
I said, "Use me as your footstool
to the world."
The notebook that Hosono used at his house
to explain the concept behind YMO
included the musical direction
and sales goals.
They were written in concrete terms.
GOAL: 4 MILLION COPIES.
Empty promises.
It was because there was
one unenthused person.
I was thinking
that I have to convince him.
So I did a presentation
of what was possible
and what we were aiming for.
I drew pictures like this.
It was partly a joke.
When I showed them this, it was a go.
What I knew for sure was to do
"Firecracker" using a computer.
But at first, we thought to try it
with live instruments...
without a computer.
It wasn't interesting.
Nothing new came out of it.
I thought the computer
was the right way to go.
So we tried a computer
straight away.
It was music
that didn't exist before.
There are things
that a human can't do
like a perfectly even rhythm.
I didn't have to play the bass.
I was upset at first.
I think the most upsetting part was
that I didn't have anything to do.
It meant that I was able to
put my efforts into producing.
YMO was after all a project.
I was going to quit
if it didn't work out.
But once we began, it became play.
At the end of the day...
it's fun to play.
And then...
like a roll of a die,
things kept rolling in a good direction.
The three of us were
in the studio watching TV.
Seiji Ozawa in Beijing was big news
because he was conducting
the symphony orchestra.
You could see the joy from
the Chinese orchestra members
for being able to play music
that had been taboo.
The joy was infectious.
They had great postures
and they kept smiling.
And they had techno haircuts.
All three of us said, "That's it!"
We liked their innocent attitudes
and their haircuts.
Then came our second album.
Things began to change
because of "Rydeen."
The popularity of "Rydeen"
was a phenomenon that we witnessed
after our return from
our first world tour.
Our world tour was also
feeding back to Japan.
There was a boy who followed me
when I walked the streets.
The schoolboy
had a baseball cap on.
When I turned around he hid
behind a pole and still followed.
I was puzzled.
"Rydeen" really was at our height.
The record company of course
asked for another "Rydeen."
But we couldn't.
We couldn't do the same thing.
I don't know if it was out of spite
but we made BGM
which was an extremely avant-garde album.
Kids still listened to it.
We were caught in a whirlpool
we couldn't predict.
We were all over the media
and treated as musicians
and cultural figures.
We have a tendency to please
and did a lot.
But we did too much
and we were getting tired.
Sakamoto was depressed.
I was depressed too.
Yukihiro was getting tired
of going between us.
Through all this we were gradually
starting to feel its end.
YMO who did not do much in 1992
put out "Kimi ni Mune Kyun"
in March of 1983.
They appeared in public again.
They continued to work hard
until their final concert in December.
We all became close again
when we started doing pop songs.
We felt free to do whatever after this.
Once we get to the house,
we'll do this dance.
What exactly are you pulling?
You grab something here.
Like making mochi.
You have light steps!
When was the last time
you were all together?
I see Yukihiro often.
It's been a while since I saw Sakamoto.
Two years?
I always hear about him
so I feel like I see him more.
I was expecting a long night
since it had been a while for you all.
But everyone seemed anxious
to get home.
- People were tired.
- That's true.
Sakamoto is busy too.
But you spent a lot of time together.
A lot happened but it was fun.
I can guess that a lot happened.
Bands are difficult.
Did you fight?
We never threw punches or anything.
Doing a session together after a few years...
did you feel a difference in your worldviews?
Depends.
The thing with musicians is that
even if it's been a while...
you can play like you saw them
just yesterday.
Yukihiro Takahashi.
Oyamada from Cornelius.
Is Sakamoto around too?
I was surprised.
I was worried I'm being rude.
Don't worry.
No hierarchy.
Why don't you go bow?
I'd feel bad since there's the next one.
I'm exhausted.
- Thank you.
- It was truly great.
We messed up the end.
I guess it's been about 10 years
since we've done a show together.
Time doesn't matter though.
This is all very mysterious.
I didn't plan for it.
We happened to gather here.
I don't know why.
There's probably a reason.
We were meant to
come together.
It was improvised.
In a real sense.
The way people around the world
listen to music these days
is different from 10 years ago.
No matter the country,
music-lovers are listening
to good music in the same way.
They can listen to music today
and 40 years ago side-by-side.
It made me think that that's
how they're listening to my work too.
I want to do fun things.
It'll be fine as long as
there are music lovers.
We're Hosono's groupies.
"TENGOKU NO KISS"
SEIKO MATSUDA
It was around the time
that Hosono was in YMO
that he began to provide songs
to pop artists like Seiko Matsuda.
"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"
"NAUSICA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND"
During this period, he worked on many hits.
In 1982, he started a label called YEN.
Using the most advanced
sampling machine of the time,
He released his solo album PHILHARMONY
4 years after COCHIN MOON.
Two years after that,
he started another label
called NON-STANDARD.
Campanella!
His first soundtrack was for
Night on the Galactic Railroad in 1985.
After the mid-80s, he worked on
ambient, world and electronic music
and various genres depending on the times.
It could only be done then.
If I want to, I can just
gather old equipment.
But I can't say that.
I have to do what is of its time.
That's why it's interesting.
The works are evidence
that I did my best in that time.
Those works are interesting
to listen to today.
They're fresh.
If we did what others did
and we were bored by it...
we wouldn't be able to listen to it now.
