GLITTER Aug 2014 (Part 2)
I think I deserve an award for actually managing to look at the text on these pages. :P
Q. "Women build up men" and "Women should walk three steps behind...", isn't this way of thinking against gender equality?
I think that men and women should be granted equal rights, but I don't think they can be equal. Men and women have different bodies and physiologies. "Women walk three steps behind" was originally an art of samurai culture. I want you to imagine it. Even men want to walk holding their girlfriend's hand. "Walk three steps behind me" is the more difficult option. But to fulfill his duty of protecting the woman he loved, the samurai walked in front of her. They tried to be a model for society. On the other hand, the women chosen by the samurai, who were at the top of society, didn't say "Protect me!" to the men, instead they skilfully guided them by assuming the role of walking behind. That is the art of "building up". The Japanese have always been a people who were able to preserve a balance between men and women through these exquisite ways of expressing love. It is not necessary to accommodate Western values of everything being equal, and I think that trying to make men and women equal is in itself unreasonable.
Q. In the current age when there are many couples who both work, and women who earn more than men, does "women building up men" have its limits?
That's a question of balance, and isn't it better for the man and woman to decide for themselves which role they will take? For example, it's okay if the man takes care of the house and the woman goes to work. Problems occur when they don't think about the division of roles, and both try to become the leader of the house, or neither of them take a role. If I just say one thing, the more weak and useless a person is, the less they are able to notice when someone is building them up and be grateful for it. It's a shame, but a fact that the number of men like that is increasing. But because of that, women who are good at guiding will be chosen by good men. They will become that man's absolute pillar of psychological strength.
Q. ...That said, men, including you, GACKT, definitely prefer women with a pretty appearance, right?
It's natural for a man to prefer pretty women (laughs). But it's not simply about how balanced her face is. What decides if she matches me or not are various things unrelated to her appearance, like personality and food and sexual compatibility. Honestly even I think, "Ah!" when I spot a cute girl (laughs). But men are creatures that want to think at that point, "But my girlfriend is definitely better". That's another "art" of men. I've probably had more women approach me and more relationships than most people. Even so, I've never met a "ideal woman with everything", and that person probably doesn't exist for men or women. It's because both people live in pursuit of that ideal that we can live with gratitude for the partner who tries to get a little closer to it, and we can grow ourselves. It's over for men and women if they stop pursuing the ideal. That's what I think.
Q. What is the highlight of the play "MOON SAGA-Secret of Yoshitsune Chapter II- beginning in August?
We took on a lot of challenges, including wire work and animated backdrops, and this time we're incorporating a new projection mapping. You can experience a world you can only feel in modern plays, one that fuses analog and digital. We have our sights on doing performances overseas, so anyone who wants to know the history of the Minamoto clan should be able to enjoy it. It's the kind of story that will have everyone bawling by the end.
Q. The story continues from the previous play, and is about how you use the "power" that you have, and if that will open up the future. Multiple powers = GACKT seems to have talent, but what message is there in that?
I'm fundamentally incredibly unskilled. People look at me like I can do anything, but it's because I can't do anything that I practice twice as much as everyone else. When I thought about what my "power" is, I realized that my "power of not giving up" is probably stronger than anyone else's. At the same time, I came to know the shallowness of immediately giving up on things and saying, "It's impossible, I have no talent," because you can't do anything. "I have no talent," is something only those who have staked their life on continuing and still failed have the right to say. This tale depicts the difference between those who faced their own power properly, and those who didn't. The courage to protect others, and the power to rule others isn't something anyone is born with. Power is something that awakens in the instant you first gather up your courage, thinking of someone else from the bottom of your heart. This is something that will definitely come across in your love life and work. Within its amazing, never before seen visuals, this play is sure to have many parts that will sync with the real lives of the people watching it.
Q. "Women build up men" and "Women should walk three steps behind...", isn't this way of thinking against gender equality?
I think that men and women should be granted equal rights, but I don't think they can be equal. Men and women have different bodies and physiologies. "Women walk three steps behind" was originally an art of samurai culture. I want you to imagine it. Even men want to walk holding their girlfriend's hand. "Walk three steps behind me" is the more difficult option. But to fulfill his duty of protecting the woman he loved, the samurai walked in front of her. They tried to be a model for society. On the other hand, the women chosen by the samurai, who were at the top of society, didn't say "Protect me!" to the men, instead they skilfully guided them by assuming the role of walking behind. That is the art of "building up". The Japanese have always been a people who were able to preserve a balance between men and women through these exquisite ways of expressing love. It is not necessary to accommodate Western values of everything being equal, and I think that trying to make men and women equal is in itself unreasonable.
Q. In the current age when there are many couples who both work, and women who earn more than men, does "women building up men" have its limits?
That's a question of balance, and isn't it better for the man and woman to decide for themselves which role they will take? For example, it's okay if the man takes care of the house and the woman goes to work. Problems occur when they don't think about the division of roles, and both try to become the leader of the house, or neither of them take a role. If I just say one thing, the more weak and useless a person is, the less they are able to notice when someone is building them up and be grateful for it. It's a shame, but a fact that the number of men like that is increasing. But because of that, women who are good at guiding will be chosen by good men. They will become that man's absolute pillar of psychological strength.
Q. ...That said, men, including you, GACKT, definitely prefer women with a pretty appearance, right?
It's natural for a man to prefer pretty women (laughs). But it's not simply about how balanced her face is. What decides if she matches me or not are various things unrelated to her appearance, like personality and food and sexual compatibility. Honestly even I think, "Ah!" when I spot a cute girl (laughs). But men are creatures that want to think at that point, "But my girlfriend is definitely better". That's another "art" of men. I've probably had more women approach me and more relationships than most people. Even so, I've never met a "ideal woman with everything", and that person probably doesn't exist for men or women. It's because both people live in pursuit of that ideal that we can live with gratitude for the partner who tries to get a little closer to it, and we can grow ourselves. It's over for men and women if they stop pursuing the ideal. That's what I think.
Q. What is the highlight of the play "MOON SAGA-Secret of Yoshitsune Chapter II- beginning in August?
We took on a lot of challenges, including wire work and animated backdrops, and this time we're incorporating a new projection mapping. You can experience a world you can only feel in modern plays, one that fuses analog and digital. We have our sights on doing performances overseas, so anyone who wants to know the history of the Minamoto clan should be able to enjoy it. It's the kind of story that will have everyone bawling by the end.
Q. The story continues from the previous play, and is about how you use the "power" that you have, and if that will open up the future. Multiple powers = GACKT seems to have talent, but what message is there in that?
I'm fundamentally incredibly unskilled. People look at me like I can do anything, but it's because I can't do anything that I practice twice as much as everyone else. When I thought about what my "power" is, I realized that my "power of not giving up" is probably stronger than anyone else's. At the same time, I came to know the shallowness of immediately giving up on things and saying, "It's impossible, I have no talent," because you can't do anything. "I have no talent," is something only those who have staked their life on continuing and still failed have the right to say. This tale depicts the difference between those who faced their own power properly, and those who didn't. The courage to protect others, and the power to rule others isn't something anyone is born with. Power is something that awakens in the instant you first gather up your courage, thinking of someone else from the bottom of your heart. This is something that will definitely come across in your love life and work. Within its amazing, never before seen visuals, this play is sure to have many parts that will sync with the real lives of the people watching it.