Work made with a lot of effort
is still interesting today.
This includes ideas and processes.
They're full of trials and errors.
Excuse me.
If only I could smoke.
That's besides the point.
- Are cigarettes a necessity?
- Yes.
- Do you feel it's needed for your music?
- Yes.
May I ask why?
A puff of smoke is very musical.
I do it like I'm creating a puff of music.
When you're smoking?
I mean that they're similar.
To go back to Dylan for example...
he sticks a cigarette in the neck
of his guitar when he records.
Keith Richards did too.
I was influenced by that.
I did it too.
I feel relaxed when I see smoke.
I can't do this.
They're reacting to my songs.
They've really been listening.
The first foreigner who appeared
in front of me was Jim O'Rourke.
I had never met an American
who knew HAPPY END.
Mac DeMarco...
has a similar sensibility to O'Rourke.
They're not nerds but
they like music in a universal way.
This is Gen Hoshino.
Let me introduce our guest.
- Haruomi Hosono!
- Good evening!
Thank you for coming.
You work hard at a late hour.
- Sorry it's so late.
- Oh no, I'll do my best.
Yes, please.
How old were you when we first met?
In my twenties... maybe 26?
- Right.
- It was around then.
Back when you did shows at China Town
you had a beard.
- You wore a white suit.
- As Harry Hosono.
Yes, we first met when I had my
Harry Hosono costume on.
Yes...
I thought you might be taken aback
but you were kind to me.
I thought you were
a funny person.
I've known Hoshino
since his SAKEROCK days.
Since then,
he's found a different style
to call his own.
Generationally speaking...
I do feel that things are
getting passed on.
When we played
in Yokohama's China Town...
I was MC-ing and said,
"I'm leaving it to you, Hoshino."
"I'll leave the rest to you."
I say that a lot these days.
That's all true.
"I'll leave the rest to you all."
What was it?
"Pom Pom Jyoki"
It'll be over quickly.
Let's do it.
Here is my question
for the Fourth IGA WATARU SHOW.
Is there anything you're good at
other than music?
That I'm good at?
Nothing.
How about dance?
I was very good
in middle school.
Did you study it?
Study... no.
I'm very good at silly walks.
- There's one called the Mars Walk.
- Mars Walk?
Mars like the planet.
- Walking on Mars?
- Yeah, like walking on Mars.
It's very childish.
That's all I have.
Nothing I can do.
I'm useless.
What else? I stopped drawing too.
You used to draw?
I liked to draw
especially during class.
- You weren't listening in class?
- No.
So maybe if I take a class
I can do something.
You'll be better at drawing
if you enroll in a class?
DOOR OF THE TIMES
Every time your talk about a film
it becomes the talk of the town.
Every time your talk about a film
it becomes the talk of the town.
Yeah?
Any recommendations from
some recent viewings?
My favorite films are ones
I'm looking forward to seeing.
Once I see them,
I'm always disappointed.
Thank you.
Oh, that's it?
On a final note, what music are you
listening to these days?
I like music before
I listen to them.
Amazing.
Thank you.
I'm glad the rain has stopped.
I'm sure it was a difficult wait.
Thank you.
I lived here 30 years ago
a little south from here.
The house no longer exists
but it had an American vibe to it.
I suddenly received an offer.
I had a connection with Sayama
where I made HOSONO HOUSE.
It was supposed to be
an one-off live event.
But it rained a lot that day
and the crowd
went to the station.
When it was my turn
the rain stopped
and people came back.
Steam seemed to rise from them.
It was an inexplicably
mysterious view.
It left a very strong impression on me.
I don't like singing.
So I refused doing shows.
There's a limit to how many songs
I can enjoy singing.
But as I began doing more shows
I found that I was able to sing more.
It became more fun for me.
I also realized that singing songs
by others was even more fun.
I thought, "That's good.
I can cover songs I like."
I used to hate singing
but it started to become fun.
Oh? I didn't know.
I'm embarrassed.
"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"
is a difficult boogie.
It's fun for me to sing, right now.
It's a famous boogie.
I didn't think I could sing it.
But I just liked it so much...
so I started practicing.
I had the band play it
during rehearsals.
I was able to sing it
after doing it over and over.
Now, I can sing it from memory.
That's fun.
When my desire to sing
becomes intense, I'm able to do it.
It's working!
I've turned into a comedian.
The thing that I want to do most
right now...
For example, there's the boogie-woogie
and there are many bands
that are doing the same songs I am.
But when I tried
checking them out...
I just didn't get excited.
But when I listen to the originals
from the 1940s...
my heart dances whenever I do.
These current bands
are lacking something.
I don't want to lose
that something.
There's something
very special there...
a secret...
It's a secret?
Yeah, or something
hard to communicate.
Like a secret recipe?
Yeah, without that secret sauce
it just becomes boring.
Without that, I wouldn't do it.
It wouldn't be fun.
The key for me is freedom.
When I touch what's free,
my heart dances.
Thank you very much.
Wonderful.
Haruomi Hosono
Van Dyke Parks
Yukihiro Takahashi
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Rie Miyazawa
Kiko Mizuhara
Yuka Mizuhara
Keigo Oyamada
Mac DeMarco
Gen Hoshino
Narration: Gen Hoshino
Producer: Masahiro Handa
Music: Haruomi Hosono
Directed by Taketoshi Sado